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The Magehound :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 95 из 216The air, despite the heavy perfume of the garden and the braziers of scented smoke that kept away the insects, was fetid with the scent of the nearby swamp-the Kilmaruu Swamp, and the origin of the paradox that Andris hadbeen brough there to solve.
Kiva heard the soft tap of approaching footsteps and watched as the tall jordain walked onto the piazza. For many days he had lain in deep slumber. Since magic had little effect upon the jordaini, Kiva had resorted to burning in his room incense made from powerful herbs and giving him sips of strong herbal infusions. Though she had been tapering off the dosage so that he might awaken, she had given him enough over the past several days to leave him disorientated and confused.
She studied the tall young man as he approached. His auburn hair was still damp from the baths, but he had not made use of the razor that had been left for him. This was telling. The jordaini custom was for men to be meticulously clean-shaven.
She gestured him to take the seat across from her. "You look well, Andris. Your long sleep seems to have agreed with you."
"I was given no opportunity to disagree," he pointed out
"True enough." She put down her cup and folded her hands on the table. "I must apologize for the way you were brought here. You have been chosen for an important task, as counselor to a hidden lord."
"Counselor?" The young man eyed her warily. "I am no longer jordain. No man tainted by magic can hold that office."
"And do you have this 'taint, Andris?"
"So you say. I myself have seen no sign of it."
Kiva rose and walked over to a small table. She took something from a carved wooden box and returned to him. "This is a test given to the children of Halruaa. Light is the first and simplest of magical energies. It moves more swiftly than heat or sound or substance. Read this scroll and imitate the gesture written upon it."
The bit of parchment was the simplest of spell scrolls, suitable for children who could not yet read. On it was sketched a small curved pattern.
"Hold your hand so, fingers all together so that the tips touch your thumb, and trace this pattern in the air before you. Begin at the red dot and move toward the blue."
Andris did as he was bade. A ball of faint greenish light appeared, bobbing listlessly over the breakfast table. He dropped his hand onto the table and regarded the enchantment with bleak eyes.
"You have produced light," Kiva pointed out. "You don't look pleased."
"Should I be? There are fish and fungi that can do as much."
Kiva chuckled. "Now that you mention it. But you can also do many other things, and do them well."
"Nothing that matters. Nothing for which I am trained. I am disgraced, dead in the eyes of my brothers.
Kiva heard the soft tap of approaching footsteps and watched as the tall jordain walked onto the piazza. For many days he had lain in deep slumber. Since magic had little effect upon the jordaini, Kiva had resorted to burning in his room incense made from powerful herbs and giving him sips of strong herbal infusions. Though she had been tapering off the dosage so that he might awaken, she had given him enough over the past several days to leave him disorientated and confused.
She studied the tall young man as he approached. His auburn hair was still damp from the baths, but he had not made use of the razor that had been left for him. This was telling. The jordaini custom was for men to be meticulously clean-shaven.
She gestured him to take the seat across from her. "You look well, Andris. Your long sleep seems to have agreed with you."
"I was given no opportunity to disagree," he pointed out
"True enough." She put down her cup and folded her hands on the table. "I must apologize for the way you were brought here. You have been chosen for an important task, as counselor to a hidden lord."
"Counselor?" The young man eyed her warily. "I am no longer jordain. No man tainted by magic can hold that office."
"And do you have this 'taint, Andris?"
"So you say. I myself have seen no sign of it."
Kiva rose and walked over to a small table. She took something from a carved wooden box and returned to him. "This is a test given to the children of Halruaa. Light is the first and simplest of magical energies. It moves more swiftly than heat or sound or substance. Read this scroll and imitate the gesture written upon it."
The bit of parchment was the simplest of spell scrolls, suitable for children who could not yet read. On it was sketched a small curved pattern.
"Hold your hand so, fingers all together so that the tips touch your thumb, and trace this pattern in the air before you. Begin at the red dot and move toward the blue."
Andris did as he was bade. A ball of faint greenish light appeared, bobbing listlessly over the breakfast table. He dropped his hand onto the table and regarded the enchantment with bleak eyes.
"You have produced light," Kiva pointed out. "You don't look pleased."
"Should I be? There are fish and fungi that can do as much."
Kiva chuckled. "Now that you mention it. But you can also do many other things, and do them well."
"Nothing that matters. Nothing for which I am trained. I am disgraced, dead in the eyes of my brothers.