Brena
Brena woke up to find Rthan watching her from across the room.
The bath and the new clothes had taken away his wild look. He seemed more like a proper man now. But that didn't stop him from filling the hut with his presence. He had the same feeling as a caged aurochs bull—strong, heavy, dangerous.
Then came the question: what to do with him while she taught the Tavaedi Initiates their mysteries? Rthan had promised not to escape while she was nearby. But he had also made it clear he would try to escape the minute she left. The stupid aurochs would get himself killed unless she watched him as carefully as an eagle watches a mouse.
The simplest answer was also the best one. She brought him with her.
At the First House on the Tor of the Initiates, a ladder led down into the kiva. The ceiling was three times taller than a man. Even Rthan had room to stand straight. He looked uncertain as he followed Brena down the ladder. She guessed he had never been in a kiva before.
The Rainbow Labyrinth had introduced kivas to Yellow Bear only a generation ago. Most tribes still used caves, hilltops, or forest groves for their magic. This room was larger than the tomb under the Tor of the Stone Hedge, and light poured in through hidden shafts above. The floor and walls had been smoothed with adobe and painted white. At one end, the room was square. The other end curved into a moon shape, with a raised platform like an altar. On it rested costumes, totems, and tools for ritual, smelling faintly of dye and incense.
No one else had arrived yet.
"Sit over there." Brena pointed to a mat in the shadows behind the altar. "I trust I don't need to tie you up?"
"You brought me here to cast a hex on me?" he asked, his voice flat.
Brena sighed. "No. I'm here to teach the Initiates. My Shining Name is the Golden-Bracelet Teacher." She jangled her gold bracelets.
He glanced around, still uneasy. "You'd let an enemy see your clan's secrets?"
"You're a Zavaedi, aren't you?"
"I haven't sworn any oath—"
"I know what you promised—and what you didn't. That's why you're here."
He gave a small, crooked smile. "Right. I'll sit on the mat."
The Initiates scrambled down the ladder like lizards. One after another, wide-eyed and excited, they filled the room. They were full of nervous energy, giggling and pointing as they found their seats.
Brena quickly spotted her daughters. Gwena and her friend Kemla sat behind Gwenika, just to poke her and whisper rude things. Gwenika kept turning around to scold them: "Stop it!" "Leave me alone!" "I mean it, you guys!"—which only made them giggle harder.
Brena felt amazed at how young they all looked.
She walked to the moon-shaped end of the room. The Initiates sat on mats along the other three walls, leaving a large open space in the middle.
She lifted a wooden cage. Though she knew what was inside, all she could see was one small yellow pixie buzzing around.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Rthan react—his eyes followed something else in the cage. Something she couldn't see.
"What is in this cage?" she asked the Initiates.
"A pixie!"
"Several pixies!"
"No—just one!"
"There's two, idiot!"
"I see three!"
"I only see one."
"There are six," Brena said calmly. "One of each Chroma. This is the first lesson you must learn about magic—and about life. We all live in the same world, but we each see it differently. There are six Chromas—types of magic. Most people can't see any of them."
"How many of you see one pixie?" she asked.
Her younger daughter Gwenika raised her hand, along with most of the others.
"Your magic is One-Banded. You are Morvae," Brena told them. "Now—how many of you see more than one?"
A smaller group raised their hands, including Gwena, her older daughter.
"You are Imorvae. Your magic is Many-Banded."
"To see Chromas, whether one or many, is called Vision. Vision has many uses. Today, we'll talk about the three easiest ones. First, the fae. They are easy to see because they want to be seen. They are vain. Sometimes, even people with no magic can see them—if they are drunk, sick, in love, scared, or very angry. But people with a Chroma attract fae like flies to sugar. The fae that match your Chroma will come near you, speak to you, try to trick you into dancing in a faery ring. Never accept such an offer," she warned.
"All Tavaedies can see at least one Chroma—the one strongest in them. Hertio the Builder now hosts someone who can see all six. That's because he is the son of a faery. No one alive, except the White Lady and her son, has all six Chromas."
Brena studied the students' faces.
"Tamio of Broken Basket. Kemla of Full Basket. Come forward."
The two stood and met in the center.
"Don't look at their bodies. Look at the light around them—their auras. These two each have three Chromas. That's more than the rest of you. Kemla has Yellow, Orange, and Red. If you also have Yellow, Orange, or Red, look at Kemla. If you have Green, Blue, or Purple, look at Tamio. Focus. You should see some color in their auras."
Brena could clearly see gold around Kemla. She couldn't see the Orange or Red, but trusted the others could. Without meaning to, she glanced at Rthan, as if he were one of her students. But he wasn't watching Tamio. He was watching her.
She looked away, face burning. She felt his low, warm laugh like a touch on the back of her neck.
"You may sit, Kemla, Tamio," she said. She kept her face calm, though it was hard to stay focused.
"There are three kinds of beings," she continued. "The fae are made of light—pure Chroma. Plants and animals were made from mud at the beginning of the world, then given life by the Aelfae. We humans are made of both light and mud. We have bodies like animals, but auras like the fae. Every person has an aura. Even people with no magic have a pale white one, though it's too faint for spells."
"What else can Vision show us? The third kind is Patterns. These are shapes of magic that float in the air, earth, and water—zigzags, curves, stairs. They are hard to see without training. The easiest way to see them is through Tavaedi dance."
Kemla raised her hand. "Which are stronger—Morvae or Imorvae?"
"Not stronger. They are useful in different ways."
From behind her, Brena heard Rthan snort.
"You've been tricked by Rainbow Labyrinth into playing for dice if you believe that," he said.
Brena turned on him. "Are you teaching this class?"
"Imorvae are weak," Rthan said without shame. "They lose their power by spreading it across too many Chromas. They rot like bad fruit—ugly outside, soft and useless inside. That's why they use hexcraft. They cheat, because they can't win with strength. Among my people, they are Shunned."
The Initiates exploded into loud chatter. It took all Brena's effort to silence them. She wanted to strangle Rthan.
"Now you see the difference between Yellow Bear and our enemies," she told the class, glaring at him. "Most Blue Waters Tavaedies are One-Banded Blue. That's not why we disagree with them. Most of ourTavaedies are One-Banded Yellow. But we do not Shun the rare Many-Banded ones. We welcome Imorvae, even when others reject them."
"Why were they ever rejected?" Tamio asked.
"Tamio of Broken Basket," Brena said firmly, hands on her hips. "Raise your hand before speaking."
He raised it. "Why did the Bone Whistler try to kill all the Imorvae?"
"No one knows for sure. Who can understand such hate? Hate strong enough to kill innocent people?"
She looked at Rthan. This time, he looked away first.
"One rumor says the Bone Whistler had a Looking Bowl," said Brena. "It showed him that only someone with six Chromas—an Imorvae or an Aelfae—could kill him. Imorvae are humans whose ancestors married faeries and gained some of their magic.
"Long ago, the Aelfae and humans went to war. Some humans—the Imorvae—fought beside the Aelfae. Even after the Aelfae were destroyed, the Imorvae kept their power. Maybe the Bone Whistler thought that killing all the Imorvae would protect him."
She clapped three times.
"That's enough for now. Time to begin your exercises."