Born of Fire (The Cloud Warrior Saga Book 8) by D.K. Holmberg Page B

Par-shon, keeping watch. As long as Asgar remained, the people of Par-shon would think that Tan remained, and that served his purpose. But there were things that he had to learn that he couldn’t discover in Par-shon, at least not easily.
    With an explosion of light, the shaping took him to the university in the kingdoms. Rebuilt since the attack on the city—it seemed so long ago—the university was, of course, different. Ferran and the other earth shapers who had restored it had altered the design, so it was both more open and more imposing. Stone flowed from the ground, partly shaped and partly assisted by golud, the earth elemental that Ferran had bonded during the last year. Golud lent strength and exuded a sense of age that the building hadn’t earned. Tan wondered if he was the only one who detected that.
    The shaper circle let out in a plaza outside the university. The stones had been changed over time, but like the stone of the university, they were infused with the strength of golud. Not trapped and not forced, but strength that had been freely given.
    This was the reason that Tan had returned.
    “Will you find me before you return?” Amia asked.
    Tan squeezed her arm. “I’m not sure you’d let me leave if I didn’t.”
    “Do you think that I’d shape you if you didn’t do what I want?”
    He smiled. It wouldn’t be the first time.
    Amia laughed. “You keep bringing that up, but I think that you don’t mind nearly as much as you claim.”
    Tan shook his head. “I let you believe that.”
    Amia gave him a quick hug and departed, making her way toward the Aeta camped outside the city. She intended to use their time in Ethea to connect with her people and to ensure that everything ran as it should. Tan had other needs.
    His gaze was drawn to the university. He’d had such little time to learn within the walls of the university, and when he had been here, there hadn’t been any willing teachers. Only after he had discovered his bond with the elemental had he begun to understand. What was the message in that?
    But that was how the ancient shapers once learned, wasn’t it? They had bonded to the elementals, and through that bond they were able to leverage even more of the power of the elements than they would otherwise, much like what Tan had been able to do. In that way, he was more like the ancient shapers than today’s shapers.
    Except, he didn’t share the same attitude about the elementals that he’d learned from studying in the archives. Now, he understood that not all the ancient shapers felt like that, and finding the strange hut in the middle of the swamp within Doma had provided him with reassurance, but there had been enough of those shapers who had understood the elementals.
    A small door opened into the plaza, and a line of children made their way out from within, with a robed shaper leading the way. Tan smiled as Ferran almost herded them outside.
    When he saw Tan, he raised a hand and motioned for the children to wait.
    “You have been gone again,” Ferran said, looking to the shaper circle.
    “It was time for me to take a more active role in Par-shon.”
    Ferran’s eyes narrowed slightly. Like everyone else, Ferran had lost friends to Par-shon. The kingdoms had few enough shapers as it was; losing any was almost too high a price to pay. “Are you certain that is wise, Athan?”
    Tan almost smiled at the title. Here in the kingdoms, he served as Athan, the voice of the king, only the kingdoms did not have a king, not yet. Roine served as king regent and had agreed to fill that role until they decided which of Althem’s heirs could assume the throne, but that might not happen, especially with as many children as Althem had.
    Tan studied the children all waiting patiently for Master Ferran. How would they choose which of the children would lead? Would he be able to give up the title of Athan then? Roine still expected him to serve, but outside of the kingdoms, across the sea, he