Wielder: Apprentice: Book 1 of Lady Shey's Story (The Wielder Cycle) (18 page)

Sheyna whispered to Marella. “I was told when I was younger my mother said the statuette was dear to her heart because it contained her heart,” Sheyna said.

“Instead of putting essence into it, you need to draw essence from it,” Marella suggested.

Sheyna began to draw essence the way that she had been shown, but instead of drawing the essence from around her, she drew it from the statuette. The jade figure began to glow, and Sheyna became excited.

“No!” Toborne bellowed. “It cannot be.” He tried to use the power of the Silver Drake to attack Sheyna, but the attempt failed. In an instant, she felt it, all of the essence from the statuette entered her body. Memories of times gone by swirled in her head. Sheyna dropped the statuette and faced Toborne. “I release your will back to you, Mother.” She released her energy to the Silver Drake, which immediately turned and started clawing Toborne’s face. He let the statue fall, and it took flight. It circled on him, and the blinding white light Toborne had used on Morgoran now blinded him. Sheyna felt a flood of foreign memories invade her mind; memories of her mother and father and even their thoughts flooded into her. The Silver Drake attacked Toborne, and he leaped from the tower window to escape it. Morgoran and the girls sprinted to the window after them. Toborne was running, followed by the Silver Drake. After a moment, it circled back and landed on the broken windowsill.

“If we let him go, Sylvalora, he will try again to control you,” Morgoran said. “We must talk with Ianthill and Dicarion.”

The Silver Drake shimmered and blurred and then solidified into a beautiful elven woman with a face resembling the jade figurine. She had black hair and blue eyes. Her lithe body was covered with a white, flowing robe. She beamed as she reached out to Sheyna.

Sheyna nodded her head and then collapsed.

When Sheyna awoke, she was in her bed. Morgoran, Dicarion, Enowene, Ianthill, and Marella all stood around her.

“How do you feel?” Enowene asked.

“Tired,” Sheyna replied. “I feel as if I ran a thousand miles.”

“I should say so. The jade statuette was not meant to be commanded by one so young. Your parents meant for it to be used later in your life, after you had already been taught the ways of wielding,” Ianthill said.

“My mother?”

“Aye, she is here,” Ianthill said, stepping aside. The elven woman stepped from the doorway and went to Sheyna’s bedside.

“Hello, my dear sweet daughter,” she said in a silky voice.

Sheyna reached up and took her mother in an embrace. They stayed locked in the embrace for several moments before Sheyna spoke. “I am elven?”

Sylvalora chuckled. “I suppose you are in some way, but when I was your mother, I appeared as a woman, the same as you. Every time I change from being the Silver Drake, I look different except for dark hair and blue eyes. Loracia gave me the gift of life, all life.” She leaned down and kissed Sheyna on the forehead. “I suppose we have quite a bit to catch up on.” She wiped a tear away from her check and then waved Morgoran to stand beside them. “But first, Morgoran has something he would like to ask you.”

Morgoran put his hand on Sheyna’s shoulder. “Aye, I do. You still need a new master.” He paused to look into her eyes. “I shall apprentice you.”

“You, Morgoran?” Ianthill said. “I have never known you to apprentice anyone.”

“I was merely waiting for someone worthy of me,” he said. There was an intense silence. “That was a joke.”

Ianthill shook his head.

“I will have to take you to the Vale of Morgoran to instruct you. I will not be staying here in Symbor. Do you accept?” Morgoran asked.

“It’s true, you have never apprenticed anyone before?” Sheyna asked. Morgoran shook his head that he had not. “I guess I would be foolish to turn down your offer. I accept, but on one condition.”

“Oh, and what condition might that be?” Morgoran asked.

“If I am to be your apprentice and travel to the Vale of Morgoran with you, I wish to be referred to as simply Shey, not Sheyna. I am not too fond of that name anymore.”

Morgoran chuckled. “Very well. I accept your condition. I hope my wisdom will forever benefit you, young Lady Shey.”

Nestled in a shady vale surrounded by glimmering white buildings stood the Tower of Morgoran. The tower itself was bigger and wider than Enowene’s tower in Symbor, and the attached side buildings seemed smaller from Shey’s perspective.

“All right, Shey Namear, now that the tower is in sight, I need to fill you in on a few matters. First, the keeper of the tower is a man called Eckard. He is the one you need to go to if you need anything pertaining to the household. Second, the cleric of tower is called Kerad. He is a cleric of Loracia, so he can heal up any scrapes or bruises, not that I expect you to receive any,” Morgoran said.

“Eckard and Kerad, got it.”

“Dicarion and Marella will be arriving in about a week. I will have your private rooms assigned next to each other,” Morgoran mentioned.

“Thank you! I am excited to see her. You know we didn’t get along when we first met.” Shey abruptly realized she was nervous, and it manifested itself as chitter chatter.

“The best friendships usually start off that way. I still do not get along with Ianthill all that well, but I wouldn’t trade our friendship and brotherhood for all the riches of the kingdoms.” He hesitated a moment. “Now, don’t you go telling him that.”

Shey chuckled. “That would be embarrassing.”

“Aye, it would. That elf would throw it in my face at every fool argument. Speaking of the old fool, he will be staying and training his apprentice in the tower for a while also. We felt it was best, given the circumstances, to stick together. Strength in numbers, you understand.”

“Aye, it’s a good idea. What is Ianthill’s apprentice like? Is she an elf?” Shey asked.

Morgoran’s face went ashen. “She is a he, and he’s a bit different.”

“Oh, in what way? Is he handsome?”

Morgoran turned from ashen to absolute pale. “Don’t go getting any ideas about this one; he is not the marrying kind. He is a half-elf and a scoundrel. He is Ianthill’s first apprentice, and the old fool has been so-called teaching this fellow for a couple of seasons now. I plan to have Eckard keep a close eye on him. Your mother would never forgive me if I let you even dream of any romantic ruminations with him.”

“He can’t be that bad, can he? Ianthill doesn’t seem like the kind who would put up with nonsense for long,” Shey stated.

“Don’t let the old elf fool you. Half the time, he’s joining in with his apprentice’s vices rather than dissuading them. It should be an interesting stay with those two. However, no matter how fun, charming, or interesting you find this fellow, I would rather you stick to your studies and not let Ianthill’s wayward apprentice get you into trouble, agreed?”

“Aye, agreed. I understand that I am your first apprentice. I will not let you down.”

“You are my only apprentice, and I do not plan to ever take on another,” he said with unusual bravado.

Shey nodded. “Morgoran, did you know my father?”

“Some. He and I never made the effort to get to know each other. Are you excited to see him?”

“Of course! When Mother left last month to go look for him, some of the memories I got from the figurine came back to me about him. I just hope Mother can find him soon.”

“Don’t you worry about that. If anyone can find him, it will be her,” he said.

As their carriage neared the outer walls of the village surrounding the Tower of Morgoran, a horseman rode out to greet them. The horseman wore all black except for a white shirt underneath a long, flowing jacket. As he neared, Shey made out his sharp features and high forehead with a receding hairline. His temples were grey, but the rest of his hair was brown. He was a pleasant-looking fellow with a wide smile on his face as he approached.

“Ho there, Master Morgoran,” he called out when he came near. “Welcome home.”

“Ho there, Eckard. I wasn’t expecting a welcome party.”

“Just a party of one, Master Morgoran. I thought I would ride in with you. It is such a fine day out.”

“Aye, it is. I welcome your company.” He adjusted in his seat to showcase Shey. “Here, let me introduce you to Sheyna Namear, my new apprentice.”

“Call me Shey, please,” Shey said.

Eckard bowed down on his horse, extending his hand in waving motion in front of his face in greeting. “I will more properly address you when we get to the tower, mistress.”

“Open the gate for the master!” Shey heard a man call out from up above as they neared the entrance to the protective wall. The gate swung open, revealing the village to Shey for the first time. The whole of the village along with the tower was called the Vale of Morgoran. The village came to be due to the dangers that once roamed the countryside, not unlike the creatures Shey had already encountered. The people sought out the protection of the wizard in the tower, and hence, the village was born.

The streets were of white cobblestone, and the buildings appeared new and were also white and glimmering, except for signage and some earth-tone trim. Ivy and other green plants crawled up the sides of some of the shops and houses. Medium-sized trees landscaped to perfection over grassy knolls adorned every block, adding beauty. Soon they traveled through a gated inter wall into a hedge-lined thoroughfare flanked by green grass and trees leading up to the white Tower of Morgoran at the center. The tower was enormous, and it stood at the epicenter of two wings built directly attached to it on either side. Shey was wrong; the wings were much larger than the wings attached to the tower in Symbor. A stable hand waited at the entrance to take the carriage.

Once inside the tower, Shey marveled on how different it was from the tower she left behind in Symbor. The whole of the tower appeared new and was polished spotlessly clean, inside and out. White walls were adorned with tapestries and framed paintings. Cherrywood tables and other furniture appointed each room. What made her most excited was the elegance of the potted plants strategically placed throughout to absorb the maximum amount of sunlight beaming through the windows.

After getting settled in her luxurious room, an attendant came for her to escort her down to dinner. The dining room was just as magnificent as the rest of the tower, with a long, rectangular wooden table in the center draped with several tablecloths in a diamond pattern. Morgoran sat at the head, sipping from a silver goblet. He stood up when she entered the room.

As soon as Shey was seated, attendants began pouring red wine into her own silver goblet. A cold soup was placed before her in a glass bowl.

“I trust you got settled?” Morgoran asked.

“Aye, I did.” She had to almost shout since she was seated so far down the table from him.

“See here. Seat her down here near me on the right,” Morgoran said to a nearby attendant. The servants buzzed around her like bees, moving her soup and place setting down to Morgoran’s immediate right. “There, that’s much better. I can talk to you now.”

Shey nodded and started in on the soup. The traveling had made her hungry.

“I was told Ianthill and his apprentice arrived a few moments ago. They will be brought down shortly.”

“You never told me the apprentice’s name.”

“Oh, an oversight, I suppose. I thought I had,” Morgoran said.