by Pam Uphoff
"Teenage girls, Granddad. They're even worse."
Nil snickered. "Anytime you need to get away, just pop out here. We'll give you some solid, scientific wizarding lessons, and you can always take the sheep up to the high pastures."
Xen and Pyrite nodded together.
"And ride some horses that actually need some skill to control." Nil frowned as Pyrite snorted, as if in reply.
Xen cocked his head. "Are you going to start a wizard school? The witches all say they have a school. I think it's all in their heads. But you could build a real one. With buildings like the King's University in Karista."
Dydit eyed the boy. "What do you know about the King's University?"
"Great Grandfather Rufi showed it to me. It's got this huge library. Even bigger than the one in the palace. Five floors full of books! You and Grandmother should build a Wizards University on Prairie Coast. Can I watch?"
Nil sniffed. "The buildings don't make the school. All a school needs is a teacher and a student. But it would be a safe place to take a pack of young wizards, to teach them dangerous things."
Dydit grinned. "Twelve students, to start with. All those Gemstone boys—and at least one girl. Maybe we should split them up, with Jena Genaro taking lessons with all the witches with a wizard gene? Keep the boys in a boys only situation until they figure out how to deal with the hormones."
Nil snorted. "Not a bad idea, mind you. And we can get Xen into lessons with some of the younger kids who are still hormonally suppressed. Jek, who's got a few years to go, and some of the younger Gemstone boys." He looked back up the hill. The black and red dogs were standing shoulder to shoulder staring down That Ram. The ram backed off and went back to grazing. "But for now, your dogs can herd sheep while you're in an ordinary school. I expect they'll have fun doing it."
Chapter Four
Summer Solstice 1380
Foothills Province, Kingdom of the West
Ultra was fed up.
Answer was the Eldest Sister of the Pyramid of Mount Frost, a Dark Crescent Witch, one hundred and forty-six years old, every bit as arrogant, know-it-all and cranky as all that indicated.
And unfortunately, her mother.
At twenty-six years of age, Ultra had her hands full with a grumpy complaining eight year old, a quiet and independent seven year old, and a stubborn four year old. She did not have _time_ to assist her mother, nor Aunt Happy (aged seventy-six), nor Aunt Delight (aged eighty-five). Old Gods! They had their own daughters to call upon.
"Wollastinite, please go assist Answer." The girl rolled her eyes, but walked ahead. Ultra's niece, Happy's daughter, was finding herself next in line to be inconvenienced. At twelve, she was in the New Moons and could grasp power any time.
"I'm tired. This is so stupid." Crimson hunched her shoulder. "I hate climbing up this stupid mountain."
"I understand, dear. But you have to climb it anyway." She shifted the weight of the tired and cranky Walnut again, ignored the pain in her back and checked the location of Jade. All accounted for. Ultra tucked in a guilty thought about how little of her time Jade received. Even at seven she was showing signs of being a very strong witch.
Three more days of increasingly vertical walking and they reached the pinnacle of the volcano late in the afternoon the day before the Solstice.
They made camp on the sunny south side, and started a bonfire with the wood the New Moons had carried up from their last camp at the treeline. There was enough for a couple of hours of flame as the day dimmed slowly, and dinner was cooked over the coals. As the Sun touched the horizon, the babies were put into slings or bubbles, the little children left at the camp fire, burned down to embers now, and the rest walked up to the spire, the steep triangular step pyramid that was the magical focus of the witches.
Answer took the north side of the top, as always. They had three full triads, and the top was crowded. Wollastinite climbed up, her arm around her grandmother and handed her respectfully up to the last tier before retreating all the way down off the spire. The level of the Waning Half was also packed, two triads and an extra witch. The level of the Full Moon showed the largest hole in their population.
As soon as Crimson grasped power, Ultra would step up there. Cost and Zenith both had daughters a year older, so they might beat her there. Dusty was the same age as Crimson, so Xanthic would be up there soon enough. The other mothers' children were all younger. The only New Moons likely to advance were second and third daughters, their mothers already grandmothers and thus up on the tier of the Waning Half. So this year the tier of the Full Moon belonged to Rustle.
Hardly fair—her son had grasped power, not her daughter.
So Ultra was crowded onto the Half Moons level, four full triads. Mostly was the oldest witch there. She ought to have advanced ages ago—but her two oldest daughters had never grasped power. Her five year old was her last chance to advance, ever.
The three Crescents were spread out, with one girl to a side. Obsidian, on the north, was likely to be lonely next year. She'd miscarried a month ago.
The six New Moons stood in a semi-circle around the base. Hopeful. The sixteen year olds looked a little desperate. Answer had extended the old age limit, but two more years, and off they would go. Ordinary, normal people.
The sun dropped below the horizon and they stood quietly. Ultra could see the glow of the firepit, Walnut was safe in a bubble, experiencing no time, Crimson and Jade were probably already asleep. Little sparks leapt below, were gathered into a glowing ball.
"Go up, go on." Quiet voices, happy and also envious urged the new Crescent up to the first tier.
Rhyolite's beaming smile was under lit by the glowing ball in her hands. More sparks, and Sapphire climbed to join the Crescents.
Then the shaved edge of the Moon cleared the mountains to the east and Answer led the Pyramid in the Song of the Moon. After one round, Catti and Zmm sang the Mother's Joy version, and then Rhyolite and Sapphire sang the Grasp of Power verse. Then top to bottom every level sang their own and then back to the pure Song. There were many songs, and they sang them all.
They sang the Moon up and across the sky, and then down again. The Sun was peeking over the horizon when they finally stopped and trooped back to camp, to eat and then sleep the morning away.
At noon they had another easy meal, and headed down the mountain.
They didn't keep to any sort of strict order going down. So Ultra managed to escape her dreary triad, and joined Xanthic in pestering Rustle about what was going on in Rip World. Especially with their old boyfriends.
"Ras and Kel are mostly exploring. No, they haven't married or anything, but Ras hangs around with Bid a lot. And Kel with Deal. But, well, you know Mages. And the Rip Crossing Annual Fertility rites in the fields. It kinda messes up any hope of long term relations."
Ultra snickered. "Is that why you and the Auld Wulf aren't shacked up?"
Xanthic looked horrified that she'd bring up one of the hottest gossip topics in the valley.
Rustle looked amused. "Oh? Aren't we? Where do you think I sleep when I'm here?"
Ultra sniffed. "But you always leave. You live in Rip Crossing or Rip World."
"Yeah, I have to keep an eye on my Pyramid there." Her brows pinched together. "And . . . sometimes I have trouble shutting out . . . I mean, some emergencies need to be dealt with by the people who caused them." She hunched a bit. "Oh, never mind."
"We heard about Iron's leg. Was there a problem?"
"No, she's fine, but she didn't think a three week hike was a good idea. It's just . . . I have shielding problems sometimes. So I move back and forth through the gates to get away from things, sometimes."
Ultra bit her lip and suppressed a smirk. Little Miss Perfect has a problem? Who'd have thought? Echoes of their old childhood rivalry floated back to her. Rustle, always so smart, but always running off to play with the Goat Boys. Ultra, Xanthic, Young, Free and Swish, with a few other girls had been more stylish, more mature a
nd sophisticated. And nothing like the Dragons, or worse yet, the Dark Triad.
Rustle nodded. "You lot sure were stuck up prigs. Hard to believe we had gangs, and actually went out in the woods to fight."
Ultra scowled. "I didn't say that out loud. And we didn't actually fight, because of those men. It was amazing, those Dragon Girls, when those men attacked us."
Xanthic grinned. "Of course I was shocked at the time. I was almost thirteen and boy crazy, but that put me off them for a couple more years."
Swish trotted down the path and joined them. "We were too young to do anything but have silly dreams, anyway. And I wasn't really ready, when I did. I wasn't ever going to do it again." She sighed. "Until an opportunity came along to have a god's baby. I should have thought again, though. You know how slow god babies can be. Violet is much smaller than Emerald was at four. I hope I don't have to try again. There just aren't enough magical men around."
Ultra nodded, and Xanthic as well. Swish shrugged. "It was a fun orgy. But we really shouldn't have gotten pregnant. Not with a comet to move."
They all glanced upward.
"This isn’t the fourth year. There won’t be anything really dangerous at Mid Winter." Xanthic scowled. "The astronomers say that all the ones big enough to see are going to miss."
"Pity so many have completely de-iced. We won't have any warning before a rock hits us." Swish frowned. "And we can't go back to Ash World. Those mages are so infuriating."
"There's a Corridor to Rip Crossing, and the Gate to Rip World. Or the Gate down at the wizard's tower. Either of those would work. Maybe you should all plan on coming to one or the other, for a few weeks around the Winter Solstice." Rustle was frowning. "Except that Rip World is cold and snowy, then."
Xanthic grinned. "We call our world Prairie Coast, and the Gate is nearly on the equator. It's warm year round. Everyone should just come and camp out on the beach."
They all nodded, a bit guiltily.
"What about everyone else? We should try to look, magically, move any rock or metal cores that will impact." Rustle blew out her breath. "No matter how much it hurts."
Ultra suppressed another smirk. "You still haven't opened another gate?"
"No. Actually, I haven't tried, for a long time. The potential for problems just doesn't justify opening one, just to see if I can."
The smirk almost escaped. Or can't.
Chapter Five
Summer 1380
Ash, Kingdom of the West
School was mostly boring, so Pyrite, after delivering Xen to school would go back up on the hill and talk to the smart horses. Jet and Phantom were stallions, so all they thought about was mares and keeping each other away from each other's mares. Fortunately Phantom was away a lot, taking care of Rustle, so Jet relaxed and would talk with Pyrite. Junk was smart, but pretty quiet, and Spooky was just a yearling, so Pyrite spent most of his time trying to get Jet to talk about wars and fighting, and what a war horse needed to know.
:: Xen will be a fighter and a wizard. Like his sire.::
Jet snorted. :: HE is a god, not a wizard. The boy has promise, though. The fighting part is pretty easy. You just have to do what he expects, because he doesn't have time to argue or persuade. And keep your eyes open for an enemy Xen doesn't spot because he's busy fighting someone else. That's when you kick or strike on your own. And if Xen dismounts, you'll have to watch his back and don't let some other horse come up and knock him down.:: The big stallion snorted. :: I like beating up other stallions. Even geldings, poor things. But mares, well, sometimes you just have to beat them up too.::
:: Of course. Only a stallion would hesitate. That's why geldings are better.::
Jet snorted in amusement. :: You're a good horse Pyrite. But until you drink some wine like Sun Gold, that's all you'll ever be.::
Pyrite tossed his head. :: If I were a stallion, you wouldn't talk to me at all.::
:: Not with mares around. But going somewhere with the riders, and on a picket line during a campaign, that's when we talk. At least Sun Gold and I do.::
Pyrite swiveled his ears thoughtfully. :: Do you really have to wear a saddle?::
:: Yes. Even HE would fall off without stirrups. When they sword fight they can't always mind their balance, and you may have to jink around and kick or rear unexpectedly. With no saddle, you'll get Xen killed.:: The black horse stared at him, his ears half back.
Unconvinced, but daunted, Pyrite nodded. :: Xen is a little god. I will keep him safe.::
:: Yes. They are like us, they are related, somehow. Remember the lab?::
Pyrite nodded. :: The tests. The needles. Then the blackness. I couldn't get out, but Xen came and he freed me.::
Jet nodded. :: I was freed first, then Sun Gold. But HE blacks me a lot. I think he doesn't want me to get old like Foggy.::
:: Foggy? ::
:: The people call him the Old Dun, now. He has been free for a very long time. His people died, and now he doesn't like being called by the name they gave him.::
:: He is very old. I did not know he had a name. ::
:: Yes. Born the day after I was. But after he got out of the black, no one ever put him back again. ::
Pyrite swiveled his ears, thinking. He knew the time he'd spent in the black hadn't felt like very long, but everyone said over a thousand years. That much time seemed too much for his mind to hold. He'd been a yearling when he'd been blacked, and Xen had released him four years ago. He shook himself vigorously. 'A very long time' was sufficient detail, no need to make his head hurt.
:: He knows even more magic than you. ::
Jet swiveled an ear. :: Rustle taught him. He uses illusions, now. He got some of the God's wine, and now he is a stallion. Good thing he lives far away now. There are too many stallions around, now."
:: Yes. And all the lot of you do is think about mares. I have more interesting things to do. ::
Chapter Six
Summer 1380
Ash, Kingdom of the West
Xen walked out of the school grounds, alone. His mother's attempt to find friends for him was not working. Ross was a bit of a bully, and had expected the smaller boy to toe his line and follow him faithfully. Xen's father had taught him how to fight from a very young age, and especially how to not let his opponent's weight advantage be used against him. Now, a month later, the only two male students at the school totally ignored each other. And the girls didn't want to have anything to do with him either. Fortunately.
He could see Pyrite coming down from the opposite hills, and climbed up on a fence. He leaped from fence to horseback without Pyrite slowing.
"What did Jet have to say, about sword fighting? And shall we go spy on the wizard lessons?"
Pyrite bobbed his head and snorted. :: Jet says I must wear a saddle, so you won't fall off. He says you can't depend on balance alone when fighting.::
"A saddle? I don't need a saddle. Well . . . it was useful for riding those other horses."
The gaggle of teenage witches they were trotting past giggled and whispered. No one else seemed to be able to hear Pyrite. They thought Xen was weird; Xen thought they were silly. Oh. Well. Pyrite veered off the road and took the winding back trails through the woods.
The three weeks the witches had been gone for the Solstice, Xen had stayed with his grandparents. And ridden lots and lots of horses. Much though he hated to admit it, there had been a lot he'd needed to learn.
Then the first group of young wizards had come, and he'd been packed off to his mother again. I need to learn about wizard magic more than I need to learn how to ride an ordinary horse.
Pyrite snorted his opinion of those other horses. :: Let's go see what the wizards are doing. ::
They had to be careful, sneaking up on Nil. The old wizard was very alert, and always had a huge web of spells ready to throw. Xen really wanted to see those spells. Work them out, see how to do them, how to counter them. But getting them thrown on him was probably a bad way to learn about them.
Quite apart from being a massive failure of his ability to sneak and spy.
They stopped at the little stream for a drink. It was drying up fast. Another two weeks and there would be almost no surface water to the west for three hundred miles. In a month, even the big streams would be dry, and only a few with runoff from the persistent snow and glaciers of the tallest peaks would be available. All the ranchers would have already moved their herds, either up into the foothills and the lower lakes, or all the way out to the Milky River, five hundred miles away.
:: Harry should ask the witches to make wells out there. Then people could stay. :: Pyrite's ears switched back and forth as he thought about it. :: Of course Harry doesn't like staying. He prefers to go. ::
"I hadn't thought about that. I guess nomads are his favorite kind of rancher."
Pyrite thought about wells and secrets.
Xen nodded. "We could put in some secret ones, couldn't we? If I knew how. When I learn how. Then we'll be able to live out there, come and go with greater freedom than the other people."
Pyrite nodded. :: We could scout them out, track them and spy on them. ::
Xen nodded. He grabbed a double handful of Pyrite's mane, and the horse lifted his head, flipping the boy neatly onto his back. Time to sneak up on the Wizard's Tower. And with success there, they could try sneaking through a gate and check out the new school.
Chapter Seven
Summer 1380
University of Magic, Prairie Coast
With packs of randy fourteen to eighteen year old witches roaming the streets of Ash, Nil had hauled his first class of young male students through the dimensional gate to the wilds of equatorial Prairie Coast before he released the hormonal repression spell.
In this case "the wilds" were a tall grass prairie right on the coast. Golden sand dunes, a sloping beach, beautiful curling breakers . . . The dunes were perfect for early lessons.