Chapter 39: The Acress Enclave

Chapter 39: The Acress Enclave

For two whole days, Kalen studied.

It wasnt as frustrating as he had feared it would be. Always before, hed been so anxious to cast spells that reading about them and mastering the patterns for them over the course of days had felt like a torment. A necessary one that he valued, but still

It was different with New Developments in Swift Wind Magery. Every line of the book seemed to contain worlds of shocking information that he had to sit and ponder. For example, some of his pathways had names.

Until now, Kalen had just built his pathway pattern wherever and however he could manage within the tangled horror that was his own magical structure. But mages were apparently at their best when they were using specific threads that were common to most practitioners who shared the same affinity.

Kalen was completely flabbergasted.

Yes, Zevnie had shown him a basic version of the structure she used once, and things shed said had implied that it wasnt just hers but one similar to that of all the amphoras in her clan. And yet Kalen had never really imagined such a thing for himself.

But Swift Wind Magery contained lines like, For most effective casting, align the outer currents of Mett and Nore within yourself and build the pattern on their foundation.

Which ones are Mett and Nore? he wondered, sending magic through the twisting loops and tiny tributaries of his pathways wildly, as if one of them might suddenly shout, Me! Hello! Im the current of Nore!

Three spells in the book included recommendations for pathways that were actually labeled on difficult-to-read nucleic maps. So many colors of inks and variations in line weight had been used to draw a neat, circular network of pathways that Kalen had to stare at them for hours to make sense of them all. The same map had been used each time, with different areas highlighted to suggest that the recommended path might be found in that general location.

If Kalen understood right, the map was literally a diagram of Echune Battos own wind nucleus. Which was why the smaller pathways he was suggesting for usage in those spells might not exist or be in the exact same place for other practitioners.

Why does Mage Batto get such a nicely embroidered-looking nucleus? Thats not fair.

A small owl living under the eaves of the inn had coughed up something on the windowsill last night. Kalens nucleuses were more like that.

But at least he had spent almost a year mapping and re-mapping his pathways. They were complicated, but he knew what they looked like.

Since he was apparently missing the main pathway maps he should currently be studying as a newly fledged wind magician, he would use what he had access to. He would just pick something in more or less the right spot and hope for the best. Even if it wasnt perfect, it should still be better than off-affinity casting, if he understood some of the implications in the book correctly.

Of the three spells with maps, only one of them made use of his other purchase from Barley and Daughters, and since he was eager to try the flags out, he chose that one.

Ears of the East, he informed Yarda, as they climbed into the carriage she had ordered for their trip to the enclave. Its a spell that carries sound to you on the wind from far away.

It was the middle of the night, and the only lights in this part of the city were the lanterns hanging from the posts by the drivers seat. Moths and other nocturnal bugs batted at the glass. It was an open carriage, big enough for four normal riders, though Yarda took an entire bench to herself.

How far away? Yarda asked curiously.

This was one of the excellent things about Kalens cousin. Unlike most adults he had met, she saw no reason to chide him for learning a spell that was best suited to spying on the conversations of others. He felt sure that when he mastered it, she would be equally happy to hear about whatever gossip he collected through its use.

Up to an hours march, is what it says. But I dont know how fast of a march, so thats not very specific. Kalen pulled his sun crystal and his book out of his satchel as the old man driving the carriage clucked his tongue, and the pair of large bay horses set to work. Do you mind if I read on the way there?

Yarda gave him a wave, and he dropped deep into the text again, biting his lower lip as he tried to decipher the casting patterns for a mage-level spell. He tweaked and tugged at pathways as he read. He tried out a mana-flow technique he thought might be similar to one Mage Batto mentioned in passing as being highly effective for wind practitioners.

Maybe it made the process a little easier if he used it while manipulating the threads of his power? It could have just been enthusiasm making it feel that way, but he liked to imagine hed landed some small success already.

I need more books, he thought while he worked. He needed one with the beginners maps for wind practitioners. And one with the flow techniques. I need so many more books.

#

Kalens expectations for his first visit to a practitioner familys Enclave were high. His vague memory of the Orellen Enclave hardly counted, since he had been so young and confused and, he thought, under the influence of some sort of spell or potion besides.

He imagined the Acress Enclave would be full of fine houses and halls of knowledge. Definitely there would be buildings as large as the Granslip Port churches. And practitioners of every age would spend their days casting spells right in the streets.

It wasnt quite like that.

The road that led from the city to the Enclave made a straight, broad line. It was solid, packed clay, and the carriage moved over it with even less jostling than it had the cobbled city streets. To either side there was nothing to see but freshly harvested fields lit by moonlight. There were also lots of cows, sometimes sleeping right in the middle of the road in the way of the horses.

And then, in the dim hour before sunrise, they arrived at the Enclave itself. And Kalen finally set aside his book to look around with deep disappointment.

Its just a town.

Admittedly, it was a wealthy-looking town. The lights shining behind some of the windows seemed to be the same clear, clean ones used by the bookshop. The streets were tidily paved, and the tall houses were all painted in the rich jewel tones that were popular in good areas of Granslip Port. But there wasnt even a dramatic wall around the place to keep out strangers.

Where were all the arcane mysteries stored? Most importantly

Do you know where the library is? he asked the driver.

The old man shook his head.

Maybe daylight would render the place more impressive, Kalen hoped, as he hopped down from the carriage with his satchel slung over his shoulder.

The driver had parked the carriage in front of a long low building with a tile roof. It was painted white, and a small group of people huddled in a side yard by a heavy curved door. One man lay in a handcart that seemed to have been pushed there by a pair of exhausted girls who were sleeping on the ground right against the cart wheels. When Kalen and Yarda passed, he caught a chokingly foul stench from the mans bandaged leg.

This was where you came if you hoped to see an Acress healer on the compassion days.

As they all stood waiting for dawn to come and the door to open, Yarda made friends with the other waiting patients. There were around a dozen people. Theyd been standing in grim silence when Kalen and Yarda first arrived, but the sight of Yarda prompted curious stares even from those in dire need of healing. And as was her habit, she responded to the staring with smiles and open concern for everyone else.

It made Kalen feel like a horrible person.

While he would have wished every one of these people well under normal circumstances, now he found himself in the strange position of judging them as competition for Sorcerer Nigels time and care. What if Yarda didnt get help because of that woman with the boils all over her face? That boy with the fever looked like he was on deaths door. And the man with the hurt leg

The thing about excellent healers is that someone always needs them badly.

That was what Lily Acress had said, but Kalen hadnt thought deeply about what it meant.

Also, he had read Sigerismo, Volume 12, and even if he didnt understand most of it, he thought Yarda should not be having such a close and enthusiastic conversation with some of these people. She did not need some continental plague on top of everything else.

Kalen should know. His body had died of one before.

He tried to think of how to tell her to get away from the fevered boy without saying something that would sound strange and awful to everyone else present. But fortunately the door opened, and a pair of people in gray robes came out to talk to the ill and injured. One was a boy and the other a girl, both of them several years older than Kalen.

All right, all right, the boy said in an officious voice that sounded ridiculous from someone his age. Lets have everyone stand oruhlie at least an arms length apart from each other.

He can sound as annoying as he wants, Kalen decided as he watched everyone separate out exactly as he himself had thought they should.

The boy and girl went around asking everyones name and getting information about their ailments. They didnt write anything down, but they seemed to do a good job of remembering details.

A few more sick people arrived to join the group, and Kalen, standing off to the side with Yarda, forced himself not to glare at them.

As the sun rose, the boy disappeared inside, and a moment later, a pair of men came with a contraption of canvas and poles that they used to carry the man with the hurt leg into the building. The boy came back and consulted with the girl.

They were both looking at Yarda. Theyd been obviously confused after they interviewed her. She appeared to be healthier than many of the other people waiting, but her enormous height and the fact that she and Kalen both swore a sorcerer had diagnosed her already and sent her across the world in search of healing seemed to stump them.

Mrs. Yarda! the girl said loudly after shed finished talking to her partner. You can go in, too!

Kalens heart leaped. Yes! She was the second person. That had to mean she would be seen by a very good healer, didnt it?

He trotted after her eagerly only to be turned away by the boy, who was scandalized at the thought that he would presume to accompany a patient. Instead, Kalen was sent off to play in the yard. It was an insult so uncalled for that he barely kept himself from arguing with the young magician.

He stalked back to the carriage. The driver had parked it in front of a stable on the opposite side of the building. And when Kalen approached he was unhitching the horses.

Shes inside, Kalen reported to the old man. The driver was going to wait for them all day if need be, so it only seemed polite to keep him informed. I dont know how long it will take.

Long time. He pulled a twig hed been gnawing from between his teeth. Big, big woman like thattheyll have all the students here look at her. For growing their smarts.

Kalen frowned. Have you driven people here before?

Few times, said the driver. Come once or twice myself, too.

I guess hes still alive at least.

He stood on his tiptoes and stretched to grab a third. Again.

Another one.

Another.

All of them had it. Different titles, different authors. But all of them had the gold mark with the name in the back. They must have been ordered special or re-bound to match each other so that they would look lovely side by side on shelves.

Obviously they came from the Orellen Enclave, thought Kalen. That makes sense. Its only one country away, and they probably left behind a large library when they all ran. Maybe the Acress family went and took some books. Or bought them from people who did.

It could also have been the four Orellens living in Granslip Port under the protection of the churches whod sold them.

But it still felt strange for there to be so many of them here in this one small room. Like Kalen was surrounded by something threatening.

There was indeed a book for wind magicians. Now, though, he didnt feel comfortable reading it where someone might walk in and see him.

The last grains of sand were running through the glass quickly.

Breathing a little too fast, he grabbed a non-Orellen book that had a picture of flowers on the cover, and sat in the chair to stare at its first pages without really seeing them.

Why do they have so many Orellen books? If there are two hundred libraries like this in the Enclave, and they all have a similar number. Is it just happenstance, or were the families friends? If they were friends then why are the Orellens living in the Clywing church instead of here with these other practitioners?

What does this mean for me?

Nothing. He knew the answer should be nothing.

He hated that he was too scared to even open the book he wanted to read for fear of being connected to a family he didnt know.

When Cob came in to say it was time for Kalen to go, Kalen thanked him politely and left with a sigh of relief. The fountain tinkled behind him as he shut the iron gate.

#

Kalens enthusiasm for exploring the Acress Enclave had been dimmed. He decided to lurk around the white building where the healers worked so that he would be ready to leave as soon as Yarda was finished. The line of people waiting at the side door for help was growing.

Lily was right to recommend they show up before dawn.

He headed back to the stable yard and sat in their carriage to keep himself out of the way. The driver had disappeared. He tried to meditate, but it wasnt as good when he was anxious. So he worked on his pathways some more. Carefully, carefully he aligned strands in the area hed chosen to build the spell pattern.

It wasnt nearly right yet, but he wanted to try casting through the pattern anyway. Just to see what kind of thing might happen. There was so much mana around now that he was on the continent. Kalen could use as much magic as he pleased.

Of course, it had occurred to him that the thing that might happen could be disastrous. Or at least noticeable. In his experience, forcing magic through patterns that werent quite right usually did nothing at all. Especially if you didnt use much power. But he was less cavalier than he had been before.

Maybe if he got away from the Enclave, he could try?

That sounds good actually.

The carriage seat wasnt particularly comfortable. The stable smelled a little. Kalen didnt want to knock on doors and ask to be let in to libraries full of books with the name Orellen on the cover.

He could walk down the road until the Enclave was distant and do some magic in a nice field with some nice cows who wouldnt care about it at all. It wasnt like he could get lost. There was only one road between here and Granslip Port. As long as he didnt travel out of sight of it, the carriage could pick him back up on its return journey.

Mind made up, he tucked his book into his satchel again and went to ask someone if they would tell Yarda he planned to meet her on the road instead of waiting.

He wasnt surprised to find that the crowd of people outside the curved door had grown larger during the hours hed spent practicing, but he was surprised to find that an entirely new group of people were now waiting by a table that had been set up by another door at the far end of the long building.

Kalen tried and failed to catch the attention of the girl who was questioning the sick, and though the officious boy definitely saw him waving, he turned and ignored Kalen completely.

They are rather busy, he admitted to himself with a trace of embarrassment. Too busy to deliver a simple message.

Hoping to find someone less involved with their work, he headed toward the new group waiting by the table. It was much smaller, just over a dozen children ranging from a few years younger to a few years older than Kalen.

They seemed to be bored, and there was no sign of what they were doing here beyond the empty table.

Kalen approached a tall freckled boy who was teasing an equally-freckled girl of around eight in a way that made him sure they were siblings. Excuse me, he said. Do you know if theres someone around here who can carry a message to a patient in the building?

The boy paused in the act of tugging on his sisters hair, and they both looked at Kalen.

You talk strange, the girl informed him.

Im not from Circon. Im just visiting.

Nobody from the hospital has come out here yet, the boy said, tugging the hair after all so that his sister yowled and swatted at him. Been over an hour.

All right. Thank you anyway.

Kalen turned to go.

You should stay, the girl said. And get the money.

Money? Kalen asked, looking back with interest. Money was much more important to him now that hed seen the prices of books.

Its easy, the boy said. They bring out this glass plate with a lot of magic marks on it. You hold your hand on one end and one of the Acresses holds their hand on the other, then it feels warm for a minute, and its over.

Its not a glass plate, an older girl said.

Yes it is! I did it last month.

Im sure its not a glass plate, the girl said, smoothing her heavy skirt. Its probably made of some kind of enchanted crystal. I should know. Im here to take the test because its required for winter Entrance. Not for money.

So you want to be an Acress yourself. Fancy, the boy said sarcastically. But I actually saw the plate, and it was made of glass.

He turned his attention to Kalen again. You can only do it once. But they give you a half silver and one of these.

He stuck out his wrist, and Kalen saw a narrow leather band around it. The name Gurad Lom was stamped on it.

You put your hand on a plate with a practitioner and they give you money and a bracelet? he asked, startled. Why?

The Acress does a magic thing to you through the plate, Gurad said confidently. And he can tell that your mums your mum and your pas your pa. Then they write it all down with where you live and give you the bracelet so that you cant get more money for doing it again.

Your pa could be anyone under the sun and theyd still give you the bracelet, the girl who wanted to join the Enclave said in a superior tone. So long as it isnt Iven Orellen.

The air itself turned to ice inside Kalens chest.

It was good hed already had one Orellen-related shock today, or he might not have been able to react well at all. As it was, he was sure he was pale and wide-eyed. But at least he managed to speak.

Thats interesting, he said slowly. I really need to find someone to help me get a message to my friend, though. In the hospital. So maybe Ill come back for the money later.

Gurad nodded. Make sure you do. Its easy. Thats why I brought my sister. The only bad thing is that the bracelet wont come off, so you cant do it twice.

Thats because they dont need to scry you twice, the girl muttered. Its not like your parents are going to change.

Ill definitely come back, said Kalen. Maybe Ill see you all later. If youre still waiting.

Hands clenched around the strap of his bag, he forced himself to walk away instead of running like he desperately wanted to. He pushed his way through the crowd of the ill and went straight for the Acress girl who worked for the hospital. Stepping rudely between her and a woman with a cough, he said, Tell Yarda Strongback her cousin decided to walk back to the city. Ill meet her on the road. Or at the inn.

Then, before the girl could refuse or rebuke him, he spun and left.

He walked away from the hospital and through the fine paved streets with all the curious little enchantments around if you knew where to look. He passed practitioners in robes and houses he was sure were full of books of useful magic.

He kept going. And despite what hed said to the other children, he was never coming back.