The New World Read Free Page A

situations. Both times I was singularly focused. I pictured things in my mind with incredible clarity.” He shrugged. “That must be one piece to using magic, but I have never heard of anyone being able to do something like this.”
    “True.” Tyressa looked around, then frowned. “If only you could conjure supplies. We cannot stay here. I need to get you back to Nalenyr, and I need to get Jasai away from Deseirion. Plus, we need to keep ahead of the Eyeless Ones. The sooner we can move out, the better. Don’t you think?”
    Keles thought for a moment, then realized Tyressa was asking him for permission to organize the survivors. “I trust your judgment. You have my support. How long?”
    “By noon. We’re in good shape. If the water supply holds, we’ll be okay for a couple of days. There are villages we can hit for food. Once we get into Helosunde, we’ll be among friends.”
    “I like the idea of being in Helosunde.” Keles stood and offered Tyressa a hand. She took it gingerly and applied no weight or pressure as she stood.
    “I will talk to Jasai about organizing the people. They are devoted to her.”
    “Good idea.” He bowed to Tyressa and she returned it. As she walked away, various people approached her. They shot covert glances in his direction. A variety of them had drawn circles on their armor, or donned circular amulets.
    To ward off magic . Keles shuddered and wandered toward the fortress’ open gate. Over seven centuries ago, magic had caused a cataclysm known to all as the Time of Black Ice. Waves of chaotic magic had swept over the world, killing many and transforming others. Since then, any undisciplined use of magic was considered an abomination.
    The people’s reaction didn’t surprise Keles. Right now they were all thankful for the transformation that had allowed them to defend themselves. Soon enough, however, they’d fear the power he had used. They would wonder if he could take away what he had given and why he hadn’t returned them to their former selves.
    But they were not alone in their fears.
    He, too, feared what he had done. He could not control it. He couldn’t even identify it. It was possible that he could accidentally do something even worse. He could become as bad as the vanyesh .
    Stop it! Keles frowned as he walked down to the edge of the muddy moat. His whole life had been centered on learning how things worked, and yet here he was convinced he could never figure out how to control magic. Mystics respected discipline and training—both of which would sharpen a person’s mind, free him of inconsequential thoughts, and allow him to concentrate on what needed to be done.
    I need a task I can focus on . He squatted at the moat’s edge and scooped up mud with his fingertips. He ran his thumb over it—something didn’t feel right. It was cool and gritty, but not as rough as he would have expected. Not at all like the sand the Desei mixed to make concrete. It was the residue of the Eyeless Ones that had dissolved in the moat.
    It didn’t matter. Keles concentrated and recalled a memory of playing in the mud on the banks of the Gold River. His father had been there. Along with his sister, Nirati, he had been making castles out of the mud. While he and Nirati scooped out shapeless mounds, his father somehow transformed it into straight walls and tall towers.
    He focused on that image and called to mind the conviction that the mud had a proper shape. He did not allow himself to entertain any other thought. He would make it into what it was supposed to be.
    A tingle began at the base of his scalp and clawed its way up through his hair. Something shifted and mud dripped from his fingers. A castle loomed large in his vision. Suddenly he saw himself there, on the top of a tower, looking out over a vast continent. Mountains rose and fell. Clouds gathered. Fierce lightning crashed. Snow fell and winds howled.
    Then the white curtain parted, revealing the slender figure of a man