amount.’
Mention of the word ‘dead’ led Soren to an uncomfortable memory. He had seen a shaman kill someone, and seem to gain energy by doing so. ‘If I were to kill someone…’
‘No, that never worked for the bannerets, and I am certain some tried it. It was only the mages, the sorcerers, who could use that energy, and even then only for destruction. Only a few did, but they blackened all our names.
‘I tap into the Fount at will, but that skill took many years of training and practice. The greatest difficulty is accepting that it is everywhere. Once you can do that, to draw on it is as easy as reaching out to touch it.’
‘It’s a gentle blue glow that surrounds things?’ Soren said.
‘You’ve seen it then. Yes, that’s how it manifests itself to human eyes that are open to it. Seeing it is the first and most difficult step. And you say that you are able to see it at will?’ Berengarius said.
‘To a degree. It needs a huge amount of concentration. That can be difficult to achieve in a fight.’
‘I see,’ Berengarius said. ‘It really just comes down to practice once you have reached the point that you have. Eventually it appears quickly and with little effort. Accept that it is there when you want it, and it will be. The danger is that the Fount might rush in and overwhelm you. It was something that had to be practiced carefully, breaking the connection quickly and at will, until the desired amount of energy could be drawn without danger of being flooded.’
‘That’s something I’ve wondered about,’ Soren said. ‘A number of times, when the Gift has been stronger, things that I didn’t intend to happen have happened. At least, things I intended to do went farther than I meant them to.’
Berengarius bent down and picked up two similar sized pebbles from the ground.
‘Take these,’ he said, handing them to Soren. ‘Now throw one of them out into the water.’
Soren did as he was asked. He watched the pebble as it sailed through the air and plopped into the water.
‘Very good,’ Berengarius said. ‘Now, throw the other one, but don’t do anything differently.’
Soren felt a tingle on his skin as he threw the pebble. It went farther, despite him not throwing it any harder.
‘I channelled some of the Fount into you when you threw the second stone. Not very much, but does that explain to you why that happened? If I channelled more, the stone would have gone farther again. It’s about controlling the flow of energy. With the Moment though, there is no control. Everything you do will be with absolutely maximum effort, everything you attack will be destroyed.’
Soren nodded. It made sense, but he had no idea of how he could ever hope to master it.
‘How close do I need to be to draw on the Fount?’ Soren said.
‘That depends on a great many things,’ Berengarius said. ‘How far away you are from the source, how strong the source is and how skilled you are at drawing from it. The Fount accumulates more around living things, so there is more of it close to larger amounts of life, a city for example. With more skill, or more focus, more energy can be drawn from weaker concentrations. Certain things can dampen, or block a connection. Stone, for instance will dampen, and water will block it.’
‘What about magical objects, like mage lamps? Can I draw from those?’
‘No. We could imbue objects with magic, but not draw it back out again. We could never find a way to store the Fount for later use.’
Soren nodded, but didn’t contradict Berengarius. It was interesting and gave Soren pause for thought, but he saw no reason to reveal that to Berengarius. He was certain that he had drawn from the drones, both in the Academy, and again when they attacked him in the city. Perhaps it was something peculiar to bannerets born with the Gift that mages were never aware of.
Chapter 17
A Shocking Discovery
‘M y ship won’t be back for another thirty-five days
Mention of the word ‘dead’ led Soren to an uncomfortable memory. He had seen a shaman kill someone, and seem to gain energy by doing so. ‘If I were to kill someone…’
‘No, that never worked for the bannerets, and I am certain some tried it. It was only the mages, the sorcerers, who could use that energy, and even then only for destruction. Only a few did, but they blackened all our names.
‘I tap into the Fount at will, but that skill took many years of training and practice. The greatest difficulty is accepting that it is everywhere. Once you can do that, to draw on it is as easy as reaching out to touch it.’
‘It’s a gentle blue glow that surrounds things?’ Soren said.
‘You’ve seen it then. Yes, that’s how it manifests itself to human eyes that are open to it. Seeing it is the first and most difficult step. And you say that you are able to see it at will?’ Berengarius said.
‘To a degree. It needs a huge amount of concentration. That can be difficult to achieve in a fight.’
‘I see,’ Berengarius said. ‘It really just comes down to practice once you have reached the point that you have. Eventually it appears quickly and with little effort. Accept that it is there when you want it, and it will be. The danger is that the Fount might rush in and overwhelm you. It was something that had to be practiced carefully, breaking the connection quickly and at will, until the desired amount of energy could be drawn without danger of being flooded.’
‘That’s something I’ve wondered about,’ Soren said. ‘A number of times, when the Gift has been stronger, things that I didn’t intend to happen have happened. At least, things I intended to do went farther than I meant them to.’
Berengarius bent down and picked up two similar sized pebbles from the ground.
‘Take these,’ he said, handing them to Soren. ‘Now throw one of them out into the water.’
Soren did as he was asked. He watched the pebble as it sailed through the air and plopped into the water.
‘Very good,’ Berengarius said. ‘Now, throw the other one, but don’t do anything differently.’
Soren felt a tingle on his skin as he threw the pebble. It went farther, despite him not throwing it any harder.
‘I channelled some of the Fount into you when you threw the second stone. Not very much, but does that explain to you why that happened? If I channelled more, the stone would have gone farther again. It’s about controlling the flow of energy. With the Moment though, there is no control. Everything you do will be with absolutely maximum effort, everything you attack will be destroyed.’
Soren nodded. It made sense, but he had no idea of how he could ever hope to master it.
‘How close do I need to be to draw on the Fount?’ Soren said.
‘That depends on a great many things,’ Berengarius said. ‘How far away you are from the source, how strong the source is and how skilled you are at drawing from it. The Fount accumulates more around living things, so there is more of it close to larger amounts of life, a city for example. With more skill, or more focus, more energy can be drawn from weaker concentrations. Certain things can dampen, or block a connection. Stone, for instance will dampen, and water will block it.’
‘What about magical objects, like mage lamps? Can I draw from those?’
‘No. We could imbue objects with magic, but not draw it back out again. We could never find a way to store the Fount for later use.’
Soren nodded, but didn’t contradict Berengarius. It was interesting and gave Soren pause for thought, but he saw no reason to reveal that to Berengarius. He was certain that he had drawn from the drones, both in the Academy, and again when they attacked him in the city. Perhaps it was something peculiar to bannerets born with the Gift that mages were never aware of.
Chapter 17
A Shocking Discovery
‘M y ship won’t be back for another thirty-five days
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