Ascendants of Ancients Sovereign - By Phillip Jones Page 0,79

If so, a girl could get used to something like that,” she said in a playful manner.

Helga looked to the ceiling for a response. “Rather than ruin the surprise, just enjoy your training for now. The benefit of your staff could extend your life more than 1,000 seasons. But beware, your failures can have the adverse effect.

“I am 247 spring seasons old, Child, and I don’t think I look a day over 50. I would’ve aged better, but I chose an unwise path when I was younger. I tried to command power that I was ill prepared to wield. It took me many, many Peaks to reverse the effects. I wanted to be the strongest teacher I could be when you arrived, and because of this, I forced myself to grow faster than I should’ve.”

Shalee hung on every word until Helga was finished. Her response was energized as she stared at Helga’s skin. “247 seasons? Holy mackerel! Mary Kay would love you. Your skin looks amazing for a woman your age. If you ask me, 247 seasons seems like an eternity. I bet you’re the best teacher ever.”

Shalee paused and then changed the direction of the conversation. “I’m pretty tough. I should be able to handle this magical wonderland.” Shalee grinned with a playful wickedness as she made her next statement. “So what-da-ya say? Let’s get to work on my first success. I don’t want to keep Precious waiting.”

Mosley pushed the bear rug aside as he entered the room. “Yes, let’s see her try something.” The wolf dropped his head and sniffed the mattresses covering the floor.

Helga stared at Mosley “Don’t even think about it, mutt.” She pointed the tip of her staff in the wolf’s direction. “I’ve told you on more than one occasion that you pee outside like the rest of the animals. You may be Bassorine’s messenger, but you’ll respect my establishment.”

Mosley gave a low growl, but reluctantly submitted by sitting on his haunches as Helga left the room.

When she came back, she was carrying a steel ball that equaled the size of her fists. She bent down to whisper in Mosley’s ear. “Let’s see how this child handles a little failure before I allow her a little success. Let’s give her a challenge.”

Mosley huffed, “Do whatever you like. This is your territory. Clearly, you’ve already marked it.”

“Clearly!” Helga confirmed in a condescending tone. “You stay here. I’ll scratch the back of your ears later if you’re good.” The sorceress moved to the center of the room and placed the ball on one of the mattresses. Seeing all was as it should be, she moved away and told Shalee to retrieve Precious from the floor.

“Let’s start with something to challenge you, Child.” She pointed to a target that had been painted on one of the pads at the far side of the room. “I want you to point your staff at the target and then command the ball to fly through the room and hit it.”

“Goodness-gracious, how do I do that?”

“You’ll need to learn the Elven language. First, you must say the name of the object you’re trying to command. You must say it with authority. The staff will retrieve the desired outcome from your mind’s eye and deliver the result ... providing you possess the power to obtain the result. Your thoughts need to be clear and focused. If you don’t possess a magical foundation that is strong enough, the command will fail, and failure can manifest in many forms. But we shall speak of failure and how to handle it when it happens.”

Once Shalee was sure she had digested Helga’s words, she replied. “I think I get it. So, first things first. I named my staff Precious, so all I need to know is the Elven word for ball.”

“The name for ball is karon,” Mosley replied, as he looked up from sniffing Helga’s feet and snorting his displeasure.

Shalee and Helga looked down at Mosley.

“What?” the wolf shrugged. “She smells, and I just so happen to speak every language. As you know, I work in the service of Bassorine.” He captured Helga’s eyes. “Unlike you, he values my presence.”

Shalee watched as Mosley and Helga stared each other down. “Ummmm … maybe we should focus on my training?” She waved her hand between them to break the tension. “C’mon, y’all. Don’t make me throw a foot into this argument.”

Without waiting for a response, Shalee raised her staff toward the target. “Anyway, let’s give the name of this