The morning dawned cold, with the fire having gone out sometime during the night. Eldrick woke, his body shivering, breath leaving his mouth in a haze of steam. Understanding the cold would play havoc with his master, Eldrick cursed himself for not checking on the fire before bed last night. Climbing out of bed he dressed quickly and went to build a fire in the fireplace and cook stove so he could prepare breakfast.
He was all but finished preparing the morning meal when Sergei stumbled into the kitchen. Looking pained, he surveyed the room. Finding his jug of medicine sitting on the roughhewn shelf, he grabbed it and started to dribble it down his throat.
“Thank goodness for the fire. I will be sitting near it today while instructing." Eldrick could see the pain lurking in the depths of his eyes. "I hope your memory is in fine fettle today.”
“Yes sir, I’m ready to begin. Where is Sebastian?”
“He will be along shortly. He is just now stirring. Can you not sense it? I thought I taught you better.”
“You did, I just need to make it a habit. I will work on that.”
“Good, you are going to be using it a lot today since you will be the one sensing for Sebastian while I teach him to mask his essence. And, you will be doing it while under a shield. If you shield incorrectly you will cut yourself off from sensing others and leave yourself open to attack, which I will be doing to test your shields. Nothing lethal but you will know if your shields fail or are not anchored correctly. Today will be a very long day for all of us.”
Just then Sebastian appeared in the doorway. Eldrick served breakfast. When everyone had eaten, they shifted to the main room.
* * *
As they were all settling in for the training, Sergei brought out a broom and swept the floor clean of all the sigils and the circle. Eldrick looked perplexed over this action; he believed the markings were important for any magical training.
Sergei, looking around, commented “The symbols would hinder you for this portion of the training as they are protective. You must learn to protect yourself. This does not mean they won’t be used again in other lessons just not these.”
With understanding, Eldrick’s body relaxed slightly. Sitting on the floor he tried sensing everything around him. Sebastian felt like a large blue sphere, crackling with lightning when suddenly his essence shifted from electricity to stone and back again. A shift that did not seem controlled, sending a chill through Eldrick. Sergei felt like a self-contained sphere of tempestuously boiling water. Examining himself, he realized his energies were like looking directly into the sun. He couldn’t bear to look too long.
Sergei clearing his throat, gathered everyone’s attention. Glancing around, seeing he had it, he started the instruction. For a while it dealt with technicalities, seeming to go over everyone’s head he began simplifying it. He started with Eldrick, teaching him grounding and stabilizing. Eldrick picked it up quickly and soon had it mastered. As Eldrick was working on that he turned his attention to Sebastian, instructing him to hide his energy signature and disappear to the senses. With only two others living in the same house, he should be able to fool them. If he was successful, he had a chance to fool others. He shouldn't fail, it all came down to practice.
Once Eldrick felt competent, Sergei began switching things up, throwing things at him while he tried to build and maintain his shields. It was all intended to break his focus.
“Come on boy, you can do better than that. If you cannot master raising shields with a thought, you are going to find yourself in a world of hurt. That is about all the time you will have. You must be able to do it amidst distraction. If someone is out to get you, they won't allow you time to build your shields slowly. Some shields will work while you sleep, giving a warning. It is still up to you to construct the stronger defensive shields before they realize you are vulnerable," Sergei was scowling. "They must be second nature, you are going to have to eat, sleep and breathe shielding until you can erect your most powerful shields in your sleep or the next thing close to it. Now, where did that darned blasted dragon get to?" He looked around. "See you distracted me, and now I cannot sense Sebastian.”
“Well sir, I can sense him right behind you though I do not see him,” replied Eldrick. “How is it possible you can't sense him, but I can? Is it because of our different magical strengths?”
“What do you know about magical strengths and their comparability? You are still just learning to shield. I have yet to teach you about the magical strengths of living beings.”
“Well sir, while I was doing some relaxation techniques as you would normally instruct me, I glanced at yourself, Sebastian and myself with that inner eye you keep telling me to use when sensing life around me. What I saw was interesting. You looked like a self-contained tempest of boiling water, whereas Sebastian looked like a lightning storm before he changed to a well-contained rockslide and back again. Myself, well sir, that is where things got interesting. It was like trying to look directly into the sun.”
Stunned, Sebastian lost his concentration and nearly fell on top of Sergei. Sergei let out a cry of shock at how close Sebastian had gotten to him. A smile of pride crept over his lips.
“Sebastian you are doing remarkably well. However, I would prefer it if you could also block out Eldrick. It would be extremely beneficial for no one to be able to sense your presence." Sergei's brow creased as his eyes narrowed. "I know for a fact there are some who would try to steal your life force for their own. I have known about the spell to do so for most of my life. If I didn't have scruples, I may have been tempted to use it myself. I consider one lifetime of experience to be plenty. I wish those who succumb to its allure learn the truth of what it means to be preyed upon just for personal gain." His gaze returned to pin Eldrick to his seat. "There are those in the druid conclave who would use any means possible to increase their stature. That means eliminating a rival or potential rival, which is why I am pressuring you to master shielding as fast as possible. It may be the only thing that could save your life in the upcoming trials. Just because they accept you into the order, doesn’t mean you're safe. Honestly, I think the only thing that kept me safe is that I stayed out of the politics and live out in the middle of nowhere. Besides, I am no one’s rival, nor do I wish to be. Most of all I had a family, and they respect that.”
After grabbing a quick meal, they returned to their studies. Sergei became more of a taskmaster, allowing less time to erect shields while still bombarding Eldrick with queries as to the location of Sebastian. It wasn’t until late evening when Eldrick could no longer hold his head up that Sergei called a halt for the night.
Eldrick was so tired that once he relaxed and could quit concentrating, he collapsed where he sat.
* * *
Sebastian, energized, was having a hard time sitting still. Realizing that he was no longer concentrating on maintaining the skill he had been using. Sergei had to look around the room to find him, as though senses were failing the old man.
“I must say, Sebastian, you are beginning to make my head spin. What happened earlier? I sensed your concentration fail when Eldrick was discussing energy signatures,” probed Sergei.
"Let’s attend to Eldrick. Get him settled into bed and then we can talk over a late dinner."
“You are right. I fear he may have a whale of a headache when he awakes, and the appetite of a hummingbird. Before you say anything, they eat ten times their weight a day.”
Getting Eldrick set up in the bed was easy enough. His lanky limbs tending to drag on the floor. Worming their way into the room so as not to bang his head on the doorway or any of the furniture was interesting. Once they had him settled, they retreated to the kitchen where Sergei prepared food and queried Sebastian.
“Now, I know I have no right to pry. But you had said there was something you needed to talk about. What is it? And why did you lose concentration earlier?"
"To be honest I was hoping you had forgotten about it. I am heading into a period in my life where I cannot control certain things. I wasn’t entirely truthful about needing the practice with the flint and striker." Sebastian looked down shamefaced. "At the moment my fire is uncertain. This period is usually only triggered by certain pheromones. I am unsure how I could have encountered them. They are usually only associated with a potential mate. I am not ready for this to happen but now that it has begun there is no way to stop it that I know of."
Looking up Sebastian watched as Sergei's face fell.
"I have a story and confession." This time it was Sergei who looked ashamed. "I am not sure where to start, but, I guess it is best to start at the beginning. It is going to be difficult so please hear me out." Grabbing his handkerchief, he mopped his brow. "I trained my daughter when she was little but she never progressed to the journeyman level. I believe the order should accept anyone with the abilities and training. Unfortunately, Veldar, the current High Druid disagrees." Taking a slow, deep breath, he continued, "She was the one who let me know about Eldrick. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I learned that he was a she, which was an issue because of the way the conclave works. So, after many days of struggling with the dilemma of the best and brightest student I could have was yet another girl." Rising from his chair he put a kettle on the stove and gathered the supplies to make tea. "I discussed it with Eliza, my daughter. She asked if there was anything I could do magically to rectify the situation. I recalled a spell that could. But," pausing again as he gathered two cups, "the recipient had to willingly accept the name I used for the spell."
Setting the cups on the table, Sergei began to pace. "Eldrick does not know this and it would be in his best interest not to learn of it until later in life.”
Sebastian could feel the blood drain from his face. "I think that may be very hard on Eldrick. What happens when he learns the truth? Don’t you think there may be resentment and repercussions?" Sebastian's tail twitched as he considered Sergei's words. "I wish you hadn’t told me all of this. Now I am as culpable as you."
Sergei let out a sigh, "There is more you should know. I am going to entrust you with a secret to pass on to Eldrick if anything should happen to me. After all, I am an old man. This farmhouse was built to house more than just a family. Beneath the floors lies a secret magical workshop. I was down there the other night after spending the day working on Eldrick magically." He was interrupted by the whistling of the kettle.
Rising, he poured the water into the teapot. Bringing it over to the table, he set it down as he eased himself back into his chair. "I have tomes on dragon magic, compiled by my grandfather who studied with a dragon when he was younger. He learned about the spell to increase lifespan and reverse the aging process." Sergei swallowed convulsively. "This is not without cost as it requires the sacrifice of a living dragon," pausing, he poured tea for both of them. "He wasn’t willing to use the spell. He hated the fact that it required harming such a regal creature. This is why I am teaching you to hide your abilities from those who could sense you." Taking a sip of his tea, he sat still, just holding the cup for a few moments.
"The leader of the druid conclave uses this particular spell every hundred years or so. He has ruled the conclave with an iron fist sheathed in a velvet glove for over three hundred years." He sat staring into his teacup.
Sebastian clearing his throat, seemed to bring Sergei back to the moment.
"I want to ask a favour of you. Would you travel with Eldrick while he is on his journeyman trials? I am afraid that the leader may pressure the other masters to allow him to be the one to master Eldrick on that portion of his training. I am too old to do that type of travelling anymore. Usually, the master partakes in the journey with his protégé." Sergei's eyes shone with hope. "This is the reason, I am training you as well, for if he cannot sense you, you can protect Eldrick."
"Yes, I will travel and protect Eldrick, but if asked I will not participate in your deception. I will let Eldrick know what I know."
“That is fair. I plan to craft some potions for him to take once a week while travelling. They are to enhance the original spell since it seems to be deteriorating for some unknown reason. I will loan you the draconic tomes while you are here so that you may learn more of your magic.”
"I would love to study those tomes; they may have an answer for me."
“Alright, I will show you how to access the secret workroom. I don’t think you can travel the passageway. But that is the information you may need to pass along to Eldrick. He doesn’t know it yet but once he finishes all his training, he will be a match for the high druid. I am just afraid that he may not be willing or able to replace him.”
After they finished their tea, Sergei led Sebastian back to the main room and grabbing the poker pressed the star-shaped stone at the back of the fireplace. As the floor began to shift Sebastian realized it wasn’t as silent as it seemed. Once it receded into the floor, he could see the ladder and tunnel below. The cavernous room beyond the passage echoed hollowly as Sergei moved about the room gathering up the promised tomes. Carrying the books in one arm and a basket with a rope in his other hand Sergei returned to the bottom of the ladder. Placing the books in the basket on the floor, he began the climb letting out the rope as he rose. Once he cleared the opening, he handed the rope to Sebastian to haul up the books.
Closing the passage was similar to the opening, but the mechanism was in the mantle. Sebastian marvelled at the engineering. Scanning the tomes, he saw Sergei's collection was going to be very educational. Wishing he had more time tonight he gathered up the books and headed to his room.
"Thank you, Sergei. I am going to pour over these tomes until I learn everything I can from them. This could take me some time."
“Take your time and enjoy. If you need help, I will do what I can. My father taught me what he could from them but I didn’t have the power necessary for most of the spells in those tomes but I do understand them,” replied Sergei with deference.
