Sword Bearer (Return of the Dragons 1)

Woltan sighed. “All prophecies are vague on the details. And the details are very important sometimes. But perhaps all this is nonsense, if the Dark Lord doesn’t even know the full text of the prophecy.”

“Isn’t this prophecy in the book of Id?” I said. “And if it’s there, won’t the Dark Lord know the prophecy as well as any of us here?”

Kara shook her head. “He didn’t have it in his own hands. Gerard had it, for a day, at most. Not anyone can read it. You must be initiated to even know how to open it, and it’s all written in a language that only a few of us can read. And even if you can read it, only a few of those who read it can truly understand it.”

“What if he made a copy?” I asked.

Woltan laughed. “I’m almost sure a book such as the book of Id can’t be copied. Right, Kara?”

She nodded. “The magic is too powerful. It would destroy anyone who tried to copy it.”

I looked at the two of them. “Even a wizard like Gerard?”

Woltan sighed. “Unless the essential order of the world has changed — and if it had, I think we would all feel it, even the non-wizards — then even a wizard like the Dark Lord would be destroyed, or at least hurt if he tried to copy the book.”

“But couldn’t one of them have put a spell on the book?” I said. “On the outside of it, like you said?”

Woltan frowned deeply. “I’m afraid that’s exactly what they did. What kind of spell though, I can’t tell you without examining the book, and it appears that I can’t examine the book, at all.” He looked meaningfully at Kara.

Kara’s face had turned scarlet red. “I will go now with Kalle back to my room, and we will try to contact our people. You are right, there is no time to waste. I didn’t think of the possibility that the book had been ensorcelled by Gerard. I have breeched not only the security of my people but of yours as well. I ask your forgiveness and your leave, Woltan. We will be back here in an hour or two’s time.”

Woltan shook hands with Kara and Kalle in turn. “Go in peace and talk to your people. You two have brought us the three blooded prince. Do not be so hard on yourself. But do talk to your uncle and seek his counsel. I fear what may happen if too much time passes without action.”

Kara nodded, and walked out, Kalle following right behind her.

I was left alone with Woltan.

Woltan took a deep breath, and let it out. The redness in his face seemed to drain out with his breath. “Are you ready to begin?”

I nodded.

“Then I’ll take you to the training room, next to our school library.”

“You have a school here?”

I realized I must have made a face, because Woltan laughed.

“You don’t like school, do you, Anders?”

I shrugged. “I haven’t been able to go to school since I was little. I’ve just had tutors. In general it’s been a lot of pointless work and almost nothing practical. Most of the real magic I learned from my grandfather, before he died, and from my great grandfather.”

“Rest assured that here all magic is real magic. Whether it’s practical or not depends on the wizard or witch who uses it. For example, I can say a word like heiss to melt something, to warm something up, to burn the ground, to heat some water.”

“To warm up on a cold night.”

Woltan smiled. “To melt the ice around a frozen door.”

“To cook food without a fire.”

Woltan nodded. “What you do with a word, how you focus the energy of its magic, is up to the wizard. With just the word we described, a great wizard could heat up a whole city or could melt a great block of ice.”

“He could kill someone.”

I knew as soon as I’d said it, that I’d said the wrong thing, even if it was true.

Woltan frowned. “This is not a strong word of magic, not a word of combat, but yes, in the wrong, powerful hands, even a word as simple and anodyne as this could kill.”