Hunt of the Bandham (The Bowl of Souls: Book Three) (23 page)

The more Justan found out about who Master Coal was, the more he liked the man. “I see. I cannot imagine what it must have been like being bonded to a traumatized child. It is difficult enough being bonded to an adult.”

“Well, as you know, Edge, when it comes to bonding, there is not much choice in the matter. So!” Master Coal leaned forward in his chair. “That is enough about my life for now. We still have important matters to discuss. I need to know some things about you so that I can know the best place to start with your teaching.”

“Of course,” Justan replied, ready to share anything that would be of help.

“First of all, what are your elemental strengths? What have you learned to do so far?” he asked.

“Professor Locksher told me that I had strong talent in air and water magic, but very low levels in earth and fire.”

“So you have the makings of a frost wizard in you. That’s rare. Very interesting indeed,” Master Coal said.

“However, I have no offensive magic to speak of. I can only do defensive spells.”

“You have learned no offensive spells at all?” the wizard asked in surprise.

“Well, not exactly. I can’t perform offensive spells, but I have tried to learn all I can about them. I figure that I need to understand how offensive magic is done if I am ever going to be able to defend against it.”

“Ah, smart. That’s good. Hopefully this means that we won’t have to start from the very beginning. You see, you are quite wrong when you say that you cannot do offensive magic,” Master Coal said.

“I am?” Justan replied, stunned. He smiled in excitement. “So you can teach me?”

“You have been using it already. Bonding magic is by its nature an offensive type of magic,” the wizard explained. “The act of bonding itself is an offensive spell.”

“I never thought of it like that,” Justan said. It made sense though. Bonding was his mind linking itself with another. “If only the bond would allow me to perform other kinds of magic.”

“Oh it can, but we’ll get to that later,” the wizard said, a thoughtful gleam in his eye. “For now, tell me what you know about bonding magic.”

“I know that it’s rare. Valtrek said that there were only three known bonding wizards alive.”

“Well, that’s not quite true. There just happens to be only three bonding wizards that Valtrek knows about. Though it is true that bonding wizards are rare, it is a large world that we live in. I have met four others myself and that was before I met you.”

“But why then, if there are so many bonding wizards out there, do you never hear of them? And why was Valtrek the only wizard at the
Mage
School
that was able to figure out that I had bonding magic?” Justan asked.

The master nodded approvingly. “Astute questions. The answers are complicated though. For one thing, bonding magic cannot be seen with normal mage sight, so the
Mage
School
cannot find people with this ability using any of their usual techniques. Also, we bonding wizards tend to be secretive. We end up bonded to other beings that most people would shy away from, so we become adept at hiding ourselves.” The master looked like he was about to say more, but sighed. “There are other reasons as well, but we will not discuss them today. There are a lot of other things you need to learn first.”

“I see,” Justan said, wondering what made Master Coal hesitant. “I do have a question though. Why is it that bonding magic cant be seen with mage sight?”

“I see we must start at the beginning,” Master Coal said. “There are two kinds of magic: Elemental magic, which is the magic that is taught at the
Mage
School
, and spiritual magic.”

“Spiritual magic?” The term sounded familiar. It took him a second to place where he had heard about it. “You mean like the magic the Bowl of Souls uses?”

“Exactly right. So you have been doing some research of your own then. That’s good.” Coal smiled. “The Bowl of Souls uses spiritual magic to probe the souls of those that approach it to see if they are worthy to be named. Bonding, on the other hand, uses spiritual magic to form a link between two souls. That is why it cannot be seen with regular mage sight. Only those with spiritual magic can see it.”

“I still don’t understand why this is not taught at the
Mage
School
.” Justan said.

“Quite simply because the wizards haven’t been able to figure out how it works and though they wouldn’t admit it, they are always wary of the things they don’t understand. The
Mage
School
doesn’t like to acknowledge spiritual magic’s existence.”

“But doesn’t that go against their very principals? I would think that the
Mage
School
would be doing all they could to learn about it,” Justan said.

“Hundreds of years of frustration have curbed their appetite for this particular knowledge, I’m afraid,” Master Coal explained. “So . . . Now that you know what bonding magic is, let’s talk about what it can do. What have you learned so far?”

“Well, I can communicate with my bonded. More recently I have discovered that I can see inside of them much in the same way that I can use my mage sight to see inside myself,” Justan said. “And the other day I was able to send my own energy through the bond to help Fist.”

“Oh . . . so that is what happened on the river? My, that was a very dangerous thing to attempt,” the wizard said. “You are lucky that you didn’t kill yourself.”

“Why is that?”

“Did you give any thought to the fact that Fist is two to three times your size? You were trying to use the energy contained in your-.” He looked Justan up and down. “Say . . . two-hundred-and-twenty pound body to power a seven-hundred pound ogre? Magic does not change the laws of reality, Edge. You need to use common sense too.”

“B-but I had no choice. Fist was close to collapse in the middle of the river. He could have died!” Justan said.

“A little bit of energy just to keep him going may have been okay, but you could have done something much more effective if you had thought it through,” Master Coal chastised. “Gwyrtha weighs at least as much as Fist does and, being a rogue horse, she has vast amounts of energy. You could have pulled the energy from her to help keep the ogre going with little or no effect on her. As a bonding wizard, you can use your own mind and body as a channel in which to transfer thoughts, emotions, and energy from one bonded to another.”

“I can do that?” The possibilities started tumbling through Justan’s mind.

“Yes. You could have brought Gwyrtha’s energy into your body and passed it on through the bond to the ogre. That technique is a bit tricky because if you try to hold too much of that energy inside of your body, you could hurt yourself, but after a bit of practice, you will find that it comes naturally.”

“But . . . wouldn’t it be . . . wrong to just take it from her like that?” Justan tried to imagine what it would be like if someone just started siphoning energy off of him.

“It could be. It would especially feel that way if she did not want to give it. Hopefully if you explained to her that it was for Fist, she would give it to you willingly.”

“She would,” Justan said with confidence. “She loves Fist dearly.”

“Good. This is one of the most important things in a bonded relationship. They should understand that they are a part of you now and you are a part of them, but it is also important that they realize that through you, they are now a part of each other. It is crucial that all of you spend as much time together as possible. Hopefully they will learn to be as close to each other as they are to you. It is unfortunate, but that is not always the case. I have had bonded in the past that truly disliked each other.”

“That would be hard to deal with,” Justan mused.

“There may be times that come up when you need something from your bonded, and it might make them uncomfortable or even cause them pain. If their relationship with you and each other is strong, then they will give of themselves anyway and willingly in fact. But here is where the danger lies.” Coal leaned forward and looked Justan directly in the eyes. His tone was deadly serious. “What if they don’t? What if you or another of your bonded needs something from them and they refuse to give it? In times like that, you will need to make a choice. Do you respect that or do you take what is theirs against their will?”

“No!” Justan said, aghast at the idea. “That would be . . .”

“The damage to your relationship could very well be irreparable.” Master Coal concluded. “There is a fine line between treating your bonded like the closest of family and treating them like mere cattle for you to feed off of when you feel the need. It is something that you need to be very aware of. It is easy, especially if you are very involved in something important to you, to forget that.

“Over the years, I have found that it is best to set a policy to never take their energy unless you really need it. And always ask first. That is very important. Any time that you enter their body or mind for anything, you should ask permission first. Think of it as a knock before entering, as if you were sharing a house with them. Your mind is your most intimate place, and it is horribly rude for someone to just come barging in. There are things in your mind that you don’t want to share even with your bonded and you shouldn’t have to.

“This is one of the first things that I will be teaching you as we start your training. You must learn how to keep thoughts to yourself and how to avoid listening in to your bonded’s thoughts when they don’t want you to.”

Justan’s mind was buzzing. There was so much that he hadn’t thought about. The bond suddenly felt like it carried a great amount of responsibility with it. “Thank you so much for your help, Master Coal. There is so much I need to know.”

“It is good that you are willing to learn.” Master Coal said, pleased with his sincerity. “Now, it is almost time for lunch. Let’s talk about your schedule. Do you have any particular daily needs?”

“Well, I want to have time for exercise and time for my warrior training. But I can fit that around whatever schedule you set for me.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem. You will get plenty of exercise working the farm in the mornings. And along the lines of what we have been discussing, I have made sure that you will be working together with your bonded during those hours. Make the most of that time together. Teach them what we learn in our lessons. It will keep your mind off the strain of the work and it is good information for them to know as well.

“From the
noon
meal until dinner, you will work on your studies. Sometimes I will be with you, sometimes I will have assignments for you to work on. After dinner, the time will be yours to spend as you wish. This is probably a good time for you to do any additional training you want.”

“Thank you, Master Coal. That sounds very reasonable.”

Master Coal stood. “Let’s go eat, then.”

Justan left Coal’s study looking forward to learning much more from the master.

That evening as everyone was getting ready for bed, Justan went to Benjo’s house. It was the first building in the enclosure, just in front of the stables. It was situated away from the other houses and he wondered if Benjo had chosen the place for just that reason. Justan knocked. The door opened right away and the large man invited him in.

The house was small, just two rooms. There was a small table and a cabinet in the main room, along with a couch to sit on. Justan could see a bed and dresser in the next room through the doorway in the back. To his surprise, it was all kept quite neatly. He had always seen Benjo as kind of a slob.

“I-I was expecting you to come,” Benjo said and gestured to the couch. “Uh, would you like to sit, Justa- . . . er, Sir Edge?”

“No, I think we need to get to the point,” Justan responded. “I am going to be staying here and learning from Master Coal for a while, I don’t know how long actually, and I don’t need you creeping around in the shadows trying to think of ways to stab me in the back.”

“Oh, no no no, I-I wouldn’t. I mean, well what happened back at . . .” Benjo stopped for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “I know how much you must hate me for what I did. I have been trying to think of what I was going to say to you ever since I saw you earlier. Maybe it is best if I start at the beginning?”