The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,132

trap him.

The only good thing about the day was scaring the shit out of Elthas again. I also saw Tailtiu, which hurt more than I thought it would after all this time. How long does it take for the heart to stop caring? Apparently four centuries isn’t enough. Thankfully Aislinn wasn’t there or I might have done something truly stupid.

Either way, I have to teach him now. I don’t have the heart to abandon the boy.

Lunasa 21

He managed to reach the first order without dying. Not that I thought he wouldn’t, but I used the later technique rather than the one Aislinn used with me. Doing it all in one day was far more traumatic, but at least it spared him from suffering for a full week as I did. Not sure if he would agree, though. The last half of it was rough, so I used a link to keep a close watch on him. Hurt like hell. I almost gave up near the end before he finally got the hang of it. I don’t know why I put myself through that. It isn’t as though I like the kid, although he is pretty damn funny sometimes.

Y770 Fomhar, Deireadh 7

Nerrow showed up. The boy is still getting used to the second order. I followed him to make sure his noble father didn’t attempt any jackassery. Surprisingly the pompous prick offered to send the boy to Wurthaven. Of course, the fools there would only ruin my work at this stage, but it might be useful for the kid later.

Y770 Geimhreadh, Noilag 19

He managed the third order and I don’t think I’ve been this proud since Valmon made it. Hopefully he’ll turn out better, but at my age I probably don’t have to worry about living through it if he goes rotten. The kid has a good heart, far better than my last student, even if he’s as dense as a rock sometimes. No less remarkable, his cooking has greatly improved (not that I’d tell him). Will has a tendency to experiment with edible wild plants, which often leads to surprisingly tasty results.

Not sure which is the better legacy, leaving the world with a great wizard or a great chef. It certainly doesn’t lack for shitty food and mediocre magic these days.

Will had to stop for a minute to wipe his eyes. The most the old man had ever said about his food was that it was edible. “I’m on to you now,” he mumbled to himself. Closing the book, he glanced up at his mother, who was still watching him. “I’ll read more next time.” It was getting late and he needed to write his note and return before lights out.

“Read the last entry before you put it away,” advised his mother.

He looked askance at her, but Erisa didn’t say anything. Opening the book again, he leafed to the end but discovered that the last quarter of the book was blank. He turned the pages back until he found the last one with writing on it.

Y771 Geimhreadh, Sauin 5

He’s making progress. Not the fastest I’ve seen, but certainly respectable. Will has a good head on his shoulders. If he can survive the ravages of stupidity that come with youth he’ll be someone worth talking to someday. He’s finished learning the runes, but his form is still rough. There are rumors of war and it seems that Darrow may invade in the spring. I should be able to start the boy on Clerides’, Foundations of Spellcraft, this winter. Just learning the source-link spell would be enough to give him a powerful means of protecting himself should the need arise, especially since his staff-work is still a little clumsy. It won’t help if he meets a skilled mage, but he’s probably more at risk from ordinary soldiers at this point.

His grandfather’s handwriting stopped there. Source-link? Was that the evil green line his grandfather had so often used to paralyze him? He’d witnessed Arrogan using it against soldiers of Darrow right before he died.

Erisa tapped him on the shoulder. When he looked up, Will saw that she was holding a thin book. “I spent a few days looking for it after I read that,” she said. The cover of the book was embossed with dark letters, Foundations of Spellcraft. “You should take it back with you.”

Will shook his head. “I don’t have anywhere to keep it. A book like this could probably get me in a lot of trouble if someone saw it.”