Artists were not so easily daunted. Yet that meant they would treat her as an outsider if she didn’t impress them with her skills. In order to prove she was more than a sorcerer, she had asked for tools and materials a few days after arriving, and begun working.
It wasn’t going well. She’d told herself she was out of practice, ignoring the empty feeling in her gut each time she sat back and gave her work a critical lookover. She had tried warm-up exercises, different drawing and painting mediums–even oily paint, which was no novelty to the artists here.
Today she had returned to the simplest method: chalk and paper. Her subject was the mechanical insect Valhan had given her.
Picking it up, she examined it again. She still wasn’t sure what it was for. An amusement, or something more practical? Though Valhan had said it could be trained to obey commands, she’d had no luck in doing so. Without any idea what sort of rewards would motivate it, how could she teach it anything?
And yet… Valhan had said this odd little thing was the future.
She set it down in the same position, picked up her drawing tools and continued her sketch. Nothing focused the mind on a subject like drawing. She ought to notice details she’d missed before. But though that was her intention, her thoughts soon wandered.
How well will I draw and paint in a hundred cycles? What about a thousand? Would she live in Valhan’s palace for long, or one day leave it? Or create her own? Me the ruler of a palace? No… but it would be nice to be able to create a place like this, where artisans can work together.
Would she always want to paint? How much would she change, whether through the experience of living, or the influence of others? Would time keep passing faster and faster, as it seemed to now compared to when she was younger? Would other people’s lives seem to flash by? What if she fell in love with a mortal man? Would he age before her eyes, and die all too soon? If she fell in love with an ageless man, could they hope to remain in love for hundreds, if not thousands, of cycles? If she could read his mind, how much would his expectations influence her appearance and personality? Would it be too painful to see what he didn’t like about her as well as what he loved? Perhaps it would be better to fall in love with someone whose mind she couldn’t read. So far, the only person she’d met whose mind was inaccessible was Valhan.
A small thrill ran down her spine. He was a beautiful man. And powerful. Both were very attractive. But the power also repelled her. And she wasn’t filled with anticipation and excitement when she saw him, as she had been with Izare, counting down the hours until she saw him again… before she met the corrupter and everything began to fall apart. With Valhan, she felt a contradictory fascination and dread.
Besides, love was a complication she didn’t need right now. Perhaps she would welcome it again one day. After all, an eternity with no love was a sorry prospect.
Since Valhan is the most powerful sorcerer in the worlds and can read everyone’s mind, can he even risk falling in love? Dahli had said Valhan hadn’t taken a lover in hundreds of cycles. No, he said Valhan hadn’t seduced anyone for that long. That’s different.
But love? A lover’s expectations would surely have a greater influence on an ageless sorcerer. Their expectations were greater and…
A tapping interrupted her thoughts. She turned to see one of the servants standing at the entrance to her suite of rooms. The woman’s knees bent, then she quickly straightened them. Rielle had put a stop to all the falling to the floor in supplication, telling the servants that she was neither royal nor holy, but just another artisan.
“Yes, Sesse?”
“Do you wish for anything, Sorcerer Rielle?” Sesse’s eyes were bright and wide, and her voice wavered. Fear radiated from her.
“What is it?” Rielle asked.
Sesse’s eyes dropped to the floor. “They said I wasn’t to tell you.”
Putting down the chalk and paper, Rielle beckoned. “Sit.” She waved at a nearby chair.
Sesse entered the room, not raising her eyes until she was perched on the end of the chair.
Looking into the woman’s mind, Rielle read that a sorcerer had arrived a short while ago. That in itself wasn’t strange. Many of the artisans had come here from other worlds, and the families paid sorcerers to bring them for visits, or send messages. Sorcerers also brought customers for the artisans’ wares, or came to buy work for themselves or on behalf of others.
But this sorcerer was a stranger, and did not appear to be interested in purchasing anything. He says the rebels are going to attack the Raen soon, Sesse thought, knowing that Rielle would read the words.
Rielle frowned. She’d discovered there were rebels opposed to Valhan’s rule while reading the minds of artisans in the hopes of learning which of them she would most easily befriend. Most people here thought the rebellion would fall to internal disunity before it became a threat. The rest were certain that any attack on the Raen would fail. But the stranger’s news had stirred doubts among them.