“You’re like an infant just learning that he can open and close his hand,” Callista said. “The nerves are there, the muscles are present, but you have not yet mastered using them deliberately.”
“How do I find the right muscles?” Cole asked.
“I can’t show you,” Callista said. “And it’s difficult to describe—like explaining sound to the deaf, or sight to the blind. I know where I reach to access my power. I use my mind much as I would to take a step, or make a fist, or speak a word, but the act is not physical. I’m not flexing a certain part of my body. And yet I’m commanding my power in a similar way. Pay attention to finding your power. Learn what it feels like. Discover what you must do to tap into it. Don’t fixate on the emotion. Did you notice Skye as we were selecting masks?”
“Not really,” Cole said. “I was concentrating on which I would choose.”
“She looked at the masks with fear and awe,” Callista said. “She could sense the power they contain. She may not have apprehended all the fine details, but she touched her mask hesitantly and handled it gingerly because she felt it throbbing with energy. Do you feel the power in your mask?”
“I believe you that it works,” Cole said. “But I don’t feel anything unusual.”
“This is a skill you can develop,” Callista said. “Learn to recognize power in others. Become more conscious of your own power. It’s there. I sense it clearly. Once you learn to draw from it, then you can start directing it with your will, and perhaps increase its potency with your emotion.”
“I remember feeling it,” Cole said. “I knew energy was going from me into the sword. But after the flow stopped, I couldn’t start it again.”
“That’s good!” Callista said. “At least you have some idea what you’re looking for! Find that feeling you remember. That is where you need to focus. In some ways, it’s easier to recognize your power when you’re calm and untroubled than when you’re distressed. Search out your talent in quiet moments. Don’t push too hard. You’ve done it once. You can do it again.”
“Thanks,” Cole said. “I think that will help.”
“I hope so,” Callista said. “You never know. All shaping is slippery. You’re never done learning. But it can be especially elusive at the start. I would be interested to see what you can do with your power once you learn to access it. Your gift is so unusual that I can’t predict the applications beyond what you’ve described to me. You’ll be in uncharted territory. Shall we join the others?”
“One question,” Cole said. “I’m trying to find my friends and get home. We’re from Outside.”
“A Wayminder could get you home, my boy,” Callista said. “But only temporarily. Those you’re closest to won’t remember you. And you’ll get drawn back here before long.”
“Trillian told me there might be a way to change that,” Cole said.
Callista pursed her lips and blew a long sigh. “I suppose, theoretically. Trillian routinely names possibilities that the rest of us can scarcely imagine. It would involve realigning how the five kingdoms are configured. I know of nobody but Trillian with enough power to attempt it.”
“But it’s possible?” Cole asked.
“In theory,” Callista said. “The Grand Shaper of Creon might have some thoughts on the matter. And who knows what these shapecrafters can accomplish. But in practice, the chances are not good. Learn to enjoy your life here, just in case.”
“Okay,” Cole said, disappointed but not entirely surprised. He had known it wouldn’t be easy. “I guess we can go out now.”
He followed Callista back through the rounded hall to her sitting room and out to the front of her cottage. The others waited with their masks. A dome of dark fog pressed against all sides of their clear bubble.
“Honor,” Callista said. “Which is your horse?”
Honor pointed out the steed she had ridden.
Staring at the animal, Callista flexed her fingers. The horse swelled, gaining size and muscle. “I’ve changed your mount so that it will bear you as a knight as quickly and tirelessly as the rest of us can run. Minimus?”
“Mine is there,” the Halfknight said, indicating his smallish horse.
Callista did not grow it as large as Honor’s, but the animal promptly became the second largest of all the mounts. Brushing her palms together, the Grand Shaper gave a satisfied nod. She walked over to Minimus.
“Your changing is amazingly stable,” she said. “You don’t require sleep or food, but the changing will prolong your days rather than shorten them. You could live a hundred years in this state. But it all depends on the Rogue Knight. Should he fall, your power would be lost.”
“You speak true,” Minimus said.
“I can seal your altered state,” Callista said. “If so, your changing would endure, even if the Rogue Knight fell, but it would mean never going back to your former life. As your changing now stands, the Rogue Knight could reverse it, release you. If I seal your changing, your armor would become a permanent part of you. No going back.”
“Would I maintain my connection to the Rogue Knight?” Minimus asked.
“No,” Callista said. “That would be the price. You’ll lose the sense you have of his location, and he won’t sense you either. Your connection to him will no longer sustain you as a knight. But that also means you would remain in your present state even if the Rogue Knight perished or lost his power. The choice is yours.”
“I’ll still be free to serve him?” Minimus verified.
“Or to do whatever else you desire,” Callista said.
“Then seal my power to me,” Minimus said. “Perhaps it will free the Rogue Knight to add another follower. I’m his sworn man with or without a connection. My knighthood means everything to me. I would consider this a great favor.”
Callista placed her hands on his shoulders. She swayed in place for a moment, then stepped back. “It is done.”
“I feel no different,” Minimus said. “But I’ve lost my sense of the Rogue Knight.”
“As promised,” Callista replied.
“Is Morgassa like the Rogue Knight?” Cole asked.
“In what way?” Callista replied.
“If we stop her, would her horde return to normal?” Cole asked.