It was another damp day in Saanazar. Therelin was beginning to become accustomed to constant rain here. According to his research at one of Ular Graan’s libraries, this was supposed to be the middle of Radregar’s dry season, but the southern city had not received this news. The drizzle did little to discourage Therelin on his eventual day off. He rose in the morning, broke his fast on a nutty flatbread and honey, and then hurried out the front door of the tavern.
It was a warm rain, at least. Therelin didn’t even bother with his traveller’s cloak. He liked the feel of warm droplets on his bare arms and shoulders. He noticed many people in Saanazar wore tunics, even on a steamy day like this. On Keth, there was no need. At least the enormous port city was full of a people varied enough that Therelin’s state did not seem inappropriate or even informal.
Today was the day he would meet Master Nolicrin, at last! He hoped to learn more about Saanazar and its academies or to perhaps even earn a sponsor for Ular Graan’s requirements. Regardless of what Nolicrin could do for him, Therelin was eager to make another relevant acquaintance.
The path up from the cobblestone roads to the hill Hall of Three Winds was a semi-circle that cut through a grove of vine-strewn trees and blossoming flowers. As his staff moved from the hard stones to the scattered tiles of the shrine’s path, Therelin heard murmuring voices. If it wasn’t for the rain slightly muting the hubbub of the neighborhood’s citizens, he would have missed the sound altogether.
There was a balcony on the south side of the shrine. The speaking he heard was coming from up there. Therelin paused on the path for a moment. Almost any information would be helpful to him, but eavesdropping could be taken very offensively in some cultures. He mulled over the matter for a moment or two, and then took a step off the path.
A man’s voice said, “Why? Do the Brethren know more?”
Therelin stood below the balcony. His feet were placed on rich soil, carefully away from the nearest branches. At his back was the steep side of the shrine’s hill, composed of nearly vertical rocks.
“Not much,” replied an older man’s voice. Did his reply mean he was one of the Brethren? Therelin could only assume. “The renegade has kept his secrets to himself, and he is—ah, quite well protected.”
The younger of the two replied with more questions. “Well, does he know who did it? It sounds like the fire was started during a battle of some sort.” Therelin was too busy trying to think of who “the renegade” might be, to make heads or tails of a fire being started during a battle.
The priest sighed thoughtfully. “I don’t think he would be conquering left, right, and centre if he did know.”
“Does the spy know?”
The spy? Therelin thought. This conversation seemed to be about a great deal that he did not know. He stood his ground and listened to the old man’s reply.
“That wretched scoundrel probably knows how I prefer my pillows be arranged, but he wouldn’t say without reason.”
“Well, I think that’s the key,” replied the younger of the voices. “Regardless of whether the Conclave somehow made this happen or not, we are not going to learn a single thing from them. If the spy knows, he can be persuaded to say. Work that angle.”
Therelin blinked. The Conclave? That sounded important. Was it a branch of the Grey Brethren? Or affiliated with this “renegade” character? He leaned back against the damp stone wall—and a twig snapped. The branch had been caught in a crevasse.
Thinking fast, Therelin dropped his staff across the foliage and pretended to stand up from the ground. He reclaimed his staff, shook himself—sending off a spray of water drops—and returned to the path. He could only hope that the two men on the balcony believed that he had stumbled off into the bushes. He forced himself not to look as he paced forward, around the curve of the hill, and out of sight.
The Hall of Three Winds was not a large building. In fact, Therelin would not have expected there to be a balcony and had not noticed it until this visit. He paid attention to the structure as he entered it this time. Maia, who seemed to work as an administrator as well as Nolicrin’s apprentice, welcomed Therelin once again. She looked up from a thin portfolio she was reading from and then folded it as Therelin stooped through the small doorway.
“Welcome, Therelin,” she said, standing up. Today she wore a blue shawl around the shoulders of a form-fitting sky-grey robe. “For once, the Master is here when you come to visit.”
Therelin smiled. “Thank the spirits,” he replied. “Is he free or should I wait and read?”
“Let me check,” Maia said. She walked out of the triangle-shaped anteroom. The doorway into the shrine was at the narrow vertex opposite the entry door. Therelin could see a palely lit area beyond, illuminated clearly by the cloudy sky overhead. Despite its light source, one of the other apprentices was reading from a book out there, while sitting on a marble-slab bench.
A moment later, Maia returned with a short man walking behind her; Therelin assumed he was Master Nolicrin. The accomplished mage had a carefully groomed beard that framed his soft Raderan features, and wore his silver-flecked brown hair in a coarse knot at the back of his scalp. He offered his hand far enough forward for Therelin to recognize it as a Ketho greeting. He embraced the man’s forearm with his hand as he smiled.
“I’m Master Nolicrin,” the fifty-year-old man said as he released Therelin’s arm. His voice—it was one of the two that Therelin had eavesdropped upon. “I assume you are Therelin?”
“I am,” Therelin replied, trying to hide his realization. He had imagined himself overhearing one of Nolicrin’s most prominent apprentices. “Iun told me about you.”
“And my apprentices told me about you,” Nolicrin replied. His voice sounded like the younger of the two men Therelin had heard. He waved for Therelin to follow him into the sky-lit area beyond the anteroom. Maia gave Therelin a smile and returned to her reading table.
The main area of the Hall was impressive. Glass panels kept the rainwater above the ceiling and not below it. Because of this, the stone contour of the room was lined with book shelves, while well-groomed grass covered the reading areas to give a comfortable sitting area. Some boardwalk islands holding wooden tables nested in each of the wings, while a second triangular room composed the wall opposite the anteroom. The balcony was beyond that. Therelin also noticed a wooden pen containing four rabbits in one corner. Likely, they were let out to trim the grass.
Nolicrin gave him a moment to look around the shrine. Then he asked, “You are looking to expand your abilities and your knowledge of Gethra?”
Therelin nodded. “That’s right.”
“A reasonable goal to have indeed. Are you from abroad? One of the isles of the Grey Sea?”
Therelin smiled. Surely their greeting had already answered which isle. “Indeed, I am. I hail from the land of Keth.”
“I myself was born in High Raena, deep in the rainforests of Radregar,” Nolicrin offered. “Who was your master in Keth—Olrim or Myandin?”
“Myandin,” Therelin replied. He was impressed that the Master knew those names.
Nolicrin nodded with familiarity. “A wise man indeed. I met him in Bellasa—oh, it must have been at least twenty years ago. Has he opened his minds to methods of combat yet?”
“That’s one of the reasons I have come to you,” Therelin said, lowering his chin.
Master Nolicrin shrugged. “I am no warrior mage, I’m afraid. I was just intrigued by the Ketho mindset. Tell me, do you believe in the spirits?” They stood speaking near one of the bookshelves, away from where three apprentices studied on the benches and tables. Whoever Master Nolicrin had been speaking with on the balcony was one of them, had left by another exit, or was still here, waiting behind the closed door of the second triangular room.
“I do believe, though I am a bit of a skeptic,” Therelin replied. “Unlike many of my Ketho brothers and sisters, my desire for training is driven by my quest to learn what Gethra has to offer. If I can protect myself, I can expand my limits.”
“A pragmatist then,” Nolicrin noted, his interest piqued. “At least, a pragmatist by the Ketho standard. Have you looked for what you seek at the academies in Saanazar?”
Therelin chuckled at the comment about Ketho pragmatism. “I’ve been studying under the research provisions of Ular Graan.”
Nolicrin pursed his lips and nodded. He brought Therelin toward a window that looked out over the wooden roofs of the city borough. “Ular Graan is a great scholarly institution—perhaps even one of the finest—but only a few of its masters are competent warriors. If you’re determined, you should seek out the Tower of Veils on the Sunset Strait. The finest spell-sword are trained there—many of them claim that the Tower possesses arts unknown to the rest of the world.”
Therelin blinked. That was a glowing recommendation. “I’m certainly intrigued and I might consider heading there, but I think there is a lot more to learn in Saanazar before I move on.”
“Oh, there certainly is,” Nolicrin affirmed. He scratched his short beard thoughtfully and then turned to face Therelin more directly. “I’ll tell you what: I can tell that you’re a dedicated individual and that is something I believe should always be rewarded. While I’m not accepting new apprentices right now, I will allow you to study here in the Hall if you would like. And if I’m here, I’ll be available to answer any questions that have stumped you.”
Once again, Therelin regarded him with a wide-eyed look. “Ah… thank you!” he exclaimed. “I’m very grateful for every opportunity.”
Nolicrin nodded and smiled. “Certainly. Keep me up to date on your studies at Ular Graan. I can assure you that the researcher’s permit is well worth its expense.”
“I have been finding that,” Therelin agreed. He didn’t share how difficult it was an expense for him to manage—not with a master mage. He looked around. “Do you mind if I peruse?”
“Not at all. Just let Maia know if you need anything else. Or Raalar, who is sitting just there.” At Master Nolicrin’s words, one of the male apprentices raised his eyes and gave Therelin a nod. “Now, I’ll excuse myself to my own studies for a time.”
“I look forward to speaking with you again soon,” Therelin said.
Nolicrin nodded pleasantly and headed for his private room. As long as Therelin stayed, reading the spines of books and acquainting himself with the other apprentices, he didn’t see or hear anyone enter or leave the second room. He stopped worrying about it soon enough though, feeling welcomed by a new group of peers and respected to be permitted access here.
By the time he retired to his inn room, Therelin was starting to feel annoyed that he would need to return to Master Ethraw’s market stall in the morning. He wanted to spend the rest of his week—or even month, from the look of it—right there at Master Nolicrin’s Hall.