Suggested Listening

"I suppose in order to teach you anything, we'll need to see what you can do first," Juna said. "So, what do you consider your best skill so far?"

If she had been a more suspicious person, she might have considered this whole show was an attempt to learn her abilities, but Elruin had precious little experience with deception, and none with nobility. "I can zap things. But I shouldn't use that except on bad people because Lady Calenda says it's dangerous."

Juna laughed. "I'd take that as a challenge, but I'm afraid there are rules here and it wouldn't be proper to ignore them. Bad for morale, you see. Maybe some day, you can visit our private training grounds." While she gestured toward the wall. "Go ahead, take the time to hit it with everything you've got. Don't worry, you can't hurt it. If you were that strong, the panels you're standing on would be broken by now."

"Oh, okay." She wasn't sure what 'morale' was, but she understood rules and that these two were authority figures. She wanted to show her best, so she took the time to extend her hand as if reaching for an invisible object while humming notes to herself. She wanted to make a good impression on her new friends, so she concentrated on getting as much power out as possible.

The lance of black light traveled no more than a few yards before evaporating into smoke. She looked at her hand. "It should have been stronger."

"The tiles don't just show colors, they absorb magic. It's kind of like running in water- the harder you push against it, the harder it pushes back, which gives weaker mages a chance to train with stronger ones, and both can get some benefit. The stronger you are, the more resistance you face, so you must work harder, which means you get stronger faster." Juna brushed some of her soft green hair away from her face, then she pitched her voice so the observers could hear. "You'll find some people complaining that it gives men an unfair advantage, since it takes away our magical advantage, but not their physical one. I say that if they trained harder, maybe it wouldn't take six of them to make me break a sweat."

A few onlookers decided now was the time to pretend they weren't listening in on the conversation. Some, perhaps, agreed that their superior was right and eavesdropping wouldn't help them improve their skills.

"Don't let any of that worry you," Juna said once she was satisfied with her chastisement of the crowd. "I think you did an excellent job. But I'm no blaster, so we should ask my wonderful brother for his expert opinion on the matter." She turned her head to look at him, and in the process guided Elruin to look as well.

"Can you please?" Elruin asked, once again doing her best to remain polite and submissive.

"How could I refuse such a polite request from a friend of Lady Calenda?" Garit smiled, as he stepped closer to Elruin, then knelt beside her. "First, you should work on form. A spread finger pose is good for wide area spells, which you might learn some day, but for now you need to think of your fingers as directing the magic. Point at the target with each of them. It will let you hit harder with the same power. Won't make much difference against weak magic resistance, but it's great for piercing the defenses of tougher foes."

"Why, beloved brother," Juna gasped with a mock scandalized tone. "Are you teaching this precious child how to hurt me?"

"Of course, my sweet sister," Garit answered back in a tone just as sarcastic. "As often as you remark that nobody in the kingdom can give you a good fight anymore, I thought this would be my gift to you."

"That sounds like a wonderful project!" Juna laughed. "Go ahead, Elruin, let's see what you can do now."

Elruin did as instructed, holding her fingers together instead of spread out, and was rewarded by her bolt traveling perhaps another couple feet before being eaten by the tiles. It was no stronger than before, but the more concentrated energy lasted longer in the strange field. She would have to take Garit's word for its effectiveness in combat, but it seemed sensible.

"I did it!" Nobody had ever encouraged her to explore her magic before, and it was so much fun. For a moment, she forgot protocol. "What else should I do?" She caught herself, turning her eyes down. "Please, if you wish, I would be grateful to learn more."

"You need not ask," Garit said. "You also need to learn to throw yourself into a spell." As he spoke, he began to extend his own arm. "You're holding yourself back, most mages do, and most of the time you should. Lady Calenda was right that you should never zap anyone, unless they're bad people who need to die. Now, let's talk about the opposite, like what you should do with a really bad man who belongs dead."

"Until now, you've only been thinking of your blast as a weapon in your hand, now I want you to think of it as a weapon of your whole arm." He placed a gentle touch on her wrist and elbow, encouraging her to straighten out her arm pointing at the wall. "And when you fire, don't think of the wall as your target. Think of firing through whatever it is that needs to go away. Don't be gentle, don't hold back, it's in your way, it shouldn't exist, and you have to destroy it. When you're ready, end it."

Fire through it, it belongs dead. Elruin drew on her power again, concentrating the energy through her limb while Garit whispered his mantra. Black lightning danced along her shoulder, down to her wrist. Now she felt ready. The concentrated black magic surged through her arm and took her breath with it when it left her fingertips toward the wall. Though much of it was consumed, enough power remained to hit the wall, leaving behind a black spatter on the otherwise white barrier.

The stain of black on the wall, and streak of gray on the panels, began to fade to their default white as what remained of the arm of her dress crumbled away like dry leaves. Elruin giggled, thinking about the bad morks and worse men in the forests. She didn't have to be afraid of them anymore. One zap is all it would take to make any bad person go away.

Then she fell on Garit's shoulder.

"Oof!" Despite his crouched position, he managed to keep balance. "Surprisingly heavy for someone her size," he said while positioning her so his sister could take her, for propriety's sake.

"Farm living," Juna said. "Early up, early down, lots of exercise, healthy food, and fresh air, no time to sit around on your haunches getting fat. They're all built like soldiers out there, even the little girls."

Elruin looked up at her. "Did I do good?"

"You reminded all our recruits why we don't do live-fire training at this location," Juna said. "So, I'd say you did fine. But perhaps you should take a break from blasting for a while. There are other arts, you know."

"Sister, are you jealous that I'm getting all the attention from our new friend?"

"Not at all," she said. "I'm simply concerned that if all she learns is one style, she won't be well prepared for situations where that strategy doesn't work. It's best to be well-rounded, with solutions to every scenario."

"I'd like that." The argument sounded sensible to the little necromancer, who struggled to stand on shaky legs. "Thank you."

"First, let's talk about breathing," she said. "You should take long, slow breaths. Deep in, deep out. Yes, like that. You'd be amazed how many people forget that magic is a physical art, as much as a mental one. Personal health matters for more than taking a hit. Especially for Negation magic, which has a reputation for harming its users."

Elruin nodded, while concentrating on breathing the way she was told.

"I'll show you some defensive tricks," she said. "It looks like you stand there and take hits, instead of trying to roll with the blows. The ability to turn a direct hit into a graze could save your life some day. True, it would be better if you were magically toughened, but good armor can help as well."

"I'm tough," Elruin said. After seeing how easy it was for her dolly to kill Father, and Clackybones to kill the bad men, she knew she had some magic of that nature. "Cali- Lady Calenda said I should have lost my foot when a mork bit me."

"Is that so?" She beamed a triumphant smile at her brother. "Let's test how tough you are, shall we?" She slid her hand to Elruin's forearm. "I'm going to squeeze here, and I want you to tell me when it starts to hurt, and we'll stop right away. Don't try to tough it out, I'm a lot stronger than you are and I don't want to break your arm."

"It's true," Garit said. "Not a contest you can win. She once punched a man's helmet so hard that he was decapitated by his own chin strap, and the severed head slammed into another man and caved his chest plate in. Ever since, she's been trying to get a triple-kill from a single punch."

"Okay." Elruin stayed silent as the pressure began to build, then it became uncomfortable, then it started to hurt. "Now."

Juna relaxed her grip. "About soft copper, I'd say. You're no dedicated earth mage, but you're unquestionably earth aspect, which means you have access to time magic. That is much more interesting than blasting."

Elruin hadn't so much as heard of that element before. "What can it do?"

"Artificially age things, slow a target's perception of time, generate stasis effects. I've heard rumors of summoning people from the past. The most famous spell is Accelerate, which can make someone move at inhuman speed for short bursts, or heal wounds in seconds that should take years. Problem is, Accelerate devastates the body. It doesn't make you age a year every time it's used like some rumors say, but it's like running for hours in the hot sun. It can make your heart explode."

"I don't think I like that spell."

"I couldn't help you learn it, anyway," Juna said. "I'm on the creation side of earth, I can't do any destruction magic. But I can teach you how to use your elemental armor better. I'm magesteel grade; if a mork tried to bite me, it'd break its teeth on my skin."

"I'd like that."

"Then let's get to work," she took a combat stance. "You try to block me. Every time I'm about to hit you, try to push some of your power to your skin."

One quick jab later, and Elruin was holding her mouth. "Ow!"

"This is going to take a while." A quick flash of healing light which somehow wasn't absorbed by the panels mended Elruin's busted lip. "But at least you're not crying, that makes you better than half the new recruits."

The hour that followed was a series of painful lessons in the gap between Elruin and Juna's ability. Strength, speed, knowledge, and the ease at which the older woman could change her magic from defensive to offensive were fascinating, frustrating, and often painful. By the time Cali came out onto the field, Elruin was eager for that bath and change of clothes that had been promised to her.

"Looks like we'll have to stop for now," Juna said when she spotted Cali. "Lady Calenda, we heard you've had an exciting trip. We're bursting with curiosity over the details. Dinner at the manor, perhaps? Young Elruin is more than welcome to join us."

Cali smiled, but it was tired and unenthused. "Perhaps tomorrow would be better. I've got the Inquisitor, now I need to go by the church, make sure we get a good midwife ready for the journey, then... I'm afraid I'll make a terrible guest tonight."

"I can imagine no such thing from you," Garit said. "But we won't press, our curiosity is of less priority than your wellbeing or that of Miss Elruin."

Calenda nodded. "If no new emergency happens in the next few hours, then I'm sure I'll have time tomorrow."

"That would be lovely," Garit said. "But please, allow us to make your life easier tonight."

Cali hesitated, but had little choice but to respond. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"No imposition at all," Garit said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "And it wouldn't require anyone going out of their way. Rig owes me a favor, and I can think of no better way for him to repay me than to provide a new outfit for your young charge."

There was no good way out of the setup, and Calenda knew it. "Sounds like Rig will be going out of his way."

"Nonsense," Juna said. "Rig has always been generously compensated for his work, this time before knowing what work he would do. I know how you feel about accepting gifts, but this is hardly the same. This is us doing our best to help this charming young mage. She is, after all, a guest in our city, and it's simply unacceptable for us to have a reputation as poor hosts. In fact, I should make an offer of my own. I noticed Elruin is a Virtuoso, and my old music teacher could use a new student."

"Still holding a grudge after all these years, dear sister?"

"Why no! Never. Not at all. Maybe a little." Juna moved from one thought to the next without a moment of hesitation. "But I would never suggest such a thing if I didn't think it was the best course of action. Please, consider the offer, not for your sake, but for us and for her."

"Fine, I'll consider it," Cali said. "Please accept my apologies, but I really must hurry. Lives are on the line."

"Of course, don't let us stop you," Juna said.

Elruin turned to face the pair, clasped her hands together and bowed. "Thank you for playing with me."

"It was our pleasure. We'll be happy to play some more, any time we're not busy with our chores." Juna watched Calenda leave with Elruin, then smiled at her twin. "Your taste in women never ceases to amuse me, brother."

Elruin stared at the buildings as they walked. Everything was so impressive, so new. Never before had she walked a road made entirely of stone, nor had she seen horses used for a purpose other than work, nor had she seen so many people in one place or dresses of such bright and fanciful colors. It was like she'd walked into a storybook of some faraway land.

"Your boyfriend was nice," she said to Cali in the hopes that she could get her talking again.

"My b-?" She stumbled over her words. "He wishes he was my boyfriend."

This confused Elruin. "He said you were betrothed."

"Yeah, that's what he thinks," Cali growled. "But I'm not interested in marriage, and if I was, not one where I'm cucked by my sister in law."

"Cucked?" She had no idea what the word meant, but having met Juna, she guessed it had something to do with being beat up. "Are they bad people?"

"Uh, sorry, that's a bad word you should never repeat it," Cali said. "It's a vicious rumor, not true. If it was, he wouldn't be pursuing me as hard as he is. Garit is a good man, for the most part, and both his family and mine love the idea of us getting married. Except some of my sisters who'd rather take my place. Garit isn't interested in them, believe me, I've tried."

Elruin looked back at the barracks. "Why don't you want to marry him?" She was still processing the concept that marriage was a thing you could choose for yourself. All she knew was that at some point Mother and Father would declare that one of her older brothers and sisters were married to someone, there'd be a party- sometimes at their farm, somewhere at the farm of the other family- and then they were married and either a sister moved away, or a new sister moved in. Later, babies happened. She saw no reason to think any deeper on the subject until now.

"I don't want to get married to anyone," Cali said. "I like my freedom, to go where I want and run the wilds. I joined the priesthood specifically in order to get outside the system, and now Garit wants to drag me back in."

"Is that why you don't want to take their gifts?" Elruin saw no difference in getting clothes from Cali compared to getting them from Garit's friend.

Calenda sighed again. "No, that's something else. Garit and Juna are the sort of people who want everyone to be grateful to them, want everyone to owe them and to know they owe them. They trade favors like currency. Come a few months, and they'll ask something in return. Nothing special, not something difficult, maybe something you'd want to do anyway. Then you're even, but now you've got it in your head to ask for another favor. And sooner or later, you will, because something will go wrong. Maybe they'll have you repay that one, maybe they'll sit on it, but sooner or later you'll find you owe them seven or eight favors, and now if they ask for something you owe them too much to say no."

All of this confused Elruin, but she continued to listen.

"They don't do anything bad with this power over others," Cali continued. "In fact, if it wasn't so unbelievably manipulative, it could be called heroic. One time, they saved a girl from slavery. It was a mess, unjust but unquestionably legal. Merchant's guild against citizens with the Guard caught in the middle. Almost led to riots, then they stepped in and fixed everything with the words 'we're calling in a favor'. End result, a slaver lost coin but can't complain, the business guilds settled down since none of their own were forced to do anything by the nobility, some business loses out on a slave, and a pretty but otherwise unremarkable young woman working at the library sings the praises of the kind lords who saved her to everyone who will listen."

"They were liked before, but now everyone loves them. Which is good, I mean, their mother is our Countess, and nobody in the city doubts Garit gets the throne while Juna becomes the High General. Some people hope their mother dies sooner rather than later, they so look forward to their heroic nobles taking direct leadership. I can't deny they're good leaders, but I despise the games. I want to leave others alone, and they leave me alone. Except the ones who hurt other people, I make them my business."

Elruin still hadn't puzzled out the whole mess, but she could tell Cali wasn't sure how she felt, either. "So they wouldn't make me do bad stuff?"

"You? Not at all," Cali admitted. "They'll encourage your education, call some favors to make certain you get the best tutors the kingdom, maybe the empire, can provide. A talent like yours will be cultivated and pushed. Then, in five or so years when you're considering what career you want to pursue, they'll step in and have a polite conversation. No matter what you want to do, I'm sure they'll have five major lords desperate to recruit you, or perhaps they'll convince you to remain working here in Arila. A handful of small favors cultivated into one big one. But, I guess, it's up to you."