Tessia felt a pang of disappointment. Was it usual for women apprentices – or even magicians – to be excluded from “important” discussions? She felt a pang of jealousy and annoyance. Why should Jayan get to talk about magic, and not she? Well, I can’t be sure Jayan is there. It might just be Gilar and Dakon, two magicians nattering about whatever magicians natter about, while Jayan is eating somewhere on his own.
“So how did you come to be an apprentice magician?” Faynara asked.
Without warning, Takado’s leering face flashed into Tessia’s mind. She ignored it and the contempt it roused. “By accident. I didn’t even know I’d used magic until Lord Dakon told me, and then he wasn’t sure until he tested me.”
“You’re a natural!” Faynara exclaimed, smiling with delight. “How lucky for you. What did you do before then?” A tiny crease had appeared between Lady Pimia’s eyebrows.
“I assisted my father, who is a healer.”
“Ah,” Pimia said approvingly. “That would explain why you speak so well.”
“I have magical ability,” Faynara said proudly.
Tessia looked at the girl with interest. “How many years have you been learning?”
“Oh, I’m only a latent.” Faynara shrugged.
Tessia frowned. “Latent?”
“We decided not to develop Faynara’s powers,” Lady Pimia said, smiling at her daughter. “She wasn’t interested in becoming a magician, but her ability should bring a fine choice of suitors. Her older brother is apprenticed to Lord Ruskel of Felgar ley.”
“So... does learning magic deter suitors?” Tessia asked hesitantly. The two women laughed quietly. “Perhaps,” Pimia said. “Mostly, learning magic would take up too much of Faynara’s time and she would gain little benefit from it, apart from a few useful tricks. She’s better off learning the arts of running a home and being a good wife.”
“You can’t become a magician just for a few useful tricks,” Faynara added, grimacing. “You have to go all the way. That takes years. There’s no point marrying and having children until you’re finished, and you have to go wherever your master goes.”
Tessia thought about Jayan’s view that a magician has a responsibility to protect his people and his country. She wondered what he would think of Faynara’s dismissal of her opportunity to become a magician. Gilar’s daughter would be of no use to Kyralia if it was attacked.
Or would she? As a latent magician, she would be a powerful source of magic. Listening to the young woman list the advantages of not learning magic, which included the ability to shop and visit friends in Imardin whenever she wanted, Tessia found it hard to imagine Faynara being a dedicated student.
Then she remembered Lord Dakon’s lesson about physical limitations restricting what a magician could do with his or her power. Perhaps there were mental limitations as well. While teaching someone who did not apply himself would be difficult, teaching someone who simply did not take her power seriously could be dangerous.
“Gilar informed me that you will be staying a day, then leaving the morning after,” Pimia said. “We will have to think up an entertainment for you to enjoy tomorrow.”
Tessia smiled and nodded. I wonder what these women consider entertainment?
“Is this your first visit to Imardin?” Faynara asked.
“Yes.”
“Oh!” Faynara clapped her hands together. “How exciting for you. I must tell you who the best jewellers, shoemakers and tailors are!”
Although she doubted Dakon’s allowance would extend far enough for such luxuries, Tessia decided she might as well take the young woman’s advice. Even if she did not need it herself, she might be socialising with women who felt such things were important.
After all, if I’m not going to be included in important discussions, I might have to have unimportant ones with women like Pimia and Faynara. It will be useful to know what they consider good conversation... and entertainment.
The night before they had set off for Imardin, Dakon had told Jayan about the Circle of Friends and the true purpose of his visit to Imardin. The information had left Jayan feeling both shock and pride. He was pleased Dakon had decided to entrust him with the secret, but horrified by the possibility that their fears might be proved justified, and Kyralia be invaded by Sachaka again. Annoyingly, he couldn’t enjoy his new status as confidant because every time he thought about it, he inevitably wound up worrying about the future. Was he ready for battle, if it came? Was Kyralia?
When he considered the possibility of Dakon’s being killed he felt a tightness in his chest. He hadn’t realised how much he had grown to respect and like his master and teacher. He found himself worrying about Tessia, too. If they faced an attack, Dakon would need his help. But Tessia was too new to magic to be an effective fighter. She did not have the time or inclination to become one, either. She would need protecting. But his loyalty must be to Dakon first. He had to trust that the magician would protect Tessia, or else send her away somewhere safe.
Dakon didn’t want Tessia knowing the real reason for his trip to Imardin. Travelling far from her parents for the first time would be challenging enough, without adding to it the fear of an attack from Sachaka. This first trip to Imardin ought to be an enjoyable one.
So, not surprisingly, she had not been admitted to the dinner conversation tonight. Apparently she’d eaten with Lord Gilar’s wife and daughter. That would have been a new experience for her. It’s obvious Gilar chose Pimia to be his wife for her magical bloodline, not her intelligence, and Faynara isn’t much better. Still, they’re well mannered. They wouldn’t look down on Tessia openly, or try to manipulate or trick her.
Conversation between Dakon and Gilar had been almost solely about the threat from Sachaka and Dakon’s coming meeting with the king. Lord Gilar had switched between declaring that no Sachakan would ever dare to invade Kyralia to believing they were all doomed, then back again. These shifts from confidence to despondency confused Jayan at first, then disappointed him.
Lord Gilar is a bit mad, I suspect. He’s got no grasp on reality. I can’t imagine him being a help during battle – more a hindrance. Dakon had to talk Gilar out of battle-training his farmers or getting them to abandon their crops and animals to spend months building walls around his borders. Jayan wondered if Gilar’s education had included any battle strategy at all. The man overestimated how long a physical barrier could delay a magician. One moment he couldn’t see the value of his people as sources, the next he was excessively concerned about not letting them become a resource for the enemy.
By the time dinner ended Jayan was exhausted from suppressing the desire to tell the man what an idiot he was, and immensely grateful to have a teacher as sensible as Lord Dakon. I pity any apprentice who finds himself receiving lessons from Lord Gilar.
They finished late in the night, long after the women of the house had retired to bed. Instead of heading to his room, Dakon indicated he wanted Jayan to follow him into the small seating room next door.
“Not tired?” Jayan asked.
Dakon grimaced. “Of course, but we don’t get much opportunity to talk privately at the moment. What did you think of Lord Gilar?”
Jayan sat down. “I’m surprised he’s a member of the Circle of Friends.”
“Oh? He’s a country magician. Why wouldn’t he be?”
“He’s hardly the reliable type. Constantly changing his mind.” Dakon chuckled. “I think if all doubts of an invasion were allayed he would be much more... decided.”
“All doubts allayed meaning an invasion taking place?”
“Yes.”
“Until that happens can you rely on his support?”
“Oh, yes. But he’s a man who finds it easier to follow the guidance of others than decide on action himself. The trouble is, within the Circle there are conflicting opinions on whether we need to make preparations, and what they should be.” Dakon stretched and yawned. “Gilar does have good intentions, he just isn’t always consistent in carrying them out.”
Jayan thought of the bridge, and nodded.
“Whereas there are some in Imardin who are quite the opposite,” Dakon continued. “Their intentions are not so good, and they are astute at carrying them out. We will have to tread carefully.”
“But surely it is in their interest to help us. There can’t be much benefit to letting the enemy invade, unless...do you think some are traitors? Most Kyralian families contain some Sachakan blood, if you look back a few generations.”
“No. Not yet, at least, and I doubt it would be for that reason. After two hundred years I don’t think there are any who would not consider themselves Kyralian. They would rather think of themselves as descendants of the Kyralians who gained us independence than of the Sachakans who conquered and ruled the previous generations.”
“You should hear my father talk.” Jayan grimaced. “He says it was only breeding with Sachakans that brought toughness into the Kyralian race. Sometimes I think he’d like to thank them personally.”
Dakon smiled. “Yet is he still proud to be Kyralian?”
“Stiflingly,” Jayan replied. He sighed. “I don’t think he’d like to see Kryalia invaded. Surely to suggest allowing such a thing would be considered traitorous?”
“Some will reason that if only the country leys are overtaken they will not be affected. They will be tempted to strike a bargain, give the Sachakans some land in exchange for avoiding a war. We must convince them that, in the long term, they will suffer for it.”
“Do you think they’re expecting us, and have prepared?”