The Draykon Series (1-3)

Lokant: Chapter Six

Later that day, Eva sat in her carriage on the way to the city's sorcery school. The weather was finally warming a little; for once she had no need to bundle herself into her furs, and she went without the stone bottle filled with hot water that usually warmed her feet while she travelled. Outside, the moon was high in the sky and nearly full, casting a strong silver glow across the city of Glour.

She was on her way to see Lord Angstrun, who held the post of the realm's High Sorcerer. His duties within that role were similar to her own, now former duties as High Summoner. He was responsible for maintaining the enchantments that kept the Night Cloak in force across the realm, keeping out the strong sunlight that would cause severe and irreparable damage to the important Lowers-native plants and animals on which Glour society relied. He had a number of assistants in that task, of which Tren had been one until recently. Angstrun was also responsible for overseeing the training of the relatively few citizens of Glour who possessed sorcerous talent. Eva knew from his secretary that he was at the school today, giving a lecture. She was timing her arrival to coincide with the end of his teaching duties.

Her carriage pulled up outside the large, old building that housed the academy, and she was swiftly conducted inside. Angstrun was in his office, still wearing his professor's robes and his customary thunderous expression. He had an imposing demeanour and was obviously afflicted with a flammable temper, but there had been times in years past that Eva had seen him considerably softened. Unlike many, she had no fear of him.

'Darae. I hope I'm not interrupting.'

Angstrun fixed her with a keen stare. 'I had a feeling I would be seeing you.'

Eva gave him a cool smile. 'You're the expert in these parts. I need your opinion on the matter of dual abilities, such as I discussed before the Council not long ago. Do you recall?'

She expected him to dismiss the idea with his customary bad language, but instead his expression turned thoughtful. 'I've never seen or heard of a person who could manage both sorcery and summoning with any success. I could dredge up some dusty reports of curious happenings in childhood - kids who show some small ability in both directions for a time - but those children always seem to lose the duality as they grow older. By the age of five, in general. After that they develop adult abilities in only one of those two areas.'

'You're very knowledgeable.'

'Your report to the Council was intriguing. I did some research.'

Eva nodded. When she had reported her recent experiences to her colleagues in the government, she had highlighted the fact that the two people responsible for the recent chaos, a pair of Ullarn citizens named Ana and Griel, apparently demonstrated strong skill in both schools of magic. That was previously unheard of: it was common knowledge that magically talented individuals were unable to access both skills. It was so widely accepted, in fact, that Eva had encountered a great deal of scepticism. She was grateful to find that Angstrun at least was willing to take her seriously.

'Has anyone ever conducted a study into this phenomenon? I know that magical training has qualifying children divided into the two groups by the age of eight, and after that they are trained in their given ability. Has anyone ever tried to train a child in both?'

'I found one such study, but it was later discredited. The researchers were accused of manipulating the results. The effect on their careers was highly damaging, and it seems no one has been brave enough to repeat the research.'

Eva shook her head. 'I can't help thinking it strange, than a society so fond of scientific enquiry could have completely failed to pursue this.'

Angstrun shrugged. 'There are many other questions worth pursuing, most of them less potentially damaging to a scholar's credibility. You do realise that addressing this question much further may get you labelled a crank.'