"Very clear," Jenna nodded. "Only local effects of weather."

"Very good," she nodded. "Now, let's move on to some advanced uses of elemental magic. Such as summoning Elementals."

Tarrin drifted off as she taught Jenna how to summon her own Elementals, and Jenna proved she could do it by summoning her very first, a Fire Elemental. For some reason, all Weavespinners summoned a Fire Elemental first, Spyder confided to them. He came back when she started showing them spells for manipulating Elemental material he'd never seen before, such as making stone melt into lava, or air actually become a liquid, turning so incredibly cold in the process that its merest touch was universally lethal. After those spells, she moved onto Transmutation, and it was here where Tarrin learned a great deal more than in other subjects. Spyder taught them spells for turning anything into just about anything, living or dead or in between. She taught them a group of weaves she called polymorphing, the changing of one living thing into another. There was another group of weaves for changing inamimate things into other inanimate things, spells to animate objects so they moved by themselves and obeyed the Sorcerer, and even spells for changing inamiate objects into living creatures. Those were the hardest, for it intruded somewhat on the power of creation, a realm exclusively granted to Ayise, the Elder God of creation and the creator of the world. Ayise permitted some delving into her realm, but she drew the line in some regards. "You can't make what's already dead and extinct, it violates the balance of nature," she warned. "You can't change an object into a sentient being, like a human, and you can't make it exist outside the normal boundaries for its species. That means no changing stones into fifty-span tall mice," she told them. "Whatever you make has to be possible in the bounds of nature, and when you make it, it can not be unmade. When you change that rope into a lethal Sand-backed viper, you can't turn it back into a rope. Once life is granted to the object, it can't be taken away. If you want to get rid of the creature you create, you have to kill it the old-fashioned way."

"That's why there's no weave for changing living things into inanimate objects," Tarrin reasoned.

"Precisely why. We can cause Ayise to breathe life into the animal we create, but she will not allow us to take that life back."

"I never realized that other gods had so much say in our magic," Jenna mused.

"They have much more say than in any other order," Spyder nodded in agreement. "In truth, Sorcery is the most powerful and most versatile of all the orders of magic, even Druidic magic. Because of that, the gods have a very great hand in where our powers are concerned."

"I always thought Druidic magic was stronger, but with what I've learned tonight, now I'm not so sure," Tarrin admitted. "I never dreamed you could do so much with Sorcery."

"What these untrained wretches you call katzh-dashi know is less than what we taught our Initiates before graduating them," Spyder said scornfully. "They embarass me, truth be told. To think that our order has degenerated so far." She actually bristled. "But that won't be much longer. We digress again, and it is getting very late. We've been out here for nearly fourteen hours now, and I find myself tiring. Let's try to finish the lesson, because I will have more to teach you later."

And so they listened intently as Spyder went over a few more things, such as defeating the powers of Wizards and Priests. Tarrin knew it could be done, but had never gotten around to learning it. He was glad he waited for her. Spyder taught the process in moments, showing them how their powerful influence over the Weave was so strong that they could actually manipulate it directly. One of the forms in which it could be so influenced was causing it to stop transferring magical power that was not Sorcery. By a mere thought, Tarrin or Jenna could rob any Wizard or Priest of his connection to his magic, rendering him powerless. Spyder had been serious when she said that no Wizard or Priest should ever manage to blindside them with a spell, because they'd feel it forming in the Weave. All they had to do was will the Weave to block the power, and it would be so.

"By muffling the Weave, you can interfere with Sorcery as well," Spyder told them. "But that depends on the relative power of the Sorcerer you're attempting to cut off. Just to warn you," she said with a slight smile. "Only that Wikuni would give either of you even the slightest bit of resistance. And that resistance would last all of about two seconds. Even da'shar can't resist the power of a sui'kun for very long." Spyder tapped her finger to her chin. "You are sister to the Wikuni, yes?" she asked Tarrin.

"Yes," he replied.

"Keep a careful watch on her, then," she warned. "She is primed, Were-cat. Just as you were. She has reached the pinnacle of her power, and the Goddess will be testing her very soon. It will be better for her if you are there to help show her the way." She looked around. "She's very close, Were-cat. Very close. If you whispered to her, I would not at all be surprised if she could hear it."

"I'll watch her," he promised. Spyder's revelation wasn't that surprising to Tarrin, who had made the same conclusion himself just a couple of days ago. Keritanima's powers of Sorcery were far beyond the other katzh-dashi now, and were growing stronger. He could tell, he could sense, that her powers had nearly reached their peak. And because she was so strong, she was so learned despite her age, it meant that she would most likely face her power and attempt to cross over, to become da'shar. The Goddess had told him that the time to cross over was when the Sorcerer had reached the limits of their power, when it would most greatly benefit the Weave. He realized that that included da'shar as well as sui'kun. When Keritanima did achieve her maximum potential, she would lose control of that power and face being Consumed. And in that struggle, she could either find the Heart, find the Goddess, or she would die.

"I'll help," Jenna said. "I like Kerri. She's funny. I'd hate to lose her."

"Amen," Tarrin agreed.

"I think that's enough for one day," she announced, suddenly pulling her black-black cloak around herself. "I will call you again soon. Very soon. We don't have much more time left. Remember what I taught you this evening. Especially you, Jenna. What I taught you today is what you will teach the katzh-dashi when the time comes. Be ready."

"I will," Jenna said soberly, reaching down and picking up her book. "I've figured out a way to write down how the weaves are formed so they make sense. If someone read them and had a little help from a tutor, they could learn the spell."

"Excellent," Spyder told her with a nod. "You were surely the perfect person for the task, then." She looked up into the sky. "I will see you again soon. Fare well."

She pulled up her hood, and then, just like last time, she just vanished.

Tarrin blinked, then Jenna chuckled. "I really hate it when she does that. I had about a thousand more questions."

"That's probably why she did it," he said, suddenly feeling quite tired. He yawned, showing his wickedly long fangs-both upper and lower sets of them-and then looked down at his sister. "I'm suddenly tired, Jenna. I think going to bed would be a good idea."

"I think you're right," she agreed. "I want to take a bath first, though, and get a bit to eat."

"I'll tag along," he grunted as they started to make their way out of the courtyard. "Goddess only knows, Jesmind is going to have a cow when I come back. I'd like to put that off as long as possible."

Jenna giggled. "That bad, eh?"

"You have no idea," he shuddered. "I'd more than willingly fight a whole army of Demons before facing my mate when she's ticked off."