Free Sunstone - Dishonor's Bane (Book 2) by Guy Antibes

If he wanted to go to war and do something idiotic like invade Besseti, he could.”
    Shiro’s breath shortened. The feeling of panic, of desperation grasped his lungs and weakened his legs. He knew the guild acted as a force in the government, but nothing so significant. “So what can I do?”
    His question met with another shrug. “My advice still remains the same. Learn as much as you can and be ready for whatever happens. You won’t be assigned to a lord, not being of noble blood. I’m sure the Guild Council doesn’t know what to make of you, yet. Try to keep your head down. Your scroll sticks?”
    “What about my sticks…” Shiro understood and nodded. “Rewrite them as the professor would expect them to be.”
    Boreko smiled and nodded. “Precisely. You used your talent to read and understand the words. I’ve read that book. The feckless author didn’t realize the truth rested so plainly between the lines that he wrote. You’ve done a wonderful job since all of the nuance that you caught was written in the court tongue.”
    Shiro forced down more breakfast. He couldn’t taste a thing in his upset state. “I should have never read it.”
    “You didn’t have a choice. Now you have to learn acting. It’s not a class taught at the Guild, but you’ll have to learn to act if you wish to survive. Those who advance to your level of understanding, that do not fit in, disappear either before or during your Final Test.”
    The sun broke through the mist and Shiro’s forehead warmed in the light. Generally he’d smile at the first kiss of the sun, but now it only seemed like a fever.
    “I have classes. I think I’ll take my time writing the report… perhaps a week. I have enough to think about.”
    “Don’t shirk your other duties. I noticed you’ve been assigned to Advanced Affinity. You start next week. Propitious timing don’t you think?” A ghost of a smile slid across Boreko’s face. “Learn. Learn well, my son.”
    My son. Boreko had never used that term with him before. It brought tears to Shiro’s eyes. He felt so isolated despite Boreko’s intimate advice.
    “I won’t disappoint, Master.” He returned a never-used honorific to his mentor.
    Boreko grasped Shiro’s shoulder. “I don’t expect you to. Now go!  I’ll return the tray. I wouldn’t mind a bit of your uneaten portion if you don’t mind.”
    An image like a bursting iridescent soap bubble flashed through Shiro’s mind as Boreko broke the listening barrier. Shiro quickly returned to his room. On his way, he passed Roniki scowling at him from a side path in the garden. Boreko had been wise to protect them from unwanted ears.
    ~~~

 
     
     
    Chapter Six
    ~
    S mugness. That dominated the faces of those who Shiro passed on his way to the only open seats in Advanced Affinity. He sat on one of the few cushions left. He scowled that it had to be on the front row. The tall spare sorcerer read with his back turned to the students. He turned and sneered at Shiro. Why did Roniki have to teach this class?
    Shiro would definitely dampen his talent during this course, but that notion fought with his desire to learn. He squinted at Roniki and brought out his inkpot, brush and scroll sticks from the same kind of bag that all students carried.
    “We’ll start our class with a legend about magic on our world of Goriati. Over two thousand years ago, a great wizard-ruler of the entire world created four stones that could collect power to communicate to the four emperors who ruled over each continent. Imagine that, stones that possessed Affinity.
    The Moonstone went to the Zarroni Emperor, A Serytari. The Bloodstone served the Overlord of the petty kingdoms on Besseti. The Sunstone—ah, the Sunstone—let our beloved Emperor communicate with the wizard-ruler from Roppon. As for the wizard-ruler, he took the Purestone to his capital in the center of Ayrtani continent.”
    “Shiro, do you know what happened from there?”
    Did Roniki call