Mage-Guard of Hamor

IV

Although Rahl took a long time to fall asleep in the small ship's cabin he had to himself, he did not sleep well and was up close to dawn. He washed up, dressed in his everyday uniform, and made his way to the bridge, to watch as Captain Jaracyn readied the frigate for departure from Nylan. A faint mist lay on the harbor's surface, but it ended only a cubit or so above the water, and there was no sign of fog or mist out in the Gulf of Candar west of the harbor.

As the gangway was hoisted aboard and smoke began to issue from the funnels, Rahl lifted his eyes from the ship and the piers to the black city, lit by the orangish first rays of the sun. The expanses of green between the black-stone roads and buildings seemed more vivid in the early light, and the shadows somehow both darker and more indistinct. From where he stood, he could not see Deybri's small cottage, a dwelling he had never even entered.

He could understand how she felt. His first eightdays in Swartheld had been difficult, and they hadn't gotten any easier for almost a year, no thanks to the magisters in both Land's End and Nylan. In one respect, both sets of Recluce magisters were alike-they didn't want anyone different around, and they didn't want to change their ways.

He pursed his lips, thinking. He hadn't seen that people were that much different in Hamor. So why were the mage-guards more tolerant? Was it because Hamor was so much larger that there were places for different people? Or was it because all mages were closely supervised? Or because there were fewer mages for the number of people, and they were seen as more necessary? Or were they really more tolerant? Was he just seeing what he wanted to see?

"You're deep in thought," observed Taryl, joining him on the open wing of the bridge. "Did you have a good dinner?"

"Dinner was good. So was the company." Rahl fumbled with his wallet. "I owe you some silvers. It didn't take nearly so much as you gave me."

Taryl held up his hand. "Keep it. We were each given a gold for incidentals. Usually, what we get for these sorts of expenses is never enough. Just be thankful that it was."

Rahl sensed the truth of the angular mage's words, but keeping the silvers bothered him.

"Believe me, Rahl, you'll spend more out of your own wallet for the mage-guards than you'll ever get back." Taryl smiled. "You weren't out that late."

"No. There wasn't much point in it. She wasn't terribly impressed with Hamor when she was there, and Recluce isn't exactly impressed with me."

"If you keep working on your order-skills, you'll gain enough control to meet even their standards. You can already meet many of them, in areas such as shielding yourself from sight and making your way in total darkness."

What Taryl wasn't saying, but what Rahl understood, was that the magisters would probably find another reason to keep him from returning to Nylan.

"Do you think you'd be happy and useful in Nylan," asked Taryl, "especially when the magisters in the north might not allow you to return there?"

"I thought so."

"And now?"

"Probably not. If it weren't for Deybri, I wouldn't be considering it."

"Do you know how she feels?"

"She's torn between me and not wanting to leave Recluce."

Taryl nodded. "That could be a hard decision, especially for a healer."

Rahl almost said that she shouldn't have had to make such a decision, and wouldn't have if the magisters had been fair, but he curbed the words, only saying, "I don't think she'll leave Nylan."

"If you love her, don't give up on her," Taryl said.

Rahl had the feeling that far more emotion lay behind the older mage's words, but he wasn't about to ask.

"Lines in!" came the order from the ship's duty officer.

Slowly, the Ascadya eased away from the pier, stern first, until she was out into the main channel.

"Forward a quarter…"

For several moments, the ship seemed not to move. Then she gained headway, straightening on a westward course that took her out the center of the channel, past the black-stone pillars that marked the ends of both the north and the south breakwaters. Rahl wanted to look back, but did not.

Standing well to the west of the harbor was one of the black ships, its lines low and menacing. From what Rahl judged, it was slightly longer than the Ascadya, but nowhere as large as the Hamorian cruiser he had seen at the naval piers in Swartheld.

"Do they have larger black ships?" he asked Taryl.

"Not that we know of. Some of the newer ones are slightly larger in length and beam than that one, but they're all effectively about the same size. That makes it easier to maintain and supply them. The shells and rockets are the same for all vessels."

"Rockets?"

"They use incendiary rockets when necessary. That's probably one reason why the Jeranyi pirates have gone to iron-hulled vessels." Taryl smiled wryly. "There's word now that the black ships are using black-iron-penetrating tips on some rockets."

"They're working on a new kind of engine, too," Rahl said. "I don't understand it, but one of the engineers said it would be lighter and stronger and allow a ship to move faster."

Taryl frowned. "Are they actually building it?"

"No, ser. They weren't when I left. It was something one of the junior engineers had thought up."

Taryl laughed, ironically. "It will be years before we see it, if then."

"Why?"

"Even if it's a good idea, turning it into hard metal takes years, and that's if there aren't any problems with it… and if the junior engineer doesn't have to argue with those who know better."

"Like the senior engineers?"

Taryl shook his head. "Most of the time, those who get to be senior engineers are willing to look at a new idea. They'll be skeptical, but they'll look. It's the ones in the middle. They'll either try to stop it or steal it. The same thing is often true with armsmen and other military officers." He paused. "Not exactly. Very junior undercaptains usually don't know what they're doing, not unless they're former rankers, but older and senior majers from distinguished families with Imperial connections are to be avoided as much as possible. So are older senior mage-guards. They have a great similarity to the magisters of Land's End."

Even in Hamor?

"Now… I have another exercise for you." Taryl smiled. "We're headed aft to the fantail, and you're going to attempt to 'tag' some pieces of wood and follow them with your order-senses when I drop them off the stern." At that, the senior mage-guard turned and headed for the ladder down to the main deck.

Rahl saw that Taryl was carrying the satchel that usually meant some other exercise. After a moment, the younger mage followed. Why did Taryl keep pushing him?