Sehalis Athmaza waved away the courier, conscious of the boy's surreptitious, curious eyes sweeping over his office as if searching for the answer to some profound but unidentifiable mystery. Non-mazei were tedious, at times. Hearing with satisfaction the boy's quickly retreating footsteps, the Adremaza turned his attention to the letter.
To Sehalis Athmaza, Adremaza of the Imperial Court of the Ethuveraz:
Greetings.
We write in a time of tumult and uncertainty as well as optimistic pride for our House. It was discovered that our son, Cala Goderi, has shown signs of the maza's gifts. He caused a runaway horse cart to splinter into pieces before it could harm one of his younger sisters at play, by simply outstretching his hands. As this was the first sign of maz in our town in many a year, you can understand that we find ourselves somewhat at a loss of how to help our son. An acquaintance suggested we write to you, Adremaza, and beg your assistance.
While we hold our son in deep affection and would not choose to part with him at such a tender age, we trust that instruction in his new talents would be worth the separation for the benefits of his control and confidence. We have taken the liberty of sending Cala to you in advance of your acceptance to beg your aid or otherwise direct him to an alternative apprenticeship, though we trust that our son will find favor within the Athmaz'are.
We are a poor household, Adremaza, but you may hold us responsible to provide for any expenses our son may incur while under your tutelage. With hope,
Enchera Goderi
"They seem quite eager to be rid of the boy," Sehalis thought, then shook his head to dismiss the ungenerous thought. He had heard the tale dozens of times before: some accident of fate triggering the manifestation of maz in a young person. Usually among the learned, a simple book on the subject could be acquired, which would be a sufficient explanation of how to control minor abilities. Many years ago, Varinechibel IV's great-great-great-grandfather had authorized the distribution of a large number of such manuals, which had since been updated and redistributed many times over. The emperors of the Ethuveraz historically recognized that such a measure was a deterrent to accidents and discontented power-wielders, as much as a recruitment tool for the Athmaz'are, which was sworn to loyalty to the Emperor.
But there were cases, such as this one, in which the families either believed the power too much for a book's instructions to sufficiently handle, or did not have the education to be able to make sense of it. The latter seemed likely in this case, Sehalis thought, noting that the letter appeared to have been dictated to, and somewhat embellished by, a public scribe. These were sometimes found in rural towns where schooling was unreliable or undervalued in the face of other challenges of survival. But destroying a horse cart was no small feat for one so young, especially in comparison to what was usually seen in young mazei. A maza's gifts most often revealed themselves first in less robust ways, such as levitating small objects, causing a spark of flame or waves on water, or turning objects momentarily invisible. Perhaps this—he checked the letter again—Cala was a dachenmaza in the making?
It would likely be a few more days until the boy would reach Cetho from that little farming village north of Amalo from which he was traveling. Sehalis prepared himself for the usual little traditions of reception.