Page 81 of Poisoned Kingdom
‘As if. Every sigil I’ve tried comes out wrong or not at all. I don’t even know where it is I go wrong,’ I answered with a sigh before removing my arm from the arch healer’s grasp. ‘So why did you call me here?’
‘To teach you. I added you to the list for the Solstice Geas Trial, but you should not be idle. We can try simple sigils and practice what you already know before you work on vivamancy.’
‘Or I can start learning vivamancy straight away. I told you, none of the sigils I’ve tried have ever worked.’
‘I can’t train you in the high arcana without you having undergone the geas trial. That is both common sense and beyond my control,’ he said. ‘And please remember that no one must know of your unique talent beforehand. I know you want to learn, but others won’t be so understanding when they realise an extinct magic has suddenly reappeared. Now, show me what you’ve been doing with your aether.’
Regardless of his explanation, I wanted more than a vague description of my talent before demonstrating my abilities.
‘You can’t tell me my power is dangerous without explaining what it is and why I should keep it secret. I deserve to know. Can you tell me what I am? What is a vivamancer, and why are we extinct?’
He sighed, seemingly contemplating something before he responded.
‘Vivamancers are mages who can turn aether into life by wielding the power of creation. Your magic is as close to the source of primaeval aether as wild magic itself. When you touch the strands of other living beings, you can enhance their essence or transform them into something completely new.’
A dreamy smile blossomed on his lips, and for a moment, his eyes lost focus.
‘Imagine, Roksana, creating new life that can live separate from its master . . . How much I would give to have that ability. A life . . . a being that exists freely, not like golems bound to a mage’s will, or the beings animated by necromancy.’
He paused, and after a moment, the wonder and yearning left his features and were replaced by seriousness.
‘Your power rivals the gods themselves. Do you see why others might be afraid of you?’ he said, picking up a book from the table and opening it to a well-worn page. ‘Even before the purge, this trait was rare and only manifested in children born of a certain pairing. However, ever since the Mad Mage, every child exhibiting the trait in Tir ha Mor has been killed. I’ve heard that some vivamancers still exist across the sea . . . or they did. Now, with Tangra men building up their empire there, who knows? It might just be gossip.’
I was stunned.
Eventually, I lifted my palm into the air, calling for the power inside me—the restless energy I’d sensed in Wiosna. Once it hovered over my skin, I pushed it towards a candle on the table, watching as the flame flickered erratically.
‘How can I use it? Show me,’ I said to Ciesko, but the healer chuckled and shook his head.
‘You’ll have to wait until the geas trial, for both your safety and others’, but I can teach you how to use other forms of aether. That will make it easier to control your power later.’
‘I told you, I can’t do other things. Look,’ I said, drawing the fire sigil. The energy sizzled and died as soon as I finished the last line.
Thank you, world.
I tried, again and again, reproducing the mark with a dwarven tinkerer’s precision, but nothing worked. Ciesko studied me with an amused expression, and when I finally cursed in anger, he chuckled.
‘If you’ve finished trying to prove your point, tell me why you attempted a fire sigil.’
‘Because it’s the easiest, has basic lines, and is simple to draw. I wanted to start easy and work my way up,’ I said.
Nodding, Ciesko took a quill and drew a few simple lines on his skin.
‘Try to recreate this.’
I studied his sigil. It looked crude, as if he’d drawn it with his eyes closed.
When I was sure I could reproduce the sigil perfectly, I focused on the aether, but as my finger hung in the air, Ciesko said, ‘No. Draw it on your skin.’
The energy flowed easily, following my finger, and lines appeared on my forearm. To my surprise, they lingered there, the flow of energy condensing against my skin, numbing it. What I didn’t expect was the silver needle the healer sank into my flesh as soon as I finished—nor did I expect to find that it didn’t hurt.
‘What? It worked, but how?’ I gasped, looking at the drop of blood on the small puncture wound.
‘You can’t use sigils that you have no affinity for. Though, with time, you might be able to learn elemental spells that align with your magic, maybe even create simple illusions if you’re lucky.I heard from Riordan that you’ve already learned how to deflect psychic magic. And the colour of your aether? It means you’re a mage of the High Order. Vivamancy is closer to healing than the primal elements. That’s why you’ve found them difficult to create.’
‘So where should I start?’ I asked, happy to finally have some explanation for the issues I'd been having. I’d purposefully avoided healing spells in Wiosna, unwilling to experiment on the suffering miners until I learned what I was doing. If only I’d known that fear and self-doubt had been preventing me from advancing in what I was most suited for.
Ciesko smiled, observing my reaction before placing a hand on my shoulder.
