The deaths of so many Sorcerers had almost scoured the gift from the world, and the diluted powers of the less gifted children who remained weakened considerably. The Ancients were always careful to pair their most powerful members, so that their children would have the gift on both sides of their family, and be even stronger. Such selective breeding vanished in the Breaking, and the inherited gift thinned through the years, until the Sorcerers returned to the Tower and again began to carefully nurture the inherited power in their members. A selective breeding program had yet to be initiated, mainly because the Council had not yet garnered enough favor among the katzh-dashi for the idea. Times had changed, and the culture had changed. What the Ancients had done was no longer acceptable to the modern man, especially among the female katzh-dashi. But in its own way, it had begun again. Katzh-dashi did tend to marry within the order, if only because only another Sorcerer understood the rigors and demands of Sorcery. And the children of these internal unions almost always displayed aptitude in the gift. Amelyn was the child of just such a union. She had been born and raised on the grounds, and the Tower and the katzh-dashi was all she knew and all she had ever wanted. And she was powerful, ranking among the most powerful of the katzh-dashi.
But even her power seemed insignificant compared to Tarrin. He could somehow tap directly into a Conduit, and that awesome raw power would try to flow into him. He couldn't control it. The Keeper couldn't see how anyone could. The power of a Conduit was all seven Spheres, just like a strand, and that meant that Tarrin was being filled with the power of High Sorcery. The Sorcerers could only handle High Sorcery in circles, where the incredible demand and strain was spread out among a group. But Tarrin had the raw power to be able to draw on High Sorcery alone. And it was simply more power than even his considerable ability could control. Circles, wielding High Sorcery, even they would not attempt to tap directly into a Conduit. They would only try to draw the sphere of Confluence from strands. The power of a Conduit was even more than a circle could control, and yet this young farmboy from a forgotten corner of Sulasia could tap directly into that awesome power, and he could do it alone.
But being able to access it, and being able to control it were two different animals.
It was a complicated problem, something that had occupied the Council's attention the entire day before. They were already working on how they could help him overcome his problem, somehow resist the flood of High Sorcery and be able to work with normal flows and weaves. They had wanted to study him, but the Keeper wouldn't be there to help out. She had spent all day at court.
And now Amelyn bursts into her office, and tells her that Tarrin refuses to accept any more training!
"He will not come," she said in a quivering voice. "He told me to tell you that he won't learn any more or do as we say until we lower the Ward and let him off the grounds." She swallowed. "He made it clear that anyone trying to force him to do anything does so at his or her own peril."
"I will not tolerate rebellion in my own Tower!" The Keeper said in an absolute explosion of fury. "That boy will learn now just who holds his leash, I swear it!"
"Keeper!" Amelyn gasped. "Tarrin isn't entirely stable! If you push him, he'll go mad, and then what use will he be to us?"
"I don't care," she snapped. "I want Tarrin back in class, and I want it now. He has got to be ready, and this new problem of his is going to jeopardize things as it is. We absolutely cannot allow any delays."
"But if he goes mad?"
"Then we'll just have to find a way to reverse it," she snapped. "We don't have any more time, Amelyn! Don't you understand that? We have to take risks now!"
"I think the risk you're talking about is too great," she said. "All he wants is to be allowed off the grounds to visit his family. That is not an outrageous demand."
"It is," she said grimly. "I just came back from court, Amelyn, and King Erick knows about Tarrin. He demanded that we hand him over to him. Now more than ever, we have to protect him, because Erick's not the only one that's going to come after him. If someone else takes him, or someone kills him, then where will that leave us? Or Sulasia? Or the world? The Wikuni and the Selani don't have his power, Amelyn. I don't know if they can do it. Even if I have to keep him chained in a cell, we're keeping our hands on that boy. And when the time comes, we'll release him to do what must be done."
Amelyn looked about to say something, but the door to her office burst open, and an infuriated Darvon marched in. He looked completely enraged, and the Keeper inwardly groaned. Darvon was almost too stubborn to handle, and it looked like he wasn't about to be put off by anything. "Keeper, we will talk, now," he said hotly. "We're going to have a little talk about Tarrin."
Now what? "What did he do now?" she demanded irritably.
"Tarrin told me that you're keeping him trapped on the grounds," he said. "He also told me that he has refused to do anything else until he is granted the same rights as the other Initiates."
"He's being held on the grounds for his own safety, Darvon," the Keeper said calmly, but it was even clear to him that her voice was highly strained. "Someone with considerable resources at his disposal is trying to kill him."
"Yes, and I think you know all about that," Darvon retorted. "What you're doing to him is wrong. He has a phobia against being caged. I think you know that too. Well, he told me that he's taken as much as he can stand with being caged on the grounds. If you don't let him out, he's going to end up hurting someone."
"He'll just have to endure it, Darvon," she told him. "It's much too dangerous for him to be outside of our protection."
"And what of his decision to strike against you?"
"That won't last long," she said in a sudden growling voice.
"So, you would oppress your own people, when all they want is to be treated like everyone else?" he asked pointedly.
"He's not everyone else!" she said in sudden fury. "He's a Were-cat, and he's as dangerous to the people of Suld as he is in danger! He stays on the grounds, because it keeps him safe, and it keeps Suld safe from him!"
Darvon gave her a calm look. "I see," he said. "Then that is your choice."
"You better believe that it's my choice," she said with a hot look.
"Fine. I should tell you, then, that we have long considered Tarrin and Allia to be our own. And not long ago, I decided that they have indeed earned the right to have their names on our rolls. I have Knighted them both." The Keeper's expression went from anger to horror in the blink of an eye. "Because Tarrin feels himself treated unjustly, he has decided on a non-violent means to solve his problem. As Lord General, I fully support the actions of my Knight. Furthermore, our code demands we do the same." He said that last with a slight, evil little smile. "We are All One Under Karas. So, the Knights hereby withdraw their support from the Tower and the katzh-dashi until such time that our Knight is treated with the respect due to his station. All Knights will remain on the grounds or in the chapterhouse, and all Knights in the field are going to be recalled."
"You can't do that!" the Keeper gasped. "Tarrin's an Initiate, bound by the oaths of the katzh-dashi! He can't take the Oaths of the Spurs as well!"