The Master's Chair (The Chronicles of Terah) (36 page)

Glendymere chuckled and said,
“Guess I am compared to you. Would it help any to know that I’m not the largest dragon around? In fact, I’m almost a runt.”

Chris shook his head. “No, that doesn’t help at all.”

“Didn’t think it would. Now, do you think you can stand up again?”

Chris nodded and slowly climbed back on his feet. He wasn’t swaying, but he didn’t feel all that steady either. “I think I’ll be okay now.”

“Good. Let’s go then,”
Glendymere said as he led the way down the huge passageway that led out of his chamber.

They passed through several large rooms before they came to a massive cave that opened into the canyon. The cave was almost square and large enough that several dragons could lie down comfortably without crowding each other. There was a small alcove near the cave opening that contained chairs ranging in size from one that would fit in a child’s dollhouse to one that would suit a giant. Three bronze gongs, one small, one medium, and one large, stood near the alcove, and a dozen mallets, from tiny to huge, leaned against the wall. A flying dragon was engraved in the center of each gong.

Glendymere continued through the cave and walked out into the sunlight that filled the small canyon. The floor of the canyon extended about fifty yards on each side of a gentle stream that ran down the middle of the canyon. Small bushes and wild flowers dotted the rocky ground, but the only trees in sight were the willows that grew along the stream banks. The little valley was surrounded by steep mountain walls, giving it the appearance of a box canyon.

By the time Glendymere stopped and turned towards them, Chris was feeling almost normal again. Glendymere glanced over at him, gave a quick nod, and then turned towards Kevin.

“See that dead tree trunk over there? The one next to that big boulder. Watch it closely now,”
Glendymere said as he indicated a tree trunk about three feet in diameter and four feet long lying on its side.

Kevin and Chris both turned to look at it. A couple of seconds later they saw a bright flash and the tree trunk disintegrated into dust and ash.

“What happened? What did you do?” Kevin asked.

“You might say I threw a lightning bolt at the tree trunk, although it really isn’t lightning. It’s more like a bolt of pure energy. Now watch the boulder next to it.”

The boulder rose slowly through the air, floated to the other side of the stream, and settled gently on the ground beside one of the willow trees. Neither Kevin nor Chris spoke. They just stood there, staring. If either of them had held onto any lingering doubts about magic, they were gone now.

“That was what we will call the outstretched hand for lack of any better description. I picked it up by reaching out with my mental energy, moved it, and set it back down. Now, let’s see if I can come up with a demonstration of the seeing eye.”
Glendymere looked around for a bit. Then he said,
“Chris, I want you to pick three different color flowers about the same size.”

Glendymere nodded as Chris started to pick three flowers.
“That’s right. Just make sure they’re different colors. Now I want you to walk around to the other side of that boulder and face me.”

After Chris was in position, Glendymere continued,
“I want you to hold the three flowers behind your back. Now throw down two of the flowers.”
Glendymere paused for a moment while Chris did as he asked.
“You’re still holding the pansy with the purple head. Kevin, check it out.”
Glendymere waited while Kevin walked to the other side of the large boulder.

“You’re right,” Kevin said. “He has the purple pansy in his hand. The other two are on the ground.” Chris picked up the two flowers that he had dropped and then he and Kevin walked back out in the open to join Glendymere.

“I guess the best way I can explain that one is that I projected an extension of my own sight through an imaginary eye that I held over Chris’s head. I can guide the eye anywhere I want it to go. I can see what’s on the other side of that boulder, what’s going on in the sitting room in your caverns, or who has entered the next valley and what they’re doing.”

“This is all really great, but I can’t do any of this stuff,” Kevin said.

“No, not right now, but given time, you will.”
Glendymere paused and gazed into Kevin’s eyes.
“Kevin, you have the ability, you were born with it. Forces of magic are everywhere, all around you, and I can feel it flowing through your body. But it’s in raw form. To learn to channel it, to control it, to make it work for you will take a great deal of effort on your part. At the level that you’ll be competing, victory will go to the one who has devoted the most effort to refining that control. And if that’s you, you’ll survive. Otherwise, you won’t.”

“I don’t have long, Glendymere. I have to be in Camden by the middle of March. From what Kalen said, most sorcerers spend at least ten years learning how to do all of this. I have eight months. It seems like a losing proposition to me,” Kevin said honestly.

Glendymere nodded.
“I understand your concern, but I think maybe you’re confusing time with effort. They are not the same thing. It’s going to be hard, and the hardest tasks will be the first ones. It will get much easier with use and practice. We’ll begin with four small tasks, and then, after you master those, we’ll move on to bigger and better things. But first and foremost, you must believe in yourself. Magic comes straight from your mind, Kevin, and the secrets to powerful magic are confidence and focus. Doubt and distraction are your worst enemies.

“One of the tasks that I want you to work on is to create a mental spark that will light the candle that you put on your table. To do that, you must see it happening. See the candlewick burst into flame. Feel it happening. Concentrate the energy in your mind into a flicker of flame that extends from your mind to the top of the candle.

“Another task is to use your mind to move a pebble across the table. To do that, envision a hand extending on a long arm from your mind to the pebble. Use that hand to push the pebble along on the table.

“Third, I want you to see which flower Chris has in his hand. He’ll need to have three again, of different colors. Now, lucky guesses don’t count. You have to actually ‘see’ which one he’s holding as you look down on him from an eye that you’ve created and positioned over his head.

“The fourth task that I want you to work on involves the wind. I want you to feel the wind, feel it rise and fall, join with it and try to change its direction or speed. Try to make the wind move the branches in the willow trees, or if it’s already blowing, try to calm it to the point that the branches of the willows lie still.

“These will be the hardest tasks that I’ll ever ask you to perform, but only because they’re the first. So, I guess it’s time for you to get to work. Do you have any questions?”

“I don’t know,” Kevin said slowly. Then he asked, “How long do you think it will take me to be able to do them?”

“It will take as long as it takes. Now go eat your lunch and get started. I’m going to take a nap.”
Glendymere turned and walked back into his cave and through the tunnels to his inner chamber.

By the time Kevin and Chris reached the inner chamber, Glendymere was curled up and snoring softly.

“I don’t think we should stand out here in the open while he’s sleeping, Kevin,” Chris said, thinking about what Macin had told them about Glendymere’s yawns. “Let’s get in our room.”

Kevin nodded and they quickly left the large open chamber for the relative safety of their small room. After they ate their cheese and bread, Kevin set the candle in the middle of one of the tables and sat down in one of the straight back chairs with his back to the door. While Chris watched, Kevin tried to envision a flame on the end of the candlewick. He concentrated on the candle for over an hour before he finally shook his head, stood up and walked around for a few minutes. Then he said, “Okay, let’s try the thing with the flowers. Do you still have the three flowers that you picked earlier?”

“Yeah, right here. Where do you want me to stand?” Chris asked, glad to finally be of use.

“Why don’t you stand next to that table over there, just keep your back to me,” Kevin answered. When Chris was in place, Kevin said, “Now, put two of the flowers down on the table. Just be sure that you put them down where I can’t see them.”

Kevin sat back down and tried to imagine a giant eye positioned over Chris’s head and focused down on Chris and the table, but try as he might, he could not see anything except the back of Chris’s shirt. After an hour of frustration, Kevin gave up and told Chris to take a break. Chris set the three flowers in the center of the table next to the candle and stretched

“Don’t get discouraged, Kevin. This is only the first day,” Chris said.

“I know. I’m just tired.”

“Why don’t we get out of here for a few minutes, go get some fresh air?”

“You go ahead. I’m going to sit down for a bit and try to move that pebble. Really, go explore the valley. There’s no reason for you to have to stand here and watch me do this.” Kevin picked up the stone and tossed it from hand to hand for a few moments and then placed it in the middle of the table.

“If you’re sure,” Chris said hesitantly as he looked at Kevin before heading out.

Kevin nodded and waved towards the door.

When Chris returned two hours later, Kevin was still sitting at the table in exactly the same position, staring at the pebble. He was concentrating so hard that he hadn’t heard Chris come in, and he jumped when Chris touched his shoulder. When Kevin looked up, Chris was appalled at how completely drained he looked.

“Come on, Kevin. Let’s call it a day,” Chris said quietly. “If we’re going to be back in Rainbow Valley in time to eat with the others, we need to get going.”

Kevin stood up and stretched. “All right. I hate to give up, but I’m too beat to keep trying to do this right now,” he said with a flick of his hand towards the table. “In fact, walking back to our side of the mountain almost sounds like more than I can manage.” He bent down to stretch the muscles in his back. “That bed over there’s looking pretty good about now.”

“You’ll feel better once you move around a bit, and the others are going to want to hear about our day,” Chris said as he gathered up their torches and their lunch sack. “Should we wake Glendymere to let him know that we’re leaving?”

Kevin remembered Macin’s story about the elf and said, “No, I don’t think so. Glendymere didn’t mention anything about it, and Macin said that he’s always aware of anyone coming in or leaving whether he’s awake or asleep. He’ll know we’ve gone.”

“Good! I definitely was not looking forward to waking him up,” Chris’s voice perked up with relief.

~ ~ ~ ~

The hike back to the round chamber went quickly, and by the time they reached Kevin’s room, he was feeling a little better, although he was still quite tired. “I bet we both sleep a lot better tonight than we did last night,” he said as he looked longingly at his bed.

“If I sleep at all, I’ll sleep better than I did last night,” Chris said with a laugh. “Come on, let’s go find the others and tell them all about Glendymere.”

Joan was just getting ready to set the table for dinner when Chris and Kevin walked into the sitting room. “Well, I see you survived your first day with Glendymere,” Joan said from the kitchen. “How did it go? What’s he like? Wait, don’t tell me. Everyone’s dying to know and if you tell me, you’ll just have to go through it all over again when the others get here.”

Joan had poured two mugs of scog while she was talking. She carried them to the sitting room and handed one to each of them. “Karl, Steve, and Darrell are bringing the horses in for the night. They should be about done by now. Theresa’s in her workroom. She just sent Sari home. They’ve been sorting and cataloging herbs all day. She should be coming along any minute.” Then Joan walked over to the big cabinet near the dining room table and started to take out the plates and mugs for dinner. “Chris, here are the plates and mugs, and the flatware’s in that drawer. How about getting the table set?”

“I’ll take care of it, Joan,” Chris said from the sitting room. “Just give me a minute to finish my scog.”

With a quick nod Joan went back to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner.

By the time the table was set, Joan had the food ready. Theresa arrived in time to help her carry the serving dishes to the table, and almost as if on cue, Karl, Steve, and Darrell walked in. As soon as everyone was settled around the table, the questions began.

Chris was a natural born storyteller, so Kevin sat back and let him enjoy it. Chris described his first reactions to meeting Glendymere in such a way that even Darrell was laughing. While he was explaining how elves work their magic, the others started looking at each other, some of them frowning.

Finally Karl said, “Wait a minute. Didn’t Kalen say that that Paul guy was an elf?”

“I was thinking about that, too,” Darrell said. “You don’t suppose …”

Chris grinned. “I asked the same question.” And then he told them how Glendymere looked into Chris’s mind to look at his memory of the storm and then confirmed that Paul had created and controlled the tornado.

“I don’t know how I feel about that,” Karl said with a frown, and for the next few minutes, Paul and the tornado were the topics of a lively discussion. When things settled down a bit, Chris went on to describe the demonstrations that Glendymere gave of the three types of mental powers that human sorcerers use.

At that point, Kevin yawned and said, “I’m sorry, but I’m pretty tired, and unless there’s something that you need me to do tonight, I’m going to turn in.”

Joan asked him if there was anything that he needed to add to the shopping list, but Kevin said that he couldn’t think of anything. Then he thanked her for dinner, took his plate to the kitchen, told everyone good night, and left for his room.

Everyone fell quiet for a few moments after Kevin left. Then Steve asked, “Did something happen over there that you haven’t told us?”