Absolute Understanding, Part III
Aonva recited word for word what she’d written. Master Kaernin, as usual, said nothing. If she got something wrong, he’d let her fail. If it would go horribly wrong, he’d stop her before things got out of hand.
Not this time. The ball in front of her moved up exactly two feet. Then it moved to her left, then her right, then back. With only a word from her, it stopped. With another word, it started again. One final word, and the ball floated back to the ground.
She grinned, excitement flooding her. Spells requiring input were harder to get working, but she’d done it. A smile from Master Kaernin was all the encouragement she ever got, but it was enough.
“It worked! It actually worked!” She started explaining it, but Master Kaernin held up a hand to stop her.
Aonva collected herself, taking a few deep breaths. She was progressing, and that was the important part.
Words and images from the book flashed in her head. She’d been thinking about it all day. The urge to tell someone had nearly overwhelmed her. But she’d stayed quiet. So far, so good.
Master Kaernin gave her another assignment, then had her recite the rules of magic.
“Rule One,” she recited, “Command the effect with absolute desire in the arcane language. Rule Two: Absolute desire requires absolute understanding. Rule Three: Don’t waste words.”
After a nod from Master Kaernin, she was free to go.
She’d received a message from Lady Emgard at breakfast. Once again, she was to meet her in the west tower. She was also to get more sleep in the future.
Absolute desire requires absolute understanding.
She stopped walking. Absolute understanding. If you wanted power over something, you needed to understand it. Power over nature? Understand nature. Power over humans? Understand humans. And if you wanted to understand humans, you had to study them.
First, you needed something to study. Someone to study.
Aonva nearly ran through the corridors to the west tower. She passed Roshil on her way.
“Aonva!”
“Can’t talk, Roshil! I need to see Lady Emgard!”
She got to the west tower corridor, but no one was there. She shifted her weight between her feet, her mind racing.
He wants power. They nearly killed him at Nelaro Court. Prenowla nearly killed him. He wants to stop that from happening ever again.
Someone cleared their throat behind her. Aonva spun around and stood to attention.
“My Lady, I have something!”
“Keep your voice down.” Lady Emgard walked past her and unlocked the door to the tower.
“Sorry! I’m so sorry!” Aonva whispered.
She followed Lady Emgard into her study. She waited, somewhat impatiently, for Lady Emgard to settle in. Once they were both sitting, Lady Emgard asked her about what she’d found.
“When Valignatiejir attacked Nelaro Court, he went down. Veran thought for a moment that they’d killed him, but then he got back up. This happens again when Valignatiejir attacks the Lapurela Tribe. Prenowla brings him down, but doesn’t kill him. The first question is, why attack the tribe in the first place? I think the answer is that he was trying to recruit Roshil’s mother. He nearly lost at Nelaro Court and doesn’t want that to happen again. He can’t use magic directly on humans because he doesn’t understand us. When he tried finding someone who did, she refused.”
She pulled out the book and her notes. There was no need for either, but she wanted to be prepared.
“Master Kaernin taught me that the fundamental rules of magic are ‘Command the effect with absolute desire in the arcane language,’ and ‘Absolute desire requires absolute understanding.’ Valignatiejir can’t use magic on humans directly because he doesn’t understand us. When Roshil’s mother refused to help him, he did the next best thing: he took a human prisoner to study her.”
Aonva panted, trying to catch her breath. She was certain she was right. She couldn’t remember being more certain of anything. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became.
“Well done putting together who Prenowla was. I expected nothing less of you.”
“Thank you, My Lady.”
“Your final conclusion is the reason I entrusted you with the book. Lord Grund came to the same conclusion after reading it. I wanted to see if you, the only other person who might know her better, agreed.”
“I’m certain of it, My Lady.”
“I can see that on your face. I also see that you were awake all night reading. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot more, but you need rest. Go back to your room and get some sleep before dinner.”
Aonva was never one to argue, especially with Lady Emgard. She packed up her books and stood up.
“We’ll meet tomorrow to discuss the rest of your findings. I look forward to hearing what else you have to say.”
Aonva felt embarrassed from all the praise she’d received.
“Thank you, My Lady.”
She left, still thinking about the book. Veran was a horrible person. How could he watch innocent people dying and rejoice to be in the presence of the thing that had murdered them? Never mind his obsession with Valignatiejir, a dragon that lived on fear.
What if he really did? What if—
“Aonva!”
She nearly walked into Roshil, who was standing at the end of the west tower corridor.
“Hello, Roshil. Were… what were you doing?”
“I was waiting for you. I thought we could go work on that spell to read books?”
Aonva wanted to spend time with Roshil, but she was exhausted. Lady Emgard herself had ordered her to rest.
“I need to get some rest. Maybe tomorrow?”
Roshil’s smile faded away. She visibly shrank.
“Oh. Okay. Tomorrow, then.”
“I’ll see you at dinner.”
“Okay.”
Aonva headed to her room. She wished she could tell Roshil everything, but it was too dangerous. The last thing she wanted was to upset Roshil.
Glancing over her shoulder, Roshil was sulking. Aonva wondered if she hadn’t already upset her friend.