That night the villagers held a modest feast for the visitors. Karux's students all had the chance to meet Netac's family which, somehow, seemed to fill him with embarrassment. Netac made an effort to cover his expression with polite good humor, but when he thought no one was looking, Garanth would often catch fleeting glimpses of irritation or even anger.

The students were set a little apart from their elders so they could talk with other youth their age. Most of them seemed interested in talking to Corha. Harkin made a point of sitting near Garanth and when the interest in them had died down a bit, he leaned over too casually and in a lowered voice asked. "So what do you think about this blight business?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think we really have a chance to get rid of it?"

Garanth shrugged. "I don't see that we have any choice."

"Meaning, to try to counter it with the schema poles?"

Garanth dragged a chunk of bread across his bowl of stew, stuck it in his mouth and nodded.

Harkin looked up toward the table where Karux spoke to Netac's parents. An uncomfortable Netac sat between them. "Karux has already suggested another option."

"He has?" Garanth frowned. "If he's not pursuing it, he must have had a reason to reject it."

Harkin leaned in even closer and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "He's afraid of the personal costs."

"Which would be?"

"You've heard what he's said about claiming the seat of power."

Garanth dropped his gaze to his mostly empty bowl of stew. He had considered the same thing. The elementals had haunted his dreams with their desperation every night, yet somehow the more desperate they became, the more reluctant he was to consider their request. And now, here was Harkin, like their personal envoy suggesting the same thing. Was this something he was fated to do? Did he have a choice?

"If someone were to join with the n'phesh, they could use their power to lift the curse."

Having suddenly lost his appetite, Garanth dropped his bread into his mostly empty bowl. His stomach clenched like an angry fist around his meal and his arms and legs grew weak. "I don't think I could do it. They've already driven me half-mad with their incessant pleading. Even with the ability to command them to shut up, I don't know..."

Harkin gave him a puzzled look, started to say something, then stopped himself. After a moment's thought he leaned in again. "Assuming someone could be found, they'd have to find their way to Ogofdinas and the seat of power..."

"What are you...?" Garanth looked up at Harkin, then towards Netac as a suspicion dawned on him. "Are you planning something?"

Harkin shook his head and held up his hands defensively, "No one's planning anything yet; we're just talking about it."

"Which one of you is talking about doing this? Is it Netac?"

"Like I said, no one—"

Garanth watched Corha happily chatting with a circle of boys. "Don't tell me you two talked Corha into doing something stupid!"

"Don't be absurd," Harkin leaned back. "She's adamantly been against this thing from the start."

"Is it you?"

Harkin gave a sideways tip of his head as if to say you caught me. "Netac is too self-centered to make anything that looks like a sacrifice."

"And you?"

"I don't think it's going to be as bad as it sounds."

"Don't count on it."

"But if I'm going to do this," Harkin said, dropping his voice and leaning in close again, "I've got to get past Karux. I figure I'll need a solid day's head start at least. I just can't figure out how to get away from him."

Garanth chuckled. "When you find out, tell me."

"You can come with," Harkin suggested. "I've noticed he's loosened your strings a bit."

"Only because I'm no longer much use to him," Garanth said bitterly.

Harkin looked thoughtful. "That's an idea. Perhaps I could just lose my abilities to see karis."

Garanth shook his head. "Not a good idea. Karux will always try to un-bend a tool before he throws it away."

Harkin gave him a pained expression. "But you...you just said."

"I know. I don't think he's really forgotten me either. I know he doesn't want me near the n'phesh, but I think he wants me involved in the leadership of the tireavs. He can't be in two places at once and he needs to somehow keep a hand on the spears."

"Why?"

"Think about it. Hundreds of men—perhaps thousands at this point—all armed with weapons and trained how to use them. What would happen if they all suddenly decided they didn't want to listen to him? What if someone else came along with different ideas they would listen to?"

"But why would they do that?" Harkin asked.

Garanth chuckled. "We are talking about Karux here. He's used to people not listening to him and going off to do something stupid." He gave Harkin a penetrating look.

Harkin looked sheepish.

"Besides you know how annoying he can be."

"That's true."

"But if he says not to do something, then doing it is probably a bad idea. He's irritating, but I've never seen him wrong. That's one of the most irritating things about him, actually."

Harkin gave Garanth a determined look. "Everyone is wrong about something eventually."

"Yes," Garanth agreed. "Most everyone. But I'd discount everyone else before I doubted him."

<====|==|====>

The next day they crossed the line from the un-blighted fields to the blighted fields of the south. The farmers were plowing up the portions that could still be used to grow food, inscribing in the land the demarcation between cursed and un-cursed.

Karux led the way cutting across the dying land for Korion-Amelein, a village southeast of Korion-Iscuron which the locals had told them about. They passed dead trees and leafless brush, raising a cloud of dust as they walked. They saw no animals, no snakes, no lizards and no insects of any kind. Even the birds seemed to stay away leaving a deathly stillness in the breathless air.

They had traveled for a little more than an hour, when the howl of wolves echoed in the distance.

"I hope those aren't drwg," Garanth said, looking back over his shoulder.

"No." Karux said, not even looking back. "Their voices aren't deep enough."

"I didn't think anything living could be found here," Harkin said.

"Very little," Karux agreed. "They probably wandered in from outside the cursed lands. If they're lost, they'll be pretty hungry."

"How far is it to the korion?" Corha asked.

"According to the elders of Iscuron, it's no more than nine miles from their village. I estimate we've got at least an hour and a half left before we reach it."

They walked a few minutes further before a nearby yip caught their attention. The wolves had found them and were trailing along.

"Everyone stay close to me and—whatever you do—don't run," Karux warned. "Garanth, keep your spear at the ready, but stay near and don't do anything until and unless they attack."

They continued walking, with many backward glances. The wolves spread out in an arc behind them, a couple of wolves along each side ran ahead.

"'Ware the wolves!" Garanth called out as one in the rear suddenly dashed forward. He dropped into a crouch and kept the point between him and the wolf as he had taught many recruits.

"Behind you!" Corha called out.

The wolf charging Garanth veered away and dropped into a trot. Garanth glanced over his shoulder. A wolf sprinted toward Karux, low to the ground. Garanth started to turn, cocking his arm back to throw his spear.

"Garanth! No!" Karux called out, pulling his own arm back and making a complicated gesture with his hand.

Karux flung his arm forward and something invisible rippled through the air, catching the wolf as it leaped.

The wolf's head, right front leg and a chunk of its torso flew up into the air in a counter- clockwise spray of blood. The rest of its body fell to the ground, legs kicking until it tumbled to a bloody stop.

Another wolf leaped at them from the side.

Garanth shifted his perceptions into the world of shapes in time to see Karux hurl a complicated circle of schemas toward it.

The schema collapsed against the patterns of the wolf's body, breaking whatever bonds of karis that held the elements of its flesh together.

Garanth turned in a circle, watching the patterns of the other wolfs. Another wolf, attracted to Karux's movements started to attack him from behind.

Corha cried out again.

Karux reached down and this time Garanth saw the schemas hanging off of him. He grabbed one, detached it, spun it into a circle and flung it at the wolf in three frightened heartbeats. He must have fashioned them earlier and carried them around for such a purpose, he thought.

Garanth wondered, as the pattern tore through the wolf, how Karux had been able to keep those schemas intact all this time. Natural schemas like flesh and rocks and trees held together because of their natural affinity, but artificial schemas tended to drift apart if they weren't activated right away.

With three of their number dead, the wolves backed off, but didn't leave. Garanth had little doubt that the starving animals would eat their fallen kin as soon as the humans left.

"Walk away slowly," Karux urged, "but don't turn your backs on them."

The wolves watched them leave, seemingly indifferent, as if they had never attacked. Once the humans had put enough distance between them, the wolves began to nose the corpses which prompted snapping and snarling among the higher ranked in the pack.

After several more minutes of walking, when they had left the wolves far behind, Netac came alongside Karux. "So when were you going to show us that trick?"

"What are you talking about?"

"That schema you used to cut those wolves in half, you've kept that knowledge hidden from us."

"Of course I did."

"So you admit you've been keeping back knowledge from us. Why? Is your pride so great you cannot bear the thought of anyone else possessing your power?"

Karux stopped walking.

Netac stepped in closer and said accusingly, "Are you afraid we might surpass you? Were you holding that trick back in case you had to use it on one of us?"

Karux's arm was a blur. He cracked Netac across the mouth with the back of his hand and Netac staggered to one knee. He turned a furious glare on Netac, and then swept the rest of them with it. "I taught you the craft, to help me lift the curse, not to become one." Karux walked away.

Harkin helped a shaky Netac rise to his feet. "What was that about?"

Netac just glared at him and followed Karux.

Corha and Garanth exchanged puzzled glances and continued walking.

<====|==|====>

They found the remains of Korion-Amelein by a small stream just beyond the borders of the cursed lands. Garanth looked around in dismay, then discovered the entire settlement had been moved to the top of a nearby hill behind some sort of high wooden stockade. A gate had been built into the nearside wall and two men holding boar spears stood guard at its entrance.

"Greetings!" Karux called out in a friendly manner as they approached.

"Greetings, strangers," one of the guards replied in a more reserved tone. He was a tall, lean man who kept his hair pulled back tightly. Even his beard was bound by a leather strap. His companion stood even taller and broader of shoulder, looking well fit despite his gray hair and beard. "This is Korion-Amelein. Who are you and where are you from?"

"I am Karux of Har-Tor and these are my students."

"Har-Tor, eh? What brings you this far south?"

"We are working with the villages north of the blight to help them increase their crop yields in exchange for some of their excess crop."

"Excess! There's not much excess around here."

Karux smiled. "Perhaps that may soon change."

"We'll, you'll have to talk to Arcanth Labrose about that."

"Arcanth?"

"Yes. The elders have appointed him head-man over the village on account of the beasts."

"Beasts?" Harkin hastily looked over his shoulder. He had been doing that since the encounter with the wolves.

"They steal our food and animals and spoil what they don't take."

"I'd like to hear more about these beasts." Karux said, sounding suspicious.

"Then you best talk to the arcanth. We're not allowed to make small talk while on duty."

"Very well, where can I find him?"

"He usually takes his mid-day meal in the longhouse with the other reavers. You'll find it on your left, just inside the gate."

As they had been speaking, Garanth noticed the gray-bearded guard had been eyeing his spear.

"That's a mighty unusual spear you have there," the guard said.

"Yeah, I suppose it is. I don't suppose you've seen any like it."

The graybeard scratched his chin. "No. At least not until three days ago."

"You have seen others like this?"

The graybeard nodded.

Garanth had been deeply involved in training the tireavs and he was certain no Har-Toran spears had been sent south. "Who were they? Where were they from?"

The graybeard shrugged. "They called themselves the Collective."

"What did they want?"

"Food. Same as you."

"We're not here to take your food," Karux objected. "We're here to help you grow more."

The graybeard nodded. "That's what they said. Said they could have a hundred men here in two days with hoes to hoe and spears to fight off the beasts."

Karux gave him his puzzled frown. "What did your arcanth say?"

"He said no. He'll probably tell you the same, but you had best go ask him yourself."

The five entered the korion, a circle of houses around a large common area in which their remaining livestock was kept. A steady stream of smoke and the occasional burst of laughter issued from the low wooden longhouse to their left. Karux opened the doors and smoke billowed out. Garanth followed him into the longhouse which seemed, after the midday sun, blindingly dark.

"Ai! Who's there?"

"Pardon us," Karux said, turning toward the voice. "The guard at the gate told us we'd find the arcanth in here."

"He did, did he?"

Garanth's eyes had adjusted to the gloom enough to make out a stocky man at the end of a table around which a half-dozen men sat.

"He must not be a very good guard, then. More like a trail guide." He laughed at his own joke and the other men laughed along indulgently.

"Are you the arcanth?" Karux asked.

"First you answer my question." The man rose from the table. He was a short wide man, as if someone had taken a six-feet-tall man and pressed him down to five feet. Even his face looked squashed, as if that same person had grabbed his ears and pulled his head into a flattened square. He had skinny arched eyebrows, a thin black beard cut short and a narrow nose that seemed too small for his face.

"I am Karux of Har-Tor and these are my students."

"Then I am Labrose, Arcanth of Korion-Amelein." He gestured at Garanth and the others behind Karux. "What are they students of?"

Karux hesitated, looking confused. "Why, of the craft."

"And what craft is that?"

Karux cast a puzzled glance at his students having apparently never quite put into words what he'd been doing all these years.

"Changing the world around us," Netac stepped up beside him, "by manipulating the elements of which it is composed."

"And what can you do with that?"

"We are still discovering the reach of our craft," Netac admitted. "Ultimately, we may be able to do whatever our minds can conceive."

"A bold claim. Prove it."