The Other Apprentice

11-2 | Names

Tenet looked around in confusion. Everything around him seemed still within the semicircle of statues. The windflitters hung motionless in the air. Falling leaves ignored gravity. The sense of dimmed light suggested that even light was moving slower than it should have been. Quinn seemed frozen in place, but Acadi was still walking around the table with the various implements.

"Fear not. Your companion is unharmed. I have manipulated time in this small space so that we can talk privately, child."

Tenet glanced again over at Quinn. She still wasn't moving, but her position had changed from a moment ago. Tenet surmised that from her perspective, much the same was happening to him. Acadi was possibly holding two conversations at the same time without either being aware of the other. This was powerful magic indeed.

Tenet nodded his head. "Of course, Seeress."

Acadi picked a knife up off the table, which she used to slice the fruit she had gathered in half while she spoke. "You are respectful, child. This, at least, pleases me. Tell me why you are so eager to wield the source."

Tenet answered without hesitation, having rehearsed this answer many times. "I want to help. I want to show people should not fear wizards. That they can do good."

The Seeress squeezed the two halves of the juicy fruit into two of the bowls, which she had prepared with dried and crushed herbs. "Good? What do you know of good, human? Are good and evil so easily measured? All too often, what one of your kind sees as good is another's evil. You must show wisdom and know when to help and when not to interfere. Your people may show more wisdom than you think in fearing wizards. The weapon you are to wield is dangerous, and you must know how to control your hand. You must know when to strike and when to yield."

"But if we can help, don't we have a responsibility to do so?" Tenet sensed this was a fruitless debate, as Acadi did not seem like one he could persuade easily, but he needed to try.

"Should magic then answer every question and solve every problem? Foolish child, one must not always reach for the easiest tool. There are problems best solved with magic, and there are many more problems best solved without. This is a lesson your mentor failed to learn in his youth, though his mistakes have taught him well in his old age. Learn from his errors or you shall repeat them."

"But there's so much that magic can change. Are you against change?"

Acadi snorted. "Change occurs regardless of my wishes. To oppose change would be folly. Yes, magic is a powerful instrument for change. Nothing stays unchanged when magic touches it." She fixed Tenet with her gaze. He found himself unable to turn away. "And that means it will also change the one who uses it. Do you understand this, child?"

Tenet thought about it and nodded. "I understand."

Acadi peered at him with curiosity. "Let us both hope that you do. Learn your lessons now, for you will find them very painful to learn later. Now, let us begin."

Tenet felt the wind stir against his face again as the world grew brighter and sounds from beyond the shrine reached his ears. Looking over, he saw Quinn looking back at him, relieved.

Acadi picked up the two bowls containing the fruit juice and herbs. She handed one to Tenet and another to Quinn. "Drink half. Leave half in the bowl."

Tenet saw Quinn shoot him another look for reassurance. He nodded to her and lifted the bowl to his lips, drinking half the juice. She shrugged and did the same.

"Good. Now set the bowls down on the table." Acadi nodded in approval as they followed her instructions. "There is now a sympathetic bond between what is in the bowl and that which is in you. We shall now strengthen that bond." She produced two needles, handing one to each. "Prick your fingertip. A single drop of blood will do. Let it fall in the bowl."

Tenet followed the seeress's instructions carefully. He had so many questions about this ritual, but knew it was the wrong time to ask. If this meant gaining access to magic, it was all worth it. Pricking his finger, he squeezed out a drop of crimson blood and let it fall into the bowl. Quinn was more cautious but followed suit.

Acadi took a third pin and pricked her own finger, dropping a bead of her own dark blood into both bowls. "A bond between your blood and mine, and through my blood, my power." She picked up a slender reed and used it to stir the contents of Tenet's bowl. She continued speaking as she pulled the reed out of the mixture. "Every item in creation has a name. The name given to you at birth is not your true name. Your name is far more complex than that. It encompasses everything you are: everything you know, your relationships, your history, and your beliefs." She held the reed to Tenet's forehead and painted a glyph on his skin with the mixture from the bowl. "Know your true name, child."

Tenet knew beyond doubt that the symbol being painted on his forehead was his true name—a name he had never known. Suddenly, he could see the world clearer than ever before. He could sense everything about him with a vision that he could not see with his eyes. The world was full of colorful threads that connected everything to everything. He saw threads extending from himself. One very clear silver thread connected him to Quinn. Another thread of a deep crimson connected him to Acadi. He could see a thin line connecting him to playful Widdershanks and many other threads fading as they traversed the distance, that he knew led to family and loved ones far away.

Acadi took another reed and repeated the process, painting another symbol on Quinn's forehead. "Know your true name, child." Tenet saw Quinn's eyes go wide as she looked around in awe and confusion.

Seeress Acadi continued, "I have given a measure of my vision to you. But my kind does not give freely. To have the power of my kind, you must surrender some of the passion of your kind. I bind you to this pact: speak no falsehood, for lies are an affront to my kind. For the al'vilae, belief is truth. So, speak truth always, magelings. Your power is bound to your honesty. Corrupt one and corrupt the other. Speak untruths and you shall never again be able to see as my kind sees and you will find yourself cut off from the source. This gift is also your responsibility. Use it wisely. Go forth and protect my world and yours. You both have much to learn, but all that was previously unknowable is now knowable."

It was an overwhelming feeling. Tenet could sense magic. He could see it, feel it, and nearly taste it. And now that he knew his true name, he felt as if he knew himself better than he ever had before. Everything had changed in a moment. It was exhilarating. This was everything he'd dreamed of.

Tenet turned to look at Quinn, who seemed paler than normal. He wondered what Acadi had said to her. He stopped to think about his own conversation with the seeress, weighing her words. After years spent dreaming of learning to use magic, that was now a possibility. But was he prepared to learn how to not use it?