with respect.
Tan hadn’t seen Seanan much since the lisincend attack on the city. Like Cianna, he was from Nara, but as a fire shaper, he kept himself apart from the other shapers of the university. Fire had always been looked on with skepticism—at least, it had until Tan developed much strength in it. Probably still did, he decided.
“Seanan. What can I do for you?”
Seanan glanced past Tan again and seemed to hesitate. Then he took a deep breath. “I would learn what you know.”
Tan blinked. He wasn’t certain what Seanan would want when he came to the door, but learning wasn’t part of what Tan had anticipated. “You think I can teach you? But you’re a Master!”
Seanan huffed. “And you speak to the draasin. There is much to learn in that, I should think.”
Tan motioned Seanan into the house. The fire shaper hesitated and then entered, pausing and turning in place before taking a chair facing the fire. He stared at the flames, his gray eyes reflecting the light moving in the hearth, making them seem to dance.
Tan settled carefully into his chair. He wanted to help Seanan, but there wasn’t time for him to teach. There were more important things that needed to get done first. Finding the hatchling. Learning a way to forge connections to the elementals. Searching for allies, including Incendin. Tan had not even considered teaching, but he wondered if that was an oversight. Not only had Cianna bonded, but Ferran had managed to reach the elementals. Who else could he guide to them?
“You taught Ferran. I would like to know what he has learned from you,” Seanan said.
Golud bonding to Ferran had surprised Tan, but the earth master had taken an interest in listening for earth, in trying to reach for the elemental. He had maintained an open mind and a willingness to accept that he might never reach the elementals.
Tan studied the fire, wondering what he could say to Seanan. “It’s not just Ferran. You would like a bond like Cianna.”
Seanan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She rides the draasin. It should not have been her chosen. I have been a master far longer than—”
“The draasin choose the bond, as it is with each of the elementals, Seanan.” That wasn’t completely true, but Seanan didn’t need to know how Tan had suggested Cianna to Sashari.
“You speak to them. You could tell them who they must bond. I know there is another—”
“I can suggest, but I can’t tell them who to bond, Seanan,” Tan said, cutting him off again, feeling a rising irritation. If the shapers within the kingdoms couldn’t understand why the elementals couldn’t be forced to bond, how would he expect to convince Par-shon? Stopping Par-shon would require more than simply defeating the Utu-Tonah. It would involve changing elements of their culture. Would they be willing to change so much?
Seanan looked over, a confused frown on his face. “But you speak to them. Isn’t that how it is done? You did not tell golud to bond to Ferran? You did not tell the draasin to bond to Cianna?”
Had he forced the bond? He didn’t think that he had, but what if it really seemed that way? He certainly had asked that golud be willing to listen, but that wasn’t the same as forcing a bond, and certainly nothing like what Par-shon did. And with Cianna, Tan had suggested the bond, recognizing the need, but he had known Cianna well enough that he understood that she would respect the connection. It had been Sashari who had ultimately chosen.
Rather than allowing himself frustration, Tan tried a different tact. “Tell me, Seanan. What do you sense of fire?”
Seanan waved his hand in the air. A trail of smoke drifted from it. The shaping was subtle and skilled and likely more than Tan would even have been able to recognize only a few months ago. Now, fire was nearly as natural to him as wind was to his mother. He could touch it, breathe it, and recognized the way that it intertwined within everything.
Fire was life,
Tan hadn’t seen Seanan much since the lisincend attack on the city. Like Cianna, he was from Nara, but as a fire shaper, he kept himself apart from the other shapers of the university. Fire had always been looked on with skepticism—at least, it had until Tan developed much strength in it. Probably still did, he decided.
“Seanan. What can I do for you?”
Seanan glanced past Tan again and seemed to hesitate. Then he took a deep breath. “I would learn what you know.”
Tan blinked. He wasn’t certain what Seanan would want when he came to the door, but learning wasn’t part of what Tan had anticipated. “You think I can teach you? But you’re a Master!”
Seanan huffed. “And you speak to the draasin. There is much to learn in that, I should think.”
Tan motioned Seanan into the house. The fire shaper hesitated and then entered, pausing and turning in place before taking a chair facing the fire. He stared at the flames, his gray eyes reflecting the light moving in the hearth, making them seem to dance.
Tan settled carefully into his chair. He wanted to help Seanan, but there wasn’t time for him to teach. There were more important things that needed to get done first. Finding the hatchling. Learning a way to forge connections to the elementals. Searching for allies, including Incendin. Tan had not even considered teaching, but he wondered if that was an oversight. Not only had Cianna bonded, but Ferran had managed to reach the elementals. Who else could he guide to them?
“You taught Ferran. I would like to know what he has learned from you,” Seanan said.
Golud bonding to Ferran had surprised Tan, but the earth master had taken an interest in listening for earth, in trying to reach for the elemental. He had maintained an open mind and a willingness to accept that he might never reach the elementals.
Tan studied the fire, wondering what he could say to Seanan. “It’s not just Ferran. You would like a bond like Cianna.”
Seanan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She rides the draasin. It should not have been her chosen. I have been a master far longer than—”
“The draasin choose the bond, as it is with each of the elementals, Seanan.” That wasn’t completely true, but Seanan didn’t need to know how Tan had suggested Cianna to Sashari.
“You speak to them. You could tell them who they must bond. I know there is another—”
“I can suggest, but I can’t tell them who to bond, Seanan,” Tan said, cutting him off again, feeling a rising irritation. If the shapers within the kingdoms couldn’t understand why the elementals couldn’t be forced to bond, how would he expect to convince Par-shon? Stopping Par-shon would require more than simply defeating the Utu-Tonah. It would involve changing elements of their culture. Would they be willing to change so much?
Seanan looked over, a confused frown on his face. “But you speak to them. Isn’t that how it is done? You did not tell golud to bond to Ferran? You did not tell the draasin to bond to Cianna?”
Had he forced the bond? He didn’t think that he had, but what if it really seemed that way? He certainly had asked that golud be willing to listen, but that wasn’t the same as forcing a bond, and certainly nothing like what Par-shon did. And with Cianna, Tan had suggested the bond, recognizing the need, but he had known Cianna well enough that he understood that she would respect the connection. It had been Sashari who had ultimately chosen.
Rather than allowing himself frustration, Tan tried a different tact. “Tell me, Seanan. What do you sense of fire?”
Seanan waved his hand in the air. A trail of smoke drifted from it. The shaping was subtle and skilled and likely more than Tan would even have been able to recognize only a few months ago. Now, fire was nearly as natural to him as wind was to his mother. He could touch it, breathe it, and recognized the way that it intertwined within everything.
Fire was life,
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