older brother Brutas spent his time trying to impress the heir apparent. But Leonosis was constantly aware of all that was happening around him. Whenever the Earl’s firstborn son looked at Tiberius, the younger man felt as though his older brother saw right through him.
Then, when Tiberius could slip away, he returned to his room and practiced. Healing small cuts was easy now. He could summon the magic, direct it, and watch his work. It was fascinating to see the skin of fruit seal up before his eyes. The magic reminded Tiberius of an overzealous hound, tugging at the leash. At first he was pulled by the magic’s eagerness, but soon he became the master, harnessing the power of the magic and directing it.
Tiberius had no way of practicing the other spells in his book, which called for tutelage from an accomplished wizard and then work with the sick. Tiberius was forced instead to memorize the spells, practice chanting them alone in his room, and feeling the force of the magic even though he could not direct it into anything. Each spell felt different, as if the magic was moving differently. There was a rhythm to each spell, from the way it was pronounced, to the way the magic felt to Tiberius. He soon began to chant the spells in the same way he felt the movement of the magic, so there was a harmony between wizard and magic. He wasn’t sure if that was the correct form, but it felt right, so he kept at it.
Each night, he practiced just one spell. Memorizing each one, focusing on the way his pronunciation of the strange words effected the flow of the magic. On the morning of the sixth day of his private studies, he was summoned to the wall by Rafe. Tiberius’ oldest friend wasn’t a senior officer yet, but he had enough clout to send one of the enlisted men to fetch Ti, who was enjoying his weekend. He had been planning to go in search of Lexi. He hadn’t seen her since he’d found the book and he was afraid that she was angry with him. He had thought that she would understand, but she had never disappeared for so long before.
He climbed up on the high wall and made his way down to where Rafe was waiting along with a squad of soldiers. The group looked nervous, and Rafe had been moping for days, but had an exciting grin on his face as Tiberius approached. Ti couldn’t imagine what his friend would have called him up onto the city wall for.
“What’s going on?” Tiberius asked.
“A pack of Graypees,” Rafe said happily.
“Where? Why wasn’t the alarm sounded?”
“They’re below us, right next to the wall,” Rafe explained. “They must have come up during the night. They’re too close to the city walls to be seen from the watchtower.”
“What are they?” asked one of the soldiers.
“They’re beastly lizards,” Rafe said. “Bigger than a full grown man, some are even larger than horses.”
“But their hides are amazing,” Tiberius added. “My father killed the first one, with a spear.”
“That’s debatable,” Rafe said.
“You know my father killed the first one.”
“That’s not what my father says.”
“Anyway, they used a special spear,” Tiberius continued. “More of a harpoon really”
“With barbs on the spearhead,” Rafe added.
“And a rope on the butt end. They speared the beasts and then hauled them up onto the city walls.”
“The skins are worth thousands of gold crowns,” Rafe said. “Not to mention only four men have ever actually done it.”
“We used to pretend we were hunting the Graypees as kids,” Tiberius said. “I guess today we are for real.”
“No offense, my lord,” said one of the soldiers. “But why call the Earl’s son? There are plenty of us to help you.”
“None of you know how to hold the rope,” Rafe said. “And I don’t have time to teach you. I’ll get one shot at these devils. If everything isn’t perfect, they’ll flee out of range and we’ll miss our chance.”
“We used to practice as kids,” Tiberius said
Then, when Tiberius could slip away, he returned to his room and practiced. Healing small cuts was easy now. He could summon the magic, direct it, and watch his work. It was fascinating to see the skin of fruit seal up before his eyes. The magic reminded Tiberius of an overzealous hound, tugging at the leash. At first he was pulled by the magic’s eagerness, but soon he became the master, harnessing the power of the magic and directing it.
Tiberius had no way of practicing the other spells in his book, which called for tutelage from an accomplished wizard and then work with the sick. Tiberius was forced instead to memorize the spells, practice chanting them alone in his room, and feeling the force of the magic even though he could not direct it into anything. Each spell felt different, as if the magic was moving differently. There was a rhythm to each spell, from the way it was pronounced, to the way the magic felt to Tiberius. He soon began to chant the spells in the same way he felt the movement of the magic, so there was a harmony between wizard and magic. He wasn’t sure if that was the correct form, but it felt right, so he kept at it.
Each night, he practiced just one spell. Memorizing each one, focusing on the way his pronunciation of the strange words effected the flow of the magic. On the morning of the sixth day of his private studies, he was summoned to the wall by Rafe. Tiberius’ oldest friend wasn’t a senior officer yet, but he had enough clout to send one of the enlisted men to fetch Ti, who was enjoying his weekend. He had been planning to go in search of Lexi. He hadn’t seen her since he’d found the book and he was afraid that she was angry with him. He had thought that she would understand, but she had never disappeared for so long before.
He climbed up on the high wall and made his way down to where Rafe was waiting along with a squad of soldiers. The group looked nervous, and Rafe had been moping for days, but had an exciting grin on his face as Tiberius approached. Ti couldn’t imagine what his friend would have called him up onto the city wall for.
“What’s going on?” Tiberius asked.
“A pack of Graypees,” Rafe said happily.
“Where? Why wasn’t the alarm sounded?”
“They’re below us, right next to the wall,” Rafe explained. “They must have come up during the night. They’re too close to the city walls to be seen from the watchtower.”
“What are they?” asked one of the soldiers.
“They’re beastly lizards,” Rafe said. “Bigger than a full grown man, some are even larger than horses.”
“But their hides are amazing,” Tiberius added. “My father killed the first one, with a spear.”
“That’s debatable,” Rafe said.
“You know my father killed the first one.”
“That’s not what my father says.”
“Anyway, they used a special spear,” Tiberius continued. “More of a harpoon really”
“With barbs on the spearhead,” Rafe added.
“And a rope on the butt end. They speared the beasts and then hauled them up onto the city walls.”
“The skins are worth thousands of gold crowns,” Rafe said. “Not to mention only four men have ever actually done it.”
“We used to pretend we were hunting the Graypees as kids,” Tiberius said. “I guess today we are for real.”
“No offense, my lord,” said one of the soldiers. “But why call the Earl’s son? There are plenty of us to help you.”
“None of you know how to hold the rope,” Rafe said. “And I don’t have time to teach you. I’ll get one shot at these devils. If everything isn’t perfect, they’ll flee out of range and we’ll miss our chance.”
“We used to practice as kids,” Tiberius said
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