James Galloway - The Tower of Sorcery

"It's just scary," he told her. "I'm starting to wonder at what I'm going to do next. It's like I'm starting to lose control."

"No, dear one," she assured him. "The fact that you can recognize these changes in attitude tells me that you are still very much in control of yourself."

"It's still weird," he said. "At first, when I met Jesmind, I was amazed at how different she was. She was blunt and almost totally fearless, and she thought about some things in ways I never thought any woman would ever think about them. And now I find myself acting more and more like her with every passing moment. I know I'm not becoming her, because she's female and I'm not, but I'm starting to think almost the same way. I'm getting just as blunt, and I find myself capable of doing things that would have made me almost faint just last month."

"You are starting to think like a Were-cat," she told him gently.

"I didn't realize that it would be so different," he admitted.

"But you do realize it, Tarrin, and that is your best weapon in learning how to deal with it," she told him.

"I hope so," he sighed.

"Just believe in yourself, dear one," she told him.

He nodded. "Did you tell them about Jesmind?"

"Yes," she replied. "The Keeper has started putting eyes out to watch for her. So far as I know, she has yet to arrive. Nobody has seen her."

"They're not going to," he grunted. "If she doesn't want to be seen, she won't."

"We must have faith," she said.

"What about the Goblinoids?"

"Now that we have passed on to the King," she told him. "I have not heard what will be done about it, but at least the King now knows what is happening. I am certain he will mobilize units in the army to deter them from getting any ideas."

"Good," he said. "Dolanna, that place in the center of the Tower, what is it?" he asked.

She gave him a curious look. "It is called the Heart of the Goddess," she told him.

"I know. Me and my roommate were in there. There's something in there, something magic. But before we could find out, someone came in and threw us out."

"That was a good thing," she told him with a look of concern on her face. "Tarrin, you have awesome potential, and you will have tremendous power when you learn to use it. That place, it is very central to our power as Sorcerers. It is something that you will not understand until you learn about the Weave. But for now, consider it to be a place with a great deal of magical energy. With your inherent aptitude, I am surprised that nothing bad happened."

"I think it almost did," he said with a shudder. "Me and Dar were playing with the area inside the symbol, because it was creating light when we put our hands in it. The woman came in and stopped us before we did anything else."

"Then your roommate has the talent," she told him calmly. "He will be a Sorcerer."

"Yes, the woman told him that," he replied. "He's very happy about it."

"Have you, done anything with Sorcery?" she asked.

"No," he told her. "After what happened with Jenna, I don't even want to try until I know what I'm doing. I've seen what can happen if I mess it up."

"That is a very good attitude," she told him fiercely. "Sorcery is not bad, Tarrin, but you must understand what you are doing when you do it, or there is a tremendous potential for disaster. Training people as powerful as you is very, very dangerous because of that. I have asked for the honor of doing that myself. I feel that I am best qualified to do it, since I know you so well, and you are so comfortable with me."

"I wouldn't mind it."

"But they may not allow it," she told him. "I am very strong, Tarrin, but there are others much stronger than I. They may decide to pair you with a Sorcerer with enough raw power to stop you from hurting yourself. And there are only a handful with that much raw talent in the Tower."

"Not if I refuse to learn from them," he said.

"Tarrin, you cannot do that."

"Really? What's stopping me?" She gave him a blank look. "I didn't think so."

"Tarrin, that is rebellion you are talking about," she said. "That is not tolerated in a Novice."

"I'm not a normal Novice," he told her.

"You will get in a great deal of trouble," she warned.

"And? Dolanna, I'm already in trouble. Do you think that a little bit more is going to make a difference? Between Jesmind and the Goblinoids and the person that was trying to kill me, I'm really not going to worry about someone getting into a twist because I want a specific teacher."

She gave him a strange look, and then laughed delightedly. "Tarrin, my dear one, you are going to drive this Tower to distraction," she told him fondly. She looked down the passage between the bookcases. "It is getting late, dear one. We should be leaving."

"It is getting there," he agreed. "I don't have anything to do tomorrow either…maybe I'll spend the day reading. And maybe see you in here. Around sunset maybe."

"Perhaps," she said with a smile.

Tarrin left her sitting at the table. It had been a productive meeting. Dolanna had calmed some fears that had broiled up in the past day, and he had learned a thing or two besides. And he got to talk with Dolanna. Tarrin had a very special rapport with the Sorceress, and they both knew it. It had been she that had kept a terrified Tarrin from going into histrionics after he'd been bitten. It was her gentle guidance that had literally kept him from going mad. And they had a very close personal friendship as well. She was in many ways one of the crutches on which he leaned, and he would have no one else teach him about Sorcery. Unlike many others in the Tower, he already knew Dolanna, already knew what to expect from her. Despite them being Sorcerers, and despite the warm welcome he had received from many in the Tower, Tarrin was still a bit reluctant about getting close to strangers. He wouldn't be as forthcoming with a stranger as he would with Dolanna, and that made her the best teacher for him.

Tarrin was used to being what he was. Now he had to get used to how that would affect relationships with others.

Tarrin was up before dawn, and so was Dar. Someone walked up the hallway just as Tarrin awoke, ringing a bell. That was obviously the signal for all Novices to get up and start preparing for the day. Tarrin had had a very good sleep, and much to his surprise, so had Dar. Dar had not shown the slightest reservation about sharing his room with such an exotic, unknown creature as Tarrin, and that surprised the young Were-cat considerably. Dar was perfectly at ease with Tarrin, and that simple fact had endeared the Arkisian to him even more than the previous day. Being able to sleep soundly in the same room as someone was a definite measure of trust.

Tarrin wondered if it hadn't been for that specific reason that Dar was chosen to be his roommate. Because he was so tolerant.

Dar groaned, sat up, and yawned deeply. "Dawn gets here earlier every day," he grumbled in complaint as he rubbed his eyes.

"Of course it does," Tarrin told him. "It's coming into summer. Each night is a bit shorter than the last. If you'd go to bed at a decent hour, then you wouldn't be so sleepy."

"You're the one who kept me up," he shot back. "Do you always like to play cards?"

"It helps me think," he shrugged.

"Next time, read a book," he complained, sliding out of bed.

"I may. You're a lousy hand in King's Sword."

"Give me a break, I just learned it last night," he said indignantly.

"Do you play stones?"

"Religiously," he replied.

"I'll get a stones board."

"Not in this room you won't. Neither of us will sleep if you do."

"You may be right there," he admitted. "I don't like stopping in the middle of a game."

"I don't either." Dar was wearing his small clothes, and he pulled his robe off the peg and belted it on.