“That is his symbol,” Torio told her, “and Aradia-his wife-the white wolf is hers.”
“Then perhaps in this Savage Empire,” said the girl, “I truly will find the peace I have sought all the way from Madura!”
Over the next few days, Torio and Melissa spent much of their time with Zanos and Astra, planning the expedition to Madura. They would travel by sea, taking ship at Dragon’s Mouth, the natural harbor in Wulfston’s territory.
Zanos was frustrated that Dirdra would have nothing to do with their plans. “She could tell us so much!”
But the young Maduran woman discarded her boy’s clothes for dresses the moment she saw that it was safe for women to display their beauty in Zendi-for beauty she had aplenty. Even her shorn hair could not mar the perfection of her translucent skin, delicate bone structure, and beautiful eyes-and when her hair was clean and brushed softly out around her face, it glowed a soft, rich auburn.
Dirdra was a weaver, and quickly obtained employment when she displayed her skills before the newly formed guild. The craft guilds, loosely based on the Academy system, took the place of the family units Drakonius had destroyed; only time would tell if they would develop into a permanent system for passing down vital knowledge from one generation to another.
So Zanos mulled over whatever outdated maps of Madura he could obtain, and tried to make adequate plans. The northern isles were too far for any Reader to attempt to visit out of body- even Lenardo.
The gladiator took heart from the fact that his home village was marked on two of the maps… and the others refrained from pointing out that those particular maps could have been older than he was.
Melissa was eager for the journey-so much so that it began to grate on Torio’s nerves after a time.
Finally he went to talk to Lenardo.
“Are you brooding again?” his mentor asked. “Grow up, Torio. If you don’t want to go adventuring, stay home, but don’t blame Melissa for wanting to learn more of what she can do with her powers.”
“And don’t you give me that same advice again!” Torio snapped. “I am trying to conquer my powers.”
They were in Lenardo’s office again, not Reading for privacy. Although that left Torio blind, he had learned in recent months to rely on different clues, as other blind persons did.
Now he stood and faced Lenardo. “Why do I have to be a leader?” he asked. “Why do I have to rule lands? There are other things a man can do with his life-there was nothing wrong with the Aventine Academy system for Readers except that it kept those Readers who were meant for leadership, like you, from having power. And that led to corruption in Readers like Portia, who could not gain power except through devious means.
“But Master Lenardo, not every Reader was born to rule! And the more I watch you, Aradia, Wulfston-the less I feel I can ever be like you.
Why can’t I just be a Reader? Why do I have to be a lord?”
He could feel Lenardo staring at him. Then the older man said, “I never really thought about it, Torio. /
found myself when Aradia gave me lands to rule-but you don’t have to follow in my footsteps. It’s too bad that you cannot prophesy your own destiny-but I will certainly stop trying to tell you what it ought to be.”
Torio unexpectedly felt himself blushing. He had fought, even killed in battle-but never before had he stood up angrily to someone in authority over him. It was the first time he realized that Lenardo no longer had such authority. They were both grown men now-equals-and Lenardo freely acknowledged it. It was disconcerting, but it also gave him a strange new sense of pride.
Then, “I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to shout at you, Master Lenardo. You’re not the one causing my frustration.”
“Melissa?” the older man asked.
“Yes. No. It’s-just when I think I’m discovering what to do with my life, the gods drop some other power on me that I didn’t ask for and don’t want. My own words are sending the woman I love away, Master. What can I do but go with her?”
“You could try living your own life, Torio,” Lenardo suggested. “Do you realize that today is the first time I’ve ever seen you talk back to someone you respect? You’ve always been too much of a good boy.”
“What do you mean?”
“At the Academy, you never got into mischief-I
mean serious mischief, not daydreaming and forgetting your lessons.”
“You caught me gambling with the stable boys once,” Torio reminded him.
“Yes-because you were angry with me, not because it was something you wanted to do. Torio, you don’t act, you react. I’m not pleased that you’re going on this journey to follow Melissa, but I won’t try to stop you. Perhaps along the way you may learn some leadership, and stop being afraid to take the authority your powers have earned you. We need leaders-so perhaps by the time you come back you’ll be ready to take responsibility for your own people.”
Torio left his meeting with Lenardo feeling pleased that his teacher recognized him as an adult. However, he still had no answer to what he was to do with his life. Perhaps when he and Melissa returned from Madura he should try teaching in Master Clement’s new Academy. Or perhaps when they discovered what destiny drew Melissa to the frozen isles, he would find his own as well.
So he returned to his room, still the same small, simply furnished room he preferred. There would always be a place for him in Lenardo’s home- even after their confrontation, he did not have to ask. But there were guest houses now, where Wulfston and Lilith and other dignitaries stayed when they visited Zendi.
Lenardo’s villa was no longer sparsely furnished, either-lavish furnishings filled the public rooms, works of art were scattered here and there, and the suite of rooms Lenardo shared with Aradia was rich with silks, satins, and velvets.
Decius came to the door. “Torio, will you help me persuade Master Clement to let me go with you to Madura? He thinks I’m a cripple-even after I helped him escape out of the Aventine Empire!”
“No he doesn’t, Decius,” Torio assured the boy. “No one can possibly think that about you-but you are young. You’ll have plenty of time in your life for adventuring. Master Clement is old-and he needs you, although he’d never admit it.”
“What do you mean?” Decius asked.
“You’ve already said it. He could never have escaped the empire without your help.”
“Well-he was all bent up with rheumatism then. The Adepts here cured that.”
“Yes, but they can’t cure old age. Decius, of all the boys in the Adigia Academy, you are the only one Master Clement could confide in when Portia threatened him. He trusts you-and he needs your help in his new Academy here in Zendi. And surely you know how much he has to teach you about Reading?”
“Yes, but-”
“You are on the brink of the first great growth of your powers. There will be no Master Readers on our journey-Astra, Melissa, and I are only Magisters. None of us has the years of experience Master Clement has… and he won’t be here forever. There will be the whole world out there for you to go adventuring in after you have achieved the rank of Magister-and you will do so easily under Master Clement’s tutelage. But if you leave now, you will miss the opportunity to have the Master of Masters’
guidance at this crucial time. And… you do not understand right now how very much he will rely on you during the difficulties to come.”
Decius stared at him. “Is that… one of your prophecies?”
He hadn’t been able to say anything about Decius when Master Clement had asked him-but now he knew, without knowing how he knew, that Decius was involved in Master Clement’s destiny. “Yes-I think it is, Decius. I can’t tell you any more than that, though. You must stay in Zendi, for Master Clement’s sake.”
The boy sighed. “All right-but you have to promise, if it’s true that the Maduran sorcerers can make limbs regrow, that you’ll tell me, so I can go-”