The door opened again, and Dolanna entered with Keritanima, Allia, and Dar in tow. Tarrin's small cabin wasn't really meant to hold so many people, so Allia and Dar stayed by the door as Dolanna and Keritanima entered. "Gentlemen," she said brusquely, "your presence here is no longer required. I wish to speak with Tarrin alone."

"That's a sweet way of saying 'get out'," Azakar told Phandebrass.

"If that is what you wish to hear, then get out," Dolanna said in a calm voice, but with a light smile that made her face radiant.

Azakar chuckled, but Phandebrass gave the Sorceress a curious look, then he too broke out into laughter, giving Azakar a wink. "Very well. I say, this must be secret Sorcerer business. They must be preparing to exchange the secret handshake."

"I've seen it. It's nothing compared to the Knights' secret handshake," Azakar said with a straight face.

"I will give you reason to wish you were not here in a moment," Dolanna said flintily. "Out."

"Yes ma'am," Azakar said calmly, standing up. "We'll play later, Tarrin, when Dolanna's not being pecky."

"I am about to show you pecky," Dolanna challenged the huge Mahuut. She pointed towards the door imperiously, her eyes hard and impatient. Azakar, being taught the wisdom of retreat in the face of a more powerful foe, bowed out with an elegantly overwhelming bow to the Sorceress, nearly brushing his forehead to the deck. She smacked him lightly on the top of the head when he started rising, making Phandebrass laugh heartily. Then the two filed out between Allia and Dar, who closed the door behind them.

"Now, down to business," Dolanna said. She seated herself in the plush chair Keritanima had dragged in so she could sit with Tarrin. That got her a nasty look from the Wikuni Princess, who sat down on the end of the bed as Tarrin sat up and sat cross-legged at the head. Allia sat in the middle of the bed, and Dar took the sturdy wooden chair after moving the small end table aside, that had been put there to hold cards. "It has been made clear to me that I was in grave error to allow you to ignore your training, Tarrin," Dolanna said. "So we are here to study, practice, and learn. The first thing we are going to do is listen to you explain exactly what it is you did to make new strands."

"That doesn't sound much like instruction," he countered.

"For us, it will be," she said. "Perhaps the relation of your discovery will help us come into closer contact with the Weave, or learn new ways to apply its power. Besides, a good Sorcerer learns everything he or she can, whether or not it is knowledge that can be applied practically."

"I guess that's a good way to look at things," Tarrin admitted. He closed his eyes and conjured up the memory he had of that, but it wasn't easy. The entire affair was heavily tinged by his outrage and anger, and it made the dynamics of the act hard to recall in words that could easily be explained. "I remember pulling out all seven flows, then sending them out in groups," he said in a quiet voice, as the others all leaned in to listen. "Groups of flows that would make strands. I braided them together and made them connect to existing strands, then I, well, pulled on them. That's how I remember it, anyway."

"You charged them with your power," Dolanna told him. "That caused them to snap taut, just like loose-weaving a spell, then snapping it down to release it. I suppose you charged them with enough energy for them to interact, and form new strands."

"I remember that," Keritanima said. "The entire Weave shifted when he did that."

"It shifted because he was making it move with him," Dolanna replied. "Do you remember that, Tarrin?"

"I think so," he said, trying to pierce the veil resting over much of his memory or the episode. "Maybe."

"Do you think that you would remember how it was done?"

"I could do it again," he told her confidently. "I'd rather not, though."

"I do not want you to, dear one," she told him immediately. "The amount of energy it cost you to do it was staggering. I am still shocked that you did not tear the Weave in the attempt, and that you were not burned to ash within seconds. This is something I never want you to attempt alone again."

"I saw the scorchmarks," he said quietly, memory of the pain making his spine tingle. Up above, on the deck, were two blasted, charred marks that were perfect imprints of the bottoms of his own feet, right down the the texturing of his pads. Branded into the deck as a testament to what had occurred. "Was it really as bad as it looks?"

"Worse," Allia answered evenly. "You were all but on fire, brother."

"I don't really remember that."

"I think I'd be happy not to remember something like that," Dar noted.

"No doubt," Tarrin agreed.

"This is something that we will work on later, Tarrin," Dolanna said. "For now, you are too weak to attempt anything, and I am unsure as to how safe it would be to try. But I would very much like to see if there is a safe way, and that brings us to the real reason we are here."

"What is that?" he asked.

"I recall that the Tower never trained you in Circling," she announced. "You will learn this skill with us."

"What good will that do?"

"I did not see what happened when you interposed yourself on the Council's Circle, but I did hear about what happened. If you could circle with us, it may be possible for you to wield your power in a much safer manner, spreading it out among the five of us instead of shouldering the burden alone. There would still be danger, but it would take much longer for it to reach a critical point. In the interests of safety, we should practice and prepare for the possibility that we may have to defend this ship from marauders again."

Tarrin mulled it over, and he found her reasoning somewhat sound. When he had managed to hijack the circle of the Council, it did allow him to spread the burden of his power among them, allowing him to keep control of it much longer. He remembered that clearly. He even had the control necessary to let go of the Weave without having to sever himself and suffer a backlash. He didn't like the idea of putting his friends and sisters at risk, for he remembered clearly the effect he had on the Council after the circle was broken.

And he remembered what had broken the circle. The Cat had done it, rejecting the intimate mental communion that came when Sorcerers formed circles. Even if he was willing to learn, it was very possible that the Cat wouldn't permit him to form a stable link to the others. "There may be a problem, Dolanna," he told her.

"What with?"

"Your idea is good, but they didn't tell you why the circle broke up when I got dragged into it. The Cat rejected the link. It took the circling link to be a foreign entity and attacked it. If I hadn't released the Weave and dissolved the circle myself, the Cat would have broken in for me. I remember that. I'm not sure if I can circle."

"Yes, but you know the four of us intimately. There is a good chance that your trust in us will allow your instincts to accept our bonds."

"Well, I'm not sure, but we can try. If you're willing to accept the risks."

"I'm aware of the risk," Dar told him. "Dolanna explained it to us. I trust you, Tarrin."

That meant more to him than he could easily express. He gave Dar a sincerely grateful look, then nodded. "I know how my sisters will answer."

"If I was not prepared to face danger for my brother, I would not have the honor to call him so," Allia said bluntly.

"I'll do almost anything to further the cause of Sorcery, even if it wasn't my brother and sister doing the risking with me," Keritanima said with a toothy grin.

"Very well then, it is decided," Dolanna said dismissively. "To start, Tarrin, the key of a circle is communion. The Sorcerers join together, both their power and their minds, forming a cohesive will led by the designated Sorcerer commanding the circle. A circle cannot have more than seven, because too many minds in a circle cause the creation of a mass mind that dies when the circle is broken."