Chapter 4
*
Author's Note: This took a while for the simple reason that I felt extremely unmotivated. This could be fixed by the simple method of sending in reviews. Except if they are critical reviews. That will make me even less motivated.
Here's how it goes; if you praise me and worship me, I get motivated. If you depress me, I get unmotivated. If you really, really piss me off, I write lots just to spite you. If you merely irritate me, I will not write much. Follow these simple guidelines for reviewing success.
If you make suggestions about the next chapter (on the condition that they are possible and constructive) I will normally at least consider them. If you make suggestions that I should change something I've already written, I will ignore you and hate you forever.
*
Elspeth turned to face her. She did not stare at Vho, or seem astounded by her skin colour, but judging by the fact that the person next to her was obviously one of the exotic 'hawk brothers', this was not surprising. It appeared she had seen stranger things than someone with dark colouring.
"You broke the shield." She said slowly. It was not a question.
"How?" asked Darkwind.
Vho swallowed nervously, but allowed no sign of it to show on her face. "The shield was powerful, but it is an easy spell to break. It is normally the first shield taught to apprentices - to protect them from generalised mage blasts, not from specific attacks."
Both Elspeth and Darkwind - and the gryphons, though it was less obvious - looked as though they had been hit on the back of the head with a board.
"But - it's a spell I've never seen before!" Elspeth protested. "And there was no sign of how to break it from the outside!"
Vho was astounded. "There were holes in it. It was easy enough to get through, once I got to the front of the link."
The blank expression was back. Treyvan shook it off first.
"How wasss it that you werrre able to move yourself in a fixed link?" Treyvan rumbled.
"I - don't know," Vho confessed slowly. "I think it was the Companions. There was a web, linked to the mage-meld in some places. I used that."
"How?" All four demanded practically in unison.
"I don't know." Vho confessed again. "Maybe I'm just different."
:Yes,: agreed Edern. :And that is why you are so important here.:
*
The mages continued to question her until the Gryphons acerbically remarked that she had a language lesson. But even then, Vho was still amazed at their lack of knowledge about things she felt were very basic. Imagine not being able to magnify their mage sight until they could see the 'tiny' holes in a shield. Imagine not being able to get through one of those holes 'because it was too small'. Size meant nothing in magic!
It was the shield that was really puzzling her, however. If the commonplace spell was unknown here, it cast a suspicion that the caster was from the Haileigh Empire. And that was very strange, for anyone attempting to use magic for ill in the Haileigh Empire was stripped of their gift and cast out. And this mage, whoever he was, had obviously been trained in the same magic as Vho . . .
"Well," Hydona concluded the lesson. "You cerrtainly have a gift forrr languagesss youngling. I believe that you can now join the classsess with the otherrr trraineesss."
That certainly managed to put all thought of magic out of Vho's mind.
"Really?" she asked eagerly. "That would be wonderful!"
Treyvan, however, looked very troubled. "Maybe it'sss not sssuch a good idea," he said worriedly. "You'rrre going to be needed forr the mage-linksss. Perrhapss you shouldn't tie up yourr time with classess."
"But I want to learn!" protested Vho. "I want to meet the other trainees! I'm already too far behind. Please say I can join the rest of the colegium?"
And so the next day, Vho went to the first of her new classes.
*
The trainees gazed at her in astonishment as she entered the dining room for the first time. They would have heard rumours about her, of course, but she had not yet eaten with the others, thinking that it would be too confusing when she didn't speak the language.
Vho sat down at a table, feeling acutely uncomfortable. A cheerful blonde girl a few years Vho's junior dropped into the seat opposite.
"Hi. You must be Vho." she smiled at Vho, and Vho smiled back. "I'm Mara. I'm one of your new year mates."
As if taking their cue from her, other trainees slipped into seats around the table. They were all in her year-group. As well as Mara, there was Merin, Mara's twin brother, Erich, Stev, Doric and Pena.
The group instantly made her feel more at ease. Mara and Merin were twelve years old, but The quiet, dark haired Pena was nineteen, two years older than Vho. Erich, Stev and Doric were ranged between them.
However, she would not spend long with her new classmates. The first class was history of the realm. Vho was just getting interested when a page looked through the door.
"'Scuse me, Herald," the boy panted. "Lady Elspeth and Lord Darkwind need Trainee Vho to come to the Mage's colegium, urgently."
The elderly Herald taking the class looked surprised. "Well, alright, Vho, if you could . . . ?"
But Vho was already leaving the room.
She did not wait for the servant, but ran down the corridors towards the door. She ran across the grounds to the observation tower that was part of the mage colegium, and ran up the stairs. This time only a few people stood at the top of the tower.
"Vho, I hope you can do what you did last time," Elspeth said tersely. "These are the Adept mages. I haven't called in the others. Now link!"
This time was different; the others joined the meld behind Vho, and she was in complete, uncontested control. She could, however, feel the hovering double-presence behind her, ready to catch her if she failed. It was oddly comforting.
The shield surrounding the village was different this time; tighter, more secure. Vho looked in vain for a hole, but she could not see. Desperately, she traced it back to its creator.
Suddenly their was a nauseating twist of perspective, and Vho saw the shield from - underneath? From the side? It was baffling. There was a vague concentration surrounding her, but she ignored it and reached out to break the spell. She found out how, and reached to the meld for power - and they were gone!
Terrified, Vho cast about for an alternate source of power. And it was there, closer than she had ever thought it would be, as easy to reach as her own magic, but a thousand times as powerful. The power was already moving - Towards the shield? Part of her asked incredulously - but she stopped it with no effort at all and used it to snap the bindings on the shield.
Then came bafflement, and rage, from somewhere external yet strangely part of her. Vho sought a way out - any escape from this confusing place where her mind was not her own. She was no longer connected to Elspeth and Darkwind at all, but their was one silver blue figure that she could still reach. She clung to Edern, wishing now for the blasphemic mindspeech so she could call for help. However, he was somehow enough of an anchor to pull her back, and with a huge relief, Vho returned to her own body.
*
This Chapter is now finished. Try to guess what's going to happen. (Kirsty isn't allowed to guess, because I've already told her.)
Remember what I said about reviews!
*
Author's Note: This took a while for the simple reason that I felt extremely unmotivated. This could be fixed by the simple method of sending in reviews. Except if they are critical reviews. That will make me even less motivated.
Here's how it goes; if you praise me and worship me, I get motivated. If you depress me, I get unmotivated. If you really, really piss me off, I write lots just to spite you. If you merely irritate me, I will not write much. Follow these simple guidelines for reviewing success.
If you make suggestions about the next chapter (on the condition that they are possible and constructive) I will normally at least consider them. If you make suggestions that I should change something I've already written, I will ignore you and hate you forever.
*
Elspeth turned to face her. She did not stare at Vho, or seem astounded by her skin colour, but judging by the fact that the person next to her was obviously one of the exotic 'hawk brothers', this was not surprising. It appeared she had seen stranger things than someone with dark colouring.
"You broke the shield." She said slowly. It was not a question.
"How?" asked Darkwind.
Vho swallowed nervously, but allowed no sign of it to show on her face. "The shield was powerful, but it is an easy spell to break. It is normally the first shield taught to apprentices - to protect them from generalised mage blasts, not from specific attacks."
Both Elspeth and Darkwind - and the gryphons, though it was less obvious - looked as though they had been hit on the back of the head with a board.
"But - it's a spell I've never seen before!" Elspeth protested. "And there was no sign of how to break it from the outside!"
Vho was astounded. "There were holes in it. It was easy enough to get through, once I got to the front of the link."
The blank expression was back. Treyvan shook it off first.
"How wasss it that you werrre able to move yourself in a fixed link?" Treyvan rumbled.
"I - don't know," Vho confessed slowly. "I think it was the Companions. There was a web, linked to the mage-meld in some places. I used that."
"How?" All four demanded practically in unison.
"I don't know." Vho confessed again. "Maybe I'm just different."
:Yes,: agreed Edern. :And that is why you are so important here.:
*
The mages continued to question her until the Gryphons acerbically remarked that she had a language lesson. But even then, Vho was still amazed at their lack of knowledge about things she felt were very basic. Imagine not being able to magnify their mage sight until they could see the 'tiny' holes in a shield. Imagine not being able to get through one of those holes 'because it was too small'. Size meant nothing in magic!
It was the shield that was really puzzling her, however. If the commonplace spell was unknown here, it cast a suspicion that the caster was from the Haileigh Empire. And that was very strange, for anyone attempting to use magic for ill in the Haileigh Empire was stripped of their gift and cast out. And this mage, whoever he was, had obviously been trained in the same magic as Vho . . .
"Well," Hydona concluded the lesson. "You cerrtainly have a gift forrr languagesss youngling. I believe that you can now join the classsess with the otherrr trraineesss."
That certainly managed to put all thought of magic out of Vho's mind.
"Really?" she asked eagerly. "That would be wonderful!"
Treyvan, however, looked very troubled. "Maybe it'sss not sssuch a good idea," he said worriedly. "You'rrre going to be needed forr the mage-linksss. Perrhapss you shouldn't tie up yourr time with classess."
"But I want to learn!" protested Vho. "I want to meet the other trainees! I'm already too far behind. Please say I can join the rest of the colegium?"
And so the next day, Vho went to the first of her new classes.
*
The trainees gazed at her in astonishment as she entered the dining room for the first time. They would have heard rumours about her, of course, but she had not yet eaten with the others, thinking that it would be too confusing when she didn't speak the language.
Vho sat down at a table, feeling acutely uncomfortable. A cheerful blonde girl a few years Vho's junior dropped into the seat opposite.
"Hi. You must be Vho." she smiled at Vho, and Vho smiled back. "I'm Mara. I'm one of your new year mates."
As if taking their cue from her, other trainees slipped into seats around the table. They were all in her year-group. As well as Mara, there was Merin, Mara's twin brother, Erich, Stev, Doric and Pena.
The group instantly made her feel more at ease. Mara and Merin were twelve years old, but The quiet, dark haired Pena was nineteen, two years older than Vho. Erich, Stev and Doric were ranged between them.
However, she would not spend long with her new classmates. The first class was history of the realm. Vho was just getting interested when a page looked through the door.
"'Scuse me, Herald," the boy panted. "Lady Elspeth and Lord Darkwind need Trainee Vho to come to the Mage's colegium, urgently."
The elderly Herald taking the class looked surprised. "Well, alright, Vho, if you could . . . ?"
But Vho was already leaving the room.
She did not wait for the servant, but ran down the corridors towards the door. She ran across the grounds to the observation tower that was part of the mage colegium, and ran up the stairs. This time only a few people stood at the top of the tower.
"Vho, I hope you can do what you did last time," Elspeth said tersely. "These are the Adept mages. I haven't called in the others. Now link!"
This time was different; the others joined the meld behind Vho, and she was in complete, uncontested control. She could, however, feel the hovering double-presence behind her, ready to catch her if she failed. It was oddly comforting.
The shield surrounding the village was different this time; tighter, more secure. Vho looked in vain for a hole, but she could not see. Desperately, she traced it back to its creator.
Suddenly their was a nauseating twist of perspective, and Vho saw the shield from - underneath? From the side? It was baffling. There was a vague concentration surrounding her, but she ignored it and reached out to break the spell. She found out how, and reached to the meld for power - and they were gone!
Terrified, Vho cast about for an alternate source of power. And it was there, closer than she had ever thought it would be, as easy to reach as her own magic, but a thousand times as powerful. The power was already moving - Towards the shield? Part of her asked incredulously - but she stopped it with no effort at all and used it to snap the bindings on the shield.
Then came bafflement, and rage, from somewhere external yet strangely part of her. Vho sought a way out - any escape from this confusing place where her mind was not her own. She was no longer connected to Elspeth and Darkwind at all, but their was one silver blue figure that she could still reach. She clung to Edern, wishing now for the blasphemic mindspeech so she could call for help. However, he was somehow enough of an anchor to pull her back, and with a huge relief, Vho returned to her own body.
*
This Chapter is now finished. Try to guess what's going to happen. (Kirsty isn't allowed to guess, because I've already told her.)
Remember what I said about reviews!