The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah)

by Morgan, Mackenzie

  “Yeah, that’s a pretty good comparison. Think of the ribbon of magic as your flow of electricity.”

  “Where does it come from? I mean the energy that I would use to create the strand to start with. How do I get it?”

  “It’s all around you, in the wind, the light, the heat, everywhere, even your own life force. All you need to do is concentrate on feeling the flow and channeling it into the form you need. One advantage that you have is that the elven part of you acts as a conduit for the forces of nature through no effort on your part. Human sorcerers have to consciously tap into the forces of nature and convert it to an energy that their minds can store, ready for use, and that’s hard to learn how to do. A human sorcerer could actually run out of magical energy in the middle of using it and be left powerless until he restocks. You won’t ever run out.”

  “If being part elf is such an advantage, why don’t more sorcerers marry elves so that their children will have both sets of genes?” Kevin asked.

  Glendymere shrugged his massive shoulders. “I don’t know. It always made sense to me. Elves have longer life spans than humans do, too. With your elven blood, even as watered down as it is, you can expect to live at least a hundred and fifty years. You’d think that humans would want to improve the species for their offspring, but humans are funny creatures. It’s like they think they’re better than everyone else and marrying someone who isn’t human is beneath them. They aren’t any more intelligent than the other races, they have short life spans, they don’t have the agility of the elves or the strength of the dwarves …” Glendymere shook his head. “You do know that most humans will look down on you as a half-breed, don’t you?”

  Kevin nodded. “Kalen told me about it, but it doesn’t bother me. On Earth, when I was a kid, the other kids looked down on me because I was a nerd, so you might say I’m used to it.”

  “Nerd? What’s a nerd? No, I get the image: a skinny little kid with big round glasses and an armload of textbooks. Let me guess, a nerd is someone who’s smart.”

  “Yeah. I didn’t wear glasses, but otherwise, I fit the stereotype.”

  “And that was a bad thing to be? I won’t even ask why, I’ll take your word for it. Now, let’s get back to this protection ward. I want you to envision a long, thin strand of energy. When you have it, join the ends together to make a loop.” Glendymere watched as Kevin formed a long rod of shimmering energy. As he was trying to force the ends towards each other, the strand gave a shudder and vanished. “I think you’re trying too hard. Just guide the ends towards each other. They should join together easily.”

  Kevin created another strand, but this time he backed off a little, and the energy strand that had the flexibility of a rope. He eased the two ends towards each other, and as they touched, the ends disappeared and the strand became a loop. Kevin got so excited that he lost his concentration and the loop vanished into thin air. “I did it! Did you see it? Did you see the way those ends slid together?”

  “Yes, that was much better. Now, do that again, but this time hold the image long enough to do something with it.”

  Kevin created another loop almost effortlessly. It curved around and floated in the air like a string on top of a pool of water. “What do I do with it now?”

  “Find the two ends that you joined together. When you want to remove a ward, you have to separate the two ends so that the energy no longer flows in a loop.”

  “I thought breaking the loop could cause a big bang that might be hazardous to my health.”

  “Not if it’s separated at the precise point where it was joined.”

  “So how do I find the two ends?”

  “Look at the loop. It won’t stand out, but you should be able to see where it’s joined if you really look at it.”

  “Oh, I think I see it. All right, now what do I do, just move the ends away from each other?”

  “Yes, but slowly. If you separate them too quickly it becomes unstable and who knows what it’ll do then.”

  “What do you mean, who knows? Don’t you know?”

  “No. No two of these things are the same. It could simply vanish, or it could cause one of those big bangs you’re not too fond of, or anything in between.”

  “How slow is slow enough?”

  “Slow.”

  Kevin very slowly manipulated the loop until the ends seemed to separate all by themselves. “Okay,” Kevin said as he began to breathe again. “They’re separated and we’re still here, so I guess that was slow enough. Now what?”

  “You could get fancy and try to absorb the energy, but the safest method is to let it seep into the ground. Just lower one end of the strand until it touches the ground.”

  Kevin maneuvered the strand so that one end pointed towards the cave floor, and then he lowered it until it touched the ground. The strand slowly sank into the floor, like a pole into quicksand. After it was gone, Kevin sat down on the cave floor, exhausted.

  After a minute, Glendymere said, “Now, make another strand of energy. Then use it to make a net over the doorway. When you’re satisfied with the net, join the two ends together.”

  Glendymere watched quietly as Kevin made another strand and concentrated on weaving it around the arch, crisscrossing the lines of energy over the opening, and finally joining the ends. After Kevin was done, he asked, “Did I do it right? How strong is it? What would happen if someone tried to go through that arch?”

  “I have no idea how strong you made it. We’ll have to test it. Here, stand behind this boulder and look over the top.” Once Kevin was behind the boulder, Glendymere backed up and stood off to the side, keeping another boulder between his torso and the archway. “All right, I’m going to toss this stone towards the opening. Let’s see what happens.” Glendymere mentally picked up a small stone and threw it at the center of the doorway. There was a flash of light, a loud sizzling pop, and the stone disintegrated into a pile of dust. “Guess you made that one a little strong. Maybe next time you should try a lighter, thinner strand.”

  “How are we going to get rid of it?” Kevin whispered, awed by the power of the ward.

  “Oh, you’re going to have to do that. After all, you put it there. Just be careful. If you break that strand, all that energy will rush into you, and you’ll end up just like that stone.”

  Kevin stood beside the boulder, looked at the pile of dust, and gulped.

  “Come on, you’ll be fine as long as you undo it exactly opposite of the way you made it. You do remember how you made it, don’t you?”

  “I think so, but what if I make a mistake?”

  “Don’t worry. If you make a mistake, you’ll never know it. But let me get out of range first,” Glendymere said as he stepped back behind his boulder. “Go ahead. I’m out of the way now.”

  Kevin thought sarcastically, I’m so glad you’re safe. My biggest concern is that one of my particles might fly off and burn you as I disintegrate.

  “I heard that,” Glendymere said. “Quit stalling and concentrate. You can do it.”

  “Yeah. If you really believed that, you wouldn’t be hiding behind that rock.”

  “I do believe that you can do it. I just don’t believe in taking any unnecessary chances. Now get on with it,” Glendymere said with finality.

  Kevin took a deep breath and separated the two ends. Once he began dismantling the ward, he was surprised at how easy it was. The net seemed to unravel by itself, almost as if it were alive. Once he had removed the strand from the archway, he touched one end to the cave floor and watched as it disappeared into the ground.

  Glendymere said, “That wasn’t too bad for a first try. Now I want you to do it again, only this time, don’t make the strand quite so thick. Then toss a stone at it to test it. After you dismantle that one, make another one, even thinner, and so on. Notice how strong the ward is in relation to how thick the strand is. You’ll also need to come up with a design you like and then make all your wards using the same pattern so that you can remove
them quickly, and in the dark if you have to. But don’t make it too simple, or even an apprentice will be able to remove it. After you master creating and dismantling your own wards, we’ll work on dismantling one that someone else has created.”

  Kevin just stared at Glendymere, so Glendymere raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question. Kevin shook his head and said, “It seems like everything I learn leads to a dozen more. It’s mushrooming so fast that sometimes I feel like it’s hopeless. And one of the most frustrating things about it is that I really do think I could get all of this if I had enough time.”

  “What’s enough time? You’ve got the time you’ve got. That’s all any of us ever has.” Glendymere sighed as he looked into Kevin’s mind. “If you’re asking me if you’ll be ready for your first fight, the answer is no. No one ever is, or ever will be. Even if you survive a hundred challenges, you still won’t be ready. The best you can hope for is to be just that bit more prepared than your opponent. And the way you prepare is …”

  “Practice, practice, practice. Go on. Take a nap. I know that’s what you want to do,” Kevin said with a grin.

  “Umm. Think I will. Naps are wonderful. When you get to be my age, you’ll treasure them, too.”

  “How old are you anyway?” Kevin asked.

  “I don’t really know. I quit counting a long time ago, when I was somewhere around five thousand years old. Wake me when you’re done and let me see what you’ve learned,” Glendymere said.

  As he headed for his chamber, Kevin’s comments replayed through Glendymere’s mind, so he took a few minutes to really examine the progress Kevin had made in the short time he had been in Willow Canyon. Glendymere felt that it was entirely possible that Kevin’s skills would surpass Badec’s, and if they did, there would be very few sorcerers out there who would be foolish enough to challenge him. Maybe it was to Kevin’s advantage that he had grown up on a non-magical world. He had no basis for comparison, so he didn’t realize just how good he really was. At least there wasn’t much chance that he would get cocky and slack off. It would be interesting to see how he performed against the dragons that Glendymere had lined up for sparring matches.

  Chapter 37

  Duane’s Invitation

  Duane wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone, so the falcon that landed on his windowsill around midnight startled him. He clipped a light cord around the falcon’s leg, set out some food and water for him, untied the note, and began to read:

  Duane,

  Our young man is showing a great deal of progress and I have high hopes for his future.

  I have arranged some war games for November. He and his friends will oppose a squad of about fifteen elves and dwarves. I feel confident that if they can learn to hold their own against my friends, they will fair well against any human squads they may meet on their journey.

  I thought you and Xantha might be interested in observing the games.

  Glendymere

  “Xantha, would you like to go?” Duane asked mentally.

  Xantha was grazing on the other side of the valley, but he was aware of the contents of the note through his mind link with Duane. “Sounds like fun.”

  “Do you want to go down a couple of days early? Just to visit and watch them practice?”

  “Sure.”

  “Then I’ll tell Glendymere that we’ll arrive around the end of October. I might even participate in the games.”

  “I don’t know about that. I have no desire to return you to Shelandra with any extra holes in your body,” Xantha said with a laugh.

  “Ha, ha!” Duane said as he sat down to write the note to Glendymere.

  ~ ~ ~ ~

  The next morning, Duane wandered through the woods, thinking through an idea that had come to him overnight. Finally he decided that it was time to discuss it with his father. He found Hayden working in the gardens.

  “I’d like to run an idea past you. Have you got a few minutes or would you rather I wait until later?” Duane asked.

  “I’m always looking for a good reason to stop weeding,” Hayden said as he stood up. “Why don’t we go for a walk while we talk. I need to stretch my legs.”

  After Duane helped his father gather his tools and store them in the shed, they headed out into the forest.

  “Now, what’s this idea of yours?” Hayden asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about Landis. She’s going to need to apprentice with a sorcerer soon, and I may know just the sorcerer,” Duane answered.

  “Who?”

  “What do you think about apprenticing her with Myron, of the House of Nordin?”

  Hayden frowned. “Myron? But we don’t know if he’s even still alive.” Then Hayden stopped and looked at Duane. “Or do you know something I don’t?”

  “He’s alive, and right now he’s with Glendymere in Willow Canyon,” Duane answered. “Yvonne knew that she was going to die, so she and Badec asked us to make arrangements to foster Myron on Earth. Xantha and I took him from the castle as soon as Yvonne became too weak to take care of him and met Pallor at the Gate House. Myron was on Earth by the time she died. That’s why no one on Terah had any idea where he was.”

  “I see. That explains why you were hanging around Badec’s castle so much about that time, and here I thought you were just smitten with Shelandra,” Hayden said with a grin.

  “Oh, I was in love with her all right, from the first day I saw her. Having to come up with a reason to hang around Badec’s just gave me the courage to pursue her. It worked out great for me.”

  Hayden nodded. “So Myron grew up on Earth? When did he return to Terah?”

  “Remember last spring when Badec became ill and I left for about a month? I was at Kalen’s, with Myron. Pallor brought him back last March.”

  “How old is he now, twenty-three? Isn’t he a little young to be training to be a sorcerer?”

  “He wasn’t scheduled to return until his twenty-fifth birthday, but we really had no choice under the circumstances.”

  “No, I don’t suppose you did,” Hayden said. “And he’s with Glendymere now? How in the world did you convince Glendymere to tutor him?”

  “We didn’t. Badec made all of the arrangements with Glendymere right after Yvonne died. When Pallor brought Myron back to Terah, Kalen, Xantha, and I tried to teach him as much as we could about life on Terah in the short period of time he was at the Gate House, and then we sent him on to Willow Canyon.”

  “Did Xantha fly him down?”

  “No, we thought he needed to spend a little time traveling through Terah, to sort of get a feel for the place, so we sent him down on horseback.”

  “Wasn’t that a bit risky? What if he’d been attacked? Or is he a warrior?”

  Duane laughed. “No, far from it. He has none of Badec’s physical prowess. Fortunately, Pallor brought over six companions to help him, and they were far more adept at defending themselves than he was, or at least five of them were. The sixth turned out to be a healer. One of the reasons we kept them at Kalen’s for three weeks was to teach them how to use our weapons.”

  “So we have seven people from Earth wandering around on Terah. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “So far it seems to have worked out pretty well. They weren’t too thrilled at first, but as time went by, they really got into the spirit of things.”

  “And now they’re living and working with Glendymere. That’s got to be interesting. I wonder how Blalick is handling all of this,” Hayden said with a chuckle. “Do you have any idea how things are going?”

  “I got a note from Glendymere last night. He said that Myron’s progressing well. He didn’t say anything about the others, but he’s arranged some war games for November. He wants to put Myron and his companions up against a squad of elves and dwarves, so the others must be working out all right. He asked me if Xantha and I wanted to come observe. We’re going down around the end of October.”

  Hayden frowned. “Are you planning to talk to Myron about
taking Landis on as an apprentice now?”

  “No. I was thinking about telling Glendymere about Landis and asking him if he thinks Myron will be ready to accept an apprentice by the time Landis is ready to start training.”

  “Is there any particular reason you want to apprentice her with Myron?”

  “For one thing, Myron’s not really an apprentice, he’s more like a student, and I think he would be more like a teacher with Landis than most sorcerers. A lot of sorcerers use their apprentices as glorified servants.”

  “That’s true.”

  “Another thing is that any sorcerer who accepts Landis is going to incur Rolan’s wrath. Glendymere would know if Myron’s going to be strong enough to protect her, don’t you think?”

  “Yes, I suppose he would. If nothing else, Myron’s elven blood should give him an edge over Rolan,” Hayden said thoughtfully. “But doesn’t he have to assume his seat at the council meeting next April?”

  “Yes, that’s the deadline.”

  “How long has he had with Glendymere? Four months? And he’ll have to leave in another four or five months? That’s not much time to learn to be a sorcerer. You do realize he may not survive his first month as Master Sorcerer, don’t you?” Hayden asked quietly.

  “That’s another reason I wasn’t going to say anything to Myron yet. I was just going to bring up the idea with Glendymere and get his reaction to it, but I wanted to talk to you and see what you thought about it before I mentioned it to him.”

  “If Myron’s half the man his father is, I would have no problem at all entrusting her safety to him, and if he’s anywhere near the sorcerer that Badec was, he could definitely train her to protect herself. I trust your judgment, Duane. So, talk to Glendymere, see what he has to say. If he thinks it’s a viable plan, I’ll find a reason to visit Myron after he’s settled in Camden. We can discuss it then.”