Hisuncle took a deep breath.“Isaac.Leave.Now.”
“No!”
“Iwould spare you from this.”
“No!Ihave spent my entire life preparing for this moment!I will hear the truth fromyou!”The fire in his palms licked towards his face, nearly singeing theunshaved beard.“What does the Diet want from the necromancer?”
“Thereis no necromancer!”Berith shouted.“The sorceress is dead!Your father killedher before you were born!”
Theflames began to die.“What?How do you—”
“Isaac!”His uncle’s roar echoed through the extraction chamber, bouncing over rustedmetal and rocky blood.“Are you sure you want to know this?Do you truly wishto learn the fate your father inflicted upon us?”
He blinked, his feet rooted to the ground.
“Answerme!”
“Y-yes!”
“Fine!”In the dusty air above Berith’s head, the constellation of bones shifted andswirled.“Then tell me!What is the definition of mnemonics?”
“I—theyare—”
A salvoof bone shot into the ground at his feet, showering him in splinters.
“Answerme, boy!”
“Mnemonics!”Isaac said, his posture growing rigid.“A device—a learning technique designedto aid the memory!”
“Adequate!And why are casting incantations called mnemonics?”
“Because—becausethe energy dynamics require altered pathways in the body!The—the—the brain andthe body!”
Ascreaming arrow of bone flew past his shoulder.The crack it made in thepipework sent shivers down his spine.
Thecane.
Thecane.
Thecane—
“Magicchanges the body,” Berith said, pacing back and forth on the raised platform.The cloud of bone followed his every step.“That is why we practice!That iswhy we train!The simplest spell requires years of effort!Not because theincantations are hard, but because the body and mind must alter themselves!When you exercise, your muscles tear and grow, your nerves endure, your bonesgrow thick!When you train, you teach the flesh as much as your mind!Rightnow, your brain and body are forever changed with your powers.It is a physicalstamp, right in your very form.”
Zarialet go of his shoulder.He felt her shift behind him.For a moment, he couldsee the steel of her axe.
“Butthe soul is distinct from the body,” Berith continued, “is it not?One is the essence, the other is a vessel.They are entwined, butseparate.And with effort, they can be separated from each other.”
He hadto hide.He knew this tone of voice.The punishment was coming.
Thelecture was a prelude to pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain.
Pain—
