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.Or at least see what was going on out thereShe put her back against the wall and reached out for the crystal spear, where she had left it on the chest beside her bed.She held it where the light from her magically powered lamp would shine into it, and cradled it in the palm of her hand, staring deeply into it, past the surface reflections.When she felt ready, she reached out with her mind as Alara had taught her when she was learning to speak mind-to-mindbut sent her thoughts into the crystal, instead of seeking a specific person.Now she closed her eyes and held her mind very still, as she identified and closed out all the thoughts closest to her.There weren't many; most of the wizards preferred to be under mind-shields at all times.Though she had not understood why at first, it seemed a sensible precaution now, and a courtesy, when there were many others who could hear thoughts about youand some who might not yet be able to close them out.She moved her "self" out of the Citadel, and into the forest, seeking for a viewpoint, her mind spread out like a fine net to snare errant thoughts.In moments, she had found one; she caught a thought and held it, and was looking through the eyes of a canny mountain-cat, crouched over a game trail.She stared in mute fascination.Some snow fell in the area of the Lair in winter, but not mucha similar amount of rain fell in there in the summer.Keman had gone up into the higher country where there was Page 201more, but he could fly; she couldn't.And she had not been outside the Citadel since she had arrived here.She had never seen so much snow before.The ground was white, snow-covered as far as the cat's eyes could see.The cat perched on a heavy limb of an evergreen of some kind, the branches above him so snow-laden that they sagged down over the one he had chosen, giving him a truly effective hiding place.She held down her elation, so as not to startle her temporary host, but she felt a pardonable surge of triumph.She had moved outside the Citadeland for the first time, had made contact with the mind of a creature she did not actually know was there.Next jumpfarther outShe cast herself loose from the cat and reached out again; "listened" for further thoughtsand snatched at the first ones that presented themselves.And this time found herself looking at the world through elven eyes.There was no doubt of it; the hands she looked down on were long, slender, and as pale as her moonstones.And elves saw things a little differently from humans; everything living had a kind of shimmer about it, like heat-haze.Anything nonliving didn't.And if that wasn't enough, there was another elven lady sitting beside her, in the attitude of a teacher, watching every move she made.Finding herself in an elven mind was so much of a surprise that she nearly lost her hold on the elven lord's-or rather, lady'sthoughts.But she steadied herself down quickly, and began taking in her surroundings.It was a girl, not a woman.That was the first realization.This was a girl about her own age.She was clothed in shimmery silks of an opalescent green, and she moved with studious grace, practicing the kind of movement Shana had always thought was natural.Her hostess was flower-sculptinga term Shana plucked out of the girl's memory.Not arrangingthat was different, and something the girl left up to her slaves.The girl She knew, with the certainty of her own name, that of the elven maiden.Sheyrena an Treves.Sheyrena, thenwas delicately shaping the petals of the living flower before her.She spun them out, her magic delicately rearranging the form, and making the petals thinner, turning them into gossamer webs of color.She had finished two of the four petals of what had been an ordinary poppy.Now it looked as if it had been made of silk; transparent, crimson silk, that billowed about the dark heart in carefully arranged folds.She finished the third petal even as Shana watched, and began on the fourth.Shana took careful notes.She'd had no idea anything like this was possible.And it was absurdly simple as well.Already she had several ideas on how else she could use this particular spell of manipulation.When the girl had finished, she turned to her mother, her face carefully schooled into a calm mask, for approval.No elven lady should ever be seen as less than perfect, and perfectly controlled.Shana caught that thought as the girl smoothed the hope from her expression.Poor thing For a moment, Shana actually pitied the girl."Very good, dear," Viridina an Treves said, nodding her head slowly and graciously.Her expression was Page 202that mask of perfect serenity her daughter strove to imitate.The rest of her was just as flawless.Viridina wore her silver gown with a complete unconcern that made it seem a part of her.The elven lady's pale gold hair was arranged in an artfully careless fall over one ear, no less a sculpted work of art than the flower her daughter had just transformed, and yet showing no sign of how much time had gone into its creation.Her daughter permitted herself a smile of acknowledgment of her mother's compliment.Viridina responded with an answering smile of approval for her daughter.Her very young daughter; Shana realized with a start that she had made a mistake in her assessment.The mind she had touched was that of a child no more than ten or twelve.The child had powerthat was what had deceived herNo, that wasn't it at all.The child had control.Very little power, really; what she had was total control over all the power she possessed.And all it would ever be good for was to manipulate tiny things Her spells would always be minor ones, like flower-sculpting, or water-weaving, or light-arrangingShana saw that in her memories of her lessons and what her mother could do.Her father could do more; he was quite adept at illusions.But all Viridina and her daughter could use their insignificant power for was the kind of spells that were decorativeOr stopping someone's heart, Shana's mind whispered eagerly, at this hint that the girl thought of herself as something less than the males of her kind.Little things weren't necessarily minor.Tell her.Show her.She shook off the temptation.Even if she thought of herself as inferior, she was still of elven blood; she was still one of the masters
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