Rune

"Lyrain, 14th of the month of Caimures, Morning

I wonder what the day will have in store – I think it will be quite full though. And I have the feeling we are not likely to leave this place today."

Amrunela had woken up quite early – and she was pretty sure everyone else was still asleep. However she felt uncomfortable staying in a room that was so designed for her by a woman she had never met.

So she slipped out and without really knowing where she was going started walking down the hall. It eventually led to a very large library – large enough to even rival the one back home that her father oversaw the management of.

And she realized she was not actually the only one up. Talon was sitting surrounded by books stacked up high, reading quietly. Strangely enough he had no light source, at least before she walked in – she had a floating light from a spell she had murmured when she left her room.

In the pale light of her spell, Talon's hair glittered a pale silver color – not unlike Niliah's hair. His eyes were a similar shade to his hair. He looked up as she entered, and smiled, "Hiya, Runie!"

She blinked – surprised for two reasons. One it was the first time she had heard Talon refer to any of them remotely by name. Two, Runie? Instead of saying anything on it she just asked him, looking at the stacks of books beside of him, "Do you like reading?"

To her surprise his face lit up, and he gave a very childlike and innocent smile, "Yes! I've always loved books. I don't often get to read something new though – books are a bit more of a luxury out here."

"Well, books are always a bit expensive." She nodded. She was lucky to have grown up in a palace with a very nice library.

Talon grinned. His eyes were sparkling, "I know a spell you might like! Today's a good day for me to use magic anyway!"

"You have magic?"

"Yeah – I usually can't use it very well – a bit how wizards have trouble without a familiar I need to meet some conditions to use it right all the time." He laughed lightly, "But today I actually have a bit more control – at least enough to do that small spell."

"I'd love to see it then – if it won't hurt you." She was a bit worried after what he said.

He tapped by his eyes, "Silver eyes – my powers are more at my disposal today. I'm also a bit more sane than normal." He then picked up one of the books in one hand and began to speak – not in the tongue of magic she knew but it was similar.

The book glowed briefly and then another copy of it appeared in his other hand. He grinned. "Neat, huh?"

"Yes." Amrunela was impressed – creation magic was hard to do – especially to make it last. From his obvious pride, she didn't need to ask – the book was not going to disappear. And books, well, the reason they were so expensive was because for each one they had to rewrite every single word. "But your magic seemed different than what I've seen before. The words – it wasn't in the magic tongue."

"Oh! I cast magic in an older tradition." He smiled again. "Actually I might have less trouble with my magic if it was according to how you learned it. The way magic is done now you learn the spell – each spell has its own perimeters. There's a structure to it, which can be good. My way is different, I don't learn spells – I make them using magic words, tone inflection, and my own thoughts and emotions – it's the thoughts and emotions that make it hard for me sometimes, because they change so often on me. Hence I can often use too much or too little power. It's a bit similar to a miscasting of a spell – actually really similar. And when I don't do it like I meant to it takes a mental toll on me."

"But you know how to cast spells to suit your mind frame today?"

"I'm less likely to have a stray thought messing it up."

"I think I see what you mean. But you can be more versatile, can't you?" She asked.

"I can cast just about any spell I can think of and have the words to frame it. But it's an exact science - you leave out the wrong word and you get a totally different outcome then you wanted. And for complex spells, in a pinch, your way is easier to do. My way of casting is great for things like this." He gestured at the book, "Where there's no risk facture. But well, take turning invisible for an example. For you that would be a fairly short incantation – for me to cast such a spell, it would take a bit longer as I had to make the perimeters."

"I see." She nodded, "Basically, most people switched because its more convenient to learn and then cast spells."

"Yeah. But I do think there should be some who still do it like I do – if just to make new spells for the rest of you. I'm going to try to figure out how to short change the copy spell for others to cast – most spells were made like that. First the idea, then the long incantation, and finally a more shortened version that can be cast quicker. Which I think I won't get into right now -else I'll go off on a tangent trying to explain and that could take all morning – which I suppose we are not going to have time for."

"Hey, Talon." She said after a pause, "What exactly are you here to test?"

"I'm the first one to take the test in three thousand years." He glanced down, "And I don't entirely know what to expect – just by doing so, I'll stabilize a bit – at least for a time."

"Is it a frightening test?"

"I said I have no clue what exactly to expect!" He grinned, "I really have no clue whether I should be frightened or not."

"I see. Well, I hope you make it through without trouble…"

He just smiled, and happily went back to reading.