He and Jenna went to the kitchens after their lesson, as the sun sank behind a nasty bank of dark clouds on the western horizon and a rumble of thunder shivered over the city. Late spring and early summer was the rainy season in Suld, as storm after storm rolled in off the Sea of Storms, a name aptly given, and soaked the West. That rainy season was why the West grew so much food, as the plentiful water during the critical early rides aided a plant's growth. The rain wasn't continual, but it was daily, and the cycle of sunshine and rain was perfect for growing crops. As the rainy season ended around midsummer and the rain came less frequently, it also made it perfect for the maturing crops to bask in the sunshine and grow large and tall for harvest. The Free Duchies had the best climatic variation of that cycle, and also had some of the richest soil in the world. That was why they were the bread basket of the West, growing enough food to feed the whole of the West by themselves. The excess food they produced was sold to kingdoms and nations not so fortunate, like Yar Arak, Daltochan, Ungardt, and even more distant kingdoms like Godan and Nyr.
While Tarrin was piling some roasted beef onto his plate, an old, old friend came in from the Novices' entrance. It was Tiella. She was a little taller now, about as tall as Dolanna, but her pretty face had not changed at all since the last time he saw her. Her blond hair was even longer now, tied in a tail that drooped all the way to her backside, and her blue eyes were bright and clear. To his suprise, Tiella was wearing the Violet, meaning she was only one grade away from graduating from the Initiate and either becoming katzh-dashi or returning home if she didn't want to join the order. Initiates began in the Red, which was the lessons in Fire. Fire was a relatively easy grade in theory, but actually was one of the hardest. It was mainly an introduction to the Weave and the beginnings of the course, where an Initiate learned the basics of spellcasting. So most of the weaves learned in Fire were one-flow spells, or very simple two-flow spells. The more practical combining of flows came in the higher grades. Then they went though Blue, which was Mind; then through Yellow, which was Air; then through Indigo, which was Earth; then through Orange, which was Divine power; then through Violet, which was Water. And then they finally went through the Green, which was Confluence, but since no Sorcerer could work in that Sphere alone, the Green was actually learning how to Circle, as well as learning about very complex multi-flow spells that could only be taught to those with much more experience than other Initiates. Green was also where Initiates learned some of the tools of the trade, like weaving loose and then snapping down, and other little advanced tricks that made Sorcery more efficient, easier to use, or more effective. Red was hard in that it was the beginning, and Green was also hard in the sheer volume of things they had to learn. Tiella only had to finish the Violet and then go through the Green, and she would be done. She had progressed almost completely through the Initiate in only a little over a year and a half, a great feat. Most Initiates took four or five years to complete the training. It was a testament to how smart Tiella was. She recognized him immediately and rushed over to him, and he gave her a warm hug, having to pick her up off the floor to do so. "Tarrin!" she squealed in delight. "They said you were back, but I hadn't seen you!"
"You're looking well, Tiella," he smiled. "And you're in the Violet! I'm amazed!"
"Well," she said with a shy smile, "It's not all that big a deal, you know. Dar wasn't even really in the Initiate."
"Dar was trained by a katzh-dashi," Tarrin chuckled. "How have you been? And where's Walten?"
"I've been doing fine," she replied. "I've been studying about every waking moment, because I'm sick of school. I want to get it overwith as fast as I can."
"I can see that. Have you decided what you want to do when you're done?"
She nodded. "I think I'm going to stay here. Aldreth doesn't seem all that exciting to me anymore. Not after everything I've seen here." She grinned. "Walten's been a real problem," she laughed. "He's still in the Blue. He's become a real troublemaker. Some of the things he's pulled around here are going to be legendary."
"Like what?"
"Well, there was the time he made a cake explode on the table where the Council eats during formal meals," she said, ticking off her fingers. "Then there was the time he used a weave to summon about a thousand rats, who ran amok in the kitchen. Then there was the time that he turned about five stories of the outside of the South Tower green with red stripes, and then there was the time that-"
Tarrin cut her off with a laugh. "I never dreamed Walten would get like that!" he told her.
"He gets bored easily, Tarrin, you know that," she smiled at him. She looked at Jenna. "What, you're not going to say hello to me, Jenna?"
"I was giving my big brother a chance," she grinned. "We're still on for breakfast tomorrow?"
"Sure," she replied. Tarrin realized that Jenna and Tiella, two girls from the same village, would only naturally gravitate towards one another. Tiella was two years older then Jenna, but the half-Ungardt young lady stood about a head taller than her. Jenna was very tall for her age. For that matter, she was tall for a girl.
"I should have guessed that you two would be together," he chuckled.
"It's too bad we didn't see much of each other in the village. We missed alot of time to gossip," Jenna grinned.
"Well, we're old enough to appreciate it now," Tiella added. "I hate to cut this short, but I have to be in the Northeast Tower in about ten minutes," she apologized. "I just ran in for a quick bite to eat."
"What are you studying?" Tarrin asked curiously.
"I just started the Violet, so it's basic weaves," she fretted. "Water weaves. Right now, I'm learning how to manifest water, but my teacher promised she'd teach me weaves to freeze liquids today. I think that one would be handy, to cool my drinks if anything else."
"As long as you don't overdo it. Then you'd need a knife to eat your water," Tarrin told her.
Tiella laughed. "I'm still trying to figure out why Fire heats things, but Water freezes them. I thought it would be Divine that would freeze."
"There are plenty of things about the Weave we don't really understand," Tarrin told her. "For instance, why are Water weaves harder than Divine weaves? You'd think that the Orange would be a harder grade than the Violet, you know. Or for that matter, why are lessons in Mind before lessons in Earth?"
"They don't teach any real Mind weaves in Blue," Tiella told him. "They teach you how to recognize them and weaves and techniques to defend against them. You only learn Mind weaves if you stay as a katzh-dashi. I guess they don't want any freelancers out there that know Mind weaves."
Tarrin had to admit, that was a good policy. It also explained why the Blue was the second grade through which an Initiate progressed, when it should have been the last. Tarrin honestly couldn't recall how far into the Initiate he progressed, or what he had learned. What little he remembered of the Initiate was mainly what he learned from Dolanna. It seemed a lifetime ago.
It was then that he realized that he really had very little understanding of what really went on in the Tower. He had been so against the place that he had refused to learn about much of anything, even when he was here before. But then again, he still had no real desire to learn, for he wouldn't be there much longer anyway.