Free Knights Magi (Book 4) by Terry Mancour Page B

arena of love.
    Perhaps he had been too aggressive, too forward; but then the Thirteenth Law stated Boldness, not timidity, clears the path to a maiden’s heart .  He was confident that she’d remember him, now, and remember him with some interest for his boldness. 
    He didn’t know why, but his interaction with her had somehow relaxed him. By the time he got to the darkened Manciple’s Library, he was actually whistling.  It might have been a bit irrational of him to feel so confident about Estasia, but that was recommended, too: Law Eleven said Stride the Path of Love boldly and without apology, acting as confident as a king though you be but the lowliest villein.  
    And Tyndal had irrational confidence in wainloads.
     
    *                             *                            *
     
    Even with two feast days to study, his appearance for his Symbology examination was problematic.  Not because he hadn’t read the texts – thanks to the memory spell, he now knew the technical descriptions and invocations for hundreds of common arcane symbols – but because he hadn’t actually used a tithe of them in his short career.  Symbology was one area in which the masters expected a practical knowledge, no matter how erudite the student.
    Still, Tyndal struggled through, and when asked he was able to produce eight basic glyphs to his examiner’s satisfaction.  And six that were utter failures.
    “You have a good knowledge of the academics,” admitted Master Donrain, after the final failure, “but you need to work on the practical side.”
    “If you’d like to quiz me on warmagic symbols,” Tyndal offered, “I could show you a few . . .”
    “No, no, not what we’re here for,” the man dismissed.  “You have demonstrated your abilities, young man.  I have a proper appreciation for your level of knowledge.  You are dismissed.”
    The even tone told Tyndal nothing of how well or poorly he’d done, but he’d given as complete answers as he could.  Indeed, he had rattled of dozens of symbols.  So many that he was feeling unusually cocky when he got to his afternoon examination, the one on Thermomantics and Photomantics. 
    He was prepared for that one – the ability to manipulate matter with energy to produce heat and light were pretty basic fundamentals.  And just to be sure, he had read Alstod’s short but thorough treatise on the subject, as close to a reference manual as one could ask.
    But when he had quietly called it into memory to answer a question about thermodynamics, Master Yndrain gave a casual wave with a wand . . . and the spell failed.
    “Let’s try it without the memory charm, shall we?” he asked, amused.  “Young man, do you think this is the first time someone has tried to evade a fair and proper examination of their abilities?  Perhaps some of the other instructors are willing to let you depend upon that sort of thing, but I am not that lenient.  Pray, tell me again, what is the Second Sacred Law Of Thermodynamics?”
    Tyndal paled, swallowed hard, but he answered the question from memory.  After that, his sessions with the masters got a lot more difficult again.
    “Serves you right for trying to cheat,” Rondal chuckled, when Tyndal confessed his discovery that night after dinner. 
    “I wasn’t cheating!  I was just . . . using a resource!”
    “Well, now you won’t be able to use it.  Still, that wasn’t a bad idea.  I’d love to learn the spell,” he said, almost grudgingly.
    “It is handy,” agreed Tyndal.  “In fact, there’s a lot of interesting things in Blue Magic I never thought of.  Most of the theory is way beyond me, but the some of the spells are quite practical.”
    “Like what?” Rondal asked, absently.
    Tyndal enjoyed being an authority for once.  “Well, did you know you can compel someone to tell the truth?  Or to forget a day of their lives?  Or forget they ever even knew