"How long will it take us to get through here?" Tarrin asked.
"Two or three days," she replied. "You know, Tarrin, Camara Tal is getting irritated with you."
"Let her," he grunted.
"She wishes to continue your instruction in Amazon."
"She can wait."
"I should feel slighted, dear one," she said with a slight smile. "You never asked to learn my language."
"I've never heard you even use it before, Dolanna. I don't think I even know what language it is."
She chuckled wryly. "Then I guess the fault is my own. I am from Sharadar, and we speak Sharadi. Because of the size and importance of Sharadar on the southern continent, it is a common language among all the southern kingdoms. If you can speak Sharadi, you can communicate with nearly anyone south of the equator."
"Are you offering?" he asked.
"I will do nearly anything to get you into lessons, my dear one," she said with a light smile.
"Don't you know enough languages, brother?" Allia asked in Selani.
"Not until there are none left to learn," he replied in Sulasian. "How long do you think it will take?"
"I have seen you learn language, dear one," Dolanna smiled. "It will not take you very long. I do not understand how you can forget things you learn, yet when it involves a language, you show the same mental faculties as Keritanima. Probably even more so."
"I guess it's a knack," he shrugged.
"It is quite a knack," she smiled. "You are the only person I have ever seen to learn two languages in a matter of months rather than years."
"It wasn't that hard," he replied. "I learned Selani, then we found out that the other language was very similar to it. That made it easier for all of us."
"Keritanima will kill you if you do not tell her how you taught yourself the other language with magic, Dolanna," Allia told her. "We all thought that it was impossible."
"I did not teach myself the language," she smiled. "I merely used magic to ensure I did not forget the meaning of the words."
"But Sorcerers cannot use magic on themselves."
"A Sorcerer cannot. A katzh-dashi can, because we can use minor abilities granted to us by the Goddess. What I used was a priest spell, not a weave. A very simple spell of retention that any neonate katzh-dashi is taught after the Initiate."
Tarrin gaped at her. "I thought katzh-dashi could only use ceremonial priest magic!"
"That is what you were told. In truth, a katzh-dashi can utilize any priest prayer that a priest can perform without a medallion. That is the limit of our access. Because of the sensitive position of the katzh-dashi, we do not advertise the fact that we can use priest magic. It would raise certain uncomfortable questions from the more learned. Lest you forget, young one, katzh-dashi are the priests of the Goddess. She cannot grant us true priest powers, but she can bestow on us the same basic minor powers that any starting acolyte receives from his god. If you would come to the lessons, dear one, you would know that already."
Tarrin stared at her a very long time. "Then what's the difference between a Sorcerer and a katzh-dashi?"
"The Oath," she replied simply. "The oath of obedience to the Goddess, something that an Initiate does not undertake. It seals the Sorcerer to the Goddess, and in that oath of obedience, he gains the right to call on the Goddess' power directly. Any Sorcerer can use Sorcery, but only those who take the Oath can call on the Goddess for additional aid."
It was a profound realignment in his concept of the katzh-dashi, but it fit perfectly with what he already knew. The Goddess herself had told him that the katzh-dashi had minor priest abilities. She didn't say what they could do, but she did say that they did have some abilities. The agelessness of the katzh-dashi was the reason that they had access to priest magic, for it was a law set forth by Ayise Herself that no mortal could wield more than one order of magic. The Goddess cheated a bit by making her children a little bit more than mortal, yet not truly immortal. It was enough for the katzh-dashi to be raised out of the definition of mortal and gain access to another order of magic. That was probably why they didn't want the sages to know that they could use minor priest magic, for sages knew of that stricture, and would investigate as to why the katzh-dashi could seemingly defy that basic rule.
Tarrin licked his lips. "Could I learn this priest magic?" he asked.
She shook her head. "I cannot administer the Oath. Only the Keeper can do that. And without the Oath, the priest aspect of a katzh-dashi's power is denied to you."
Tarrin silently mulled through what he felt were contradictory statements. The Goddess had once told him that the katzh-dashi were granted priest powers, but she specifically said that she didn't grant them priest's spells. Now Dolanna comes along and claims that she used priest magic to help her learn the Sha'Kar language. He had no reason to doubt the Goddess, but on the other hand, he had no reason to doubt Dolanna either.
"Do not worry at it, dear one," she smiled. "I have thought of taking you to Sharadar, so the Keeper of the other Tower could bond you to the Goddess and give you access to magic you can use safely. But it is simply too far out of the way. The opportunity to take the Oath will come in time. Just be patient."
"Just what can you do with this magic?" he asked.
"Nothing earth-shattering, believe me," she smiled. "The minor spells of a neonate are not as useful as Sorcery, but there are a few spells that allow us to work very minor magic upon ourselves, something Sorcery will not permit. The spell I used to enhance my ability to remember is just such an example. But in general, any priestly prayer that has a Sorcery conterpart is denied to us. We can only use those minor spells of which no comparative weave exists. It is another limit to our power."
"But High Sorcery would allow-"
"And no single katzh-dashi can perform High Sorcery," she interrupted. "Since the katzh-dashi cannot create the weave, it falls outside this rule."
"So, a katzh-dashi weak in healing flows could use priestly healing instead of Sorcery?"
"No. The katzh-dashi could perform the weave. The weakness exists within the Sorcerer, not within the Weave. Even a Sorcerer with no access at all to a sphere vital to healing cannot use a priest spell to make up for it."
"That contradicts what you just said."
"Sorcery is full of contradictions, young one," she smiled. "It obeys its own laws, and many of them are illogical to us. We can only obey them, without necessarily understanding why they exist."
"I guess so," he sighed. "And I was getting interested in it, too."
"I am pleased you are showing interest in Sorcery again," she said. "You should come to our lessons, dear one. We miss your company."
"I may start coming now," he said. "I seem to be missing out on a whole lot."
"And we will welcome you," she smiled. "Reniot is beckoning to me. I will talk with you later, dear one, Allia."
She walked away, leaving a huge riddle in Tarrin's mind. He knew that the katzh-dashi had priestly abilities, because the Goddess had told him so. But she told him that they weren't given priest's spells. She had specifically stated that. But Dolanna said that they could. So who was lying? Dolanna seemed to have proof that she could use a little priest magic.
Why would the Goddess lie to him? She had never outright lied to him before, and the realization that that seemed to be the case stung deeply. He knew that he didn't need to know everything, but to find out that she had misled him hurt a little bit.
I never lied to you, Tarrin, the Goddess' voice echoed in his mind. The katzh-dashi are not granted priest spells.
"But-" he started, causing Allia to look at him, but the Goddess cut him off.