Sipping, Laedron detected a distinct flavor, the taste of metal and minerals, and the fluid seemed a bit thicker than what he used to drinking. In fact, he couldn’t recall any other time where his taste buds had been so offended by a simple swig of water, and he couldn’t help but wonder if that deplorable water would be the last thing he ever tasted. It could be, for I have no way of knowing when the magic will wear off.
“Why do you look saddened? Is it not to your liking?”
“I have no idea what I am anymore.”
“No? A sorcerer, are you not?”
Laedron handed the cup back to Tavin. “In Azura, I was nearly killed by the Zyvdredi. I would’ve died if not for a spell… well, priests call them miracles, and it was a priest who performed it.”
“The healing arts are common amongst all practitioners of magic.”
“This time, it was different. The priest in question used a soulstone to increase the power of his miracle, and after that, I couldn’t sleep and didn’t feel the need to eat for several days. I even healed at an astonishing rate.”
“Ah, yes. When one uses an essence for a spell, the magic can stay longer without need of further concentration or commitment. He could’ve made the spell extend longer had he known how.”
“So, it’s temporary?”
“Indeed. The spell fades away as the essence does. If you fail to seal in the essence, it will dissipate considerably faster than otherwise, but ‘considerably faster’ has a different meaning to me than it might for you, yes? It’s relative to one’s point of view.”
Laedron swallowed deeply. “Am I going to die?”
“Yes, but not on account of that.” Tavin smiled. “The spell has probably given you a wellspring of longevity, though, so do not be surprised if you should go on for the next few centuries or so.”
A few centuries? His eyes widened, and he considered the possibility of living past all of his friends and family, watching all of them pass away before he would be given the gift of death. “Centuries? As in, hundreds of years? You’re sure?”
“The amount of essence held within Zyvdredi soulstones can vary, for a single stone can contain the life force of several men. The essence of three men is roughly equivalent to two hundred years, and a full stone could contain… twelve, maybe.”
“Is there any way to drain off the excess?”
“No, I’m afraid. If someone tried to take away some of the essence, they could take too little or too much. It’s not very precise, and we have no way of knowing how much essence you’ve been given.”
“Then I will eventually pass?”
“Yes, and I’m stricken by your relief at that fact; most do not want to meet their ends. All living things die, my friend. Unless, of course, you’re inducted.”
“Inducted?”
“What’s the difference between the Uxidin and the race of men?” Tavin asked.
“Uxidin are an ancient race of immortal mages,” Laedron said. He wants me to explain that which he already knows? “Men… are just men.”
“Uxidin are men, young mage… at least, we were. We have merely taken our knowledge of magic to another level, a level beyond normal understanding. We’ve made ourselves immortal, into masters of the elements. Do you not see? We have created our own race, and in doing so, we’ve forged a new existence, a new destiny.”
Laedron had long suspected something other than the common myths. “It makes sense.”
“Of course it does. Often the simplest explanation is the correct one. Your wand, please.” Tavin extended his open hand. “And the soulstones.”
“I know you said that only the essence remains, but I still have reservations.”
“What reservations?”
Laedron stared at the rod. “My teacher taught me many things of magic, and she said that Necromancy was quite real. You say that it is not. Who should I believe?”
“You cling to a vestigial belief that magic is nicely split into schools, as if designed that way. You fail to realize that your teacher taught in the Azuran way, the same manner that all the other mortals were instructed. And the reason for that? To control new mages, to keep them from experimenting with spells for which they weren’t prepared.”
“Why would she, or Azura, for that matter, do that? The only way to mastery is through the truth.”
“Indeed, but you must put things into perspective for the new ones. If you took ten men and trained them with spells, careless of morality and implications, most of them would become nothing better than a Zyvdredi soul-dealer. The aspects… do they still use that term?”
“Yes.”
“Aspects are merely a way of categorizing magic so that neonates can understand it, and it’s far easier to teach spellcraft when the chaos seems orderly. In fact, magic is just as chaotic as any other force in nature, and the only thing that orders it is our command of it. When you can think of magic as something to bend to your will, you can unlock its full potential.”
“You speak of wizardry.”
“Indeed.” Tavin smiled. “You seem to have a wonderful talent for magic, a gift that could have been left to waste away in some stuffy academy. It was fortunate that you learned from an Uxidin, and had you completed your training under her, you might have learned a great deal more about these things.”
“What sort of things?”
“I shouldn’t reveal anything else. You’ll speak to the Far’rah in due time, and until then, I should tell you no more of this. For now, I’ll show you the spell needed to recharge your scepter.”
“I still don’t know-”
“Doubt is the true mage killer, and even an Azuran teacher would have told you that. Give up your meaningless morals, for they do not apply here. Have you heard nothing that I’ve said? You blind yourself with a lie perpetrated to control you. Set yourself free.”
“It doesn’t seem right using their life forces for my benefit. These are men’s souls we’re dealing with.”
“You’re trying to apply a lifetime of societal norms you’ve been taught to something of which you have absolutely no experience or knowledge. That path leads to a place you would not like to delve, a place filled with speculation, judgment, and fanaticism. Leave those things to the Heraldan church, for their duty is to spread fear, hypocrisy, and ignorance of the things they do not understand.”
“But-”
“Did you imprison the essences of these men? Did you take them in the first place?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean that I should use-”
“Incorrect. As a matter of fact, it’s even more justification to put these resources to their best use, to serve you in doing good. Given the option between serving a Zyvdredi master or a sorcerer with a good heart and intentions, what do you think these men would have chosen?”
“I cannot say. They very well could have chosen a third option, to serve neither.”
Tavin sighed. “If that is what you want, I can release the energy, but I think you should open your mind and take a look at things without relying on the simplicities of good and evil, white and black. When you can do that, you’ll find that most everything in life lies between the two, in a saturation of gray, and decisions should be based on more than some scale invented to cull the herd and to keep their Circle of sorcerers in line and easily managed.”
When Tavin raised his wand, Laedron stopped him. “Wait. Let me consider things for a moment.”
Tavin leaned against the ropes of the bridge with his arms folded and a glare of impatience.
What would my mother do? What about Ismerelda? Would either of them pass up this opportunity? He wondered how much his mother really knew, how much knowledge she had kept from him over the years, teaching him about aspects, the good and evil magic and the meaning of spellcraft. Perhaps she adhered to what she was taught. Maybe Ismerelda never revealed any of this to her. Ismerelda. He didn’t know what to think of his teacher. Being Uxidin, she must have known everything that Tavin said. She was inducted like all the others. Immortal. Learned in the secrets of magic, the truth behind the veil.