“Ah, here are the two apprentices I have been going on about,” Enowene said. “Come in, girls, and sit down.” She motioned to Mavis. “That will be all for now, Mavis.” The woman graciously bowed and closed the door behind her. Enowene hoisted herself from her chair and made a point to posture herself near the wielder wearing white. She gestured to him. “The esteemed wielder of Northern Ishrak wearing white is known as Dicarion. He is not one of the First Trine, but he is a dear friend.” Dicarion stood and bowed. “Seated to his right, wearing the very stylish crimson robes, is Ianthill of Trigothia.” Ianthill also stood and bowed. Sheyna wondered why he was called Ianthill of Trigothia when he was obviously of elven descent.
Enowene continued on. “Wearing the traditional forest green of Abaddonia is Toborne.” Toborne did not stand but instead smiled and nodded slightly. “And seated next to Toborne, wearing his blue robes, is Morgoran of Symboria.” Morgoran smiled and winked.
“Wielders of the First Trine, the girls are easily distinguishable by hair color. The golden-blonde beauty is Princess Marella Arden, and the raven-haired, blue-eyed gem is Sheyna Namear. Please, you may take your seats now, girls,” Enowene said.
Marella and Sheyna sat on the two chairs facing the five wielders. Sheyna glanced at Dicarion. Marella had not mentioned him.
Enowene sat behind her desk. “Stand up, Marella.” Marella complied. “Once again, I introduce you to Marella Arden of Northern Trigothia. She has excelled in all her studies and is particularly adept at gathering essence.” Each wielder formally greeted Marella in turn. Sheyna could feel her knees shaking when Enowene’s eyes landed upon her. “Stand, Sheyna,” Enowene instructed. Sheyna stood, forcing her knees to stay still. “This is Sheyna Namear of Symboria.”
Toborne smirked. “I know this isn’t entirely appropriate to divulge, but I have a horse named Sheyna. I’m not very fond of that mare.”
Sheyna fumed at the comment and her ears turned red, but she said nothing. A thought occurred to her that Toborne was trying to make her angry in an attempt to gauge her excitability, a test she was determined to pass. No one would force her emotions.
Morgoran shook his head disapprovingly. “You are right to believe such a statement is not appropriate. It’s as if you prepared to insult the girl.” Morgoran’s kind eyes made Sheyna feel much better. “It’s a very nice name, Mistress Namear. My brother, Toborne, severely lacks grace and charm.”
“Just get on with it,” Toborne said irritably.
“Master Ianthill, you may begin when ready,” Enowene said.
Ianthill nodded to Enowene and then turned to Marella. “I understand you have somewhat of a temper, Mistress Marella of Trigothia.”
“Only when I’m angry,” Marella replied.
Ianthill continued his line of questioning. “I see. Do you become angry often, then?”
“Not particularly. My father is Duke Arden. I have been raised a lady of the court.”
Ianthill nodded before focusing again on Sheyna. “Mistress Sheyna, how far has your training come?”
Sheyna flinched at the question. “I have not yet been trained.”
Ianthill scratched his head, and Sheyna felt a bit more uncomfortable for a moment, until he spoke. “A new wielder, no bad habits to break, and no attitude to adjust. That is a very appealing prospect.” Ianthill paused for a long moment and then glanced at Morgoran, whose gaze prompted Ianthill to continue on. “Morgoran, Toborne, and I are the three wielders known as the First Trine. If you two girls know your history, then you know that we once ruled the known world. Now, we prepare new wielders for the highest advisory positions to ensure the peace we forged so long ago is kept. It is almost an overwhelming responsibility, so we prefer to apprentice and train the most gifted wielders ourselves. You two have been selected very carefully.”
Sheyna shifted in her chair. A button sewn in the center of the backrest pinched her back.
“This preliminary meeting today is for us to get to know each of you a little better. That said, some of the questions may seem a bit strange to your ears. Remember, we have our reasoning.”
Toborne stood and strolled around the room for a moment before ending up standing directly in front of Sheyna. His piercing gaze made her writhe uncomfortably. His eyes narrowed with each word he spoke. “We know you. We have seen you in our visions; we have heard you in our thoughts. We know you.” He backed away and sat in his chair, never taking his eyes off Sheyna.
Sheyna often involuntarily replaced her nervousness with a sarcastic grin and a witty tongue. “Well, I’m confident I don’t know you, but so far you do seem a bit cracked!”
Toborne arched up on the edge of his seat like a scolded cat. Dicarion waved for him to relax and settle down into his chair.
“Scare the poor child to tears, Toborne,” Dicarion said. “Do not fret, Mistress Namear. All Toborne is attempting to say is we have ways of knowing who might be good candidates for apprentices, and we act accordingly.”
Sheyna felt a little better at Dicarion’s explanation, but was still a bit shaken from being under the gaze of Toborne’s cruel, piercing eyes.
“Aye,” Morgoran said, “and we know you will make a fine wielder.”
Enowene cleared her throat. “Dicarion, Morgoran, Toborne, are there any more questions for Mistress Marella?”
Toborne leered. “I have a question.” Morgoran groaned audibly. “Could you serve a king of Arasyth if Trigothia should go to civil war and break up into kingdoms?”
Marella cocked an eyebrow. ‘The three ruling families of Trigothia will never go to war with each other as you outsiders speculate, and the Arasyth family is still weak and corrupt. They would never stand strong enough to form a kingdom even if there was such a war. No, I would not serve an Arasyth king because there never will be an Arasyth king.”
Toborne judged Marella curiously. “Are you certain?”
“Aye, quite certain.”
“What of Ishrak, then? If Dicarion should apprentice you and betroth you to Ishrak’s emperor, would you serve Ishrak?”
“I would do my duty, Master Toborne.”
“That is enough, Toborne,” Ianthill said. “Must you always act the fool?”
“I am not acting foolish, brother, my questions are legitimate.”
“I believe we have gathered all of the information we need, Mistress Enowene. We will deliberate on our choices now,” Dicarion said.
Enowene picked up a small silver bell and rang it. Mavis came through the chamber door. “Take the girls back to their chamber.” Mavis bowed in acknowledgement.
“Come along, girls,” Mavis said.
Marella bowed to the wielders. “Pleased to meet all of you.” The wielders all bowed their heads. Sheyna knew she was probably expected to follow Marella’s example, but she did not. Instead she just smirked awkwardly at Toborne in mock defiance.
Once the two girls were back in their rooms, Sheyna sat at the table in the common room. Marella was all smiles as she twirled around in front of the table. “I hope I apprentice to Ianthill. Mistress Enowene was Ianthill’s first apprentice.”
“Who is Dicarion? You didn’t mention him before,” Sheyna asked.
“He is the advisor to Emperor Roshac of Ishrak. I’m not sure exactly where he came from, but I know he is good friends with Ianthill.”
“What did you think of Toborne?”
“He is so handsome and brilliantly mad all at the same time,” Marella said.
“Aye, he is that. I think something else is also wrong with him.”
“Oh, what do you mean?”
“I don’t think the others like him much. They are all so mysterious and they don’t want to tell us too much, but Toborne is different. He speaks his mind for ill or good.”
“If you are correct, such a man could be dangerous, especially one with as much power as Toborne.”
“I know there is more to him than what they are letting us see.”
“You like him,
don’t you.”
Sheyna smirked. “I will give you the courtesy to ignore that comment.” Her expression suddenly turned sour. “I did not care too much for his comment about his mare named Sheyna. He knew my name long before he arrived. He said that to be hurtful.”
Marella nodded. “It was a test of character. He was trying to get to you so you would show your true colors.”
“I don’t think I liked that test much,” Sheyna said. “But I think I will ask him to call me Shey for short from now on. How long will they take to decide?”
Marella shrugged her shoulders. “It could be days or hours, how should I know?” Marella noticed Sheyna looking off into her room. “Are you even listening to my answer?”
“Of course, you said you didn’t know.” Sheyna was still staring off into her room. “Marella, did you put any of your dresses back into my wardrobe?”
“No, I took all my dresses out of your room, why?”
“Because there is a blue dress hanging in it now that wasn’t there this morning.”
Marella peered into Sheyna’s room. “Maybe Mavis put it there.”
“Maybe,” Sheyna agreed.
They both entered the room and examined every table, bookshelf, and wardrobe. Sheyna felt in her pocket for the jade statue, and it was present as well. After a thorough search, Sheyna was satisfied.
“I suppose it was left there for me to wear,” she said. She went to open the curtains wider to let in more light when she noticed the shadow on the windowsill again. She rushed to the window and lifted it open, but by the time she peered out the open window, the shadow was gone.
Chapter 8: Apprentice
Sheyna schooled Marella on the appearances of the shadow, and the blonde girl thought it must be a trick of light from the sun reflecting off something from the courtyard down below. Marella was examining the windowsill for clues of where the shadow might be created by a reflection of the sun when the two girls heard footsteps coming down the hall and then a knock on the door. Marella opened it to find Mavis standing there. “I have come to collect you both; the wielders have already made their decisions. They wish for you two to return to Mistress Enowene’s chamber at once.”
“Already?” Marella said with surprise. “I thought it usually took them a few days to decide.”
“This is the quickest decision I have ever seen them come to,” Mavis said. “Enowene asked them if they needed more time to make their decisions, but they believed no more time was required.”
Sheyna and Marella followed Mavis to the chamber once more. The wielders were seated exactly the way they were seated before. Sheyna and Marella sat in the chairs as they had before.
“The First Trine has come to a decision,” Enowene said. “Master Ianthill.”
Ianthill made a point to stand. “We have decided that you two are to be trained here in the tower. We do not wish to disrupt your training by moving you somewhere far away.” Both girls sighed with relief. “Mistress Marella, you are to be apprenticed to Dicarion of Ishrak. We feel that Dicarion would be a good choice since he has no political ties to Trigothia. He is also a gifted mindwielder master even though his own strength is in wielding essence.” Marella smiled, stood, and walked to where Dicarion was seated. She stood next to the old wizard.
“Mistress Sheyna, you were particularly difficult to place; however, we wish to train you as quickly as possible, and since it is urgent that you are to be trained, we chose the fastest, most competent teacher among us for the job, Toborne of Abaddonia.” Sheyna was both pleased and apprehensive at the same time. She followed Marella’s lead and went to stand next to Toborne. “Morgoran and I will stay in our quarters here at the tower for a while to oversee that your training goes along smoothly. Do not hesitate to call on us if you feel it is necessary.”
Dicarion took both of Marella’s hands in his. “Marella Arden, I chose you as my apprentice and bind you to my service.”
“I accept your apprenticeship, Master Dicarion, and will serve you until you release me,” Marella said. As she spoke the oath, her dress turned from grey to white.
Toborne stood and took Sheyna’s hands in his. His touch was electric, and she almost pulled her hands back. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked her in the eye. “Sheyna Namear, I choose you as my apprentice and bind you to my service.”
Sheyna was unsure exactly what she was supposed to say, so she repeated Marella’s words. “I accept your apprenticeship, Master Toborne, and will serve you until you release me.” She bowed deeply and noticed her grey dress changed to a forest green. Toborne grinned like the cat that just ate the prized canary.
Enowene shook both Marella and Sheyna’s hands and bid them good tidings.
“Now we will adjourn. It is tradition for new apprentices to follow your masters to their chambers so that you may know where to receive your new lessons tomorrow,” Enowene said.
Sheyna followed Toborne high up into the tower to his chambers. With the wave of a hand, the sconces on the walls all lit up, illuminating the room. The chamber was pleasant for the most part, with shelves of books lining a circular room. There were two huge desks opposite each other in the center of the room on top of bearskin rugs. Toborne searched the bookshelves and took down two books. “I wish for you to study these two books. They contain several techniques on how to efficiently draw upon essence and use it to your advantage.” Toborne sat behind his desk and motioned for Sheyna to be seated at the other. “One other point you should know, my dear. I have a secret you may be interested in.”
“Oh, what is that?” Sheyna asked.
Toborne took out a long clay pipe and stuffed it with tabac. “You see, I am not the most agreeable master; I require a certain excellence from my apprentices. I require excellence from you in all things I teach you. In fact, I demand it.”
Sheyna nodded. “I shall do my very best.”
“There is a good reason why I am the fastest trainer. I learned a spell some seasons ago from another wielder who needed apprentices to learn more quickly than most so he could have soldiers for his war. I am afraid it’s a bit dangerous and could just as easily burn out your brain as easily as teach you.”
“I am not sure I want to be on the receiving end of such a spell.”
Toborne nodded as if he understood, but before Sheyna could detect it, he released essence and cast the spell over her. He was remarkably stealthy at gathering essence. Next to him, everyone else she met who could draw essence sounded and felt loud and clumsy. She panicked for a moment as he held her with essence. He used his free hand to open a magical tome. Sheyna could feel and see the words lifting from it, floating in the air. A stream of words traveled along the essence Toborne held her with, and she found that she was no longer fearful or frightened. The knowledge flowed into her as effortlessly as water flowing in a river. After a moment, she decided she liked the power flowing into her but disliked the method. She began to push against the stream, and Toborne strengthened his grip, which just made her angrier. After a time, the stream of knowledge began to give her a headache, but Toborne did not abate.
“Don’t fight it. I was only joking about this being dangerous,” Toborne said with a twisted smile.
“I know a lie when I hear it,” Sheyna managed to say.
“Indeed, then let us see how close we can get to your mental limit, shall we?” He strengthened his power.
Slowly, Sheyna realized the runes and words on the tomes around her were changing, becoming clearer, becoming readable. On the shelf behind Toborne, one of the tomes was titled Rune Magic of the Dragons. Toborne’s face contorted as she looked at the book.
“What are you doing? What are you looking at?” He glanced behind him, still concentrating on the stream of knowledge all the while. “Ah, dragon magic. It was a gift, but I have never been able to read it. No wielder can read it.” He dropped the stream. Sheyna collapsed to her knees with her head in her hands.
The words flowed from her mouth without
a forethought. “I knew you were mad, but I never expected you to be this mad. You hurt me!”
Toborne did not seem to be wounded or upset by her words. “Would you have it your way, then? I could train you for a hundred seasons or so, or I could do it this way and have you an adept by Summerwills Day.”
“People don’t live a hundred seasons.”
“Ha, you do now. Wielders age differently. You will appear to be about thirty or thirty-five seasons by the time you are a master wielder, and you will appear that age for hundreds of seasons, aging so slowly as to be imperceptible. It is the way of essence.”
Sheyna felt a sharp pain throb at her temples, and she clasped her head in her hands again. The pain was almost unbearable. She opened her straining eyes to see figures and text swirling before her eyes. Toborne sat back at the center table, smirking at her.
“What’s happening?” Sheyna became confused.
“Looks like the knowledge is taking hold. This is my favorite part.” He released a bubble that expanded into every corner of the room.
“What was that for?” Sheyna asked.
“It was for your screams, dear. I can’t have the whole of the tower rushing here when you scream.”
Sheyna went one step beyond livid. Instinctively she outstretched her arm to the dragon book and willed it to her without bothering to draw in essence. It flew off the shelf and into her hand. Toborne, who was leaning back in his chair, sat forward, watching Sheyna intently. She could tell he was as surprised as she was. Sheyna flung open the book and released essence from somewhere inside her she didn’t know she had stored up. The runes leaped from the page in a constant stream and penetrated directly through her eyes. Now she let out a blood-curdling scream.
“What are you doing, you fool? You can’t cast that spell so soon after! It will kill you,” Toborne bellowed.
He tried to do something, but Sheyna willed him to stay seated. He was stuck to his chair. The runes floated around her, through her, and she began to gain the knowledge to understand them. The pain in her head was almost unbearable, but she powered though it anyway. When it was done and she had absorbed the entire book, all she could see was crimson, and she imagined her sapphire blue eyes were now ruby red, and by the look on Toborne’s face, they were.
Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) Page 6
