Honor and Blood

"She," he corrected. "She was being trained to be the obe for her tribe. That's something of a diplomat," he explained. "They have to be able to speak the languages of the foreigners they may encounter and act as a translator for the tribe chief."

"Ah. Well, the Selani are well known for being thorough," she mused. "And I have to admit, it pleases me very much to hear you speaking Sharadi. I sometimes feel, restricted, trying to express my thoughts in your language. At least now, I can communicate the complete sense of what I'm trying to say."

"You always did before," he shrugged. "I think you just thought we couldn't get the true sense of your meaning."

"Perhaps," she smiled.

"All I have to do now is learn Wikuni, and I'll be able to speak everyone's native language," he chuckled.

"Keritanima already started making plans," Dola

"I learned Sharadi in about two," he told her. "I have a knack for languages, Dola

"I know that, dear one," she smiled. "But still, two months seems… too short." She tapped her chin in thought. "Maybe, maybe you were getting some help."

"What do you mean?"

"There are any number of spells that can accelerate learning," she reminded him. "I used one to learn Sha'Kar within a month. But I had to use it. If I'd have tried to learn it the long way, I'd still be learning. Did you use one of those spells?"

"No," he told her. "But-well, now that you mention it, maybe I did get some help," he said, pondering.

"How so?"

"I've been told that I'm very sensitive to the Weave," he explained. "Well, Dola

"I always wondered how you managed to learn it," she said after a moment. "And that sounds like an absolutely fascinating thing. You can find any information you want?"

"Not really. Like I said, it's like trying to find a single cork floating in the ocean, but in reality it's like trying to sort out a single sound in a cacophony of a million reverberating echoes. When it does happen, it's fairly rare, even for me. But sometimes I'll see something or hear something I don't understand, and then the knowledge of it just hits me. That's when the Weave's memories find me. Maybe, when Denai was teaching me, it was making the Weave send the memories of Sharadi to me to help me learn it quickly."

"Possible. If that's so, then your intent has a measurable effect on the Weave."

"I already knew that," he said, absently pointing to a small feeder strand crossing through the room. Dola

"I assume you have a reason?" she asked.

He nodded. "What happened to me can happen to any Sorcerer," he told her. "Weavespi

Dola

"There's a drawback to it, though," he said. "If you do manage to do it, it changes you physically. That alters the power of Sorcery for you, and you lose your powers until you figure out how to get back in contact with them."

"I remember you telling us about that," she told him, then it dawned on her. "And with the enemy army so close, if Keritanima lost her powers temporarily, it would damage our chances," she realized.

"Exactly. They need Kerri's magic. If she crossed over and became da'shar, she'd lose her powers, and we'd lose a critical part of our defense." He looked at her. "She can try all she wants after the battle. But until it's over, I'm keeping this from her."

"Je

He nodded. "She's done very well learning what she needed to learn, and doing it quickly. When she takes the field, she's going to be the last thing the ki'zadun wants to see. She's as strong as I am, Dola

"How can a group of weaker Sorcerers boost her so much?"

"It's basic Circle rules, Dola

"Thus explains your optomism," Dola

"I know," he grunted. "I don't see how they're going to do it, though. I know that Je

"Well, dear one, we'll certainly find out," Dola

"We will at that," he agreed.

The door opened, and Jesmind and Jasana padded into the apartment. Jasana was almost skipping, holding a large tankard, and Jesmind was carrying a very heavy platter. The smell of the food on that platter made his stomach growl immediately, and he realized that he was very hungry.

"I thought I told you to take it easy," Jesmind said flintily, looking at Dola

"I am. Can't I have a chat with an old friend, Jesmind?" he challenged.

"No," she said bluntly, setting the tray down on the tea table. "Those chats always seem to upset you."

"I assure you, we talked of nothing that would upset him, Jesmind," Dola

"Well, alright. In this whole madhouse, you're about the only Sorcerer I trust, Dola

"I am pleased to hear that," she smiled. "In fact, I was correcting Tarrin in his pronunciation of my language. He has learned it well. I am proud of his accomplishment."

Tarrin couldn't help but beam a little at that. Dola