 The librarys unlocked.  The door is in my bedroom.  I have some things to do today.
	I thought as much.  Where is the primer?
	On the big table.  You wont miss it.
	Jula came waltzing through the porch door and sat down in Tarrins lap, then kissed him on the cheek and put her arms around him.  Morning, father, she said in a musical voice.
	Well, Tarrin said with mild amusement.  Jeri must have taken the steel out of your backbone.
	Jula blushed a little, and laughed.  Well, we did have a good time last night, she admitted.
	Where is he?
	Probably trying to remember how his legs work, she said with a wicked little smirk before getting up and sauntering back into the house with an aggravated sway of her hips.
	Thean watched her go, then he laughed delightedly.  Thats quite a woman, he said appreciatively.
	Shes moderately spectacular, Tarrin agreed mildly.
	You know, Ive always said that the bad girls were more fun, he said with a cherubic grin that reminded Tarrin briefly of Faalken.  Why do you think I love Triana so much?
	Trianas not bad.  She just doesnt care, Tarrin shrugged.
	Thean gave him a look, then laughed.
	That day, Tarrin annoyed quite a few people.  True to his word, shortly after sunrise, Tarrin was in Suld.  He wasnt there to study with Phandebrass, he was there to help rebuild Suld.  It didnt take him long to find the other Sorcerers who had been assigned the task that day, who were under the watchful, steely eye of Ianelle herself.  He walked with her as she herded her unwilling workers towards the destroyed section of Suld, which numbered some twenty humans and ten ShaKar.  Thirty Sorcerers could put a major dent in the rebuilding effort even for a single day, for they could do what he did the night before, draw up the shattered stone and reform it into buildings.
	He talked absently with Ianelle as they reached the work area, and he found that things werent going quite the way he expected.  The Sorcerers were helping clear out the debris and prepare the area for rebuilding, but they werent doing the actual rebuilding themselves.  She explained to him that Arren didnt want them to rebuild the area, for he had used the Crowns money to buy a great deal of the land that had been devastated by the battle.  They would be rebuilding around the edges of the destroyed area, but the middle was being set aside.  Arren was going to build a grand park there, with trees and gardens and a little pond, a place where the citys citizens could go for a little greenery and peace without having to go out the city walls.  He was doing this now because, Ianelle related, he had plans to expand the city past the city walls, to build a new wall quite a distance from the current one, increasing the size of the city by nearly half.  She told him that those people who lost land because of his actions had been paid for it, and had also been offered free parcels of land outside the walls where they could rebuild whenever they pleased, whether the new wall was built or not.  The reason Ianelle gave him for not rebuilding was because all those dispossessed of their homes had places to stay for now, and hed already brought in a virtual army of stonemasons and laborers for his wall expansion project that would start as soon as the winter cold broke.  Theyd been causing trouble in the city, having nothing to do and all, but now they would be doing some real work by rebuilding the houses and shops knocked down during the fight, and getting an opportunity to earn some extra money besides.  They were kept busy, earned some extra money, and the fights and trouble they caused would be less frequent.  On the other side, Arren made sure that everyone who was homeless had a good place to stay, they were paid for their loss, and had the first chance at the new land that would be enclosed within the new wall.  All in all, it was a mutually beneficial situation for everyone involved.
	Tarrin pondered that for a while.  Suld was already the largest city in Sulasia, and one of the largest ones in the West.  By expanding the walls, Arren was allowing it to get even larger.  That could be a good thing, but hed have to pay to maintain the larger city, and that meant that he needed more revenue to make up for it.  Arren seemed to have a plan, howeverperhaps hed made some trade agreements or found new markets for Sulasian goods.  Sulasia was well known for good wood-based crafts--barrels, wagons, and furniture being the most popular--so maybe Arren managed to strike a deal with another kingdom that was going to increase his revenues and allow Suld to expand.
	Once at the site, Tarrin saw that theyd done quite a bit already.  All the debris had been placed in large piles, and the Sorcerers had been working to pull up foundations and the remains of buildings and add their material to those piles.  The huge hole that had been made was still there.  Novices and Initiates were already at the site, sifting through the mangled debris on the ground and recovering personal items and effects.  One white-robed Novice wearing a heavy winter cloak was holding a candlestick that looked completely intact, carrying it towards a wagon filled with other items.
	Tarrin noticed something almost immediately.  Why are you having them dawdle? he asked Ianelle directly in ShaKar.
	King Arrens orders, she answered.  He wants us to take ten days to complete the clean-up.  We could have had it all done in a single day if not for that command.  So were using this for training the Initiates and those in Indoctrination.
	Why would he want you to go slow?
	I dont know, but its not hurting us to comply, she shrugged.  We give the Initiates some real-world experience, the citizens see us out here cleaning up, and Arren doesnt have to pay for the operation.
	Well, Im going to get to work, Tarrin told her, cracking his knuckles.
	Go slow! she warned.
	Im not going to use magic, he told her as he advanced into the debris field.  This is penance, this is something I owe Arren and all of Suld.  Using magic defeats the purpose.
	Oh, Ianelle said uncertainly, staring at him as he was walking away.  Not using magic to a ShaKar was like him saying he intended to crawl around on his knees for the rest of the day.
	For most of the daylight hours, in the biting cold, Tarrin labored by hand to clear debris.  It wasnt all that difficult, given his monstrous strength and tireless nature, and it gave him time to think, to think about the wings, his new condition, and his family.  It was actually quite relaxing after a fashion, for it was simple work that didnt require heavy thought.  After the katzh-dashi called it a day, he went to Arrens palace, bulled his way in once again, then presented to him the other half of his restitution, a huge chest of gold, silver, and platinum coins and ingots that he Conjured, making sure not to steal them from anyone.  These coins came from a series of shipwrecks off southern Suld, an area known as the Ships Graveyard because of the dangerous riptides and rocks, an area that all ships now avoided.  He did make sure only to Conjure the gold and silver coins, and not the tarnish and crusts that coated them, making them clean and shiny..  It was a massive sum, more than a kings ransom, and would more than finance the rebuilding of Suld, and probably more than three quarters of the wall expansion project to boot..
	Well, Arren said with wild eyes as he gazed into the huge trunk, which would be so heavy it would take ten men to move it.  I think that more than meets the cost to rebuild the city, Tarrin.  In fact, Id say it more than pays off the cleaning duties as well.
	Im not a noble, Arren, Tarrin snorted.  I dont buy my way out of my responsiblities.
	That got him some sudden withering looks from the assembled nobles at court.
	That may be so, but I received reports that your presence at the site, well, caused a little trepidation among my craftsmen, he said delicately.  I know you wouldnt buy your way clear of the task you assumed to repay your debt, but Im asking you to accept absolution, old friend.
	How they feel doesnt matter to me, he said bluntly.
	Well, then you leave me no choice.  Are you a loyal subject of the Crown, Tarrin Kael?
	It hung there for a moment.  I will obey you, Arren, he answered, which made some of the nobles sigh in relief.
	Very well then, I order you to consider your debt to Suld and to me repaid, he said in an authoritative voice.
	There was another moment of intense, nervous silence, as Tarrin gazed up at Arren, who had stood up from his throne to issue that proclomation.  And then, to the amazement of everyone at court, even Arren, Tarrin bowed with his head lowered.  Your crown means less to me than you do, Arren, he said.  If it had been anyone other than you in that chair, he wouldnt have lived to finish that statement.
	I dont doubt that, he chuckled.  By the way, if you dont mind my asking, what happened to the wings?
	Theyre still there, Arren, he answered, bringing them out with but a thought, spreading them to their full wingspan, then folding them behind his back easily.  Ive learned a trick to hide them.  Besides, it makes it much easier to sleep.
	I can imagine, Arren chuckled in agreement.
	And so, Tarrins penance began and ended on the same day.  All in all, given how busy he was, it was probably for the best.  It was also probably for the best for the city, given his reputation and how disruptive he could be just by being around.  He really didnt mind doing the work, and it was something he felt he owed to Arren.  But Arrens release of him freed him of his feeling of responsibility, and now he could move on to other issues.
	Strange.  He had a sneaking suspicion that his sense of obligation was some kind of effect of the wings, and his condition.  It would make sense, given that he felt it was his duty to repay Arren for what happened.  Perhaps he had geased himself.  He didnt know if that was possible, but given that he knew absolutely nothing about his abilities, that meant that he couldnt rule it out.
	For whatever reason he did it, it was over now.  He visited with Jenna and Janette before leaving, and then went home.
	Where Kimmie was waiting for him.  Rather impatiently.
	And just where have you been? she demanded hotly, snapping up from her favorite couch when he came in.  Her sudden movement startled Forge, who stood up and looked around quickly, and then after seeing that it was only Tarrin, laid back down.
	Dealing with some personal business, he answered.  I told you Id be late.  Where are Jesmind and the cubs?
	She took them all hunting, and she has Fireflash too, she answered.  You said youd be late, but I didnt think youd be this late!  I had plans for today!
	Youre still moving into the tower.
	I finished that this morning! she told him, rather vexedly.  I was going to give you your first lesson!
	Well, here I am, he said, turning around and closing the door.  Jesminds got the cubs, I dont see Anayi anywhere, and youre not doing anything else.  What are you waiting for?
	She glared at him, actually growled in her throat, then sputtered slightly and laughed helplessly.  Magic or Torian?
	Torian, he answered.  I think its a bit too late for magic.  Jesmind should be back soon, and we have to make dinner.
	Good point, she agreed, sitting down and patting the couch beside her imperiously.  Then she snapped a pointed finger at him.  And no cheating!
	Youre starting to sound likemy mother, he said in an offhand manner as he stepped over the back of the couch and sat down beside her.
	Which one? she asked slyly.
	Theres a difference?

	It was dawn, or just before so, and outside the dome of warmth that surrounded his house, it was bitterly, bitterly cold, so cold that several deer had clustered around the house, despite the predator smell that covered the ground, to escape the cold.  Everything within the dome was comfortable, and everyone else was asleep.
	Except for Tarrin.  He stood on top of Kimmies tower, the wings out and partially spread as he stood on the battlement of the tower, looking down at the ground.  This was the first day that he would explore the extent of his divine capability, and it seemed appropriate to him to start here, now, and with this.
	Flight.
	But now that he was standing there, he wasnt so sure about this.  That same fear welled up in him again, the irrational fear that if he came to use his new power, that it would somehow strip him of his humanity, would cause him to drift away from his family, his friends, and lose the only place he had left in the world.  He knew it was a silly fear, but sometimes those kinds of fears were the hardest to face, because they struck right at the very soul of his existence, and that existence centered completely around his family.  Any perceived threat to that family bond was something he could not take lightly, no matter how ridiculous its source.
	But this was it.  There was no turning back now.  He had come up here bound and determined to put his feet back on the ground by getting down himself, without using the stairs, Sorcery, or Druidic magic.  He had to face this fear, prove to himself that it was groundless, even silly, or he would never be able to get away from it.
	Well, there was the little fact that he had absolutely no idea what to do here.  He spread out the wings and tried to remember how he had done it when the sword had changed him, but he knew that that wasnt a reliable memory.  The wings were different now than they were then, he could sense that, and that meant that if he even could fly, then how that ability worked may have changed.  But Dolanna seemed confident that thats why the wings remained, to fulfill that singular dream of his, the ability to fly without any kind of external magical assistance, and without riding along with a winged companion.  To be the flier instead of the passenger, that was what he had always wanted to be, and now he was about to find out if Dolanna was right, or if he was about to plant his face in the ground some fifty spans below him.
	He knew that there was a certain feel to it.  He had to draw the power up from within him, from that center of himself where it stayed when he wasnt doing anything with it.  He remembered how it felt when he surrounded his paw with fire, and went about calling it up something like the same way.  But instead of willing fire to form around his paw, he instead tried to will some kind of understanding about flying.
	Nothing.
	Alright, so if he could do it, it wasnt going to show him what to do.  He tried to call up that power again, flaring out the wings, and ordered it to pick him up off the towers roof.
	Nothing again.
	He was missing something here, but he wasnt sure quite what it was.  He squatted down and pondered on it a moment.  The power was there, he could feel it in his soul, but it wasnt reacting.  That meant that he was trying to make it do something that it either couldnt do or didnt know how to do, and it was something so different from what he could do that the power wasnt trying to guess at what he was trying to do like it did before.  He curled the edges of the wings around him absently, and seeing them jarred his memory a little.
	Oh, that was what he was forgetting.  Before, the wings had been what had given him the ability to fly, and had controlled that flight.  Just because they were a part of him, that didnt mean that they could do that all the time.  His power was deep in his soul, and it didnt come out, manifest itself, unless he called it.  And when he did call it, he had to send it where he wanted that power to manifest, where it was going to do its work.  If he wanted to fly, then he had to send that power where it could accomplish that task.  He tried again, this time calling up the power into his wings.
	That did it!  He felt it well up in him, fill his wings with its power which suddenly flared brightly for just a moment, the fire that made them up seemingly feeding on new fuel, but did not increase the heat they projected, only the light.  He felt it infuse him in a manner that he found wildly pleasing, almost like a euphoria.  His wings flared out to his full wingspan, and he sensed that they were ready, that he could now defy gravitythat he could now fly.
	Up, he whispered to himself, willing himself to rise off the tower roof.
	And he did!  He felt the towers stone slide away from his feet, until he was in the air!  He suppressed the urge to give out an excited cry, because he could still feel gravity pulling down on him.  It was just that the wings were holding him up, countering the force of gravity, almost like as if they were gripping the air itself.  He felt that peculiar force in his back, where they joined to him, as they held him up yet while gravity also pulled the rest of him down.  But it wasnt painful, it just felt like someone was gripping him on his back and holdig him aloft.
	He felt a wild surge of joy.  He could fly!  He felt as giddy as a child, flexing the wings in a subtle manner that caused him to suddenly rocket into the sky, straight up.  He had no idea how he knew how to do that, but he did.  He felt the wind race over his face, through his fur, pull at his braid, tug at his clothes, and he felt positively wonderful.  Quickly, he learned that the slightest of shifts in the wings utterly controlled his speed, direction, and altitude, capable of changing any of them with but a thought and a seemingly negligible shifting of his wings.  But not physical shifts of his wings, shifts in the way in which they were expending the energy that welled up from within him endlessly.  He could move the wings any way he pleased.  What mattered here was how their magical makeup consumed and expended the divine power which fed them, which granted him the ability to fly.
	Then, curious about something, he cancelled that ability and spread out the wings, testing something.
	It worked!  The wings could let him fly by magic, but they were still wings, and they could let him glide like an Aeradalla!  With a little practice, he could probably fly by using nothing but the wings physical abilities alone!  He could fly either by magic or by wing, but either way, it still let him fly.
	It was one of the most magical moments in his life, and in a life as full and amazing as his had been, that was certainly saying something.  He rose higher and higher into the sky, so high that the light of the rising sun touched him long before it touched the ground below, so high that the air got dangerously cold and thin, making it hard to breathe.  He leveled out and looked down at the ground so far below, nearly two longspans under him, saw how everything looked like one of Erons toys.  He could see Aldreth, and the vast forest that covered the northern marches of Sulasia, spread out as far as he could see.  He could make out the clearing that was Watch Hill, which was but a half hour of flying away when it would take all day on foot.  And beyond that, just barely visible on the horizon, was the newly rebuilt city of Torrian.  The Skydancer Mountains rose on his right, seemingly not as large or as grand as they once appeared now that he was looking down at them.
	He felt indescribably wonderful.  He felt amazing.  He felt like he could do anything in the world.  He felthe felt.
	He felt like a god.
	That was like a slap in the face.  What he was afraid would happen was happening already.  He got so caught up in the wonder of his power that hed forgotten himself, forgot the price he had paid for it, forgot what it meant.  Yes, it was wonderful to fly, and yes, it was more than acceptable to enjoy it, even to revel in it a little bit.  But to act like this, to let it so completely overwhelm him and make him forget himself, now that was wrong.  That was what he had to avoid.
	Soberly, quickly, he descended as he turned and angled back for the little clearing that was his home, dropping so fast that it made his stomach right into his throat.  He flared out the wings and landed lightly on the top of Kimmies tower, right by the two statues, then folded the wings behind him and turned to look down at the house.
	That was his anchor, right there.  That house, and everyone inside of it.  He couldnt let himself get lost in it like that again.  He had almost let go of his anchor, and he couldnt let that happen.
	I am who I choose to be, he said in a ritualistic tone, lowly, under his breath.  And this is what I choose.  Mother, tie a rope around my ankle and never let me lose sight of that, he prayed in a low, sincere manner.
	He wasnt going to do that again for a while, not until he could ponder on his reaction and get himself under control.  He would fly again, and he would enjoy it, but he wouldnt let himself get carried away like that again.
	Never again.
 
Chapter 21

	The training and research with Phandebrass turned out to be a dramatically short-lived idea.  It wasnt that Phandebrass wasnt a good researcher, or that Tarrin didnt like him, it was that he was so annoying.  Not even the presence of Camara Tal was enough to detract him from driving Tarrin up the wall within the first hour.  Tarrin was prepared for the questions, for the prodding, the outrageous proposals, but he had forgotten how fanatical Phandebrass could be when something that got his interest was right there in front of him.
	And besides, by lunchtime, there really wasnt anything else to research, for Tarrin had learned what he could do, and how it worked.  And it admittedly wasnt very much.  He was much more powerful as a Sorcerer or a Druid than he was as a divine being, at least in his current state.  If the sword changed him, then all bets were off, but when he was like this, his divine powers were actually quite modest.
	In fact, he generally already knew how it worked.  He already knew he could fly, and had learned how that worked.  He knew he could generate heat and fire, and it only took him about an hour to figure out how that worked as well, since the power was extremely obedient.  The only thing that Phandebrass managed to figure out that he didnt know was that he seemed to have the ability to control fire that was already lit.  So long as he had the wings out, he could take control of fire near him, make it burn hotter, get larger, or even go out.  He could also control its shape as well as its size, making what Phandebrass termed fireforms that could detach from their fuel source and move around, like little Fire elementals.  At his urging, a single candle flame could be come a horse made out of fire, for example.  And since he had the ability to generate fire on his own, he would never lack for a fire on which to use this ability.
	After lunch, they learned how the wings affected his other forms.  In all his forms, they discovered, the wings were still there.  If they were retracted when he shapeshifted, they remained retracted, but showed on him exactly as they did in his normal form.  In cat form, there were two long, wide streaks of living fire down either side of his back, and when he extended the wings, they were sized for his cat form.  That made him look very odd.  Wings on a humanoid form didnt look all that strange, but a winged cat was very weird-looking.  His human form was exactly like his normal form, with the pools of fire in the same place on his back.  The idea that he was going to lose his anonymity in cat form bothered him, bothered him a great deal, at least until Trianas arrival and her wisdom reminded him of something.
	Youre a shapeshifter, cub, she told him in a bit of irritation.  Just cover the fire with skin.
	I can do that?
	She gave him a long, flat look.
	Sorry, Ill try, he said quickly.
	And that solved the only real problem he had.  Trianas suggestion worked, and it worked perfectly.  He was a shapeshifter, capable of molding his form within the general frame in which it was locked.  Just as he could change the length of his hair, he learned how to cause his skin to grow over the two pits burned into his back which were filled with living fire, completely hiding it.  It was utterly smooth, leaving no hint at what amazing things lurked beneath, and he was capable of it in all three of his forms.  He again had the ability to hide in plain sight as a cat, for the skin and fur that grew over the retracted wings completely covered them, left no bulges, and since the living fire moved with his muscles and his bones, it didnt show any deformed lumps or such that might give him away.
	By dinnertime, Tarrin had had about enough of Phandebrass endless questions and his insane ideas.  Hed wanted Tarrin to blow up a building on the grounds to see if he was capable of it.  He wanted to try to cut a piece of Tarrins wing off to study it.  He endured those suggestions well enough, but when Phandebrass seriously tried to get him to bite someone to see if theyd turn and have aspects of Tarrins abilities, hed had just about enough.
	He gave Phandebrass several ugly ultimatums, took Camara Tal home, and vowed not to go anywhere near Phandebrass for about ten years.
	And that ended that.
	Phandebrass was bitterly disappointed, of course, but he seemed to realize that hed finally gone too far, and wisely allowed the matter to drop.  Tarrin wasnt above dishing out a bit of physical chastisement upon his friends when they annoyed him, and the idea of getting his hide peeled into strips by an incensed Tarrin was even enough to dissuade the usually unstoppable Phandebrass.
	It was probably for the best, for Kimmie became quite demanding of his time.  She took his promise to learn Wizard magic quite seriously, even if he didnt, and he found himself in her tower every day with Anayi, being educated in Wizard magic.  Despite the fact that Anayi already knew the basics, Kimmie started them off at the very beginning.  That annoyed the halfbreed Demon considerably, but she wasnt about to gainsay her master.
	Master.  It was hard to think of Kimmie that way, but in her own way, she turned out to be as domineering as Triana.  She was in charge, and she didnt let either of them forget it.  She was demanding, she had high expectations, and she did not tolerate it when she felt either of her students were not performing up to the level of which she felt them capable.  The mild-natured Were-cat was two different people, it seemed. When he was learning magic from her, she was an impatient, commanding general, worthy of Darvon or Kang, pushing them, prodding them, and at times driving them nuts.  But the instant his magical instruction was over, she transformed into the same sweet, friendly Were-cat she had always been.  It was a little confusing to him at first, but he realized that it was nothing more than an extension of Were-cat mentality, and it was the manner in which she taught.
	Time seemed to blur by as he tutored under Kimmie, but the winter didnt fly by as fast as he would have liked, because he still owed Triana a spell.  Kimmie understood when he left her instruction early to sit in his library and ponder, or wander the snowy landscape around his house and think about the spell.  It gave him a great deal of trouble, because there were more things to consider than just figuring out what to do.  His first major stumbling block was deciding on what the spell would do.  That was a tricky thing, because Triana had already taught him everything she knew, and her education was pretty thorough.  At first he thought to try to use a spell from Sorcery or Priest magic, but Druidic magic could already more or less do everything that those could, or at least mostly.  There were some spells of High Sorcery that Druidic magic couldnt duplicate, but those were powerful spells, and they would be much more complicated than five layers.  He was not going to go past five.  Triana said five, and she would get five.
	But he couldnt think about it forever, so he decided on a course of action and started.  His first idea was a spell that was a stronger version of speaking to an animal.  This spell would allow the Druid to literally touch the animals mind and access its senses, allowing the Druid to communicate with it mentally, see through its eyes, hear through its ears, and so on.  There was no Druid spell that did this, so it seemed a good thing to try.  It took him about two rides of study and consideration, thinking about how the spell was going to work, what each layer would mean and what kind of image and intent would be required.  The first layer, of course, would be the basic motive of the spell, in this case to be connected to the animals mind and have the ability to experience its senses.  That was an intent motive more than an image motive, but the image would be very important, for it would be an image of the animal he intended to touch.  The second and subsequent layers were the restricting layers, explaining to the All exactly how the Druid wanted the spell to work.  Each layer would set down a law or rule and further define the spells operation.  The second layer would, for a Were-cat, be a necessary one to prevent the Cat from rebelling against the connection, by creating an insulating barrier between him and the animal, making it a passive connection, just like the connection he had with his Elementals.  The third layer would be granting the Druid the ability to control every aspect of the link, able to disconnect himself from hearing the animals thoughts, or one or all of its senses.  The fourth layer would be defining the range which the animal could go from the Druid without breaking the spell.  And the fifth
	Well, the fifth layer never materialized.  Try as he might to further define the spell with a fifth layer, he discovered that one was not necessary.  Four layers was all it tookthree for a humanand after getting Fireflashs cooperation and casting the spell, he discovered that it did indeed work.  But four layers were not five, and that meant that he had just wasted nearly a month.  Spring was right around the corner, and Triana would be very short with him if he came to her with empty paws.
	So it was back to the start of the bachka board, as Dar might say.  He was running out of time, so this time he did pull a high-or