by Lexy Wolfe
Nolyn studied the boy for a time, his expression softening as his thoughts went back to another apprentice who yearned for his master's approval. "I am proud of you, Marcus. But you are right. I should be tasking you more. Challenge is what drives us to improve ourselves, and I am being too cautious. I was a guardsman, and my students tended to have similar traits as I." They kept to the lower, outer bridges, staying above the ancient trees' massive roots. The master mage kept his eyes forward to navigate his mount. "I also do not want to demand too much of you, either."
The boy was silent for a time. "I appreciate that, Master. I have seen other apprentices who are failing because they are overburdened by masters who think that if they cannot handle whatever is given them, they deserve to fail."
The master snorted. "Foolish. Before you can walk, you must learn to crawl. And before you can run, you must learn to walk." He looked over at Marcus. "I am keeping you from learning to walk, aren't I?"
"Maybe a little," Marcus mumbled, cheeks red.
Nolyn chuckled. "Tell you what. I will demand a little more from you, if you will tell me when it is too much for you, so I can help you learn how to manage."
Marcus looked up with a bright smile. "I would like that, Master."
"Good." Nudging his horse to walk faster, he added, "And, listen. I know that you will not always be honest with me. I wasn't with my master, and my master told me he was not with his. It is human nature." He regarded his apprentice. "All he ever asked of me is what I ask of you. Accept responsibility if you are caught doing wrong. And make sure whatever 'wrong' you do is not only worth the risk of being caught, but worth being caught for."
Frowning, Marcus asked after a little bit, "I do not understand, Master. Wrong is wrong. I should follow the rules, and expect to be punished when I do not." The corner of Nolyn's mouth curled in a small smile that Marcus could not see from where he was. "Sometimes you don’t make any sense, Master."
"If I had a gold coin for every time I heard that, I could buy a Sevmanan kingdom."
Marcus's face turned bright red. "Master!" Nolyn laughed, waving Marcus to come up beside him as the bridge widened.
Chapter 23
Marcus stared around in wonder as they approached Quoesia on the heavy travel bridge that connected Ithesra with the smaller city. Nolyn glanced at the boy and smiled. "Never been outside of Ithesra?"
"Well, I am not originally from Ithesra, Master," Marcus replied, cheeks coloring a bit. "But I was eight years old when my parents sent me to the Academy. This is the first time I have left Ithesra since coming to the Magus Academy." He paused a moment, a slight frown marring his features. "I never realized there was a… a tangible difference in how one realm feels from another."
Nolyn considered and nodded. "Very true, though few are consciously aware of that sensation. The trees and other plants that are native to Quoesia give her a different scent." He took a deep breath, eyes shut. "Cherries and sweet grasses. Even the wind seems more playful and less uptight than Ithesra." Marcus clapped a hand over his mouth, unable to repress a giggle at the observation. The corners of Nolyn's eyes crinkled in amusement.
"In Ithesra, everything seems to tingle with how much magic flows there. Here..." Marcus paused again. "It is much more subtle and soothing. I like it."
Nolyn's smile faltered as he looked forward. "Don't let Quoesia or the rest of Estania fool you, Marcus. There are many rings hidden beneath Her bark that are not as pleasant." Annoyance infused his expression, drawing Marcus to follow his gaze to the group awaiting them at the crossroad bridge ahead of them.
Flanked by guards and attendants, Eptina lowered the scarf covering her plaited hair, offering a lofty smile to Nolyn. "Edai Magus Nolyn Lyrai, welcome to the Estania realm. I confess, I was expecting your entourage to be... Well." She cleared her throat. "Be that as it may, the Dyndrai family has rooms appropriate to your station prepared for you."
Marcus glanced between Eptina and Nolyn as his master responded with tones that bordered mockery of Eptina's formality. "I do not wish to impose upon your family's most generous hospitality, Edai Magus Eptina Dyndrai. If Mayven's Rest has no room for my apprentice and I, we will go to the Tree of Knowledge and make use of the rooms maintained there for visiting mages. Besides, I wish my apprentice and me to give our respects to the Great Mother and speak with the resident mages. It has been many years since I have visited Queosia's library." His thin smile did not reach his eyes. "And I would be remiss in imposing my schedule on your household, as irregular as it is."
Eptina's carefully cultured expression flickered with a mixture of annoyance and something else that quickly returned to the courtly neutrality she had moments earlier. "Of course, Master Nolyn. I will explain to Master Kerburn and have our servants adjust to your needs as required." She gestured to the others, who started moving down the south side branch of the bridge. "I will give you time for you and your apprentice to settle in and attend to matters. There will be a dinner party that will begin at an hour before sunset the day after tomorrow." With a demure smile, she added, "I look forward to sharing drinks with you afterwards."
The pair waited until the group was well away. Nolyn muttered under his breath as he turned his horse and urged it down the north side bridge. "Come. Let's get to Quoesia's Tree of Knowledge. Only the feel of Her breath in the library will banish my irritation right now."
After several tense minutes, Marcus spoke, his soft voice barely reaching Nolyn's hearing. "You do not like her."
"With very few individual exceptions, I dislike all highborn families," Nolyn stated without inflection. "They are manipulative, deceitful, and I wouldn't trust them any further than I could throw a tree."
"Mm." After a few moments, Marcus observed, "Master Eptina is very attractive."
Nolyn arched an eyebrow, regarding Marcus. "You sound surprised."
"Yes. My family rarely had a kind thing to say about the highborn family responsible for our home realm. They only aired their feelings privately in whispers, not where they could bring punishment on us." Nolyn gestured for Marcus to continue speaking, the boy bright red. "Momma used to say that attractive highborn women always neglect training their skills and get by on the reputation of their family's past glories and their own looks. And that is why all highborn women who become master mages look like a monkey that swung face first into a tree." Nolyn nearly choked on the laughter that bubbled up at the unexpected comment.
His expression earnest, Marcus continued. "Yet Master Eptina is both very attractive and one of the Edai Tredecima, so she must have considerable skills as a mage as well." Marcus paused, frowning in thought before he looked at Nolyn. "Unless the darkling Se'edai chose her because she is unskilled or weak on purpose."
"Assume nothing is truth until you discover it for yourself, Marcus." Nolyn smiled, his eyes reflecting his sadness. "That is the insidiousness of darklings. We are a nation of subtlety. And we tend to be lazy and just accept things at face value without skepticism or doubt. Sometimes even we mages neglect to watch for subtle trends.
"But assuming there are ulterior motives to everything and everyone would drive you mad guarding yourself from it. In the end, the ones you worry so much about win because you end up dying alone because you cannot trust anyone. My guess, Ysai had other reasons for selecting Eptina. She has strength, but she was very young and inexperienced then. As much as she grates on every last nerve I have, she has worked to prove she is more than a pretty face. Every Forentan with the desire to excel and the discipline to work hard can become powerful. Remember Illaini Magus Terrence."
"You really don't like people much at all, Master." The words were a statement of observation.
"I do not like the deceit of court politics. Lies beget more lies. While harder, the truth is lazier because there is no need to try to remember what is true and what is false." Tugging the reins of his mount as they reached the massive library at the heart of Queosia, Nolyn looked at Marcus briefly. "It is... challen
ging for me to retain a positive outlook some days, when I cannot simply admire beauty without having to look for the poison behind it."
"Understood, Master Nolyn." He dismounted and took his horse's lead, holding his hand out for Nolyn's reins. "I will have our things taken to one of the visitor suites for visiting mages." When Nolyn opened his mouth, Marcus explained, "The Dyndrai family would not be able to argue with tradition. Mages usually shelter in the local Tree of Knowledge. They cannot claim any insult that you think their home offers less than a Rest, and I assumed you did not wish to stay with your family while we are here. I did not forget you were born in Quoesia, Master." He looked over his shoulder. "Did I assume wrong, Master?"
The man cleared his throat. "You assumed correctly. I would like to know how you came to that conclusion though. About my not wishing to stay with my family. Staying with family is as much a tradition as staying at the temple."
Marcus turned back to regard Nolyn. "You never wrote anything about your family in your old journals. At least the ones that allowed me to find them. When you did not include the Lirai family among the options to Master Eptina, I guessed staying with your family was not one."
Nolyn considered his apprentice before smiling warmly and clapping him on the shoulder in praise. "You are very perceptive, Marcus. I can see I will have to keep a close eye on you." Marcus's bright smile lit up his face and he bowed before turning back to his task and led the horses away.
Nolyn's smile faded as he turned to regard the elegant wood carvings around the main entrance of the Tree of Knowledge, the ancient tree serving as the educational, religious and governmental heart of Queosia. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open, striding inside. He flinched and grimaced as an all too familiar voice emerged from behind one of the many rows of shelves. "Hello, little brother. I was wondering when you were going to finally come home to visit us."
"Hello, Bethal," Nolyn replied, looking at the older man as he came out. "It is good to see you, too. How's the family?"
"You would know how we are doing if you ever bothered to come visit. Or even wrote to us!" Bethal crossed his arms, scowling. "You didn't even come for the funeral when Mother passed! You could have made the journey just to pretend you are still one of us."
"Why?" Nolyn made a dismissive gesture. "Mother had no love for me. I was another mouth to keep fed, a body to keep clothed. All I was, was trouble from the start."
Bethal grimaced at the sharp words. "That's not how it was," he began.
"I was a child, Bethal. Not deaf. I know what I heard. They were excruciatingly clear about how much of a burden I was."
Exasperated, the older man stated, "Father needed you when he lost Mother and you just turned your back on him."
Nolyn narrowed his eyes. "He needed me? That's a laugh. He was the one who shipped me off to the Magus Academy as soon as I was old enough, Bethal. Hell, they dumped me onto the Avarians before I was old enough to attend the Academy. Only because Master Ellis was Edai magus and I was a ward of the Avarians did they allow a seven year old in classes. I was the youngest student at the academy. Do you have any idea how much the older children tormented me?"
Bethal made a noise, unable to look at him. "I wish you hadn't suffered what you had, Nolyn. Believe me." He looked up then. "And whether you believe it or not, neither did Mother and Father." He waved a dismissive hand. "But you had no idea what was going on back then. Father did what he had to make sure... Oh, nevermind. It's in the past." The two fell in step as they headed to the central altar chamber where a spectacular green and white marble sculpture honoring the Knowing One dominated. As one, they knelt before the statue, murmuring prayers of thanks to the goddess and asking for wisdom and patience.
In the silence that followed their prayers, both remained kneeling in contemplation. Bethal looked at his younger brother's profile for a time. "I know you have not totally abandoned the Lirai family, considering how much of your earnings you send back." He frowned as he looked Nolyn over. "At least you're not wearing threadbare clothes. But you need to be keeping up appearances with the highborn, especially now that you are Edai Magus. A single apprentice? No others as part of your circle? And borrowing the Illaini Magus's servants?" The older man shook his head. "The gossip that has come back does not reflect well on you."
"It does not reflect well on me in high society," Nolyn corrected. He waved his hand towards the statue. "She is satisfied with me. That is enough."
Bethal frowned. "Nolyn, must you always be such a stubborn, rebellious child? Neither appearances nor strength alone are enough. Perhaps our people are naïve, associating the quality of appearances with the quality of the person, but it is how it is. You might be able to get away with small numbers of students if they are skilled and talented. But your should have a substantial circle of servants and assistants to reflect your position as the second of the Edai Tredecima. You won't have to make any overt displays of strength if you give them an appearance they will associate with strength and prowess." He put his hand on Nolyn's arm. "I hate the pretense as much as you do. But it has its usefulness, especially when dealing with them. You should wield every weapon at your disposal in your battles with the highborn families."
Nolyn's scowl vanished as Bethal's words brought the Desanti and their blunt mannerisms to mind. The older brother looked puzzled when Nolyn began to chuckle, then outright laugh helplessly. Getting to his feet, Nolyn waved off Bethal's unspoken question. "You just reminded me of something. I'll have to explain one day. However, given your words of wisdom, I will need to prepare properly for dinner at the Dyndrai estate the evening after tomorrow's."
"Dinner? At the Dyndrai house?" Bethal frowned, his demeanor reflecting worry instead of anger. "Dear gods, the rumors can't be true… You aren't courting Edai Magus Eptina, are you?"
"I know she would like everyone to believe that, but no. I am not fool enough not to realize the exaggerated influence the Dyndrai would gain if they could get two of the Edai Tredecima bearing their name. Especially with me being first chair. My visit there is purely a state matter." Nolyn blinked at the utter relief Bethal exhibited. "Something I should know about?"
"The Dyndrai have been proposing various matches between our houses since you became Edai. As they like to say, to bolster the Lirai bloodlines and the Dyndrai political lines. Though all of the matches take Lirai out of our house and do not bring any Dyndrai into it. Not that we want any of them sharing our branches." Bethal shook his head sharply. "But we have never forgotten our duties to our great mother, unlike the Dyndrai."
Nolyn frowned. "Forgotten their duties? Eptina seems to make an effort." He followed Bethal as he led him to a small, recessed alcove of books. With a word and gesture, Nolyn created a privacy barrier to keep any without from hearing their conversation.
"Then she is the only one who does out of that family," Bethal replied, his bitterness unmistakable. "But she is not head of house. Kerburn rules that family with an iron fist. The only respect that family had for the Edai Tredecima was the darkling Se'edai Magus. Rumor squirrels whisper that the Dyndrai knew exactly what Ysai had been, and Eptina had gotten twelfth chair to placate them and Kerburn's ambitions. Their words of shock and repudiation of the darkling revelation is so superficial, even numbwits can tell they are insincere."
"Obviously, I have missed quite at bit in my avoidance of highborn functions," Nolyn sighed in reluctant admission. "I knew the Dyndrai and Oberlains had been rather cozy with one another."
"They still are, though they are not seen together in public in Quoesia." Roughly shuffling several books, he grumbled, "The Dyndrai and Oberlain houses share a special, virulent hatred for the Avarian house for displacing them in the hierarchy with Ellis Avarian's ascension to Se'edai Magus. Kerburn had expectations on gaining first chair when Ellis died, old as he was. You have no idea how furious he was with the unexpected return of the Knowing One's Voice or the restoration of his youth. Ruined decades of planning."
&nb
sp; "I see," Nolyn murmured, lost in thought as he considered his purpose for coming to the city. "If this is the level of venom the Dyndrai have towards the Avarian, Eptina has concealed it very well."
"Eptina has been civil enough," Bethal conceded. "The same cannot be said of the rest of that house. They had always given our family troubles, but they have become more difficult in the past few months."
Nolyn blinked in surprise. "They have been turning their attentions towards the Lirai? I cannot see why. At best, Lirai has been a house that produced technical mages. The greater houses ignore us."
Bethal looked over his shoulder while reaching up to put a book back. "Not as much as you think. And they pay attention more now than they used to. Especially after you began attending the Magus Academy, Nolyn. Out of all of Mother and Father's children, you showed incredible promise extremely early." Turning to face Nolyn, he put his hands on both of his brother's shoulders. "And you have exceeded even our highest hopes or the Dyndrai's minimal expectations."
Pale, Nolyn faltered. "I don't… understand. I remember what Mother and Father said…"
"You only heard what they said, not what they meant." Bethal sighed, hands dropping as he turned away. "The Lirai have never been a rich family. But they wanted to give you everything that would fit the station they saw you reaching. They could not afford the tuition to pay the Magus Academy as well as clothing that would not detract from your promise. Father went to Bennu Avarian and explained… that is why even as the Avarian family's ward, you were still a Lirai."
"Father wanted to raise the family status through me," Nolyn growled.
"Yes, but not because of the social games the highborn play. For Quoesia. Someone needs to speak for the people here. You are a full mage, not a technical mage. A full mage trained by an Avarian. The higher status you held in Ithesra, the more people would come to us for help instead of the Dyndrai. Some have even started tithing to our family, though in secret. You know how highborns react when their position is being threatened." Nolyn grunted in agreement to that statement.
