Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,54

then travel back. Such was the way the traditional pass-wall spell worked, not that Will had learned it yet.

After a long silence, Will finished mulling it over and asked, “I haven’t worked with any ethereal spells yet, but if I used it to hide, wouldn’t it also be impossible for me to observe my enemies in the real world?”

“Yes and no,” said Arrogan.

“Which is it?”

“Ordinarily, no, but there are certain types of light that cross between the two planes. Most of the better ethereal spells include visual modifications to allow you to watch our world as though it was a ghostly, semi-transparent vision. Then again, since you already are able to monkey around with your sight, you might be able to manage it on your own with some experimentation. It’s still not very clear, but at least you could make out your surroundings on this plane.”

That brought another question to mind. “What about seeing the ethereal from here? I’ve already done a lot with my eyes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen the ethereal plane.”

“Nothing to see really,” said Arrogan blandly. “I doubt you’d notice it ordinarily. It’s a barren, empty, almost lifeless place, and it tends to exactly match the major features of our world. You should be glad it’s so empty, otherwise you’d risk death anytime you crossed over.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you phase into the ethereal and there’s something in the place you’re standing, or vice versa, you wind up with two pieces of solid matter occupying the same space. That simply can’t happen. We don’t really understand why, but the result is a powerful explosion.”

“How big?”

“Depends on the things that are superimposed. As far as I know it’s only been observed a few times, and only when something was passing back into our world, since it wouldn’t be seen if it happened on the ethereal. Anyway, the stronger and denser the material involved, the more powerful the explosion.”

“If the ethereal plane is a close copy of this plane, how can it be used to pass through walls?”

“When I say it matches major features, I mean things that are very old. You won’t find trees there, or buildings. A building would probably have to be thousands of years old before it would be matched in the ethereal realm. Primarily it’s just the landscape—mountains, valleys, oceans, that sort of thing; almost everything else is too short lived to make an impression on the ethereal realm.”

“Did you say ‘almost lifeless’ a minute ago? What lives there?”

“Nothing in most places, but there are predators who can move themselves back and forth to seize prey from this world and drag it into the ethereal. The only ones I’ve heard of are giant, spider-like creatures, and they mostly live in areas near forests in our world,” explained the ring.

Will shuddered. Maybe talking to Tailtiu would be better, he told himself. He needed to see her anyway. It had been too long, and he was beginning to worry about whether she had truly recovered. He ended his conversation with the ring and leaned back in his chair. “Tailtiu, Tailtiu, Tailtiu…” As before, after the third repetition of his aunt’s name, he felt a connection followed by something completely new, a surge of emotion. Always before there had been nothing, except at certain times when he had felt a particular predatory interest. This time he was inundated by a crashing wave of emotions that swept over him, joy, sorrow, and then—nothing.

He had no idea if that meant she was coming or not, so he waited.

After a time, he resumed his studies, and later he went to bed as usual. It appeared she wouldn’t be coming. He fell asleep wondering what it all meant.

Chapter 16

Nothing happened over the next few days, other than the expected. Selene continued to suffer from crippling fatigue, though it appeared she might be close to being able to sleep through the night without losing control of her source and waking up. Then, one morning, a letter arrived addressed to him, a summons to the palace. Blake brought it in, and Will opened it after they had finished breakfast. He read over the contents then glanced at Selene. “Aren’t you curious?”

She looked up, dark circles framing her eyes. “Not particularly. It’s obvious anyway.”

“Really?”

“You have to go to the palace.”

“For what cause?” he asked.

She sighed. “Given the upcoming war and your role in it, I’d presume you have to meet the other notables who will be assisting you.”

Will cleared his throat