Malic watched quietly as Doudon had instructed him. As much as he hated taking orders he knew following the old man�s instructions was a small price to pay for the knowledge he was being given.
Doudon dipped a finger into the cauldron he was laboring over. �Young apprentice?�
�Yes Wizard Doudon?� Malic tried not to sneer when he used the title. Doudon insisted he was a magician and therefore had earned the mantle of wizard.
The bent form of this wizard twisted to reveal a profile of Doudon�s deformed face and back that to this day still frightened small children. His spine curved disgustingly high above his shoulders. The right side of the hump was slightly higher and bonier then the left and seemed to be the cause for man�s the need of the knobby cane.
Doudon lifted a gnarled finger and hooked it. �Come closer my boy.� His voice sounded like a squeaky hinge that no amount of oil could help.
Malic grimaced and stepped closer to the bubbling pot. The stench of the liquid inside was almost as offensive as the stink of Doudon�s decaying body. How the alchemist had managed to stay alive so long was a greatly and widely pondered mystery in the First Kingdom�s scientific society. Malic was confidant that the answer lay in the darker aspects of Wizard Doudon�s knowledge.
Doudon spread his hands over the boiling brownish substance and hissed a few words in the old tongue. Malic stifled a gasp when the liquid suddenly turned a bright, almost glowing, green. �The dark arts are tricky, apprentice. See how the potion convects backwards? That�s because the heart of its magic is cold and gets heated from the air around is instead of the fire beneath it.�
�Then why is it not frozen over?�
The wizard turned his head then and closed one of his milky white eyes as if he were about to reveal some well kept bit of information but was still debating whether or not to go through with it.
He grumbled. �The potion boils instead of freezes because the dark magics don�t behave like natural elements do. You have been taught that cold freezes and fire burns and that light illuminates. But have you ever truly grasped what darkness does?�
Malic�s blond brows narrowed. �Darkness doesn�t do anything. Its just a lack of light.�
Doudon rasped what Malic had learned was laughter. His translucent skin flapped as he shook his dying arm over the cauldron. �No, my boy. Darkness is not another word for emptiness. Darkness is a force just like light and heat and spirit. It is arguably the most powerful of forces.� His laughter began again. Malic�s anger flared.
�Then how does this dark force change the way substances react chemically?�
Doudon took a deep breath to calm his choking, gasping laughter. �That�s the big secret Malic. That�s a piece of information that will prove more valuable then any other in your quest.� A grin that spread his age spotted cheeks and showed his blackened teeth suddenly appeared on the old man�s face.
Malic couldn�t hide the shocked expression that he knew had inspired Doudon�s wolfish smile. How could he know? Malic had never told anyone about the reason behind his aspirations to learn the dark Arts. He�d never even hinted towards having a purpose for Doudon�s knowledge.
Doudon mocked a shocked look. �My boy,� he rasped, �I�ve been at this since a time even your father�s father couldn�t remember. You learn much more than potions and powers when you�ve been alive and in my business for so long.� He turned back to the cauldron. �Hopefully, someday, you will continue my work.� He threw a pinch of what looked like dried blood into the mixture. �I�ve never had an apprentice before. I always thought my efforts would end with my death.�
Malic realized his mouth was still hanging open and snapped it shut. �Wizard Doudon how could you�?�
�I have my secrets just as you have yours, Malic. The difference between you and I is that I have the power to find out yours and protect my own, you do not even know how to hide them to begin with. At least not yet.�
He had been underestimating Doudon. Malic chided himself silently. The old man was far wiser then he had assumed. Malic had learned a lesson today. Humility would be required if he was going to get what he needed from Doudon. And it was vital that he gain Doudon�s knowledge, knowledge was power. If Malic was going to clear is father�s name and punish the First Kingdom for disgracing his family he would need all the power he could gather.
�Now, dear apprentice. Are you ready to begin learning? No, no you won�t be needing any parchment or quills, set those down. Magic is as much the product of your mind as it is the product of your instincts.� His voice took on an amused tone and his smile returned.
Silu grabbed Quivern by the collar and yanked him off balance. He fell with a hard thud and a rustling of leaves just in time to dodge the arrow. It planted itself sharply in the trunk of a dead maple tree only two paces behind where he had just stood.
She dropped to her knee, pushing him flat on his back when he tried to sit up. She ignored his growl of protest and crossed her lips with her free hand�s index finger. The nearly fatal attack reminded her of one of her first lessons as a novice in the Tan U Tae. She had recited and memorized a list of battle axioms. �Number four:� she whispered to herself, �Be ever ready for the attack. Your enemy will not wait for you to prepare.�
�What do you think you�re do�� his complaint faded when he saw what she staring at. He glanced back at her, his eyes wide with astonishment. �How did you know? Did you hear it?�
�The arrow? No.� She kept her voice low and helped him into a crouch. � I�m not that kind of Shyra�� She paused carefully shifting the branch of a brittle, dying sapling above her. Patiently she extended her dark talent and waited for the telltale skip in heartbeat and the sudden rush of pleasure she had heard before. Her hand retracted suddenly and another arrow zipped through the space it had occupied.
She could feel the dark mark of her ability flare with a cold, stinging heat. She hated the fact that she enjoyed that black sensation. She detested herself for harboring that power, the elemental ability to use Darkness. Not just darkness of the night, but the darkness of the heart and soul. Her fellow Shyra had told her it was an amazing gift and should be used wisely and carefully, nonetheless. Yet, she knew their words were hollow. The fear behind each syllable had distorted any sentiment they meant to convey into one of dismissal.
