The Exercise Of Vital Powers

by Ian Gregoire

  Kayden disliked the sympathetic tone; she didn’t need or want Fay’s pity. “I’ve done nothing to be ashamed of,” she offered in response to the question.

  “You’re freely admitting to conducting an illicit relationship with a member of staff for the past year and a half.” Her voice was full of reproach. “Trading carnal pleasures for knowledge you had no entitlement to receive.”

  “You make it sound easy,” quipped Kayden, returning her gaze to the woodland trail ahead. “It was anything but. Daria was a hard nut to crack…initially. First of all, she’s such a talented woman, if you get my meaning, I often found it difficult to keep in mind my reasons for letting her have her way with me to begin with. But once I was able to focus on what I really wanted from her, she wouldn’t even entertain the idea of teaching me anything that I hadn’t already learned in class—at least, not at first. However, I quickly learned how to break down her defences, until I could end all resistance at will. I could get her to tell me anything I wanted to know. Not that she was particularly helpful much of the time, at least, not when it came to matters of Zarantar Shayd. I mean, of course, Daria could explain to me in detail the various applications of Zarantar I would eventually learn to master in class, but not being a Sanatsai herself meant she was never able to demonstrate how I could invoke those abilities.

  “Daria’s usefulness to me was limited to increasing my understanding and knowledge of Zarantar Jist. She was always willing and able to teach me anything I wanted to learn—except on one occasion, about four months ago.”

  “Why? What was so different four months ago?”

  “It was the first time I brought up the subject of the siphon cloaks worn by all the Sanatsai of the Order. I asked Daria to tell me how they are created so I could make one for myself. She refused. So I asked her to make one for me. She refused, again. In fact, she was so adamant in her unwillingness to oblige, my usual methods of persuasion weren’t enough to make her compliant. Fortunately, I’m not the kind of person who gives up when things become difficult; I prefer to overcome the obstacles I encounter. So I decided to change tack, to use a different approach to persuade Daria to give me what I wanted. I told her that my days of sneaking away from campus in the evenings so she could enjoy the pleasure of my company, in the privacy of her home, were over. I made it clear I never wanted to see or speak to her ever again, then I left.

  “After a week of pointedly ignoring her on campus I began to suspect that I’d miscalculated just how addicted to me she was. By the tenth day I had more or less resigned myself to the idea I had irreparably harmed my chances of learning anything from her again. But that was when she finally approached me to tell me she was missing me, that she would teach me anything in her power to teach if I would agree to see her once more.

  “And so it was I learned from Daria how the Sisterhood creates siphon cloaks for the Order, though she still wouldn’t go as far as to help me make one. You see, she let herself believe there was no harm in me knowing, on the basis that I wouldn’t be able to successfully create one for myself without her assistance. So imagine her surprise when I showed up at her door three nights later with a cloak I had made without her help. Actually, surprise is not the right word, horrified is more like it.”

  “Horrified?” The concern in Fay’s voice was evident. “Why?”

  “For one thing, the realisation that my cloak would work if I knew how to use it. For another, she had finally become worried about the prospect of getting into trouble because of me. She pleaded with me not to show the cloak to anyone else or ever wear it while I was still an apprentice. She also said I shouldn’t reveal that it was her who taught me how to create it, much less pass on the knowledge to someone else. But for all her concern about getting into trouble herself, I think she was actually more afraid for my wellbeing. As she couldn’t instruct me in how to use the cloak safely, she made me promise never to attempt to use it before being trained to do so, once I’ve become a level ten apprentice.

  “I guess I don’t need to tell you I lied when I made that promise. And that, Administrator Annis, concludes the long version of the story you were so eager to hear.”

  Fay was clearly displeased by what she’d heard, Kayden realised as she glanced at her Sanatsai companion once more. Too bad, she thought. After all, it was Fay who insisted on being told.

  “Who else?” demanded Fay.

  “Excuse me!”

  “Which other members of staff have you been laying with?”

  The question, as well as the accusatory tone of voice, infuriated Kayden. She wasn’t some filthy whore who spread her legs for anybody prepared to compensate her with whatever she wanted from them in return. She hated the implication that she was; it was demeaning.

  “Oh, don’t worry Administrator,” she snapped back. “Master Darrian only has eyes for you, if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

  “Don’t make me ask a second time, Kayden.”

  “I’m not a whore!” Her voice rose, almost to a shout. “I’m not laying with any of my instructors, and even if I was it would be no concern of yours.”

  Kayden tore her eyes away from her interrogator to stare straight ahead. She needed to recompose herself. She always prided herself on her self-control but Fay was now threatening that control.

  After a brief silence she muttered under her breath, “We can’t all be uptight, frigid bitches, like you.”

  From the corner of her eye Kayden noticed Fay’s grip on the reins of her horse tighten, as did her posture. Fortunately, she didn’t say anything in reply. With any luck Fay would continue to hold her tongue. Kayden didn’t want to be drawn into a needlessly heated exchange; she already wanted to slap the woman’s face as it was. A little time for them both to regain their composure would probably be better than escalation; she didn’t want to give Fay the satisfaction of knowing she had got under her skin.

  They continued to ride through sparse woodlands in silence. Neither woman looked at the other, much less exchanged any words. Eventually, it was Fay who took the risk of resuming her questioning of the apprentice.

  “Kayden, if my question insulted you,” she began in a conciliatory tone, “that was not my intent.” No response or acknowledgement was offered. “While there is no requisite for apprentices to be celibate, there are very good reasons why the Order has rules prohibiting intimate relations between apprentices and members of staff, the principal one being to protect you from being taken advantage of. This rule also protects staff members. An instructor who crosses the line with an apprentice leaves themselves open to blackmail. And a compromised individual on campus is a potential security risk.”

  Kayden hadn’t given that possibility any consideration. But security wasn’t an issue in this instance. She’d always been very diligent about concealing her nocturnal activities with Daria. No one knew about it, ergo there was no risk.

  “But, if you are saying Sister Daria is the only staff member you have had relations with, I will take you at your word,” continued Fay. “However, as you have already acknowledged, Daria could not have trained you to use the cloak you made, even if she wanted to. Yet, last night, you demonstrated your mastery of one application of Zarantar associated with the wearing of a siphon cloak when you passed through the bedchamber wall to re-enter the hidden passages. Even if I accept there were no intimate favours involved, only a Sanatsai could have instructed you in how to invoke Naymutandushay.”

  “And once again you underestimate me.”

  Kayden’s rebuke of the flawed assumption was as decisive as she could make it.

  “Enlighten me!”

  “You’re correct to say I required guidance,” Kayden conceded. “But as I already stated, I couldn’t take the chance of approaching any of the Sanatsai instructors; I didn’t want to risk revealing that I possessed a siphon cloak of my own making. My only other option was to acquire what I needed to know from someone who’d already received instruction in how to use the c
loaks, which meant lots of flirting with several level ten apprentices. And before you ask, no, I did not lay down with any of them.

  “From the answers I was able to tease from the apprentices I approached, it was apparent that Naymutandushay was the only application of Zarantar they had received instruction in by this point. But the ability to pass through solid objects was more than enough to be getting on with, so I took what I’d learned and embarked upon a few weeks worth of trial and error, to master the ability.”

  “Trial and error?” Fay’s incredulity was unmistakeable. “Are you telling me you spent weeks walking through walls on campus without formal training or supervision? Do you have any idea how foolish you were being? You could have killed yourself.”

  “I’m not an idiot!” Kayden retorted. “Until last night I had never attempted to pass through a wall. When I first began testing my invoking of Naymutandushay, I only did small, simple things—like pass my fingers through sheets, then my whole hand. It was only after I felt confident enough about my mastery of this ability did I risk passing my whole body through something, and when I did so it was just a bed sheet I hung up in a doorway. Once I had accomplished the feat numerous times without a hitch, I was satisfied I didn’t need to bother experimenting with objects more substantial than a bed sheet.”

  Fay sighed. “At the risk of my words falling on deaf ears…” There was more than a hint of exasperation in her voice. “…the ten-year training regimen that all apprentices must undergo is structured in such a way that with each level you progress, the more potent the applications of Zarantar you are trained to wield. And by more potent, I mean more powerful, hence, more dangerous—not just to those around you but also to yourselves.”

  Kayden didn’t say anything. What could she say? Was she even expected to say anything to that? Eventually she managed a glib, “What’s done is done.”

  “Quite!” Fay concurred. “Now, why don’t you tell me why the Sanatsai of the Order wear siphon cloaks? And how do the cloaks work?”

  “You’re supposed to be a Sanatsai,” quipped Kayden. “Don’t you already know?”

  “Kayden, I’m giving you the chance to persuade me not to confiscate your cloak and destroy it. Are you going to take it?”

  Reluctantly, Kayden decided to humour the woman. “Very well, wearing a siphon cloak enables Sanatsai to wield the most powerful applications of their Zarantar.”

  “Our Zarantar comes from within, not from what we are wearing.” Fay’s sharp response came back instantly, as if rehearsed. “So what is the purpose of the siphon cloak?”

  “When a Sanatsai wields Zarantar it’s like using any muscle of the body. The longer and greater the exertion the more worn down and fatigued he or she will become, until they must stop in order to recuperate. During this recovery period they would be vulnerable to attacks from other wielders of Zarantar. The cloak mitigates this possibility as it saves a Sanatsai from depletion.”

  “And why is the use of a siphon cloak limited to such a small subset of a Sanatsai’s abilities?”

  “Most applications of Zarantar are not very taxing. The invoking of these abilities can be sustained continuously for several hours, if necessary, without significantly weakening a Sanatsai. Though, in practice there is rarely cause for prolonged use. However, invoking the more powerful applications of Zarantar, even for a brief period, will quickly drain a Sanatsai, and attempting to sustain that invocation for a prolonged time would result in death.”

  “So how do siphon cloaks work to prevent that outcome?”

  “When a Sanatsai invokes one of the high-level applications of Zarantar their siphon cloak establishes a link to the nearest ley-line, allowing them to draw strength from an external source rather than from within. This, in turn, means he or she can sustain their invocation for as long as necessary.”

  Fay was silent for a long moment. Kayden knew it couldn’t be because she’d answered incorrectly. It was more likely the duplicitous bitch was trying to think of a way to renege on letting her keep the cloak without losing face.

  “Have you been experimenting with any other applications of Zarantar associated with the cloak?”

  “No.” she replied. “As I said earlier, the level ten apprentices I sought out had only mastered Naymutandushay at the time. My efforts to research the other applications of Zarantar that require Sanatsai to wear siphon cloaks were unproductive. The library back at Antaris only has a three volume set of books on the subject, but…”

  “But, what?”

  “But when I saw that those books had been authored by you…” Kayden looked across at Fay. “I decided not to read them.”

  If the woman was offended by the admission there was no sign of it on her face.

  “No matter,” said Fay after a brief pause. “You are still just a level seven apprentice, Kayden. You have not yet earned the right to study and develop the higher level applications of Zarantar that those above you are learning.”

  “And yet,” began Kayden, “I have mastered one such ability without the instruction of any Sanatsai, as you yourself have said.”

  “Indeed!”

  Kayden couldn’t tell from the muttered concession whether Fay was impressed or displeased by that fact.

  “And how many other people do you plan to get into trouble in pursuit of your ambition?”

  “What?”

  “I was forced to discipline several apprentices today on your account, including ordering the expulsion of Vartan, and the binding of his Zarantar,” said Fay. “In addition to this, though I have no sympathy for him, I will have to report Master Turan to the Council. They will take a dim view of his conduct, and should their subsequent investigation uncover the wrongdoings I suspect him of, you can be sure he will be cast out from the Order.

  “As for Sister Daria, though I do not have the authority to discipline members of the Sisterhood myself, if I should report her to Sister Idelle once we reach Temis Rulan, which I am more than a little inclined to do at the moment, it is likely she will be in a world of trouble, too. All because of you.”

  Kayden managed to stifle a laugh. “Am I supposed to feel guilty?” she asked. “Because I don’t! I’m not responsible for other people’s actions. I didn’t hold a blade to anyone’s throat and force them to do anything they didn’t want to do. If their choices have got them into trouble, that is on them, not me.”

  “So you’re completely blameless in all this?”

  “Finally, something we both agree upon!” exclaimed Kayden, mockingly. “Will wonders never cease?”

  There was silence between them once more as Fay failed to respond.

  Kayden expected the pause in conversation to be a momentary respite, and another question would be cast her way any moment, until the protracted silence extended for so long she finally realised Fay was done with questioning. She glanced at the Sanatsai just in time to catch the woman staring at her, only to quickly avert her gaze back to the path ahead.

  What was that look on her face?

  Kayden initially took the expression for disappointment, but no, it was more than that. There was a sense of resignation about it, almost as though Fay had just lost all hope and given up. She felt more than a little unnerved by the look, but thought it best not to dwell upon it.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Kayden Is A Special Case

  It was beginning to bother Kayden that Fay had been silent for several minutes as they continued their journey on horseback through the woodlands; she did not like being ignored―—not that she would ever admit to it.

  “I thought you said you had many questions you wanted to ask me,” she said, breaking the silence.

  “I did.” Fay didn’t take her eyes off the trail ahead of them.

  “But not any more?” She received no answer from the Sanatsai.

  “I take it you weren’t enjoying my answers then,” she added with amusement, moments later.

  Once again Fay ignored her.

  �
�Administrator, if you’ve decided to give me the silent treatment, you should know I’m more than happy to continue this journey without saying another word to you.”

  “There will be time enough for you to answer more questions later,” said Fay. “But not now, we will be dismounting shortly.”

  Kayden diverted her attention away from Fay back to the trail ahead. They were passing beyond a final line of trees as they exited the woodlands. Some distance further on she could see the bank of a…was it a lake? It was certainly a large body of water. If it was a lake it was the largest she had ever seen. The opposite bank was not visible, though looking to the left, then the right, she could just about discern the shorelines. And if she and Fay were about to dismount, it probably meant they would be crossing the lake to reach Temis Rulan, assuming the large wooden cabins grouped along the waterfront weren’t their final destination, which seemed highly unlikely in light of Fay ignoring the buildings and heading straight for the bank.

  Minutes later, Kayden was surprised when Fay abruptly pulled her horse up several yards short of the lake. Doing likewise, she glanced at the Sanatsai, awaiting instructions. She was puzzled when Fay stared silently back at her with a questioning look upon her face. Suddenly, Kayden could sense Zarantar, lots of it, circling all around them. Instinctively, she reached back over her shoulder for the hilt of her sword.

  “What’s going on?” she demanded, in a low, urgent tone as she drew her weapon.

  Whether or not Fay intended to answer the question there was no time for her to do so. More than a dozen hooded Sanatsai appeared out of thin air, forming a circle around the two horses and their respective riders.

  Kayden knew that invisibility was one of those applications of Zarantar that required the wearing of a siphon cloak in order to be invoked safely for a prolonged period, but this was the first time she had witnessed Raytandushay in action. She was impressed by the demonstration; she had a strong desire to master this ability herself.