The priests, moving together, manifest a sphere of white magic.
The same magic that damaged even a dragon’s wings; a threat.
One I do not heed.
The golden glow of my magic appears around me, so the priests will know that I am doing something, but not what.
Learned Muka frowns mightily as she tries to work it out—she, of the priests here, is the only one who knows enough of sage training to do so.
But she has never seen me do this.
I invert the forms.
Make my movements smaller, subtler; softer.
Quietly, quietly.
The golden aura around me expands to fill the space between me and the priests, breaking against Tasa like a river meeting a rock and moving around her.
The priests launch their magic sphere at me—
But my gold working reaches them.
And the sphere of their magic dissipates as it moves toward us until it disperses harmlessly.
The priests rush back to their familiar forms by force of training, looking baffled—and afraid, and desperate, and angry—
But not resolved.
And the strength of the priesthood is in their unity of purpose.
Break that, and victory is inevitable.
That’swhyI, as the Sage of Resolve, have so often been called to battlefields: to strengthen that unity.
I have, in fact, spent my whole life learning how to do that.
So I also know how to break it.
Learned Muka swears as she realizes what I’ve done.
But she doesn’t make any move to stop me; as though, even knowing I am undoing the priests’ resolve and thus their focus, and in so doing rendering them powerless, my mentor can’t decide if she should.
Tasa doesn’t miss a beat, continuing to make her case—for why we should all get to live, and freely. How the Quieting prevented a greater wrong, and created an opportunity, andspace, for the priests to reconsider.
I don’t miss a beat either, continuing to move.
Letting someone else lead, yes.
But it’s Tasa, who I havechosento trust.
And how I support her is up tome.
Little by little, using my power to widen the cracks inside them that she can pour into.
Planting a seed. Giving it time to grow.
A small magic that can become big, with the sheer volume of more hands working at the problem.
