Страница 157 из 234
"Oh, Tarrin," she said in awe. "Tell me what happened. Leave nothing out."
Step by step, Tarrin recanted his memory of the fight, and being knocked into the Conduit. "I don't remember very much after that," he said helplessly. "The power tried to fry me to ash, and I just had to do something with it to keep from exploding. They tell me I burned the Doomwalker to ash, and it lit up the Conduit and the Ward."
"No one could survive direct exposure to the Heart," she said in a quiet voice. "But you did, somehow."
"Why is it called that?"
"Because that is what it is," she replied. "The Conduit ru
"I didn't know that," he said. "So that's what's happening to me? Do you think I somehow was affected by the Conduit?"
"How could you not?" she said. "I have never heard of anything surviving direct immersion in the Heart. Even mundane objects thrown into the Heart charge with magical power, then explode. But you survived it, and it has affected you. It has opened a link with you, my dear one, a link that fills you with power you ca
"What? How do we fix it?"
"I do not think we can," she said, "but I-they-may be able to teach you how to control the link. You ca
"You don't sound to convinced."
"Because that may be impossible," she sighed. "But it is all I can think of. I will have to take this to the Council. They are more skilled and learned than I, perhaps they can find a better solution."
"The Council? Dola
"Hush, dear one," she told him. "This is quite beyond me, and I need guidance. Even if you do not trust the Council, remember that you are a Sorcerer, and that entitles you to their assistance. They will help. They must, it is their duty. Perhaps one of them can help you find a way to control this ability, for I do not think that I can."
Tarrin blew out his breath, but had to concede that she was right. He needed help, and if Dola
"Alright," he sighed. "I've been wondering something for a while, Dola
"What is it, dear one?"
"Why do you speak so formally?"
She laughed. "Because the northern common tongue is not my native one, Tarrin," she said. "I am from Sharadar."
He stared at her. Sharadar? The almost mythical kingdom on the southern continent that took its name from that nation, a nation of magic, learning, and wonders. "You're from Sharadar? Why are you up here?"
"Because I am a Sorcerer, dear one," she replied calmly. "Sharadar has its own order of katzh-dashi, in their own Tower. The Heart comes up from the earth here, but it descends into the earth there. There is a Tower and an order of Sorcerers at both ends of it. There are Sharadite Sorcerers here, just as there are northern Sorcerers in Sharadar. Each order is separate, but both answer to the Council and Keeper. Because of that, there are always communications passing between each order."
Tarrin had never conceived of that. He knew that the world was round, but to imagine something piercing the earth and ru
"The same as the northern ones," she replied. "Study, learn, and find others with our gifts."
"I never knew about them."
"There is a bit of, competition, between the two orders, dear one," she said with a smile. "The teachings of the other order of katzh-dashi come later in your Initiate."
"What happened to them during the Breaking?" he asked suddenly. "Sevren's class didn't cover that."
"The same as what happened up here, but the southern katzh-dashi were never driven from their Tower. And yet they too simply vanished."
"But why keep the other order secret?" Tarrin asked. "It doesn't make sense."
"It is not a secret," she told him, "it is merely something not often discussed. The workings of an order half the world away have little bearing or impact on life here."
"But they should say something in the Novitiate," he accused.
"Tarrin, they said nothing about the southern continents, other than references to geography," she reminded him. "And the Tower does like to keep its profile low. Telling Novices there is another Tower spreads information that the katzh-dashi may prefer to keep private. That is why only Initiates learn of the tower in Sharadar."
"It still seems strange," he said after a moment.
"Politics usually are, dear one," she chuckled. "But since I dare not try to instruct you, I think we are done for today. I need guidance, and must take this up with the Council at once." She smiled at him. "And I will be sure to tell Ahiriya that your uncertainty and fear over your condition caused your outburst. After she understands the problem, she will probably forgive you your behavior."
"I really don't care," he snorted. "I'm not here to lick her slippers."
"That kind of attitude will create trouble for you, dear one," Dola
"When she proves she deserves it, I'll give it to her," he grunted. "Dola
"We shall see, young one, and you are welcome," she said. "Now, since you ca
"Nobody ever told me about that."
"And why do you think that is?" she asked pointedly.
"Oh, because they don't want to contaminate the process of learning how to touch the Weave," he realized.
"Precisely. But since you already have mastered that task, you ca
"They'll let me in?"
"Yes. You wear Initiate red, and that is all you will need to gain entrance."
"I'll do it, Dola
"No thanks are needed, my dear one," she smiled.
He touched her cheek with his paw, taking in her beauty, realizing again now much the small woman meant to him, then he took his leave of her.
He didn't like the idea of the Tower meddling in his affairs, but Dola