Read Online Natural Ordermage by L. E. Modesitt - Free Book Online
Authors: L. E. Modesitt
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chandlery? Might it be the young lady?” Puvort’s smile was meant to be cheerful, but it bothered Rahl.
“I like seeing her, ser.” Rahl didn’t dare lie, not when the magister could have told he was telling an outright falsehood, but he could tell the truth in a less damaging way. He held up the pouch. “But I was here to pick up the pen nibs my father ordered. He had work to do, and he sent me.”
“You’re very careful in what you say, aren’t you?”
“I try to be, ser.”
“That wasn’t what I meant, Rahl.” The magister’s eyes seemed to look right through the young scrivener. “You never tell an untruth, but sometimes you don’t tell the whole truth. That’s what the mages in Hamor do, you know?”
“Ser?” Rahl didn’t like the reference to Hamor.
“You might think about applying to the Council for mage training, Rahl. It’s clear that you have at least a little ability with ordermagery. You know instinctively that you shouldn’t lie, and you’re right. Lying reduces order-skills.”
Rahl didn’t know quite what to say. “I… I never thought about that.”
“You should. Right now, your skills aren’t developed enough to be that dangerous, but you’re still young. If you become more powerful, you’ll either have to have training or leave Reduce. You might have to, anyway, but training now would make your life easier. Much easier.”
“Ser… I don’t… my father
“That kind of training is not like school where your father has to pay. The Council would pay for it.” Puvort paused. “Of course, you wouldn’t be earning anything, either, but you should still consider it.” His eyes dropped to Rahl’s truncheon, and he nodded slightly.
“Yes, ser.”
“Do think about it, Rahl.” With another enigmatic smile, the magister stepped away from Rahl and into the chandlery.
Rahl stepped off the porch and headed southward, the wind at his back, tearing at his tunic. He had the feeling that, despite the magister’s ‘offer, Puvort hadn’t really wanted him to consider it. Or the magister thought he wouldn’t take it.,
Should he tell his father about what Puvort had said?
That didn’t seem like a good idea at all, but he couldn’t have said why, and that bothered him as much as what the magister had told him.
The wind picked up, driving the fain, which had become sleet, into his back.
Rahl walked even faster, almost at a trot. He just wanted to get home and out of the cold. Then, he’d think things over.
VIII
Rahl was still working his way through the tedious mathematics text on fiveday afternoon when Kian came hurrying in with a small sheet of paper and a stack of larger and heavier paper posterboards.
“We’ve got a commission from the Council, but it has to be finished before sunset today. Put aside the textbook. You’ll have to help.”
“What is it?” Rahl asked, not that it mattered to him, except that anything would have been less tedious than the page before him. Despite what Fahla had wagered, he hadn’t really read much of the mathematics text, except for the obvious matters like how to calculate areas and volumes, and simple formulae.
More important from his point of view was that a good commission from the Council meant his father would be in a better mood when Rahl said he was going to Sevien’s house after supper.
“Here. You can read the words while I work the spacing and letter size for the posterboards.” Kian handed the thinner, smaller sheet to his son, adding, “They must have gone to every scrivener in Reduce to get these done.”
Whatever the paper said, then, it had to‘ be important. Rahl read it, although he had to struggle in places because the writing was both hurried and cramped. When he finished, his eyes went back to the opening lines.
The Council of Reduce has determined that the frequency and severity of piracy has increased significantly and that such piracy has been largely undertaken by Jeranyi vessels. With
“I like seeing her, ser.” Rahl didn’t dare lie, not when the magister could have told he was telling an outright falsehood, but he could tell the truth in a less damaging way. He held up the pouch. “But I was here to pick up the pen nibs my father ordered. He had work to do, and he sent me.”
“You’re very careful in what you say, aren’t you?”
“I try to be, ser.”
“That wasn’t what I meant, Rahl.” The magister’s eyes seemed to look right through the young scrivener. “You never tell an untruth, but sometimes you don’t tell the whole truth. That’s what the mages in Hamor do, you know?”
“Ser?” Rahl didn’t like the reference to Hamor.
“You might think about applying to the Council for mage training, Rahl. It’s clear that you have at least a little ability with ordermagery. You know instinctively that you shouldn’t lie, and you’re right. Lying reduces order-skills.”
Rahl didn’t know quite what to say. “I… I never thought about that.”
“You should. Right now, your skills aren’t developed enough to be that dangerous, but you’re still young. If you become more powerful, you’ll either have to have training or leave Reduce. You might have to, anyway, but training now would make your life easier. Much easier.”
“Ser… I don’t… my father
“That kind of training is not like school where your father has to pay. The Council would pay for it.” Puvort paused. “Of course, you wouldn’t be earning anything, either, but you should still consider it.” His eyes dropped to Rahl’s truncheon, and he nodded slightly.
“Yes, ser.”
“Do think about it, Rahl.” With another enigmatic smile, the magister stepped away from Rahl and into the chandlery.
Rahl stepped off the porch and headed southward, the wind at his back, tearing at his tunic. He had the feeling that, despite the magister’s ‘offer, Puvort hadn’t really wanted him to consider it. Or the magister thought he wouldn’t take it.,
Should he tell his father about what Puvort had said?
That didn’t seem like a good idea at all, but he couldn’t have said why, and that bothered him as much as what the magister had told him.
The wind picked up, driving the fain, which had become sleet, into his back.
Rahl walked even faster, almost at a trot. He just wanted to get home and out of the cold. Then, he’d think things over.
VIII
Rahl was still working his way through the tedious mathematics text on fiveday afternoon when Kian came hurrying in with a small sheet of paper and a stack of larger and heavier paper posterboards.
“We’ve got a commission from the Council, but it has to be finished before sunset today. Put aside the textbook. You’ll have to help.”
“What is it?” Rahl asked, not that it mattered to him, except that anything would have been less tedious than the page before him. Despite what Fahla had wagered, he hadn’t really read much of the mathematics text, except for the obvious matters like how to calculate areas and volumes, and simple formulae.
More important from his point of view was that a good commission from the Council meant his father would be in a better mood when Rahl said he was going to Sevien’s house after supper.
“Here. You can read the words while I work the spacing and letter size for the posterboards.” Kian handed the thinner, smaller sheet to his son, adding, “They must have gone to every scrivener in Reduce to get these done.”
Whatever the paper said, then, it had to‘ be important. Rahl read it, although he had to struggle in places because the writing was both hurried and cramped. When he finished, his eyes went back to the opening lines.
The Council of Reduce has determined that the frequency and severity of piracy has increased significantly and that such piracy has been largely undertaken by Jeranyi vessels. With
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