[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
am - and I can honestly say without boasting that there are probably only a
handful of mages in the world with my level of skill at research, and most of
them are probably going to be researching spells other than ones that will
cause their instant death. Also, in another century or so, the Astral Plane
will have finally calmed in even the largest of the Dead Zones - the smaller
ones are nearly quiescent as it is. Once that happens, nobody will be able to
reverse-engineer the formula from the effect - they'll have to develop the
formula themselves. And I honestly can tell you that I don't think I could
have developed this formula without seeing the effect. Whoever developed this
was a true genius, far greater than myself. It may be another thousand years
before we see another mind of his or her quality again."
Arella grinned, sitting next to me and hugging me gently while Swift-wing
fluttered off her shoulder to land on the table and take a look at my notes.
She hugged me in silence for many moments, then finally leaned back and
grinned. "You and your modesty! I think that the world already has a mind of
that quality - in you. I think you could have done it, if you had to," she
said, and kissed me.
"Thank you, Arella," I replied, and kissed her back. When she had let go of
me, I stood, taking the sheet with the formula on it and all my notes
regarding it over to the fire, then dropping them in.
"What are you doing, Raven? I've never seen you burn your work before!" Arella
exclaimed, surprised.
"I've already transcribed the formula into my grimoire, Arella, and all the
notes regarding the Dead Zones I've transcribed into my works on magic theory.
I don't want to leave these papers lying around. Perhaps, in a thousand years,
if we have grown to a wiser people, I will reveal them. Otherwise, I will keep
Page 55
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
them to myself," I said, and stirred the ashes with a poker to make sure.
"Alright," Arella said, then was silent a moment before she spoke again. "So
the end result of your research is you now know how to make a Dead Zone and
you know how to spark a Mana-storm inside a Dead Zone, but you can't make the
Dead Zones heal any faster, right?"
I nodded, staring at the fire. "Correct. Nobody can make a Dead Zone heal
faster, save perhaps the gods. And right now, I think they're quite busy with
some sort of project that involves Darian and his children - though what it
might be, I have no idea."
"Well, alright. Now that you've at least finished this research, you really
should spend more time with Tybalt."
I blinked in surprise. "Tybalt? Why?"
"Well, Raven, he likes you. He has few other people in the castle he can talk
to, you know - most are far younger than him. He's twenty years out of his
time. I'm sure you can understand what it feels like to be out of your own
time and not have people of your own generation around. He enjoys your
company, Raven, and I think you enjoy his company. You should spend some time
with him."
"But, Arella, I am not interested in him. I don't want him to get the
impression that I might be, and... Well, I just don't want to have to deal
with that kind of situation."
"Raven, trust me - Tybalt is not going to press a relationship with you. He is
far too chivalrous to do that. I think he's wise enough to see by now that you
aren't interested in being anything but his friend - give him a chance."
I sighed. "Well, alright. You've known him longer than I have - I'll just have
to trust your judgement."
Arella smiled. "Thank you, Raven. I'm sure you and he will be good friends."
For the remainder of the winter, I spent most of my free time with Tybalt.
Arella came to chat with me almost every night about him, and after talking to
her for several weeks, I finally became more relaxed around Tybalt again. He
really wasn't the kind of man to press me for a relationship - Arella had been
right. Once I realized that, I tried to pay attention to her advice more
often, so I could perhaps get used to being female - with no real solution in
sight, I might be stuck in this body for a long time.
Finally, one morning, I was standing on the parapet of the castle wall,
looking out over Darian's lands. The winter's snows were half-melted away from
the lands surrounding Steelgate, and I could even see a few shoots of green
grass coming up from the earth. I leaned against the stones of the wall,
taking in the beauty of the arriving spring, and sighed.
A soft footstep came up behind me, and Arella's gentle voice called to me.
"Raven? Are you alright?"
"Yes, Arella. It's just that I must return, soon," I replied quietly, still
gazing at the budding trees in the distance.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]