Hunted Sorcery (Jon Oklar Book 2), B.T. Narro [digital book reader txt] 📗

far as I knew, it was the only note he could cast. With it, he could melt or harden metal at will. I had seen him use it to dissolve the head of an ax, which had saved Grufaeragar’s life, but I’d also seen him shape and harden metal into rings that Eden had enchanted. One, a callring, I still wore on my finger.

Earth was Aliana’s specialty. More accurately than her choosing to specialize in it, though, it was the only spell she could cast that I was aware of. She didn’t have the range to reach anything else. But having someone in the castle who had skill with earth was like having someone here who knew how to cook. We would’ve survived without one, but it didn’t take long for it to become a necessity to all of us.

I was the only one who had access to vtalia, besides Leon, with my wide range of mana that mostly gravitated toward the high frequencies. I hadn’t been aware that I had been using vtalia for years when I was a young teenager. It was the natural frequency of my mana, Upper F. I’d spent a long while trying to use my mana to cast something, but I had known nothing about it.

Leon said I still knew nothing about mana, but he was wrong. To him I might know very little, but that little bit of knowledge had been revolutionary to me.

“Are you paying attention?” Leon asked, scowling.

“Can you repeat what you said?” I asked as I realized that no, I hadn’t been.

“Listen to me. There is a third note in the dvinia school, but there also isn’t. The first note is your natural mana, Upper F. Then Upper G is the second. Upper A, that’s the third note in the dvinia school. But there is no Upper A in Expel. It’s just uF—one, uG—two, uuC—four, and uuD—five. Do you understand? The core of dvinia is one, two, four, five. In contrast, the core of every erto school is one, three, five.”

“Yeah, I understand. But could there be another spell of dvinia that uses the third?”

“Maybe, but also maybe not. As far as we know, there is no third used in dvinia. We can assume this is the case because dvinia appears to be the same as ordia, only two octaves higher, and there is no third used in any known ordia spell. And like ordia, there’s probably only one general spell of dvinia.”

“Couldn’t there be others that people haven’t discovered yet?”

“There certainly are, but the difference between one spell and another is not going to be as vast as, say, the difference between wind and water.”

“Like Cason’s dteria spell that he used to suspend the guards in the air?” I asked. “Was that a different spell than the normal Dislodge?”

“Yes, that is probably not just Dislodge. He most likely did something with dteria, added another note to it, which told the mana to encircle and hold.”

“He didn’t even have to aim the spell?”

“Aiming was required, I’m sure. But even a sorcerer as strong as him can’t bend dteria completely to his will. He has to give dteria the message to bend on its own as he aims it at his target.”

“I’m starting to get what you are saying, but there’s something I want to understand before we go on.”

“What?”

“Ordia has many different spells that are cast with the same notes,” I said. “So if ordia and dvinia are so similar, why doesn’t dvinia have many different spells that can be cast with the same notes?”

“Perhaps it does.”

“That’s what I was getting at. If I understand how ordia works, I might be able to understand dvinia better. So how does ordia work? How does Barrett use ordia to bind someone to a magical contract and then use the same ordia spell later to identify an enchantment on a ring?”

“You’d have to ask him. Actually, don’t bother the councilman. Ask Jennava. I specialize in erto, if you are too dim to have realized. I’ve never had a grasp on ordia. All I know is some people take the spell of ordia and can only enchant with it, while others can only seem to create contracts. There must be something in their mind that decides one from the other, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Jennava is strong with ordia?” I asked.

“She can’t reach the notes, but she’s spent a lot more time researching it than I have. She might know even more than Barrett, who uses it frequently.”

I wondered if it might be better to speak with Eden and then Reuben, who both specialized in ordia but used it differently.

“I can tell your mind is starting to drift again,” Leon said. “Let me make a point.”

I gave him my full attention, though I was finding it harder the longer this went on, and we had only just begun.

“The interesting thing about ordia,” he continued, “is that combining the basic spell with other notes leads to different results.”

“Enchanting,” I said to show I understood.

“Yes, by adding a fifth note to the spell of ordia, enchanters can enchant metal, gems, or leather. However, you’re probably never going to meet an enchanter who enchants leather because leather requires your natural range, Upper F, and you know how low-range ordia is.”

“But both are within my range.”

Leon rolled his eyes. “Yes, if you practiced for weeks straight, you might be able to enchant some leather, congratulations. But you’re not going to meet any others who can. No one I’ve met has your range of mana except Cason. Now back to what’s important.”

I almost stopped him to ask how he knew this about Cason, but I was already feeling overwhelmed with all this information. I didn’t want to go down another tangent.

Leon continued, “I have some ideas of a fifth note you might be able to add to dvinia that will change the way the spell functions.” He lifted his hands. “Let me make sure I’m not wasting