The Way of Sacrifice, page 4
“People like you and me have much thinner boundaries. The Testing Orb is a simple crystal filled with aether focussed to emit light. It responds by shining when raw aether is very close. None of the magic seekers have thin barriers so they can carry the orb safely.
“The Testing Orb not only lights up but it tries to draw in the aether. When it does this it thins the barrier just a little and weakens it slightly. The problem with using the orb multiple times is it can weaken the barrier in a different place than it did in the beginning, especially if you are not trained in focussing your will. Magicians are those who have thinned the barrier in one part of their body to the point when it splits, or breaks open to let aether flow freely into this world.
“Not only do magic users have thin boundaries but we also tend to produce an excessive amount of aether. Think of it as a huge build up of aether inside us with no way to escape. When it finally breaks through it makes a hole or a cut in the barrier and lets a stream of aether escape. If the break is small the aether escapes so quickly it is impossible to control, people with tears like this are a danger to themselves and others. Powerful magicians have large tears where aether escapes at a speed they can control but with enough volume they can use it to manipulate the world around them.
“Once the aether has torn a hole it always comes through at that point in the future. At the academy they will teach you techniques to build up the amount of aether in your body even more until there is a constant pressure being exerted on the barrier. You will be taught to focus the aether to a point in your body where you want the break in the barrier to be.
“Most magicians want it to be at the end of a finger and you will have classes where you sit and concentrate your entire mind at the end of your finger trying to focus the aether there. These exercises not only train your will but they also weaken the barrier at that point. Eventually the barrier becomes so weak that it even begins to bulge outward just a little at that point.
“Sometime in your first eight months the barrier will break, this is called your ‘breakthrough’. It usually breaks at a time when you are in a state of great emotion. Whenever it happens it determines the strength of the magic you’ll be able to control for the rest of your life. It seems that the peak pressure which causes the breakage sets the limit of what you can ever release at a given time and it defines both the size and location of the break in the barrier. This is the reason for only weakening the barrier at a single point. If five or six thinned sections are bulging outwards in a breakthrough then the pressure at the actual breakthrough point is reduced and the tear is small.
“Now, Mage London’s breakthrough happened when she was screaming at one of her tormentors. It wasn’t a weak point but her internal pressure was so great that’s where it broke through. All because her focus was on her tongue. You need to keep your emotions always aimed at the focal point you want until you have a breakthrough. Mage London’s magic now forms at the tip of her tongue and she focusses it through the way she speaks.
“Most magicians prefer to have it at their finger tips and control it by making movements. Before the breakthrough you won’t be allowed to have sexual relations. Even though they enforce the rule, and the reason, day after day, there is always some magician whose breakthrough happens in a moment of great passion. While they usually have the reputation from that point on as great lovers, they look very funny on the battlefield, or in some magical trade, waving their privates all over the place.
“If you have a small tear but you can control your emotions, and the break sufficiently, then you are released from the academy and assigned as an apprentice in a trade. You’re watched for any signs of instability and then allowed to work the trade within the confines of Tar Eylia itself. If you cannot show significant control then you are killed to protect yourself and those around you.
“Occasionally someone slips through all the checks and balances and the aether escapes randomly. It usually happens when they lose control. Such emotions have a target and those on the receiving end of such a release of aether usually have to be destroyed, sometimes they are found only after they have done significant damage and destruction to the area where they live. This is the true reason the empire keeps such strict control over magic-users. Wild magic-users can devastate an entire village, or a whole region if they are left untrained.
“You have a measure of self-control and that will help. You need to work harder at tempering your every thought, your every emotion until they can be safely exhibited. You can get angry but it must be controlled, understood, and allowed to grow only with your permission. Tomorrow I will begin you on some basic exercises to help with this.
“By tomorrow you will also need to choose a part of your body to be the focal point where you want the opening into the dimension realm to be. I would suggest the first finger of your dominant hand although some use their other hand so they can hold a sword or do a trade while using magic. Now, repeat back the main points of what I have discussed.”
Bess had a good memory and she had remembered most of what she’d been told. Mage Michael grudgingly reminded her of the few things she’d forgot then kicked her out of the room till the following morning.
Chapter 6
Ellen was waiting outside the room when Michael was finished and showed Bess to a room far grander than any she’d been in before. The bed was easily twice the size of that in the room she’d been given in Freehold and the linen and furnishings were soft and elegant. Ellen gave Bess a nightgown although she also had to explain to Bess what it was for. Bess told Ellen about her lesson beginning at the sixth hour then turning off the small lantern, Bess lay down and tried to sleep.
The next thing Bess knew the light was shining in her eyes as her curtains were thrown open. A girl a couple of years younger than Bess was in the room. Seeing Bess was awake she said, “Pardon for the sudden light, Miss, but Mistress Ellen said to get you up quickly. She even suggested the method. Breakfast is in the small dining room near the kitchen. I’ve brought a pitcher of warm water for a quick wash. Do you need help with anything Miss?”
Bess sat up as she remembered her conversation the previous night. She said, “No thank you. Please feel free to call me Bess, or Miss Bess if the other will get you in trouble. What is your name?”
“Linny, Miss Bess, just call me Linny.”
Getting out of bed Bess took off her nightgown and began to dress as she said, “Do you think you could show me the way to the small dining room, Linny, I don’t remember seeing it last night.”
Linny, who’d turned away slightly as Bess dressed, agreed, and a few minutes later Bess followed her into the dining room. After a quick meal of oats, then some bread and cheese Bess followed Ellen once more to Mage Michael’s office. There was no fire burning in the fireplace and Michael was sitting behind the desk. After knocking Bess entered and said, “Good morning, Mage Michael.”
Michael looked over at her and said, “It hasn’t been so far and I don’t see any indication that it is likely to improve. Now, what did you learn last night?”
Bess was able to remember everything and although she didn’t receive any praise, neither did she see more of his grumpy nature. Michael started by teaching Bess a basic way of sitting to help her focus then he made her breathe using her diaphragm to pull down on her lungs. He set a small metronome ticking and had her breathe in for four counts then hold the breath for seven then breath out for eight. In through her nose, out through her mouth.
When Bess could do this Michael began talking to her about magic. Every now and then as he said something interesting or strange her breathing would change and he would stop and have her get the breathing right again before starting his monologue on magic from the start. He began adding in sudden pauses or he would drop a book as he walked behind her. After two hours he stopped. Bess was exhausted, the breathing hadn’t relaxed her at all, but instead had made her jumpy.
Michael said, “You need to get control, child. That was nothing compared to the first few days at the academy. They want to wean out the flighty ones by forcing them to tear through the barrier with so little pressure built up that they’ll never do harm to anyone. My first lesson took two whole days and they didn’t stop until five people had breakthroughs. We never saw those five again. Tomorrow morning we’ll do this again and I expect better control than what I saw today. Go have a drink then go with Ellen and get some decent clothes.
“After lunch Ellen will introduce you to the tutor. He will teach you how to read and write and begin you on your numbers. I’ve also instructed him to correct the way you speak. Your vocabulary is commendable but the sound itself is both irritating and offensive. A second tutor will arrive at the fourth hour after midday to begin your physical training. After your bath and evening meal you will practice your breathing until you fall asleep. I will resume this lesson tomorrow at the sixth hour. Now go.”
Bess didn’t react to the brusqueness and with a small bow she left to find Ellen. Ellen was waiting in the kitchen and after a drink she told Bess to follow closely. Ellen walked slower than Michael had but they were soon in a street with shops on either side. Ellen first led Bess into a shop whose only purpose that Bess could see was to sell what Ellen described as underwear.
Ellen explained each of the items and after being measured Bess left with four pairs of what Ellen called ‘briefs’, a thicker pair of briefs which had cloth to her thighs which Ellen explained could be used during Bess’ time of bleeding and two shaped bands which covered her breasts and had straps to hold them in place. Ellen called these bands, ’bras’.
After the underwear shop Ellen purchased two dresses which had already been pre-cut and sewn, Ellen also ordered a third dress of better quality. After the dresses, Ellen helped Bess with the purchase of a coat, some boots and a sturdy hat. When they’d finished this Bess was feeling overawed with the amount of gold that had been handed over. She promised herself that one day she would find a way to pay Mage Michael for his generosity.
When she mentioned this to Ellen, Ellen only laughed and said, “He’s not that generous Bess. This is the bare minimum that you will need before you get to the academy. I hear the costs are in the hundreds of golds each term. If he had to pay all of that then you could call him generous.”
Bess didn’t explain that Mage Michael did in fact have to pay for her education at the academy but she began to understand why he was annoyed with her from the beginning. As soon as she told him her story he would have realised the debt she was putting him under. She was somewhat surprised that he hadn’t just killed her on the spot. As a mage there would have been no repercussions for him to face.
After lunch, when it was only half an hour past midday, Bess met a stern-faced older man called Master Gilbertson who after handing Bess a slate and some already pre-cut and sharpened chalk, started teaching her the alphabet and the sounds they represented. Bess had good fine motor skills and with her memory she was able to repeat and form the entire alphabet by the end of the lesson.
Just before the fourth hour Ellen brought Bess a new set of clothes that Michael had ordered himself. This consisted of a pair of long trousers tied at the waist and a loose linen shirt. Once Bess was dressed, Ellen led her to the back of the house where a woman was waiting. This was her physical training instructor, Mistress Blade.
When Ellen retreated into the house Mistress Blade walked around Bess as if looking to purchase a side of beef. Bess kept her calm and stared into the distance while trying to maintain the breathing Mage Michael had taught her that morning. Seeing her inspection went unchallenged, Mistress Blade said, “Mage Michael says you are from the highlands. I expect you still have the conditioning in your lungs so I shall not go easy on you. I am going to begin a series of exercises. I expect you to follow my movements exactly. To begin we will warm up the muscles of our body. Now, follow me.”
With that Mistress Blade began to run towards the back of the garden. Bess hurried after her only to be have Mistress Blade turn and begin to run around the edge of the garden. After completing over fifty circuits by Bess’ calculation Mistress Blade began to jump up and down moving her arms and legs in a variety of positions. For two full hours Bess followed every action Mistress Blade made. At the end of that time both were covered in a thin layer of sweat but neither was breathing hard.
Mistress Blade said, “You are surprisingly fit for a highland girl. What other activities did you do besides look after house?”
“Besides the usual house keeping I hunted for the family. It was my job to keep us in meat. Our plot of land was high above the valley and I would make daily trips with water to keep the young plants from drying out. I was also responsible for ensuring we had enough dead wood ready for the cooking fire and for winter.”
“Well that explains your fitness. What did you hunt with?”
“I have my bow and some knives, Mistress Blade.”
“Do you have them here?”
“They are in my room, Mistress.”
“Go fetch them. I need to see what you can do if I am to train you.”
When Bess returned Mistress Blade almost laughed at what she considered the saddest excuse for a bow she’d ever seen. She only glanced at the knives and shaking her head slowly she pointed to a tree at the back of the garden. “Can you hit the trunk of that tree somewhere about shoulder height?”
“Yes mistress, with a stone, an arrow or my knife?”
Mistress Blade walked over to the edge of the garden and finding a small stone threw it to Bess and said, “Show me all three.”
Bess threw the stone and before it had hit the tree she’d also flicked one of the knives. As it thudded into the tree she released the arrow which struck the trunk just above the still moving blade.
Mistress Blade looked hard at Bess then said, “You may call me Kat during the lessons. Have you ever held a sword?”
“No, Mistress Kat. Only the knives and the bow. I can throw a sharpened stick.”
“Ever killed something with a sharpened stick?”
“I killed a small mountain boar once. I didn’t throw the stick but the boar attacked and I only had time to ground the stick before it impaled itself on sharpened end.”
“A small mountain boar you say. Bigger or smaller than you?”
“It was maybe twice my weight but it was several years ago and I think I have grown since then.”
“Have you ever fought someone with just your hands?”
Bess’ eyes darkened a little and she said, “Only to protect myself and to escape. Sometimes my parents had a bit much mead and I learned to use whatever I could to get away.”
“Nothing wrong with your reasoning Bess. You need to learn to fight with everything at your disposal. Keep a small pin in your hair, a sharpened pencil can kill if used correctly. I will teach you some ways to escape if Mage Michael agrees. He thinks you will have a hard time in Tar Eylia. I will see you tomorrow. Do not bring the bow or knives tomorrow. I will bring some of mine.”
Bess bowed slightly and left. After a bath and the evening meal which she ate in the small dining room Bess sat on her bed and tried to work through her breathing. She concentrated on being calm. In anticipation of the next day she focussed her mind on the end of her right forefinger and put everything else out of her mind. Once she was certain she could keep the rhythm she began to think about the last three eightdays while keeping the rhythm going. Michael had said to practice till she fell asleep but she was still sitting there concentrating when Linny came to get her the following morning.
Chapter 7
As Linny opened the windows she squeezed in fright to see Bess sitting upright on the bed, the cover still pulled over the unused bed. Bess said, “Good morning Linny, I’m sorry I startled you.”
“That’s alright Miss Bess. I was just expecting you to be asleep after all the running you did yesterday.”
“Truth be told the lesson on reading tired me out more than the running. I’m used to working hard but remembering all the small squiggles and the sounds they make really took a lot out of me.”
After breakfast Bess made her way to Michael’s office. After knocking she entered and found him in the same place as the day before. Looking up and seeing Bess in a new dress he said, “Ah, I see Ellen has found some more suitable attire. I will also be commissioning a set of apprentice robes for you. They will set you apart even more from the other students, but it cannot be helped. If this is our lot then we must make the best of it and I have some small encouragement from your tutors. Now, say nothing and assume the breathing pose from yesterday.”
When Bess was able to assume the pose without trouble Michael began to talk about the various things Magic could achieve. His forte was transforming aether into heat and light in the form of flames and explosions. He could change the shape, the temperature and even the density of the flame.
Mage Megan was exceptionally gifted with using air. She could use it to see, or hear, over long distances, and to amplify sound. She was able to change the atmospheric pressure to make things explode or to crush them. One aspect of her specialty was the ability to truth-tell. She could hear the human heart and see the dilation of their pupils, air would bring the scent of their skin to her. From this she was gifted at telling fact from fantasy, truth from lies, supposition from actual knowledge.
Other mages could transform matter or manipulate gravity. Aether was used to change the physical reality of the world by manipulating its laws, not by transcending them. Much of Bess’ education would be learning how the world worked. Every mage understood friction and could make things slippery or sticky but those who understood all the different types of friction could transform the world around the ship to make it slide through the water at incredible speeds or they could build an immovable barricade. She would need to understand the relationship between different types of materials, what happened when different materials were heated or mixed, understand how birds flew and fish swam. Until she had a good understanding of the world she couldn’t use aether either to its potential, or to hers.
