Rhiannon - Dragonrider

Chapter Twenty Seven - Rhian-Ceridwen's Sword

The track was overgrown and obviously wasn't used much and, as I made my way back into the woods, the funny feeling that everyone got round here seemed to grow.

After a while, the path dropped down into a little valley and a clearing with an old, falling-down farmhouse appeared.

I cut across some boggy ground and jumped the stream but, as I climbed up the steep slope to the farmhouse, the whole 'uneasy feeling' thing got worse.

I couldn't quite force myself to step inside the place and kind of hung around in the doorway but, after blinking a couple of times, I forced my way past his illusion and Psion sprang into sight, curled up on a pile of rubble. "Good afternoon, Young Mistress!" he greeted me.

"Are you sure it's safe in there?" I asked.

For a moment he was puzzled but then he did his bubbly cloud laughing thing. "With your permission, Young Mistress," he said, then he was inside my mind and the feeling just vanished. "It's a simple enough illusion that I've been using to maintain my privacy," he explained as I made my way inside.

"So you're responsible for the whole, 'Haunted by the Souls of the pupils who didn't survive the Academy' bit.

That kicked off more of his bubbly cloud laughing thing. "I merely lent the place a slightly menacing aspect and allowed people's imaginations to do the rest."

I nodded. In a way, I wanted to ask him about it but my time was too precious so I just showed him Wastnonda's note instead.

He didn't even bother getting up to read it properly... I just felt his mind brushing over the thing and then he gave a nod.

"I had, in any event, intended to touch upon the matter of weapon switches tomorrow," he said. I could see he was pleased to get this information. "I take it that the wing of dragons I observed this morning was the Kier group."

"Carodoc said it was the Quaro sword master."

"Excellent!" Psion said, rising to a more alert sitting position.

"But isn't he really good."

"Quaroclethyfur is one of the best."

"Then how can that be good?"

"Because I know I'm facing him and he doesn't know he's facing me," he explained with an enthusiastic wave of his tail.

"I thought it was me who was going to be facing Kiernonda!"

"The engagement will proceed at a number of levels," Psion explained. "Of course the two of you will be inside the Henge, hacking lumps off each other, but Quaroclethyfur and I are going to be there beforehand, recommending strategies, anticipating your opponents moves and teaching you manœuvres to counter them."

I thought about this for a bit. "How are you going to go about teaching me manœuvres?" I asked. "I mean, you can't exactly hold a sword and dagger."

"Should it prove necessary, I am perfectly capable of manipulating weapons with my mind. However, in these particular circumstances, I propose to leave your education in the crass mechanics of butchery in Carodoc's capable hands. For what I intend to teach you, it will prove more efficacious, and certainly less dangerous, to insert the image of an attacker directly into your mind."

"You can do that?

"I've told you I'm good!" he said with an arrogant tail flick - though the sparkles in his cloud told me he was just teasing.

"OK!" I said, springing to my feet. "Let's get going then."

"Very well," Psion said. "Firstly, today, I intend to introduce certain fundamental manœuvres that may prove significant. Then we shall consider cerebral combat. And, finally, I will address more strategic aspects of the confrontation."