Chapter 21: Allies

Chapter 21: Allies

Allies

The previous year, on a night when a blizzard howled around the cabin, Kalens family had sat warming themselves by the fire and telling stories. At some point, the stories had turned into tall-tales about Yarda Strongback, who was definitely the largest woman on Hemarland and quite possibly the largest in the world.

Yarda was in her forties. She lived in Baitown. And though it was hardly worth mentioning when the description applied to so many people on an island with a small population, she was distantly related to Kalens father and uncle.

Like many of the adults on Hemarland, Yardas favorite winter pastime was wrestling. But unlike anyone else on the island, she was famous for refusing to spend the night under a roof unless all the men of the house who were known towrestle for sport agreed to wrestle her.

Kalen couldnt quite remember Yardas reasoning, though he supposed it must have something to do with demanding respect.

He did remember that he was upset to learn Yarda would never stay under his familys roof because the adults all had different opinions when it came to the matter of men and women engaging in combat with each other.

Kalens father and Aunt Jayne held that it shouldnt be done even if it was good-natured and by mutual agreement. Because it wasnt proper.

On the other hand, Uncle Holv and Kalens mother said that anyone who was brave enough to ask for a fight, and wise enough to know what theyd asked for, should get one.

Kalen felt Shelbas position was terribly hypocritical, given her own refusal to let him have his eighth birthday on schedule. So, hed sided with his father and declared that he would never fight a woman lest he bring dishonor to himself.

But when Zevnie interrupted his first ever life magic cantrip, trespassed on his rock, and slapped him for no reason, Kalen discovered he was every bit as much of a hypocrite as his mother.

The slap knocked him down onto hard stone. He lay there for a breath, dizzied by shock and adrenaline, then he yelled an incoherent battlecry and launched himself at the enemys knees.

Apparently unprepared for any retaliation, Zevnie shrieked and landed with an audible thwack. Her breath rushed out of her.

Kalen lunged. He landed on her stomach and grabbed hold of one of her arms, but he was still so scramble-brained from the sudden attack that he couldnt figure out what to do with the appendage. For a moment, he just sat on top of Zevnie, holding the arm and blinking at it stupidly.

Then the hand attached to the arm balled up in a fist and delivered a punch to his chin.

Kalen bit his tongue.

Zevnie tried to bite Kalens side but got a mouthful of his shirt instead.

Kalen successfully regained his feet and aimed a heel at Zevnies gut, only to miss when she repeated his earlier move and dove for his other knee. Kalen leaped out of the way, tripped, and ended up landing on her again, elbowing her solidly in the ribs in the process.

From that point on, the fight devolved even further. Both parties rolled around on top of the rock, slapping and yanking hair and screaming.

She was about to renew my apprenticeship!

Ill die before I let you kidnap me!

You lied to me, you horrible little boy!

Nobody asked you to come here!

I thought you were weak!

I thought you were back at the village!

You were tricking me all this time!

You were spying on me all this time!

I wont be replaced!

I wont be taken!This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

In hindsight, they would both realize the scuffle had continued for an embarrassingly long time before either of them finally listened to what the other was shouting about.

W-what do you mean kidnap? Zevnie panted, dropping the front of Kalens shirt so that he flopped onto the rock with a groan. Whos going to kidnap you?

Kalen shoved her away from him without answering. Gasping for air, his body stinging and throbbing in far too many places, he crawled over to his water flask. He took a drink, tasting more blood than water thanks to a split lip. Then, he poured some of the cool liquid over his skinned knees.

Sitting in an undignified sprawl a few feet away, Zevnie eyed the water flask pointedly.

Kalen didnt offer her any. You and your master, he said. I dont care if she is a sorcerer. Im not coming with her. If you try to take me away from Hemarland, Ill wait til your both asleep and jump off the boat.

Zevnie scoffed. You liar. You are out here practicing cantrips so that you can impress her!

Kalen stared at Zevnie.

She stared back.

I dont want to impress her, Kalen said slowly. Ive been trying to do the opposite of impressing her for weeks.

Ha! Then why are you performing cantrips? Nobody does those except to show off. She stood up and looked down her nose at him, but her superior expression was ruined by the fact that she was wobbling around with all her weight on one foot. Her other ankle seemed to be hurt.

I thought I was alone. Kalen frowned. You were supposed to be stuck at the village scrubbing your masters weird magical tools and arranging shells into spell diagrams andwhatever else it is you do. And I wasnt showing off! I always do cantrips. Theyre my favorite kind of working.

Zevnies mouth dropped open. You know more than one?

Im not stupid, said Kalen. I know several. This was a new one, though. And I was really excited about it, and I didnt even get to celebrate because you slapped me.

Zevnies whole body slumped. Soyou were faking everything this whole time? Your lack of knowledge and the trouble with the heating circle in your room andand is enchanting work even your natural inclination? Or was that a lie, too? Who is your master, and why are they avoiding Master Arlade?

Kalen knew he was in trouble, but it seemed to him that he was so deep in it now that there wasnt much point in hiding everything from her. It wasnt like he was going to shove Zevnie off the top of the rock to keep his secret. My best hope is persuading her not to tell her master about me.

Im really sorry I lied to you, Kalen lied. But Nanu said Master Arlade would want to take me away from the island if I was any good at magic, and I dont want to go! I dont want to leave my family. Please, please dont tell her.

Zevnies heavy brows drew in as she looked down at Kalen. She didn't answer.

Ill do anything you say! Kalen added quickly. He was sweating, and he thought it was from more than just the fight. What if the sorcerer was so mad about the deception that she took it out on Kalens family and Nanu?

I didnt lie about everything! Im only decent at cantrips and one breath thrawning and a few heating spells and some other little things. But Im much slower at activating circles than you are! I didn't even know someone could be as fast as you. And Im not hiding another master somewhere. Theres only Nanu. And my inclination really might be enchanting! Maybe. I dont think it is, but I dont know for sure that it isnt. And

What do you mean you are only decent at cantrips? Zevnie interrupted. Now her eyebrows looked like they were trying to escape into her hairline. Thats not even a good lie.

Its true! Kalen said. LookIwait just a second. Wait right there!

He scrambled to his feet and grabbed Cantripy of the Sorcerer Brou from where hed dropped it when he started the seed cantrip.

Kalen laughed.

Zevnie didnt.

Umwhat else would I be?

Part spirit, she said seriously. Or maybe part sea person.

Arent spirits just the ghosts of the dead? And the sea people arent real.

No, they were real. Theyve all been dead for many years, but they were. And they still have a few descendants. On Makeeran, there was a girl born with gills only a century ago, and when they tried to burn her, the ocean boiled.

While Kalen was trying to figure out if this story was the truth or if Zevnie was making a dark joke, the apprentice was pulling things out of her bagher own flask of water and a length of bright red yarn.

Look here, she said, showing them to him. Pretend my flask is full of raw mana. You are the yarn. You have just performed a difficult working and you need to perform another, but you are all dried up. How do you perform the next spell?

Is this a lesson? It felt like one. Kalen was still a little off-footed by the oath and the apprentices reaction to him giving it. Are you really going to teach me for the next three days? he asked.

Yes. Do whatever you want with the yarn. But this is a metaphor for yourself, so try to make it accurate. I need to understand how you cast your cantrips.

Rather intrigued by the idea, Kalen set to it with a will. He cut the red yarn into pieces with his pocet knife and made a tangled shape on the stone, fraying the ends of the yarn to represent his narrowest internal pathways. He made a vaguely circular shape out of a few of these frayed pieces. To represent the sympathetic pattern of a working, he explained to Zevnie. Only it would take me longer than this, really, because the pieces like to tangle together.

Zevnie watched him silently until he asked for her to pass him the flask. Now, since you are empty, you must take in the mana you need for your working, she said as she handed it to him. How do you do it? How long does it take you? Do you use a pulling technique to speed the process?

I dont know what you mean by that, said Kalen. I dont know any special techniques yet. Its just like breathing in, isnt it? Well, it is when the auroras here, anyway. So one second youre out of magic, and the next

He poured water all over the yarn until the entire tangled pile was soaked.

Zevnie stared at it.

Kalen continued. And then to cast, you hold the pattern in placeonly Ive washed it away havent I? Pretend I didnt. You hold the pattern in place. Or if its a cantrip, you actually build it in time with the chant. And since those take a lot more magic than the other workings I know, I just

Kalen picked out the whole pile of yarn and squeezed it as hard as he could. Water oozed out through his fingers, and he dropped the soggy mess back on the stone. Well he said apologetically. It would be easier to explain if I had a sponge instead of yarn. You soak all the magic in until youre heavy with it, and then you squeeze it all out again until youre dry. And then to cast the next working, you just do the same thing again. Right?

Zevnie lay back on the rock and closed her eyes.

Zevnie?

Be quiet. I am recovering my composure and collecting my thoughts.

Again?

But Kalen fell silent.

After only a couple of minutes, Zevnie sat back upright. She pulled another length of yarn from her pack. Shall I show you how I renew my own magic?

Kalen nodded eagerly and watched as Zevnie made a shape on the surface of the stone. It was surprisingly similar to a sandglass, with a few elegant whorls inside. Obviously this is simplified. I do have more pathways than this. But this is the basic shape.

I see, Kalen agreed, admiring the orderly spirals she had made.

Now, lets say I was running low on power, and I have just cast the most exhausting thing I can. Which is a thrawning called Strong as the Coconut, by the way. Not a cantrip. Because I am a mid-level magician, and I cannot move enough magic at one time to cast prototype spells that are created by pre-ascendant sorcerers in order to show off for their colleagues.

For some reason, she gave Kalen a dark look. Then, she cleared her throat. Anyway, pretend my yarn is empty of magic. Here is how I would refill it.

Kalen was surprised when she poured the water beside the yarn instead of on top of it. She took a single strand, curled it around the tip of her pinkie finger, and brushed the edge of it against the pooled water in a slow sweeping motion. Then, she did it again. And again.

When are you going to wet the yarn? Kalen asked.

I am wetting it.

Only a little bit of it.

The moisture will wick up and wet everything eventually.

Kalen frowned. Yes. But what if you needed to cast a spell faster?

Zevnie glared at him ferociously and moved her pinkie slightly faster.

Kalen got the point. Are youis something wrong with your magic? he said sympathetically.

No, you little monster! Zevnie shouted, abandoning her demonstration so that she could flick water from the puddle at him instead. This is how its supposed to work when youre a beginner! Theres nothing wrong with me! Well...at least not when it comes to absorbing ambient mana.

Kalen reached for the water flask, intending to retaliate, but she pulled it out of the way.

Never mind. She grimaced. But I will have you know, nobody sucks magic into themselves or squeezes it out all at once like a sponge. That sounds completely impossible. And hideously painful. And Ive never heard of anyone being able to cast a cantrip before they were at least a mage.

Oh, said Kalen. What about the tangles?

Is it really as tangled as that pile of yarn you made? Zevnie asked. Or were you being dramatic?

Its more tangled even than that, said Kalen. Its a big mess compared to yours. Am I supposed to be doing something to straighten it out? Is that something I could learn if I had the right book?

Imafraid not, said Zevnie. Your nature is your nature, and it doesnt change unless you do something horrible. Like summon demons or perform soul shredding spells. As you grow in power, the pathways you are born with widen and strengthen. You are supposed to gain new ones, not simplify what you already possess.

Kalen wondered if all the color had just drained from his face. He felt like it should have. You mean its going to get more tangled as time passes?

She nodded. You really are like a little package of mysteries for Master Arlade to unwrap one at a time.

But you wont tell her.

And you wont either, Zevnie said. Not for another year at least.

What about then?

We will worry about that when we come to it. But for now, I am going to tell you why you should want me to tell her.

Kalen looked at her doubtfully.

Zevnie glanced up at the sky. Overhead, the auroras magic undulated slowly, glimmering with rainbow light at the edges. Kalen, what do you know about the Archipelago?