“Did she have another with you?”
“There wasn’t any other,” he said.
“She brought you herself and tried immersion therapy?”
“That’s what it’s called?”
“It’s an ancient way of awakening water. There are reports of some having found their connection to the bonds in such a way, but we don’t practice it anymore. I’m surprised your mentor would even think to try it. I would have preferred she come to me with her concerns.”
“It’s okay. It didn’t work.”
“And now you think you have no potential to shape water.”
“I struggle. Without the bondar, I can’t do anything at all, and even with the bondar, all I managed to do was create moisture along the surface of it. That’s not nearly enough to convince me I have any water shaping ability.”
Master Wassa turned his gaze down to the bondars stacked along the tray. He organized them, sliding them along the surface of the metal tray, arranging them in a neat line. His lips moved as he counted, and when he was done, he looked up at Tolan. “You know the age of the oldest student known to reach water?”
“I don’t. That’s not something I spend much time looking into.”
“Have you wondered why we have students of different ages?”
“It’s part of the Selection, I suppose.”
“It’s all part of the Selection, and one thing we have learned about the Selection is that some shapers will be able to reach their potential earlier than others. But even those who fail to reach their potential are never fully excluded from the opportunity to be Selected. There are some who come to us barely able to shape, and with the proper training, we can draw out their potential. I haven’t given up on you, Shaper Ethar, and so I don’t want you to give up on you, either.”
Tolan looked down at the stack of bondars. If only he could grab one, he could use it and finally practice, but he would need to do so in a way that Master Wassa wouldn’t realize what he did. Now that he had come to him sharing his concern, any attempt to take a bondar and practice on his own time would be noticed.
Maybe there was a different approach.
“Who discovered the secret of the bondars?”
“Unfortunately, knowledge of the bondars has been lost,” Master Wassa said. “Some of us who have a particular attachment to the bonds have attempted to re-create them, but…”
“But what?”
“But we have been unable to do so. The knowledge of constructing the bondar is twofold. Not only is it understanding the element bond, but it’s also understanding the appropriate markings.”
Tolan looked down at the water bondar, thinking about the runes that had been used in creation of it. “Wouldn’t you just have to copy these?”
“Why do you think we have so many?”
Tolan thought he understood. “Someone copied the originals.”
“They used those to create others, and yet, the original is still the most powerful and the most effective.”
“Do you ever let students use the original?”
“The Academy has decided it would be unfortunate if something were to happen to those originals. We tried copies, and then copies of copies, but none was nearly as effective as the original bondars. And so, we keep them secure, tightly regulated and restricted, so as not to lose them. You understand, of course.”
Tolan nodded. He wondered if he could even copy one of the bondars. He had used the water bondar often enough that he was familiar with the shape, so that wouldn’t be the issue, and he had traced the runes enough times, going so far as to copy them on paper, so he could re-create them. Did that mean he could attempt to make his own bondar?
Maybe he didn’t need to take one from the water tower and Master Wassa. He didn’t need to risk angering him. It might be a copy of a copy, or even a poor replica, but it was more than what he had now. And if it worked, he could practice.
“Thank you, Master Wassa. You’ve given me something to think about.”
“I hope you realized you shouldn’t give up on yourself, Shaper Ethar.”
“No. I haven’t given up on myself. I will continue to do everything I can to learn from you.”
“I would advise you to do everything you can to learn from each of your instructors, Shaper Ethar. Water is but one element, and when you’re here, the intent is that all of our students will learn to master each of the elements.”
“I thought there were some shapers who came to the Academy who never mastered all of the elements.”
“They may never master all of the elements without the use of a bondar, but all students should be able to shape, to draw forth that power, even if it requires assistance.”
When Tolan finally joined Jonas in the hallway, his friend looked over at him. “What was that about? Were you trying to get some extra tutoring from Master Wassa?”
“I was having a question answered, and I think I have an idea of how I can get a better handle on water.” And if it worked with water, maybe it would work with earth and wind. How much better might he be if he had a bondar for each of the elements?
“Why do I get the sense I’m not going to like this?” Jonas asked.
“You don’t have to be a part of it.”
“If you’re going to become some superpowered shaper, I’m definitely going to be a part of it. What do you intend to do?”
As they reached the end of the hallway, Tolan cast a glance back at the water classroom and smiled. “I’m going to make a nyamin. I’m going to make a water bondar.”
14
It was late and Tolan remained holed up in his room, lying on the bed with the length of wood under the covers with him, trying to carve the shape he remembered of the nyamin. Even as he worked at the wood, he wasn’t able to draw out the shapes he thought he needed. He tried, carving slowly, drawing his knife along the surface, but it didn’t work nearly as neatly as he had hoped.
And this was his tenth attempt.
The door to the room opened and Tolan glanced over to see Wallace flopping down on the bed. He carried a stack of books and the corners of his eyes were wrinkled, his face drawn and weary.
“What is it, Wallace? Where have you been?”
“With Master Heron. He’s determined to make sure I can reach fire. It’s the one element where I’ve managed nothing more than smoke, and only with the bondar.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s had me working near enormous flames, out in the sun, anything that hot. It’s like torture, Tolan.”
“I can imagine. Marcella threw me in the ocean.”
He sat up, leaning on one elbow. “She did what?”
Tolan nodded. He hadn’t even told Jonas or Ferrah about it yet, so why was he telling Wallace? They weren’t particularly close, though they roomed together. Yet there was something about shared misery that made him feel a little better. “She claimed it would awaken water shaping within me. She called it shock therapy.”
“Did it work?” Wallace asked. He sat on the edge of his bed, leaning forward. Only then did Tolan realize the other man’s shirt was completely stained, soaked with sweat, and there were certain marks all along it, but other places had been charred away. What exactly had Wallace been forced to do? Whatever shaping he’d been put through had clearly been brutal, and possibly as brutal as getting thrown into the ocean.
“I wish it had. I felt like I nearly died, though I suspect she was in control of the situation the entire time so I wasn’t really going to. When I was lying there, drowning, I didn’t feel any sort of stirring of water the way I think she intended.”
“Why didn’t you swim?”
“I don’t know how to swim.”
Wallace just stared at him and after a moment, he started laughing almost hysterically. “And here I thought Master Heron was bad. At least he didn’t try to drown me.”
“From the looks of it, he tried to burn you instead.”
“Yeah. The last was one time in
the kitchen. He had me near the oven, and it felt as if I was baking. When we were done, I felt like I needed to dump a bucket of water on my head. If I were any worse a water shaper, I might not have survived.” He caught himself, his eyes widening. “Oh, Great Mother, Tolan. I didn’t mean anything by that.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“I think they’re all agitated these days.”
“Who?”
“The masters. They worry about the attacks.”
Tolan squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t think Wallace knew he’d been there for them but wasn’t certain. “Have there been any more?”
“Not from what I’ve heard, but they wouldn’t tell us anyway. From what I can tell, they think the disciples are looking for something.”
Tolan turned away. The Convergence.
“Which is why I think the masters are trying to push us along. They want us to be safe. Plus, testing for the next level has to be soon.”
Tolan had been trying not to dwell on that. He hadn’t progressed all that far from where he’d been when he’d passed the first test. What would happen when he was tested? More likely than not, he’d fail.
He sighed. “I’m not sure burning and drowning students is a way to keep us safe.”
Wallace laughed softly. “What are you doing with those things?”
Tolan glanced down at the lengths of branches he had stacked on the end of his bed. Wallace was a skilled water shaper, so maybe he could help. And if the masters were concerned about the disciples, maybe they wouldn’t care that he had been trying this.
“I’ve been trying to carve a bondar. I thought if I had my own, I’d be able to practice outside of class.”
“You’re doing what?”
Tolan held out the length of wood he had been carving. When Wallace stared at it, Tolan could only shrug. “I’ve been trying to carve my own bondar. I thought if I could create something out of it, then I might be able to shape some of the element bonds I struggle with a little bit easier.”
“But bondars are tied to the element bonds in a specific way.”
“Through these runes,” Tolan said, holding up a sheet of paper. He had carefully written down the runes for each of the different bondars, making sure he had re-created the shape of the runes as closely as he could. If he could use that knowledge, and could use the runes, he thought he just might be able to create the same sort of shapes.
“I’d never considered trying to create a bondar,” Wallace said.
“I don’t know if it’s even possible. Master Wassa said the ones we use in our classroom aren’t even the originals. They’re copies of much more effective originals. They don’t let the students use the original bondars. They don’t want us to damage them, fearing if we were to somehow damage them, they would lose access to them. If they did that, there would be no way of re-creating them.”
“They don’t know how to make them anymore?”
“I guess not. They can copy the ones already made, but it seems they can’t make new ones.”
Wallace reached for the sheet of paper and took it from him. He stared at the page, fixed on the various runes, and then handed it back to Tolan. “Even with this, I’m not sure there’s any way of re-creating it.”
“So far, I can’t,” he said.
“What have you tried?”
“Mostly, I’ve tried to use different types of wood, but that doesn’t seem to be effective. I try to carve the shape, but I’m not sure I’m doing it all that well.”
“Have you tried shaping it?”
“The only thing I can shape is fire, and even that’s not all that effective.”
“I wonder what would happen if someone did have some shaping talent,” Wallace said.
Tolan tried not to take the slight as an insult. He knew Wallace didn’t mean it in that way, but it was hard not to think of it as some sort of insult. He didn’t need others reminding him.
“You’re welcome to try,” he said.
“I’m not sure I would be able to do it,” he said. “I’ve seen the one for water. I’ve spent some time trying to use it, but…”
“But you didn’t need it for very long,” Tolan said.
Wallace shook his head. “I didn’t. I still think it might involve you shaping some part of it.”
If that was what it was, then Tolan might be out of luck. He knew the shape of the bondar, but didn’t have anyone who could help him re-create it. And that was what was needed.
His idea of creating a bondar to help had failed before he even got a chance to get started. That left him with the options of once again attempting to take one of the bondars from the classrooms. If he did that—and got caught—the repercussions would be potentially significant.
Ferrah had taken a bondar. He’d have to see what she’d done. Maybe there was some way for her to help him.
“If you figure it out, let me know.”
“I didn’t think you needed the bondar to shape.” Wallace was a skilled shaper with most of the elements. He wasn’t the strongest shaper, but he had talent, and for the most part, he kept quiet about it, avoiding notice. There were times Tolan wished he would be able to avoid notice. He didn’t want to draw the attention of so many others—and certainly not others like Draln.
“It’s not so much I need the bondar to shape, but there is value in having access to something created by shapers with a significant connection to the element bonds.”
Tolan stared at the page with his notes. “Why do you think that is?”
Wallace shrugged. “It was a time before the elementals were forced into the bond. Maybe that somehow made them better connected.”
Surprisingly, that made a strange sort of sense. Regardless of whether or not the elementals were dangerous, there was power that came from them, and having access to that power would probably make any shaper more talented. But then, Tolan had seen how the runes also made that power more impressive. There had to be some way to learn about the runes, to figure out how he could use them in a way to augment his weak abilities. Maybe that was going to be the key more so than trying to master shaping.
“You would think that with as long as the Academy has studied the element bonds, they would be talented at the intricacies involved within them,” he said.
“With the bonds, and maybe with those markings,” Wallace said, nodding to the page Tolan held. “But there are other aspects of shaping they simply abandoned.”
“Are you suggesting it was a mistake to separate the elementals from the world?”
Wallace frowned, and his entire body went tense. Tolan realized too late he’d made a mistake. An accusation like that wouldn’t go over well, and he wouldn’t expect it to. He should have known better than to say something like that, considering his experience when he was younger.
“I didn’t mean it like that, Wallace. I was just suggesting—”
Wallace gathered his things and stood. “You should be careful, Ethar. Trying to make a shaping like that can be dangerous. Especially if the wrong person sees it.”
Wallace walked from the room, his back rigid. Tolan glanced down at his notes, sighing. He should have known better than to speak so openly. What had he even thought about doing? There was no point in attempting to irritate his roommate, and though he wasn’t necessarily close to Wallace, it wasn’t that he disliked the man. He’d rather have a connection to him. He had few enough friends as it was.
Tolan took a moment to gather his belongings and headed out of the room. Voices near one end suggested there were students working in the hall, probably preferring to stay near the protected areas where shapings wouldn’t impact anything. Tolan hadn’t figured out how those areas were particularly safe, though he suspected runes were a part of it. Somehow, the runes were more of a factor than he had ever known.
Maybe there was one way to learn more about the bondars and the runes. He hadn’t spent much time in the library since the attacks on the city, and had to wonder if there was any
thing in there he might be able to uncover. Master Minden might share with him, though she had certain things she preferred to keep secret. Like all of the master shapers, they knew certain teachings not meant for low-level students.
When he reached the library, he found it relatively busy. Most of the tables had students sitting at them, some by themselves, but others in groups of two or three. He scanned the room, wondering whether Ferrah might be here, but didn’t find her. Maybe she was out with her private sessions, but he didn’t know she was scheduled to have any today.
Master Jensen sat up on the dais, scratching notes in a binder resting next to him. Tolan doubted he was the only master librarian on duty; there were far too many students here for a single master librarian. Where were the others? It didn’t have to be Master Minden. Master Stole could be here, or one of the others who weren’t here nearly as frequently.
It was too busy to look for information about runes or bondars. That was something he should do when there weren’t nearly so many students around. He’d learned that coming at slower times made it far more likely to get the information he wanted.
Tolan made a slow circuit of the library, looking for familiar faces. He recognized some of the second-level students but didn’t know them very well. Other than the few students he had interacted with while playing Imaginarium, he didn’t know the others. A couple of first-level students were clustered at one end of the room, and Tolan avoided them, not wanting to raise any more questions about him or his motivations.
At the back corner, where the shelves intersected, he paused near a ladder. Rails along the upper portion of the shelves allowed the ladders to be slid along the walls to reach the upper shelves and considering the massive scope of the library and how high the walls stretched, ladders like that were needed in order to maximize the space. A narrow winding staircase led to a second level over two stories above, and more shelves with more ladders ran along the walls there. The library was massive.
There had to be something in here that would help him learn more about the runes and about bondars. The librarians protected that knowledge, and in order to discover what he wanted to know, he would need to ask the right question. He couldn’t simply go up to Master Minden and demand she shared what she knew about bondars and runes. She’d already made a point of telling him runes were reserved for older students.
The Earth Awakens (Elemental Academy Book 2) Page 17