Enigma & Kat: Thank you!
Dogewa: It won't always stay at this pace, but currently the development of the relationships between the characters is important for the further development of the story.
Regarding Regin: The duel has not (yet) taken place, Sonea has just finished her first year. Accordingly, she has not yet defeated Regin for all to see and is suffering from his hostility. I will not reveal whether the duel will take place. I can only say this much: it can't lead to it the way it happens in the books.
As for Osen: he is and will remain a minor character and I am still unsure how many appearances he will get. Actually, I like him.
Yalishandela: I like the Guild chapters in the original the best too. However, I also really like Dannyl and Cery, even if they play a bit too big a role in between. As for this fanfic, I deliberately decided against chapters with them because I want to focus on Lorlen, Akkarin and Sonea.
And as for chapter 11 - here it is, so judge for yourself how much different it is.
With long strides, Akkarin crossed the court in front of the university, ignoring the few mages who greeted him. It was Friday, so the High Lord had decided to take the official route from his residence to the Mage Library instead of the hidden passages.
He had sent word to Sonea in the morning through her servant that he would meet her in the library after noon. He had also given her a list of chapters from books to read. It had proved useful to let Sonea work out the material and then discuss it with her.
After he had given his novice her assignments, he had gone to see Lord Jullen. He did not have time to visit the library with Sonea every time, so he had instructed the librarian to let her in alone. Then, finally, he had been able to attend to his real duties as High Lord.
When Akkarin arrived at the library, his novice was already waiting for him at one of the work tables, in front of her some sheets of paper. Glancing at them, he noticed that her handwriting had improved, though not her spelling. Perhaps he should tutor her in these things too, it would make her life easier later. Akkarin decided to think about it later and gestured to her to tell him what she had learned.
He had had her read a few chapters on magical combat. Martial arts was the one subject in which Sonea neither showed much enthusiasm nor had good grades. Akkarin hoped that at least the former would change after their conversation the night before. Either way, he had decided that she needed additional lessons in martial arts and he already knew who should take them.
But for now, Sonea didn't start a little lecture on what she had read, as she usually did, but asked, "why are we working here? Is it because of the rumours?" Akkarin nodded. "Do you think this will help?" she continued.
"Ah, this especially calms the higher mages. Soon it will be break time and that will give the guild more interesting things to talk about," he explained. He hoped he was right.
Sonea stared thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. The subject seemed to be settled for her and she finally began to explain to him what she had learned. As he listened to her, Akkarin noticed with growing displeasure the gathering mages who all seemed to be paying random visits to the library. 'I should have known better,' he thought, and then considered what to do about it. Either, he ignored them and waited for them to get bored, or he sent them away.
Lord Jullen solved this dilemma for him. With lips pinched together, he stepped up to assembled mages and interrupted Sonea's quiet lecture, "High Lord, do you wish to continue your lessons in a slightly less frequented room?" he asked politely, scowling at the others. Akkarin suppressed a small laugh as he saw the embarrassed faces of the indirectly scolded mages. One or two took advantage of the moment to slip away inconspicuously without a book, but most stayed. Akkarin glanced at Sonea, who was clearly uncomfortable with the situation, and then decided that a little more self-awareness would do her good. A little audience might do just that.
"Thank you, Lord Jullen, we'll stay here," he replied, now in turn turning his gaze to the assembled mages. He spotted Rothen among them, along with his son and Lord Garrel. He was not surprised to find them here. Lord Rothen had never stopped keeping an eye on Sonea and Lord Garrel did the same, only with different intentions. Ever since Lorlen had pointed it out to him the night before, Akkarin had thought about it and finally talked to Takan about it. His loyal servant was his eyes and ears among the guild's employees and often had interesting things to say. So also about Lord Garrel and his novice.
Lord Jullen nodded in agreement and departed. Akkarin motioned Sonea to continue. She looked at her notes for a moment, frowning, then continued, "To defeat a stronger opponent, you must trick him into wasting magic. There are some tricks to do that" She read what she had written for a moment and then sighed. "Peregrin lists some ways to do this in his book, but they didn't really make sense to me".
Akkarin raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"
Sonea thought for a moment how best to answer the question, then opened one of the books on the table at a marked spot. " Here it says that you should deceive the opponent's mage about the strength of the blows. If the opponent is only a little stronger this may be effective, but what about a much stronger mage? And here" She pointed to another paragraph. "You are supposed to use illusions, but illusions consume far too much power and concentration".
Accurately, Sonea had spotted the weakness of most strategies against stronger mages. The High Lord was proud of her, but he was careful not to let her notice. Besides, she was leaving out an important point: "And how often do you know how strong your opponent is?"
Sonea looked him in the eye for a moment before lowering her gaze to her notes again. "Probably never," she murmured, "Unless you've fought the same opponent before" Her gaze darkened and Akkarin had a hunch she was thinking of Regin. He knew from her martial arts teacher that she was inferior to him in every lesson, though she was probably even stronger.
Akkarin put his fingertips together and looked at her steadfastly. "Ah, you speak of duels in the arena. There you often know your opponent's magical reserves very well" His gaze wandered into the distance as he thought of how he and Lorlen had always pushed each other to the limits of their strength. "Lorlen's potential is not that dissimilar to mine, yet I always defeated him in the arena. Do you have any idea why?"
Sonea shook her head.
"Because my strategy was the more considered one. Lorlen tended to put too much power into his shield and attack in ever similar patterns"
"So Lord Peregrin's point is that you have to surprise your opponent?" concluded Sonea.
The High Lord tilted his head a little and thought about it for a moment. "You could call it that" Then a thought occurred to him. Perhaps a demonstration of the subject matter would be quite useful. "Pack your things, we will continue this lesson in the Dome".
The Dome had not been used since the arena existed. Besides, they were protected from prying eyes there.
Although it was freezing cold outside, Lorlen opened the window to his office to let a little fresh air into the stuffy room. Since dawn, he had been working through the requests that Osen had sorted out for him. Most were nonsensical or far too expensive and Lorlen rejected them, but there were also some that made perfect sense. Now it was already afternoon and the administrator had not eaten all day, let alone taken a break.
Only now did Lorlen realise how hungry he actually was and decided it was time for a late lunch. Carefully he closed the window again, his gaze falling on a tall, black figure and a short one in brown novice robes. Sonea carried writing utensils in her arms and seemed to be talking to Akkarin, at least she kept glancing at him. From a distance it was hard to see if they were talking. Just before they reached the High Lord's residence, they both stopped. Akkarin seemed to say something, then Sonea bowed and made off towards the university, while Akkarin kept going towards the residence.
Lorlen shook his head involuntarily. He had no idea why he had been watching the two of them. And yet something in their behaviour had caught his attention. Or was he just imagining it because someone had spread rumours about them? He himself had noticed earlier that Sonea had become a little more relaxed in Akkarin's presence. The administrator chided himself for being a fool. 'She still fears him. Besides, the aim of these rumours was to create doubt', he explained to himself.
Lost in thought, he left his office and put a magic lock on the door before making his way to the dining hall. But he did not get far. He had just turned into the main corridor when he heard someone calling Sonea. Without a conscious decision, Lorlen stopped and listened.
"Sonea, wait," said this someone again. Lorlen did not recognise the voice, but it was male. Sonea said nothing, but she must have stopped. At least Lorlen could hear no one in the almost deserted building and the footsteps had fallen silent.
"I am Dorrien, Lord Rothen's son," the young mage introduced himself. Lorlen frowned. It was really a good thing he hadn't ignored the matter.
"I need introduce myself to you no more," Sonea remarked. She sounded defensive. "How can I help you, Lord Dorrien?"
"I want to get to know you. My father has written of you so often that I feel as if I already know you."
Lorlen suppressed a giggle. That sounded richly exaggerated. At the same time, the matter worried him. Akkarin would certainly not be pleased if he knew of this.
"I'm sorry, Lord Dorrien, but I don't have time for this," Sonea rebuffed. "I really do have a lot to do"
"I could help you study," the healer eagerly suggested. The administrator took a few steps towards the voices, but then stopped uncertainly. How did it seem if he came to Sonea's aid now? Wasn't that suspicious?
"Thank you for your offer, but I learn better alone. Now, if you will excuse me," she said the moment Lorlen started moving again. A few seconds later Lorlen saw her hurrying down the corridor towards the stairs and almost tripped over Dorrien who stepped out of one of the side corridors and looked after her.
Lorlen refrained from commenting on the matter. Instead, he finally made his way down to get something to eat, wondering incessantly if Lord Rothen had sent Dorrien or if the latter had acted out of his own motivation. Should he tell Akkarin about it?
Satisfied, Akkarin let his gaze wander over the arrangement on the table. Something to write with, the box with his dagger, a normal potted plant, next to it a bowl of water and some books on black magic. In one corner of the room, a Harrel sat in a small cage and looked around anxiously.
A knock jolted him out of his contemplation of the teaching materials and with a little push of his magic he made the door open. Sonea stood in front of it, her hands nervously knotted together. She looked around anxiously for a moment, then straightened her shoulders and entered resolutely. She even smiled a little as she faced him. He pointed to the only chair in the room and she sat down.
"Well, you know how to use black magic, still it's important to know the basics," he began his lesson. "Everything living has a protective barrier that is connected to the skin. This prevents someone from a great distance from using magic to enter another's body and, say, stop their heart. However, this barrier can be penetrated by certain types of magic such as healing magic. But this requires skin on skin contact. If the barrier is damaged, a mage can use this hole in the barrier to reach out and drain the other's magic. Also, a mage can lower his barrier willfully, as you did last night to give me your magic" He convinced himself with a quick glance that she could follow him before continuing. "Magic moves faster in liquids than in air or tissue, that's why it's easier to take someone else's magic when they're bleeding. A small amount is enough" He pointed at the objects in front of her. "I want you to examine their barriers and then tell me what the difference is" For a moment Sonea stared at the things in front of her, then the first thing she did was to place a hand on the plant and close her eyes. She did the same with the harrel and the water, then looked at him. "The barrier of the harrel feels similar to that of a human. The water has no barrier, but I can feel small life in it. Like many small, very thin barriers. The plant" She hesitated for a moment. "It feels strange. I can feel the life in it and that it's held together by something, but it's not very clear. Like it's blurring," she tried to explain.
Akkarin nodded at her appreciatively. She had unerringly realised that there were distinct differences in different life forms. "Good, now try to take their magic. There's a dagger in the box" Again Sonea chose the plant first. With the dagger she scored one of the leaves and then placed a hand on it. Concentrating, she closed her eyes. It took a while, but eventually he felt her absorb the power. It was almost like a ringing in his ears, similar to what he felt when the novices used their magic for the first time.
Sonea opened her eyes when she had finished. In the meantime, the plant had turned brown and withered. A little horrified, she stared at it.
"You must conceal your actions better, Sonea," he explained. "I clearly felt what you did" "And how do I do that?"
Akkarin called to Takan in his mind, who joined them almost instantly.
"I will show you on Takan, but be careful what you say in his presence. He doesn't want to learn how to do that for various reasons" Obediently Sonea nodded and Akkarin signalled for his servant to enter. The Sachakan's anticipation was hard for Akkarin to bear.
"Don't you dare kneel down," Akkarin barked at him when he saw the intent in his thoughts. Takan's disapproval was palpable, but the servant said nothing in response. Instead, he beamed at Sonea.
"I am glad you are helping the Master," he announced. Akkarin decided to pass over the remark.
"Takan will need the chair," he said. Blushing a little, Sonea stood up. Takan thanked her gallantly as always and held out his hand to her after he had sat down. "Take the knife and make a cut. You don't need much pressure, the blade is very sharp. The dagger was once forged with magic and is passed down from father to son in Sachaka," he explained and then waited until she was ready before placing his hands to her temples. Gently, he bypassed her mental barriers and then showed her what to do, then had her practice it again and again until he was satisfied with the result.
He withdrew from her mind and let her heal Takan before ending the lesson. There was still much for her to learn, but for now it was enough.
"Give me your magic, but keep enough that you will be fully regenerated tomorrow. We don't want you to be tired in class," he said. She held out her hands and sent him a steady stream of magic. Like the night before, it felt intimate and forbidden.
