'Steady, steady,' said Kessian, chuckling and struggling to keep upright under the weight of them all. 'Give an old man the space to breathe.'
They let him go.
'Gorian wants to control the sharks,' said Arducius.
'Does he indeed?' Kessian raised his eyebrows. 'Ambitious, aren't you? Well nothing wrong with that. Now then, sit down. Shela will bring you food and I will take your teaching this afternoon.'
Mirron clapped her hands together and sat down right next to the Father. She gazed up into his knowing eyes, half-hooded by the folds of skin on his old face. One day he wouldn't be here to teach them or encourage them. He was reaching the end of his cycle and would be embraced by God. She didn't want that day ever to come.
'Are you feeling better?' she asked.
Kessian smiled. 'Yes, my child, and thank you for asking. My chest is clear and Genna says I no longer snore.' Tm glad,' she said.
'Right then. All comfortable? Then let's learn something new,' said Kessian.
Mirron felt her heart beat faster. She shared a smile with Gorian. Nothing was better than new skills. It meant the Echelon thought they were improving.
'Now, during all that I am about to say and the experiment I want you all to do, bear in mind the heart of your learning since your emergence. Almost two years ago now . . . time passes so quickly doesn't it? What can you tell me about elemental energy cores? Arducius?'
'They are the most concentrated sources of life energy that we can use.'
'Good,' Father Kessian stretched the word. 'But what more is there than mere use that you have found so surprising?'
'We can make more energy with it,' said Ossacer.
'Yes, you can amplify it. But I know you've all found it difficult even when the source is steady and strong. We've all seen the temporary ageing effects you suffer when you have used your abilities. And we have noted also that there is only so much work you can do with your abilities before you are both exhausted and grey, do you agree? Yes, Gorian.'
'But we are much better than we were even a year ago,' he said. 'We can already do so much more than we could then.'
Kessian nodded enthusiastically. 'Oh indeed, and I'm delighted you are all developing so well. That will undoubtedly continue. But I want you all to bear in mind that there will always be limits and that you must make yourselves aware of how far your bodies and minds can go. Particularly when you are causing growth in living things. Yes? Good.
'Now, the reason I've reminded you about that is that I want to begin your understanding of other ways to use the energies that you have all proved so adept at finding and directing into your work.' Father Kessian picked up a sheet of paper that was on the seat to his left. 'Gorian wrote that—'
'The first Gorian?' asked Arducius.
Kessian looked at him with a slight frown. 'Well, obviously.'
The three boys dissolved into laughter, clutching at each other helplessly, trying to speak and doing little more than spitting half words.
'AH right, all right,' said Kessian with a broad smile on his face. Mirron shook her head, happy that she had a little more control. She looked up at the Father and shrugged. 'Boys,' she said, echoing her mother's tone.
Kessian chuckled. 'Indeed. All right boys,' he said. ‘I think it's time you told us why my words are so funny to you.'
They looked to each other, threatened to lose control again but sobered enough to explain themselves. Gorian was the spokesman.
'Sorry, Father, but it's what you always say. You and all the Echelon.'
'What, exactly?' asked Kessian.
'You always say, "well, obviously", Father. All the time.'
'Do we,' said Kessian. 'Well, the way to stop us is to stop asking dim questions, isn't it? Eh?' He smiled and reached forward to ruffle Gorian's hair. 'Now, if I may be allowed to continue?'
'Well, obviously,' managed Ossacer before roaring with laughter and taking the other two with him.
Even Mirron couldn't quite contain herself. They were right as well, now it had been pointed out. Father Kessian waited for it all to subside, taking the chance to lean back and let Shela serve them some lunch before calling for order once more.
'Gorian - the original Gorian - wrote this: "We accept the existence of energies within all things, living and silent, and that shapes and densities of energies are moulded to particular tasks. For instance, the specific signature of energy trails typical in an orange tree versus that in a farm animal. This is as much learned from ancient scriptures discussing the veins and blood of God through his earth as it is from my own observations and those of the Ascendancy with the vision to see.
' "We also believe and accept that when the first true Ascendant is born, he or she will be able, once emerged, to divert and determine uses for these energies other than that which is their current purpose; though that determination will likely be kin to the current purpose."' Kessian paused and smiled. 'He was at times rather long-winded. All he means is, fire for fire work, earth for root and branch. And I can see what you are about to say, young Gorian, so don't. The joke will quickly wear thin.
'Gorian said this last too, which is important as well as brief: "There is no reason, however, that energies moulded for one purpose by God should not be adjusted by an Ascendant for an entirely different purpose. After all, all energy is essentially the same at its core and guides the overall cycle of life that is the glory of God and to which we all of us are bound." '
Kessian put down the parchment and looked around the Ascendants. Mirron felt excitement growing. If she'd guessed right what they were going to try today, it was a big step forward. A difficult one, too.
'Now, I'm not going to push any of you into this but let me say this first. You have all mastered, and mastered quickly, the basic rules of adapting the life energies to produce the effect you want. It means you understand how the lifelines work and how you can augment them with your bodies to amplify your effect. You are all capable of doing what I am about to ask.
'Now, what I want you to consider this afternoon is this. By example . . . Mirron, you are a peerless Firewalker. We have seen you manufacture a blaze from smouldering kindling that could heat a forge. Your challenge is to use the life energies of any tree in this garden and use them to create fire. Can you remember the signature of energy that is present in fire? Can you mould that of a lemon tree and bring flame where there was none? And, if you can do that, do you have the strength within yourself to fuel that fire, to amplify what you have built?'
Father Kessian placed a hand on her knee. He favoured her with a warm smile, seeing the anxiety that must have crossed her face as it passed through her mind. This was a bigger step than she had imagined. She looked to Gorian. Even he seemed a little worried, while the other two appeared lost in thought.
'Do not worry, Mirron Westfallen. This is a difficult lesson and you may not solve it today. It is why we brought you all here to the peace of Marshal Vasselis's garden. And it is why you will find that the whole Echelon are here to help you. I will move among you and there will be two of the Echelon watching over you always. You have the whole of the afternoon to think, to ask questions and to experiment. Expect frustration and enjoy every small success. Will you try for me?'
Mirron almost burst into tears. She managed to hold them back and nod instead, unable to find words.
'Good,' said Father Kessian. 'Then eat and take yourself away to wherever you need. Willem and Meera will be with you shortly.'
Mirron found that her hands were trembling. It was a mixture of excitement and fear of the unknown. Quietly, the whole of the Ascendancy Echelon had come into the garden and were gathered near the gate. She looked down at her plate of cold meat and sweetly spiced bread and tried to focus on it while she half-listened to Kessian outlining her brothers' tasks. She ate only because she knew she had to, not through any desire.
She put her plate down, got up and brushed crumbs from her simple blue tunic dress. She made to move off. The
re was a lone orange tree sitting in a patch of sunlight in the corner furthest from the gate. It would do perfectly.
'Hold on,' said Arducius. 'Before we split up.' He beckoned them all towards him. 'Link arms.'
He'd done this before when they'd been asked to do something difficult. It was so comforting.
'Remember who we are,' said Arducius. 'We are all here for each other and will support each other. None of us is ever alone.'
They split up and Mirron trotted over to her place. The sun was warm on her body and the garden walls sheltered her from the slight breeze. She sat on the grass outside the shade of the tree's branches. Footsteps behind her belonged to Willem Geste and Meera Naravny, the Echelon's Firewalkers. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at them. Meera smoothed her hair and Willem crouched carefully in front of her, wincing at some pain in his joints. Perhaps Ossacer would be able to identify it for him.
'Now remember, we are here to watch over you, to guide you and to support you. Father Kessian will be walking around slowly. All you need to do is take your time,' said Willem. 'Are you feeling all right?'
'Fine,' said Mirron. 'But a little nervous.'
'Of course you are, dear,' said Meera. 'It's nothing to worry about. It's a good thing.'
'Where do I start?' asked Mirron, aware quite suddenly that she had no idea.
'Well,' said Willem, 'what you might want to try is first look closely at the signature of this tree. And remember, we cannot help you with that. What we will do is bring you a small fire so you can compare signatures. And then, if you are comfortable, create one from the other and amplify it with yourself. We will be able to see the fire signature as it forms.'
Mirron nodded. 'I'll do my best.'
'You always do,' said Meera. 'Come on, Willem, leave her for a moment.'
Mirron placed her hands on the ground and reached out with her mind, her eyes open. Immediately, trails of energy were revealed to her. In the early days, even that had taken great effort but now she could do it indefinitely. She concentrated on the tree roots which pulsed with bright life all through the earth beneath her feet. This was a young and healthy tree and the trails ran bright green and yellow up into its trunk and through into its branches, only fading to grey at leaves that were beginning to pale with the imminent onset of dusas.
She frowned. The signature of lifelines in the tree was, well, tree-shaped. Was that what Father Kessian wanted her to see? She broke concentration and looked round. As if knowing she'd be confused, the Father was walking towards her, leaning hard on his sticks and taking each step gingerly. Shela was at his side, ready in case he stumbled.
'You look perplexed, my little one,' he said, wheezing slightly.
‘I don't know what I'm looking for. The energy trails are just the same shape as the tree. What else can they be?'
'Nothing,' said Kessian. 'Not without help. But I see your confusion. What I want you to consider are the differences between a living signature like this tree, and that of fire which is a destructive, powerful but short lived energy. The density of energies at the heart of the structure is the biggest clue to the differences. In a tree, the heart is spread throughout the roots. In a fire, there is a very dense and violent core. If I read Gorian correctly, this is what you should be trying to make. Examine the fire Willem is bringing to you.'
He brought a small iron cauldron over, carrying it by its handles with no covering. He didn't need it. One hundred and twenty-two years old and still impervious to heat. He set it down on the stone Meera was carrying. Inside, coal and wood was burning hot. Mirron took off her charm bracelet and pushed her hand into the fire, feeling its beautiful warmth spread along her arm. She focused on the energy within. She gasped.
'I can see it,' she said, wondering why it had not occurred to her before.
'Describe it for me,' said Father Kessian.
'It is bound, though it appears random. All the energy trails start in the same place. Where the coal and wood are hottest, the heart of the fire is the darkest red, like blood almost. The trails make other coals hot as they pass by and those coals in turn feed back some of their energy as well as passing the heat outwards.'
She turned to the Father. 'So there is a complete circuit. Even in a fire and even if the energy is always eventually wasted into the air.'
'So if you think about it, a fire grows even as it consumes its fuel, eventually dying and becoming cold and dead. That is not much different than a tree which grows even as the life energies in its roots are slowly consumed. And roots, branches, leaves and eventually whole trees die, becoming cold and dead. The cycle of a fire, without renewed fuel for energy, is faster than that of a tree. Does that help you in moulding earth energy into that of fire?'
Mirron considered for a moment. 'I suppose I should . . . isn't it about compressing the energies I draw from the tree?'
'Yes, but don't forget you need a target on which to place those energies. A fire cycle must have fuel mustn't it?'
Mirron bit her tongue before saying, "well, obviously". She suppressed a smile. 'I cannot even mould the energies without a source for them, can I?'
Father Kessian raised his eyebrows. 'Are you sure? If Gorian is correct, you can perhaps maintain the energy signature within you and then project it on to target fuel such that the signature can survive. Do you see?'
Mirron scratched her head and thought hard. It was not that much different from adapting fire energies from one work to another, she supposed. But there was never a break in the circuit of the energy. Father Kessian was saying she could hold fire within her body without there being the fuel for fire present.
'I'm not sure.'
'Well, try for me. And don't worry if nothing happens. We have all the time in the world.'
With Father Kessian there, Mirron felt she could achieve anything. She smiled up at him, saw the encouragement in his lovely, old wrinkled face and determined to try her very best. She moved her hands back to the ground and brought the energy signature of the tree back to her mind. Surrounding it in the earth, trails that signified other roots, worms and insects fled away in every direction, all identifiable to her if she looked hard enough.
She opened herself to the orange tree, feeling its lifelines link with hers. She knew its grace, the deliberation of its growth and the gentle pulsating of its life that were all so much at odds with the racing of her own body.
Mirron paused, letting the lifelines settle following her delicate interruption of them, before considering how to tap the strength of the tree to make fire. She felt a sense of disquiet. The violence of fire was directly at odds with the peaceful life of the tree and using the latter to create the former seemed wrong. But this was just experiment after all.
The solution was not too difficult to see. If Mirron wanted to force growth into the tree, all she would do was focus her bright, quick energies into the roots of the tree's lifelines, forcing the pools of latent growth potential at the base of the roots up through the structure. Her life force would amplify that growth. Tiring but efficient. And if she wanted to divert the tree's energy to give growth to a linked elemental life like a flower, she used herself as conduit and amplifier but the work was essentially the same.
For fire, then, it was akin to diverting energy but without a destination until the energy map of fire was drawn in her mind and held in her body. It seemed clear to Mirron that she had to compress the tree's gentle lifelines into the harsher, quicker model of fire using her own body as a temporary home. It wouldn't hurt her, after all, and she couldn't create it in the clear air or it would be whipped away by the devils in the wind, lost to God forever.
She held out her left hand, seeing her pink, smooth palm overlaid with bright lifelines, while her right stayed in contact with the cycle of the orange tree. Compared to her, the energy in the roots, branches and leaves was infinite. She picked at individual energy strands, seeing the deep green and brown diverting into her body where its relatively ancient power made he
r gasp as it always did.
Concentrating harder than she ever had before, aware that Father Kessian was watching her, she used the trails of her body to bind around the tree's energy, squeezing it hard, feeling it begin to race. In her mind's eye, the energy map of the fire grew in her palm. Dark thudding reds and sparkling yellows, released to the sky at their very tips but feeding back into her body at their base, keeping the circle complete.
Now she could consider where the fire should be directed. Willem had already thought of that. She saw him place a triangle of dead branches on a stone slab, their grey and black signatures clear. She reached out her hand towards the fuel, meaning to touch the wood to transfer the energy.
But the lifelines of the tree flowing through her were far more powerful than she was ready to accept. Without an instant destination, she was having trouble regulating their volume now she had teased a break in the cycle. The tree pulsed too strong and the fire energy map she was building sought purchase. Her hand was not close enough to the dead wood and there was other fuel far closer.
Mirron shrieked and flew to her feet, stumbling backwards. Her clothes and hair were ablaze, the smoke and crackling covering her. She could see flame reaching past her eyes and the stink clogged her nose. Dimly, she could hear shouting around her. The fire was hot. Hotter than the forge. It was pure at its centre, corrupted only when it reached the fuel of her clothes and hair.
The shock wore off quickly and she breathed the power in. That was a mistake. Smoke from her clothes made her cough. But she felt invigorated, clean. And when the water was poured over her head she felt a short sensation of loss. She stood for a moment, looking down at her feet, unashamed by her nakedness. The Echelon and the Ascendants were standing in a loose circle around her.
She raised her head, and scratched at her skull. Her hair was gone. She smiled, almost laughed. She knew she should be upset but she felt so alive. She understood what had happened. She knew that she should have closed the circle of the tree's energy before attempting to direct the fire energy map she had made to its ultimate destination. How, she didn't know. She had made a small, pure fire map but the drain on the tree was disproportionately large. So much had been wasted by her inability to keep it all within her. There had to be a better way.
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