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Skills. So that you may learn enough of one to become a useful and accomplished magician, your teachers, and those before them, have gleaned what information is most relevant and important to give to you.” He lifted his chin slightly. “Use this knowledge well, novices of the Magicians’ Guild of Kyralia.”
    He cast his eyes over the classroom once more, then turned and, with a nod to Lord Elben, left the room.
    The class was still and quiet. The teacher remained motionless, noting the expressions on the faces of his charges with a smile of satisfaction. Then he stepped around to the front of the large table and addressed them.
    “Your first lesson in Control begins now. Each of you has been designated a teacher for this lesson. You will find them waiting for you next door. Rise and make your way to this room now.”
    Chairs scraped on the wooden floor as the novices got eagerly to their feet. Sonea rose slowly. The teacher’s head turned and he regarded her coldly.
    “Except you, Sonea,” he added, belatedly. “You will remain here.”
    This time all of the novices turned to stare at her. She blinked from one face to another, feeling strangely guilty as understanding dawned in their eyes.
    “Go on,” urged the teacher. The novices turned away. Sonea lowered herself back into her chair and watched the class file out. Only one turned to glance at her again before he stepped through the door. His lips curled up in a sneer. Regin.
    “Sonea.”
    She jumped and turned to stare at the teacher, surprised that he was still there.
    “Yes, my lord.”
    His eyes lost a little of their chilliness and he moved across the room to stand beside her seat. “As you have already achieved the First and Second Levels of Control, I have brought you the first book the class will study.” Sonea lowered her eyes to a small paper-covered book he held in his hand. “There will be practical exercises to go with the book, but they will involve all of the class. You will still gain much from studying the information in this.”
    He placed the book on the table and turned away.
    “Thank you, Lord Elben,” she said to his back.
    He paused and turned to regard her with mild surprise, then continued to the door.
    The room was empty and silent after he had gone. Sonea looked around at the other desks and chairs. She counted nine crooked seats.
    She looked at the book on her desk and read:
Six Lessons for New Novices,
by Lord Liden, and a date. The book was over a century old. How many novices had worked their way through these exercises? She flicked through the pages. The script, she saw with relief, was clear and easy to read.
    Magic is a useful art, but not without limitations. A magician’s natural area of influence lies within his or her body, the skin being the boundary of this area. Minimal effort is required to influence magic within this space. No other magician may influence this space, unless he or she is Healing, which requires skin to skin contact.
    To influence what lies beyond the body, more effort is required. The farther away the object to be influenced is from the body, the more effort is required. The same limitation is true of mental communication, though it is not as taxing as most magical tasks.
    Rothen had told her as much, but she continued reading. Some time later, after she had read three of the lessons and was beginning on the fourth, two novices returned to the room. The first she recognized as Gennyl, the half-Lonmar boy who had gained a guardian during the ceremony. His companion was the other tall Lonmar boy. They glanced at her once as they moved to seats halfway down the classroom. She could sense a difference about them, as if their presence was amplified. She guessed this meant their powers had been released. They would soon learn to hide it, as she had. It appeared that achieving the First Level wasn’t difficult or slow. The Second Level, she knew, was harder.
    A murmuring conversation began, in the