Will did his best, reciting the sounds as his grandfather repeated them to him. Fortunately, he had a pretty good memory, not that the old man would ever praise him for it. Once he could repeat back all the names of the letters and their related sounds, the old man stood up to leave.
“I’m going to check the garden,” said his grandfather.
A few minutes later, he could hear the old man bellowing from behind the house. “Gah! Get away! I’ll hunt every one of you demon-spawned quadrupeds down and exterminate you if you come back again!”
There was a short silence, and Will laughed quietly to himself, imagining the old man running around behind the house in a panic. Then his grandfather started yelling again, “Fuck off! I’ll curse you and your offspring unto the tenth generation!”
Chapter 8
That evening, after a dinner of peas, roasted carrots, and yet more turnips, Will’s grandfather sat with him in front of the hearth. “Ready to learn something interesting?”
“How was the food?” asked Will warily. Their latest meal had been bland, but the old man had walked him through the preparation step by step. He suspected his grandfather might be planning to punish him if the food wasn’t up to his standards.
His grandfather replied, “Barely edible, but if you keep this up we might not starve to death.”
“As if you could do any better,” Will huffed.
The old man sat up straight, affronted. “I’ll have you know I’m the best cook from here to eastern Darrow. Watching you mutilate vegetables is downright painful for me.”
Will’s eyes narrowed. “First you said you were an herbalist, now you claim to be a chef. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“The best chefs are herbalists,” declared his grandfather self-righteously. “Now, do you want to learn this or not?”
Cautiously, Will nodded.
His grandfather rose and went to a side cupboard before returning with what appeared to be a tallow candle. Sitting back down, he placed it on the floor in front of Will. He glanced to one side suddenly. “Look over there!”
Will did, jerking his head around, but the moment his eyes left the old man he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Whipping his head back around, he saw that the candle was now lit. He glared at his grandfather. “Did you pinch me?”
The old man smiled evilly. “No.”
“Then what did you do?”
His grandfather picked up the candle, holding it in front of Will’s face. “I’ve linked your life to this candle. The flame represents the turyn within you. Whatever happens to it represents what is happening within you.”
Will wasn’t impressed. Then his grandfather reached over and pinched his arm. The flame shot several inches into the air, flaring in correspondence with Will’s temper. “Damn it! Stop!” exclaimed Will. “That hurts.” The flame died down slightly, but continued to flicker angrily.
“Did you see what happened?” asked his grandfather excitedly. “Do you understand?”
Will rolled his eyes. “You’d make a great entertainer, if it wasn’t for your foul attitude.”
“They’re linked, idiot!” said the old man. “Your life and the candle flame are one and the same.” When that statement failed to impress his grandson, he reached out with two fingers, as if to snuff the candle out.
Will slapped his hand away, suddenly afraid.
His grandfather laughed, then leaned forward and blew hard on the flame. It jumped, burning higher in response to a jolt of adrenaline as panic ran through Will, but nothing else happened. The fire didn’t even respond to the sudden puff of air. “It reflects you,” said the old man, “not the other way around.”
Awed by the strange behavior of the candle flame, Will blew on it himself. It didn’t move at all. “So it isn’t real?”
“Oh, it’s real,” said his grandfather. “Or rather, it represents the reality within you. Nothing out here can affect it.” He waved his hand through the flame, which remained perfectly still. “The only thing that can change it is you.” Bringing his hand up suddenly, he smacked his palm against Will’s forehead, and the flame guttered and swirled.
“Enough!” exclaimed Will, annoyed. “You made your point. I thought you were going to teach me something interesting. This is a party trick.”
“You said you wanted to learn magic,” said the old man.
“You said you wouldn’t teach me magic,” Will shot back.
His grandfather rolled his eyes. “And I won’t, but if it makes any difference to you, this lesson is the first lesson any wizard learns. It’s the most important thing I could ever teach you, whether you ever become a wizard or not; the first and greatest knowledge you will ever gain.”
Will glanced sideways, impatient and annoyed. “Why are you talking about wizards? I don’t want to be a wizard. They’re just librarians and assistants. They can’t do much of anything.”
The old man closed his eyes. Will could see the muscles in his jaw working as he cussed under his breath. “Give me patience to deal with fucking morons,” muttered the old man. Will waited, expecting his grandfather to explode once again, but after a moment the old man let out a long breath and opened his eyes, his face calm.
“Listen up, boy,” said his grandfather. “I’m only going to give this speech once, so pay attention. I’ve been making allowances, since you’re entirely ignorant. I’m going to explain a few things. Interrupt me and I’ll rip your tongue out and use it to make breakfast tomorrow. Do you understand?”
Will nodded, afraid to speak.
The old man smiled at his caution. “First, do you know the difference between mages, warlocks, sorcerers, and wizards?”
Still unsure whether he should open his mouth, Will shook his head no.
“Mage is a general term,” continued his grandfather. “Anyone capable of magic is a mage. Mages aren’t born, they are trained. Almost anyone has the necessary potential, but very few ever become aware of it, and fewer still gain the skill to do anything.
“Wizards are mages who have learned to control their turyn, and with it they can affect the world around them. Through training and practice, they can accomplish a wide variety of things, including the use of spells and the creation of potions and other magic items.
“Warlocks are mages who bargain with external powers to gain advantages.” His grandfather pointed at the candle flame. “This flame represents your turyn. As you might have guessed, it isn’t a large amount of power and can easily be exhausted. Warlocks seek to augment this power via agreements with supernatural agents. They may deal with spirits, the lords of faerie, demons, or any number of other beings. In general, I think this is a bad idea, as you almost always give up far more than you gain.
“Long ago, most of the early mages were shamans, which was basically a type of warlock dealing with primal nature spirits, but over time, some became more skilled. Magic was studied and better understood. It was codified, and spells were created. This was the beginning of true wizardry.
“The candle flame spell I just showed you is the beginning of that new understanding. It was the foundation that all wizardry rests upon. That may not make sense to you now, but someday, you’ll understand why.