Age of Swords (The Legends of the First Empire #2)

Suri assumed Arion was speaking to her, and she heard all the words clearly but still struggled with their meaning. Over the last month, the bald Fhrey Miralyith had improved Suri’s understanding of the Fhrey language, but she still had to guess at a few of the words, and Arion was talking fast.

“Thing is,” Arion went on, “everyone is capable of using the Art, in the same way that everyone can draw, but not all drawing is considered art. In this same way, people use the power of nature all the time. Speech, for example, is a form of mundane magic. A base branch of summoning, in fact. The natural powers of sound, pitch, and tone can ‘magically’ transfer ideas from one person to another. Smiling and causing another to smile back is another form of the same idea. Do you understand?”

Suri shook her head.

“Creating fire—the way you already know how to do—is yet another form of basic magic. Nyphron can also create a fire. To do so he’ll harness the power of friction to summon heat. A more advanced wielder of nature’s powers might use metal and stone to generate sparks, an easier and faster method. And to the person who uses friction, it can be seen as magical, but magic is merely another word for ‘I don’t know how you did that.’ You, of course, know an even better way to start a fire.”

Suri smiled, having understood this last part. She had seen Tura start fires using both methods, but the old mystic never started one the way Suri did.

“Your method, Suri, is even more elegant, easier, and faster. And to you that’s all it is, another way of making a fire. But to Nyphron, with his lack of understanding, it’s magic.” She turned to the Galantian. “I apologize for using you as an example, but you chose to stay.”

“Not a problem,” he replied. “I enjoy seeing how you instill a sense of superiority in your student along with the lesson. I can see how it happens.”

“How what happens?”

“How you’ve come to see yourselves as gods.”

Arion paused, and a shadow of self-doubt crossed her face.

“I’ll do the same thing when I teach the Rhunes to fight. Confidence is important, particularly in a war.”

Arion hesitated a moment longer, then turned back to Suri. “So where was I? Oh, yes, there’s a divide between those who trace or copy a picture that someone else drew and people who can create a drawing out of their own imagination. The people who have a natural talent, something they are born with or develop at a young age, are Artists. But there are others who can only use magic by relying on physical constructs such as wood, water, minerals, and metal. Those who must rely on the crutches of physical items are known as faquins or stylists. You, Suri, are a true Artist.”

Suri smiled again, certain that was a compliment. She liked Arion. The Miralyith wasn’t just beautiful; she was fascinating, too. The Fhrey was like an elegant version of Tura, kindly, understanding, and wise. They both dripped with knowledge like an overloaded sponge. No one could be around either and not learn something.

“You improve as an Artist by understanding the basics of how elements interact and how to affect them,” Arion explained. “This is similar to learning to communicate. You learn to speak by discovering which sounds mean what. A lot of magic is based on sound. Sound and motion can create weavings and bindings like knots, similar to the string game you play. They fasten aspects of natural power into patterns that can be used by the Artist. Knowing the language of the world and how to speak in usable patterns allows an Artist to effect change.

“Everything in the world is connected to everything else. Understanding the paths allows you to make new connections. To do this, an Artist needs to be in contact with a source of power. In terms of the string game, this would be your fingers. In the real world, power comes from life, heat, and movement. So you can use sunlight, fire, the flow of water, or life itself. Seeds are a good source; the potential they hold is extremely powerful and you can carry many with you, which makes them convenient as well. Of course, here in this forest, you have an abundance of power to tap. Now, there are several categories of source power. Elemental, which is most common and is the manipulation of elements: Rubbing wood makes fire, adding heat to water makes steam. There are subcategories of this such as weather art, water, fire, and such. There’s also Life and Vision art, but there’s no sense going into those yet. Today we’re going to begin with dirt.”

“Dirt?” Suri asked.

“Yes, dirt. It may seem inert, but like seeds, it holds the power of life. The soil has provided strength and nourishment to these massive trees, and it will provide the power to free Rapnagar. Now, you should already know how to tap. You do it every time you start a fire. It’s that sensation, the drawing in of elemental strength that is akin to taking a deep breath, the summoning you do just before you clap. I want you to do that now. Close your eyes. That’ll make it easier to concentrate. Listen to the wind; feel the ground beneath your feet. Reach out with your senses and explore. Try to feel the dirt around Rapnagar. Imagine the ground being an extension of yourself. It is. Everything in the world is part of everything else. We are all related in that we affect one another. You just need to pull on the right thread and manipulate the string pattern so that the dirt moves away from Rapnagar.”

Suri tried to do what Arion asked, but she didn’t have much to go on. Her eyes were closed, and she was imagining the dirt—seeing worms wiggling around. That was pretty easy. She also felt her feet on the soil but wasn’t sure how that helped.

As if understanding her difficulty, Arion said, “Try humming.”

“Humming?”

“Yes.”

“What should I hum?”

“Nothing. Don’t hum a tune, just a single, even tone. Just make a steady sound.”

Suri did.

“Feel the vibration? Now change tone and feel the difference. This will help you center yourself. It’s a good base point. It’ll help focus your mind on what you’re looking for. Now reach out and search for a similar tone outside of you, the same way you do when summoning fire.”

Suri did feel the vibration in her throat, chest, and head as she hummed. It almost tickled when she changed notes. She thought of how she found fire. Suri always thought she called to the fire spirit, but maybe she summoned it, sucked it in like a breath. As she hummed, Suri sensed another vibration outside herself. The vibration was familiar—fire.

Suri grinned broadly with this discovery. How exciting it was to learn more about something she’d done for years, like the time she found out it was impossible to swallow without touching the roof of her mouth with her tongue.

At the same moment, she became aware of other tones, other vibrations.

Sound and motion can create weavings and bindings like knots, similar to the string game you play.

Suri realized it then: The vibrations were like strings she could pull and twist. Without thinking, she raised her hands, moving her fingers just as she would when playing the string game. The movement was familiar and helped her balance, helped her focus.