This story will use several of the more obscure concepts of magic from the series as they fit within the story, but every main magical point raised is based on some part of the canon. For example, one bit of magic mentioned here is fully described in the Protector of the Small quartet.

The Emperor's Mage
Chapter Three: Falter

Somehow, when Daine had taken in the gems and jewels and opals on the man, she had forgotten that they were in Carthak. In Tortall, she would have looked away from all of the decoration to find someone practically swallowed by the colors and ready to tilt over from the weight of so many stones. When she met Arram's eyes by chance, she forgot entirely about her decision to think of him as a vain fraud.

They might have stood there for a full minute, neither moving, and Daine couldn't help but think that they were sizing each other up. She couldn't imagine how she would be competition for a mage that made Alanna nervous, but maybe he was one of the many people that had an exaggerated opinion of wild magic. Most people seemed to think she could control it fully, or that she'd be able to do any manner of things where she'd take the form of an animal or heal just through touch. All of the oldest stories about wild magic said as much, but in three years of studying she had learned to heal the usual way. Wounds that she sewed or cleaned still healed better, and the animals she treated forever seemed a bit smarter, but there was hardly any great magic to supplement the rather basic healer's kit she carried about. Her only benefit was speaking to the animals, even if she couldn't understand Skysong just yet.

His eyes really were very dark, even against the skin tanned darker than the Bazhir she had met. Alanna was still on good terms with a few of the tribes, and she had taken Daine for a weeks-long trip in the dead of winter two years before. Cloud had adamantly derailed all thoughts of finding Daine a second mount, but Daine had contented herself with meeting an entire new civilization of horses and the people that tended them.

Lindhall gripped her shoulder- rather harshly, she thought. She was about to say so, but Lindhall's mouth was drawn tight and he was glaring at his former student. Daine looked between the two of them, trying to imagine what had upset Lindhall, but Draper turned to speak with the Lioness after just a few moments.

"Are you well, Daine?" Lindhall asked, touching her hand gently. "I should have known he would- well, not that I knew him well, but I might have remembered that."

Daine patiently suffered through another few seconds of examination before pushing her teacher's hands away. "Lindhall. I'm perfectly well, my magical core is fine, and he didn't do anything."

"You were staring at him for the longest four minutes of my existence thus far, Veralidaine Sarrasri, and you wouldn't respond when I nudged you. I've probably left a bruise, now, but it was the only way to rouse you." Lindhall rested his hand on that same shoulder, either a nervous gesture or a peace offering. "You've heard all of us nattering on about how strong he is, but I should have provided more in the way of practical examples. You do remember what a reasonably Gifted mage can do to keep your attention?"

Daine's glance slid back toward the tall mage dressed in black. "He wasn't fiddling with any of those gemstones."

Lindhall looked paler than he had on the ship. It made Daine wonder just how much color her teacher would lose during their stay in Carthak. "I was remiss in your education, my dear. Every other mage that I have ever met requires a gem or some sort of object that catches the light to trap you. Duke Roger once caught Alanna just that way. Arram can catch you with his gaze alone, and if you don't know what he's doing, it takes strong outside interference to rouse you."

She supposed she was meant to be taken aback by the rather grim delivery, but Lindhall had lectured her since the king asked Daine to join the delegation. She was very tired of warnings, especially when she had followed every last one of his precious rules and he still was pushing at her. "He won't catch me again."

"Daine..."

"Lindhall. I am here to heal the emperor's birds, and that will be hard enough without you fussing over me any minute of the day. You're here to advise folk about Carthaki politics and because you would've had conniptions if I was here and you were home, and nobody wants to keep you sedated all that long." Daine detached her teacher's hand from her shoulder, but she did it gently. "If it happens even one more time, I'll... I'll hire a monkey to stay in my pocket and pinch me whenever I stay still for too long."

Lindhall would have protested, but Daine was not going to back down because some enemy mage liked staring at people. She had eased her way into the crowd of Tortallan delegates and Carthaki socialites before Lindhall could react. She wasn't thirteen anymore, and it was far past time that Lindhall Reed realized.