I suppressed a shiver. "Is the bubble another one of your shamanic gifts?"
"Yes." He was smiling like a kid admitting to mischief.
"What else can you do?"
"I can compel you to do anything I wish, but I don't like using such power. It's not right to take away a person's will."
It wasn't right to read a person's mind either, but I wasn't about to point that out. Not yet, anyway.
He smiled. "Yes, you are correct, Alar. It's not right to enter someone's mind without permission, but then it is not right to enroll in Elucia's most sacred rite under false pretenses either. You are a potential threat, and the only way I can ascertain that you aren't a spy or a saboteur is by entering your mind and seeing what you are up to."
It was a fair point. "I hope you are satisfied with what you've seen."
Technically, I was a spy, just not a malicious one. I was here to learn what I could to save my people.
"For now," Saphir said. "Would you like me to demonstrate compulsion? I promise not to make you do anything overly outrageous."
I was curious, so I nodded.
Saphir fixed me with a penetrating stare. "Stand up and recite the Elurian national anthem while flapping your arms like dragon wings."
The command carried a strange resonance, and before I could fully process the request, I was on my feet, flapping my arms and reciting, "Eluria stands proud, seventeen banners?—"
"You can stop now," Saphir said with the same resonance.
I stopped immediately, shocked at how completely he had controlled my actions. "How did you do that?" I resumed my seat.
"It's in the sound waves my voice produces, but I can't explain how I make them and how it works."
"Can riders do that, too?"
"No. These talents are rare among my kind, and since I'm the only one left, I guess they are becoming even rarer." A shadow crossed his eyes. "Which is why finding those eggs has become increasingly urgent."
Moments ago, he'd said the eggs weren't accessible, and now they were supposed to solve not only the problem of the dearth of dragons but also of shamans?
My suspicion about his sanity had just been reinforced.
"What do your records say? Did past shamans possess such gifts?"
He sighed. "All shamans had interesting talents, but I happen to have more than others because I am a direct descendant of Elu."
Now I was sure he was hyperbolizing.
All Elurian priests claimed either divine heritage or divine inspiration, but I'd never believed in that. The priests had their place, providing cohesion for their communities and a moral compass, and they might have even believed that they were divinely inspired, but I'd never accepted their claims of a divine mandate.
"Aren't all Elucians the children of Elu?" I asked. "Metaphorically speaking?"
Saphir looked amused. "There is nothing metaphorical about it. All riders and shamans are the descendants of Elu. That's why we can bond with dragons." He smiled. "You heard Nyxath's call, which means that you are a descendant of Elu as well."
I couldn't decide whether Elucia's esteemed shaman was slightly unhinged, as I strongly suspected and as the rumors implied, or he was letting me in on some grand secret for reasons I couldn't fathom.
"Why are you telling me this?" I asked finally.
Saphir stroked Moki absentmindedly as he regarded me with those unnervingly perceptive eyes. "Because I believe you might be able to help me find the eggs, just not in the way you think. Elurian resources are always welcome, but they won't be able to aid us in this mission."
"Then how am I supposed to help?"
"I don't know yet. I need to learn more about you and what you can do."
