Raymond E. Feist - The Complete Conclave of Shadows Trilogy - Talon of the Silver Hawk, King of Foxes, Exile’s Return

‘In general, I suppose.’

‘You’re hardly the first man to say that.’

‘So I’ve come to understand,’ said Talon. ‘It’s just that among my people, things between men and women were … predictable. Your bride was selected before you returned from your vision quest, and you married shortly afterwards. You stayed with one woman …’ He lowered his voice. ‘I’ve already known two women, and I’m wed to neither.’

‘This bothers you?’

‘Yes … no … I don’t know.’

Magnus planted his pole in the sand and walked over to Talon. ‘I can tell you little, my young friend. My experience in this area is very limited.’

Talon looked at the magician. ‘You don’t like women?’

Magnus smiled. ‘No, it’s not that … I had some experience when I was young … about your age. It’s just that some of us who practise the magic arts prefer to stay aloof. Matters of the heart confound things.’ He looked out at the sea. ‘I like to think I gain clarity by avoiding such things.’ He looked back at Talon. ‘But you and I are set upon different paths. What is your question?’

‘I was … with Lela, for a while. I thought perhaps we might …’ Talon looked down at the sand, feeling very self-conscious. ‘I thought we might even wed.’

Glancing at Magnus he saw the magic-user betray an instant of amusement, but then his face became once again an immobile mask.

Talon continued. ‘But when I returned from Latagore with Caleb, she was gone. I barely had time to think about not seeing her again when Meggie …’

‘Ah,’ said Magnus. ‘You were with her when I woke you that morning, that’s right.’

‘Well, how can I feel so strongly for Lela, yet so easily find myself with Meggie? And I didn’t even think about Lela the whole time we were together.’

Magnus nodded. ‘Let me ask you, if I could bring either girl here this instant, who would you wish to see?’

Talon stood silently, holding his fishing pole. ‘I don’t know,’ he answered at last. ‘I thought I loved Lela … I do love her. But there’s something about the way Meggie … moves. She’s … ardent. That’s the word isn’t it?’

Magnus fell silent for a moment, then he said, ‘The ways of the heart are complex.’ He looked out at the ocean again. ‘The waves churn and break upon the rocks, Talon. So do human feelings. Passion can be a man’s undoing. With passion must come wisdom, otherwise your enemies have a weapon to use against you.’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘Most men are passionate about something, at some time in their lives. It may be about a woman he loves, or his calling or craft, or it may be about an ideal.’

‘An ideal?’

Magnus nodded. ‘There are men who would willingly give their lives for an ideal. Men who put the greater good ahead of their own personal gain.’ He looked at Talon. ‘Then there are the dark passions: ambition, greed, lust, a hunger for power.

‘What you feel for Lela and Meggie is somewhere between those extremes, between the ideal and the dark. At its worst, what you feel is blind lust, without regard for the complexities of the women you pursue. At its most ideal, you will fall under the spell of women too easily, thinking each worthy of selfless adoration.

‘Either extreme is a mistake.’

Talon nodded his understanding.

‘You are young. There will be many women in your life if you want them. But circumstances may place you in such a position where you must discern the truth quickly, as to whether it is mere lust or if there is some deeper love involved.

‘Both young women you have known are good women, for the most part. At least they had no evil designs upon you. They cared for you in their way, and you for them. But I also remember what it was like to be your age, to gaze into a pair of green eyes and be swept away by feelings so intense I thought my heart would stop, only to have the feelings repeated just a few short days later when gazing into brown eyes.

‘That is the heart of a young man, Talon. It must be tamed and reined in, like a fractious colt. It must be made to follow the mind, for you will learn that love is a difficult thing.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve answered my question.’

‘I don’t know if you’ve understood what it was you were asking.’ Magnus picked up his pole, reeled in the line and cast it out in the surf again. ‘We’ll speak more about this, soon. And before too long there will be others you can ask about such things. Others who are more able than me to address your concerns.’

‘Thank you, Magnus.’

‘Think nothing of it. You will have many more questions for me before our time on this island is over.’

‘How much longer will I be staying here?’

‘As long as it takes.’

‘As long as what takes?’

‘Whatever it is we are to accomplish,’ answered Magnus.

Talon started to ask another question, then thought better of it.

The afternoon wore on and Talon grew hungry. ‘Are we likely to catch any dinner here?’

‘Getting hungry?’

‘Yes, actually.’

‘Do you know how to cook fish?’

Talon had prepared a number of fish dishes with Leo. ‘I do, but you have only the kettle and spit to cook upon. I suppose I could fashion a chowder …’

‘No,’ said Magnus. ‘I was thinking about something a bit more refined. We’ve been eating soups and roasts for a month or more. Let us have some fine dining tonight.’

‘How shall I prepare such a meal?’

‘Don’t worry,’ said Magnus. ‘First we must find you a proper main course.’ He closed his eyes and then opened them again, and Talon thought he saw a faint sheen of light upon them. Magnus held out his hand, palm up, then slowly raised it. From out of the sea came a fish, something close to four foot long. Magnus motioned and the creature floated through the air and dropped at Talon’s feet. The fish flopped and writhed upon the sand.

‘Be careful, those fins can actually cut you if you grab it too firmly.’

Talon looked at Magnus. ‘I’m to carry it up to the hut?’

‘How else will you get it there?’ asked the magician.

Talon attempted to pick up the thrashing creature, but found it both slippery and heavy. ‘Is there something I can hit it with, to stun it?’ he asked after several exasperating attempts to subdue the fish.

‘Oh.’ said Magnus. With a flick of his hand, the fish fell quiet. ‘It’s still alive, so it will be fresh when you fillet it. This creature is called a tuna, and you can grill it lightly, with a variety of different spices. A lightly seasoned rice and an assortment of steamed vegetables would complement it nicely. And some chilled white wine – perhaps an off-dry from Ravensburgh.’

Talon picked up the huge fish and looked at the steep path up to the bluff. ‘Anything else?’

‘If I think of anything, I’ll let you know.’

Talon trekked slowly back up the trail, and by the time he reached the hut he was in considerable pain. His arms and shoulders were in knots and his knees shook. The fish must weigh almost as much as he did, he was certain. He wondered what he was supposed to do with it. He could gut it on the table, but it would be messy. Perhaps on the ground outside, then he could wash way the offal with well water. That should get the dirt off it. And if the fillets were large enough, he could spit and roast them.

But where was he going to find rice, or spices? The food so far at Magnus’s hut had been plain, to put it kindly.

He put the fish down, relieved to do so, and stood up, his back rewarding him with a spasm of pain to remind him not to attempt such a foolish thing again. He rubbed at it with the knuckles of his left hand while opening the door with his right.