Chapter 50: Find Palm

Chapter 50: Find Palm

Tomas Orellen was not taking Kalens declaration that he would be traveling to the Archipelago very seriously. He seemed to think, as the people at the Office of the Post had, that trying to get there was the same as trying to leave the world altogether.

Rather than forcing an argument, though, Kalen allowed him to declare that they would discuss the matter when they had no other option. The mage could still come. In two days time, if she did, Tomas thought he might be able to persuade the group to take Kalen along with them all. They would be heading far to the south, below the Ossumun Empire and beyond its reach. And they would be nearer to the continents eastern coast, though Tomas didnt give the name of the specific city.

It suited Kalens needs well enough, but

I would rather not meet the others, he quietly admitted, as Tomas pulled him onto his feet in the middle of the ward circle. I dont want anyone but you to know what I am. But I shouldnt stay here if I dont have to, so I guess if its the only way

I dont particularly want to introduce you to everyone either, the older boy said. If you think you can bear it, Im tempted to stuff you in a barrel or a crate and say youre something heavy I bought for myself.

He shook his head, as if the idea were ridiculous, but Kalen thought it was brilliant.

Thats what you should do!

Oh..well

I would be so still and quiet. They would never know! And I dont weigh much.

Tomas gave him a nervous smile. Maybe? I think us getting caught with you hidden in that way would make everyone very unhappy, butit might be the better plan in the end. Its a full portal well be doing instead of a sending, so its not like theres a reason for them to object to me bringing extra baggage. Let me worry about that. For now, I promised you a spell! You should take your casting posture.

You mean just stand up straight?

Tomas looked briefly confused, then he said, I suppose that is more of a thing you learn directly from a teacher instead of a book.

Have I been doing something wrong all this time? Kalen had always known he must have been making a multitude of mistakes, but it was still embarrassing to think that he wasnt even standing in place correctly. Is there some special way?

No, its fine! People grow out of using them anyway. Its just to help young practitioners focus. If you havent been doing it, you dont have to start now.

Teach it to me.

Its nothing imp

I want to know everything you do, Kalen said firmly. Absolutely everything. I know Im starting from far behind. And Im twelve. And Im too old

Who told you that? Tomas interrupted. Gray hairs can learn magic if they want.

I have a book called Theoretical Advancements of the Fourth Age, and it says if you dont start casting properly aligned spells before youre my age, then youre never going to amount to much.

Tomas stared down at him. The expression on his face was one that Kalen couldnt define, but it made him look much more adult than he usually did. Finally, he said, Ive been told by some teachers in the past that my education is pathetic, compared to what it should have been. And that I wouldnt amount to much because of it. But you cant help what you dont have, can you? So theres no point in worrying that you might be ruined for life when youre only twelve.

You said I had to learn to read as soon as possible, said Kalen. But I didnt start until I was seven or eight. And then

I was stupid back then. I thought the whole world was like the Enclave when almost none of it is. Learning to read is an achievement. Learning to cast on your own just from books is even more of one. Its much harder without someone pushing you toward it. Those first couple of years after we evacuated I couldnt make myself care enough to try anything new unless a tutor was standing over me.

Kalen couldnt imagine. The more difficult things were, the more he wanted to hide inside his books.

But, said Tomas, I did have a formal and highly structured education until I was nine. Our family was known for its schooling. It was serious and regimented, especially if they thought someone had high potential. They didnt think that about me, but given who my father was, and the skill some of my siblings showed, they all pretended to for a while. So if you want to know everything

I do, Kalen interrupted.

Tomas grinned. Then Ill pretend to be one of those mean teachers who insists on flawless form. Here. Let me arrange you.

Kalen was supposed to stand with his knees loose, his hips squared, his toes reaching through the bottom of his shoes toward the ground. His breaths should be measured and slow.

When we were little and they were teaching us this, they made getting it wrong seem like a crime against magic itself. But what really matters about it is the fact that if you always perform a memorized pattern of actions before you cast, then the ritual becomes a signal to your mind that its time to let go of the world around you and focus on your pathways.

Do you do it still?

When Im trying something difficult or new. Or when Im in a bad mood and need to cast anyway.

Tomas reached for Kalens shoulders and straightened them. Now this is where our standing posture starts to look different from the ones a lot of families use. Head up, eyes forward, elbows in, and hands at the ready is the usual. Because most practitioners expect to be using their eyes to find whatever theyre going to cast a spell at. Our eyes only get in our way, so we close them.

Kalen shut his eyes.

Its been a while since my first lessons, Tomas said, pressing on the top of Kalens head gently until he bent his neck toward his chest. The older boys clothes smelled strange this close up, as if theyd been stored in a musty chest that was also heavily perfumed. Ive gotten so used to the way I do things, and I hardly ever think about how other people experience their magic. Do you sense your pathways as if theyre spread out on a page in front of you or as if theyre within your body?

There are options?

The second, Kalen said. But when Im focused on my pathways, my body isnt really that important. I feel like Ive gone inside myself, but I cant say, Oh this pathway is near my arm and that other one is near my leg. That would be stupid.

Thats good. A lot of people actually do feel like a given pathway is associated with a certain body part, though. Some practitioners think thats the best thing, but our family tried to train everyone out of it. They say the ideal for spatial affinities is to have a sense of your pathways as lines within you that flow out into the world around you.

I can do that.

Let your arms hang loose at your sides, cup your hands slightly, and dont worry about reimagining your personal mana structure right now. Thats a months-long project if you want to try, not one for a single morning. I dont have any of our familys nucleic maps to show you. I could draw my own, but I feel like we should be able to identify your starting pathway just by sensation. We dont have to do it before trying the spell, but learning the name of your strongest pathway is a rite of passage.

This is that thing the mage book keeps talking about, Kalen thought, excitement welling inside him. Pathways have names and when you know the names of them you can use the proper ones to cast your spells better.

By the way Tomas said, voice suddenly uncertain, Im just assuming youre a spatialist because I am and almost all of my brothers and sisters are. The family thought Iven would father several luck practitioners if he married mother, but the Orellen line breeds truer than they hoped. So youre probably one of us, but if you do have some other affinity, then I wont be able to teach you the spell I have in mind. Ill teach you something else instead to make up for it, so dont be disappointed.

Kalen opened his eyes and lifted his head in surprise. Why wouldnt it work? Its only a beginner spell, isnt it?

The first one, Tomas confirmed. The one they teach all spatial magic novices. But the pathways we use are isolated.

Kalen frowned up at him. What does that mean?

Youve heard the theory that a practitioner is someone who can speak to the rivers that carve the universe? NoIm guessing you havent heard that. The look on your face! I know how it sounds, but imagine that everything in existence is constantly being carved into being by thousands of streams of magic.

Ill try, but thats not very

A hundred years on, our family will probably be teaching something different. But for now, we assume that a practitioners pathways are copies of some of those rivers and streams. And when we shape them and push mana through them in certain ways, we can carve new rules into being just as the rivers we reflect do.

Lutcha had once spoken of clipping souls out of what she called the universal pattern with the Disc of the Sacred Fate and moving them around. If Kalen tried hard enough he could almost imagine thousands of stitches making up the pattern of a tapestry and thousands of rivers of magic being the same idea.

Just like rivers follow certain natural channels, our pathways work best when we ask them to perform magic within our affinity. Theyre carving according to their natures then, like theyre writing rules that they already know. When I say that the spatial magic pathways are isolated, I mean that theyre very disconnected from other types of magic. You may have heard Orellens are no good at anything except for our portals. Well, its true. When I form a non-spatial spell pattern, I have to use a lot more magic to make it cast effectively.

Im sorry.

Tomas smiled. Its annoying, but Ive always thought the people who look down on us for it were secretly jealous. Because we can cast spells aligned with other affinities if we put enough power into it, and almost no other type of practitioner can do spatial magic at all.

I wondered! said Kalen. I havent ever seen any spatial spells in any of my other books. I thought the Orellens might be keeping their knowledge away from everyone else, but I also wondered if it was just a very hard type of magic.

Closer to impossible. Most of my relatives think the spatial pathways are not only isolated but also that they govern a higher plane of magic. I like that idea, too, because it would explain a lot of things. But I dont repeat it much. It makes you sound like youre making excuses when you try to tell someone that you cant perform a basic spell because your power is suited to greater things.

That does sound arrogant, Kalen said. You should keep that opinion to yourselves.

Tomas snickered. Fine. Put your head down again, and close your eyes. Center yourself within your nucleus

Center?

Focus all your attention on the very core of it, the point where all your pathways meet and are densest. Draw your magic therelets just do half so you can still cast the first spell after thisand push it through, as if the nucleus itself is a spell pattern youve created.

Ive done this before, said Kalen, disappointed but already going through the motions. Lots of times when I was trying to check my affinity. It doesnt work.

He heard Tomas inhale. What do you mean it doesnt work?

Nothing happens. A girl I know told me how to do this, and she said something would happen and that was how you could guess your affinity. But every time I do it, the magic just disappears.

In this nucleus anyway.

How does it disappear? Tomass voice was excited.

Kalen wanted to look up again, but he was trying to keep his posture right.

It goes away.

But there are different ways it could disappear! Usually one of three. Pay very careful attention when you do the cast this time. Does the magic vanish as if it was taken into someone elses hand, or does it feel as if youve flung it away into the distance, or is it more like it goes nowhere at all?

It goes nowhere at all. Kalen had done it so many times he really didnt have to do it again to know. It had always been such a disappointment, butit sounded like Tomas was saying it was the right thing. Its supposed to feel like that?

Kalen reached for the small arrow.

Can I try again?

So fearless! Im proud.

Dont be proud yet, Kalen said as he stood. He pressed a hand to his stomach. Im not sure I wont puke next time.

Tomas grinned. Please do it at least once. For my sake. I was a puker when I was learning.

Okay. It didnt hurt, Kalen muttered to himself.

I told you.

It was very confusing, though.

Tomas stood, too. You are officially a spatial practitioner now. Welcome! You are currently on the run from literally everyone. But on the bright side, the secrets of the universe that confuse others will one day confuse you slightly less!

Kalen peered at him. You seem to be enjoying yourself.

I am. Ive never taught anyone anything before. I was just going from memory. Only with less disappointment and derision than most of my teachers like to sprinkle into their lessons. How did I do?

You did good. As long as that finding my body spell isnt a joke.

Its not. You have the senses for it, believe it or not. If you keep practicing, you will get the hang of it, and its what youll build everything else on. Are you sure you have enough magic to go a second time?

I do. Kalen looked out the window again. Tomas, how many pathways am I supposed to have? As a spatial practitioner?

Oh, theres not really a set number. A few new ones will come into view as you get older. And youll realize they were always there for you, but you couldnt sense them before. Then of course theres re-dendrification if youre ever on the threshold between high magician and mage. But thats a different process where they say your pathways actually grow new offshoot pathways.

So any number of them is fine?

As long as you can cast, its fine in my books, said Tomas.

Kalen turned his eyes toward him.

I have twelve, Tomas said. If youre curious, its an average number for a magician my age. Im slightly above average as far as the amount of power I can call on at once goes, but its nothing that earns attention from anyone.

Thank you, Kalen said finally.

For what? Its just a first lesson.

Ive spent so many daysso many yearsnot understanding my pathways at all. I heard that I should memorize and map them. So I did. And I could cast spells, so I did. I know the paths, but I also dont know them at all. That they have names and work in specific ways and that one of them does magic slightly differently from another. Its amazing.

Nerth, you were just unlucky to be born this particular kind of practitioner. There arent a lot of spatial magic books around, so of course you couldnt learn. All Ive done is tell you the most basic of basics; its no great thing.

Its great to me. Will you teach me the names of your other pathways? And how to find them from Arrow and Abyss?

Yes, if you want. But you might not have the same ones as me. Really, as long as you known the names of the three main ones youll be all right for most magician level workings.

I want to know them all.

Tomas smiled. Youre an eager student! All right. Just dont be disappointed if you cant find the exact same set within your own structure. And let me renew our ward, if were going to be at this for longer. Its nearly exhausted.

Let me do it, said Kalen.

You should save your strength, so you can focus on finding your palm. He was already bending toward the activation rune for the ward.

Let me do it, Kalen said again. You said spatial practitioners have to use more magic to make non-aligned spells work. Thats not a problem for me. I have other problemsbut not that one.

Tomass finger had stilled halfway to the rune. What do you mean by that?

Kalen stepped over to join him and knelt beside the line of glimmering crushed shells that made up the Orellen boys spellsand. He nudged Tomass hand aside with his own.

Im not a perfectionist, he said, touching the rune lightly. WellI am. According to most people. But thats only because I didnt have many spells. All I could do was try to be perfect with the ones I did have. Its not why Im slow, though. Im slow because my pathways are very sloppy. There are so many of them. Some of them seem to be strange or broken. And when Im trying to work with one, the others nearby tangle with it and cling to it. They pull what Im doing apart sometimes, and other times, I just lose track of what Im trying to build because the wrong thread calls my attention and it all collapses.

Nerth, that doesnt

I cant run out of magic though, said Kalen. Not here on the continent where you people have it all around you all the time. When I empty my pathways, I just refill them. It takes a minute or so. Like a long deep breath. I thought everyone did it like that for ages, but Ive learned thats not how it is.

He finished forming the activation runes match.

Thats how long it took me to make this rune. Its simple, I know. Its embarrassing that I cant just do it. I saw a girl empower a rune by tapping her foot against it as she passed, like she barely even had to think about it. It takes me time. But this

He pushed his magic into the ward. It was a hungry thing, compared to the spell circles hed done himself in the past, but he flooded it quickly. Light blazed from the sand, and Kalen pulled his hand back.

Thats how long it took me to fill your ward. And now

He concentrated for a moment, then said, And now I have as much magic as I started with.

Tomass honey-brown eyes were flicking from the ward to Kalen and back again. He swallowed. Thats very interesting, he said in a higher than usual voice. ThatsI see.

Do you? Kalen asked. I wish someone would explain it all to me.

He stared at his new arrow pin. Just knowing the name of three pathways makes me feel so much better. I really would appreciate it if you would teach me your other nine. And how to find them. So I dont always feel so lost when Im fighting to work with them.

How many are you saying you actually have? Tomas asked.

Do I have to count the little hairy ones?

The hairy ones?

Arrow, Abyss, and Reaching are like this, said Kalen, spreading his arms wide. And then there are the middle ones and the little ones. And then there are some that are like this.

He plucked a strand of curly hair from his head and looked at it grimly. Theyre so annoying. They say you cant be a magician unless youve mapped them all. I have to take time to re-memorize them every week, so I dont forget the shape of the little hairy ones. I hate them so much. If they re-dendrify when I become a mage, I think I might scream.

I still dont quite understand. Are you saying you have thirty pathways. Or fifty. Orwhat?

I like around ninety-three of them, Kalen decided after thinking about it. Ninety-three covered even the ones that were only barely useable in his spatial set. If all the others could just disappear and leave me alone, I would really appreciate it.

Ninety-three, said Tomas faintly. I wouldnt believe you, except I did feel you pulling in the ambient mana earlier. When I was standing right behind you. I thought I must have been mistaken

What do you mean you felt me? How did you do that? Kalen asked. Can you teach it to me?

Its not something you teach. Its just something practitioners notice. When someone else is pulling in or outputting large quantities of power very nearby, it changes the flow into your own pathways a little.

I havent noticed! And Ive been here in Circon around other practitioners enough that I should have, havent I?

You might not have been. You do have to be quite close if its not a drastic shift in the ambient. But also, if you can really refill your entire mana structure that quickly that means you might not be able to notice? Unless youre trying to do it at the exact same time as sorcerer in the same room.

Why not?

Because youre the one sucking up all the magic and He stared at the gleaming ward. spitting it right back out again. Someone would have to be pulling on the ambient magic harder and faster than you were for you to be aware that they were dominating the area.

He whipped around to stare at Kalen. Why dont you have a teacher yet?

Thats why Im trying to get to the Archipelago. To find one.

Butgods. You must have grown up in the middle of absolutely nowhere for someone not to have noticed.

There were no other practitioners around, said Kalen. That doesnt mean it was nowhere. Can I justif I pull magic in more slowly will that make me quieter to other people?

I think so. I hope so. Tomas lifted an eyebrow. Otherwise its going to be like traveling with a trumpet.

I will try not to trumpet, said Kalen. So youll still travel with me? And youll still teach me?

Im your brother. We made a promise. Ill teach you what I know, but

Kalen smiled. You can call me Kalen. But only when were completely alone or behind a ward like this. It shouldnt be my name anywhere else right now. Im sure you understand.