The Other Apprentice

12-1 | Lessons and Lemons

"The mage sight given to you by Seeress Acadi is a powerful tool." Madrigal poked at the burning log in the fireplace with a fire iron as he spoke. "In places of power, the sight will come to you easily, almost unbidden. In other locations, it will require more effort, and you will find yourself unable to use it for long periods without practice."

Tenet sat in the common room of Madrigal's tower in an overstuffed chair. Quinn sat cross-legged on the floor, with Widdershanks flopped tummy-up in her lap, pooling around her hand as she scratched his belly. Bickers sat perched on a nearby table, where the tome could watch all that transpired. Valryk also stood watching in the doorway, arms crossed against his chest, his expression blank.

Madrigal had promised to begin instructions for Quinn and Tenet on the use of their abilities. Tenet wondered if he should take notes. He looked around for something to write on briefly, but surrendered the search when Madrigal continued speaking.

"Through the sight, you can see how the threads of the veil weave all things together. Be it energy or something more solid, everything draws meaning and definition from the veil. A rock would not know how to be a rock or behave as one without the threads that give it its identity and function. As wizards, we can manipulate these threads. But it is far easier for our kind to move or destroy a thread than it is to create one."

Out of the corner of his eye, Tenet saw Quinn shudder. She spoke up. "If threads connect everything to the veil and threads can be destroyed, does that mean a wizard could just kill someone through magic? Just yank their thread and they're gone?"

"Theoretically, yes. But it is not so simple as that." Madrigal moved away from the fireplace and took a seat near Tenet. "Firstly, there is the matter of names. If you knew the name—the true name—of an individual, ending them would be simplicity itself. They would have no protection from such." His face grew clouded, as if from a painful memory. "That is why you must always keep your true name a closely guarded secret. Anyone with the knowledge of your true name can use it to not only end your life, but they can track you, reveal your fears and memories, and manipulate you in several other unsavory ways. Guard your name with your life."

Quinn paused and appeared to be considering the ramifications of this until Widdershanks bit her wrist to get her to resume with the belly scratching. "That doesn't seem reassuring. Even without knowing someone's name, there must be all kinds of horrible ways you could cause someone to die if magic can manipulate the threads of life."

Madrigal pulled out his pipe and stuffed it full of pipe weed as he answered. "Which brings me to the second thing. Our limited ability to use magic extends to energies, liquids, solids, and gases. The more elements make up a thing, the harder it is for us to manipulate. And we lack any ability to manipulate the living through force of will. Without an individual's name, there is nothing you can do to their chemistry, nor is there anything they can do to yours. Only the druids of the Laisian Isles can affect living beings. And they operate by a very different set of rules."

Tenet made a mental note to study up more on the druids. The Laisian Isles were far off and there was not much contact between them and the people of Lytgard. He turned to Madrigal. "What other limitations are there on magic?"

Madrigal leaned back in his chair, holding his unlit pipe in his hand as he gazed upward. "Rather many, in fact. Bickers, you rather enjoy pointing out my shortcomings. Will you educate the lad?"

The face on the leather cover of the tome furrowed its brows. "It would be my pleasure to educate on that which you lack. Shall I begin with your personal shortcomings?"

Madrigal quirked an eyebrow. "For the sake of brevity, let us limit ourselves to the shortcomings of magic in human practitioners."

Bickers fluffed his pages, expelling motes of dust into the air. "Of course. Other than those previously stated, wizards cannot read or alter a person's mindset without knowledge of their true name, cannot force another to speak or act against their will, cannot give themselves abilities, natural or supernatural, such as flight, invisibility or the ability to speak or understand unknown languages. And they cannot introduce an element into an environment where that element is absent."