The Protector

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Between Lord Dray and myself we had made sure that the fire was fully fuelled and that Edmon was kept stable. Taking one hour watches it was currently my turn as Lord Dray leant up against the far corner of the room. The sun was just bringing to light the sky. Dawn was approaching, meaning that Edmon should be out of his meditation soon. I just hope he learned something, it would do him good to find someone. I just hope that she is good enough for him, that she understands him and doesn't try to manipulate him.

"I know her name." Edmon whispers as he comes out of his night long trance. Lord Dray has been sitting vigil with me during his prophecy. I yawn and push myself up off the hard stone floor where I had taken to resting throughout the night. I move over to help him get to his feet and hold onto him when he wobble slightly from the lack of use of his legs.

"Her name?" I ask ignoring the sharp sparks shooting up my arm. I need to stabilise Edmon now not worry about how I may have been sitting on my arm. Holding onto his arms I check that he has his balance this time before letting go and allowing him free-reign of his movement again.

"Yeah, I learned a bit. Like when I would meet her as well. I need to work through it all though." He admits straightening

"I won't press but if you want to talk about it, you know I'll listen." I feel I should at least let him know this. He sounds confused and a little worried as he speaks but I know better than to try and get him to open up before he's ready. One of the many ways we are similar.

We make our way to the roof for some training. Since the day after the prince's birthday is a holiday for the castle. Something to do with the copious amounts of wine normally drunk and the numerous headaches and injuries that used to occur at morning training. Edmon and I agreed to spend the day reading up on our Magery and allow Sket and Harson time to tail our primary suspects.

Since neither of us had a great night, we were currently using our time to read through the ample number of books Edmon had had delivered to the top of the tower. The only reprieve from the reading was the heat of the summer air beating down on our backs. Unfortunately for me Edmon had decided to take his shirt off long ago in an attempt to remain cool. Me? I had risked unbuttoning a couple of buttons on my shirt, careful not to expose my binding.

It was becoming ever more difficult to come up with excuses as to why I didn't take my shirt off when it was clearly too hot.

Edmon had pulled out a book on a strand of travelling magic, seeing if there was anything useful we could gain from using our gold to throw ourselves through the air. I can't imagine there would be anything else for us to find but each to their own I guess.

"Ali, look at this." He mutters after a couple of hours of comfortable silence. Gently putting down my book on the Hathsettia charm I move to sit next to him. Looking over his shoulder I allow him to direct me to the relevant passage on his page.

Combining magery is only to be done with great care. Knowing your partners limits is essential to ensure a well merged magery skill. By forcing your magic into another you can temporarily enable the receiver to cast a greater spell or become stronger. The best results are seen only when soulmages combine their magery to enhance their abilities.

There are two key ways for this to be accomplished. Through direct contact with the partner, this is the most desired approach as you will be able to directly feel their life force and identify when there is not enough to be given.

The second, and more perilous, is for the mages concerned to use one or both of their guardians as a medium for the magic to flow. This is not recommended unless there is no alternative. It takes a significant amount of personal knowledge of one another to ensure both are strong enough for the feat.