"It's alot different when it's empty," he grunted. "Try eating with the Novices some day."

"It would be just as quiet now as it would if I did that," she winked. "I'm the Keeper, Tarrin. I'm not someone that a Novice would feel comfortable eating with, you know."

"True," he admitted. "But maybe you could wear a disguise or something. You're young, sister. If you put on Novice white, I think that you could probably fool some people. Not all of them, but some of them."

"I don't think so," she said. "It's a small Tower, brother, and everyone knows me."

"Then use an Illusion."

"I'm not really very good at Illusions," she admitted sheepishly. "I can make image Illusions well enough, but there's a trick to making them move I haven't quite figured out. All my Illusions look like painted portraits, and they look silly when they start moving."

Snorting, Tarrin set down his joint. "Make one. Let's see where you're making your mistake."

She did so, an Illusion of their mother, Elke Kael, and he saw immediately that it wasn't her weaving that was the problem. "You're doing it right, but you're weaving it like it's a spell, Jenna," he told her. "Illusion is an art form, not a formula. You don't weave it, you create it. You have to breathe life into it, or it's going to look exactly like that one. A picture."

"Now I understand why they all say that Illusions are so hard," Jenna said with a furrowed brow as she tried again. The image was just as detailed as the first, but it too had that empty, soulless quality that made it apparent that it was an Illusion.

"Don't think about how mother looks," Tarrin said. "Think about her. Her presence, her personality, what makes her who she is. Then put them into the Illusion."

Frowning, Jenna banished the Illusion and took a moment to mull things over, then she tried once more. The resulting Illusion looked as the other two did, a faithful reproduction of their mother's appearance, but now there was just something a little more in it, a kind of presence that made it seem more real than the first two.

"Now you're getting it," Tarrin complemented. "It takes practice, Jenna. It's not the kind of thing you can just start doing. Just work on it a little, and you should get the hang of it."

Jenna laughed. "And I thought everyone was blowing Dar's talents out of proportion," she said ruefully. "I didn't think that being good at Illusions was such a thing to take notice of."

"Dar's very talented, sister. He has the soul of an artist. That's what gives his Illusions such power. When he weaves an Illusion, it doesn't just look real, it feels real."

"I think I'll ask him for some lessons," she smiled.

"I wonder where he is," Tarrin mused.

"Right now? I think him and Tiella are walking," she answered. "Tiella has the biggest crush on him," she added with a conspiratorial smile.

"Dar really fancies her," Tarrin added. "I think they'd be a good match."

"Maybe we should," she trailed off, waving her hand slightly.

"I don't think we need to do anything," he said. "As soon as Tiella works up the nerve to tell Dar how she feels, she'll have him. She's intimidated by him."

"Everyone is. Whatever you and Dolanna did to Dar, brother, it has quite an effect. He walks around the Tower with a confidence that makes everyone take him very seriously, despite the fact that he's still technically an Initiate. He knows more than some katzh-dashi ten times his age," she chuckled.

"After going through what he went through, he'd better have learned," Tarrin grunted. "Dolanna took him under her wing and taught him almost everything she knew. And Dolanna is a very good Sorceress. She's got some tricks that most other katzh-dashi would say are impossible."

"I've noticed," Jenna smiled. "I think it's no big surprise she was the very first of the new katzh-dashi to cross over."

"None at all," Tarrin agreed. "Even before she crossed over she was probably stronger than anyone on the Council, but it's not her nature to want a position like that. She seems more comfortable out in the world, using her abilities in direct service to the Goddess. She's a natural field katzh-dashi." Tarrin glanced towards the door. "Mother is very pleased with her," he told her. "She told me not to tell Dolanna, but I don't think she'd mind me telling you. She told me that whenever she has a delicate or serious problem somewhere, Dolanna is usually the first name on her list of children to send to take care of it."

"That's not all that surprising. If I had a serious problem somewhere, Dolanna would be the first person I'd think of to go take care of it." Jenna chuckled. "I guess I know now why Kerri is so good."

"Another pupil of Dolanna," Tarrin nodded. "Then again, she has quite a bit of natural aptitude. Dolanna helped her along, but alot of it came from Kerri herself."

"True, but if there was a better way to get started, I don't know what it would be, except maybe getting lessons from Mother herself."

"After all this is over, sister, I think the best thing you could do is bring Dolanna back to the Tower for a while," he told her. "She's an excellent field agent, but she's also an incredibly gifted teacher. She can teach anyone almost anything. I think you'd do very well to bring her in and let her teach for a while."

"That is a very good idea," Jenna agreed with an enthusiastic nod. "With results like you and Kerri and Dar to her credit, nobody can gainsay her credentials."

"Why would they gainsay?" Tarrin asked. "You're the Keeper, Jenna. When you say do something, they do it. It doesn't matter if they like it or not, they do it. If you have people backtalking you, remind them of just who is in charge."

"I was speaking figuratively, Tarrin," she smiled. "Nobody openly defies me. I've had too many lessons from you and mother and Myriam to allow that kind of impertenence. Some of them think I'm too young, and a few on the Council are quite miffed that I was selected over them, but nobody openly challenges me."

"If there was any, I think the Sha'Kar killed it," Tarrin mused.

Jenna laughed. "I think that's a good point," she agreed. " Nobody argues with Ianelle. She's very polite and has exquisite manners, but she has a sense about her that makes you feel very reluctant to cross her. She's alot like Triana that way." She popped a grape into her mouth. "And since the Sha'Kar all recognize me as the Keeper, it leaves the katzh-dashi that don't like me out on a breaking limb."

The cook, Golin, scurried into the hall and bowed. "I'm sorry for the delay, my Keeper," he said. "It will be ready for you presently. How soft do you want the vegetables?"

"It doesn't matter, Golin," she said calmly. "As long as the stew's hot, I'll be happy with it."

"We'll keep a kettle on for you at all times from now on, my Keeper," he said in an embarassed tone. "You'll not catch us napping again."

"It's the middle of the night, Golin," Jenna laughed. "I didn't really think you were napping to start with."

"It's a matter of pride, my Keeper," he said honestly. "I pride myself on providing you with whatever you want, whenever you want it. I didn't have what you wanted on hand."

"I don't expect the kitchen to be on call for me every hour of the day and night, Golin," she smiled. "I tell you what. You can make it up to me tomorrow by making me some peach cobbler. I've been dying for some peach cobbler for days now."

"You had but to ask, my Keeper!" he said in a shocked tone.

"If I got everything I wanted all the time, I'd get spoiled, Golin," she winked. "Besides, it's something of an excitement when the kitchen has something I've been craving, like an unexpected windfall. I enjoy that much more than having my every craving satisfied on demand."

"You're a complicated young woman, my Keeper," Golin said with a wry chuckle.