“No,” I admitted, my jaw tightening. “I have no idea what kind of man he is.” For all I knew, he would gloat at the chance to strike at Iannis, should he prove to be some kind of rival or enemy. “I need to find a way around this.”

“I’m not sure there is one,” Janta said gently. “Even if you weren’t years behind in your mastery of Loranian, any shortcuts you might take have severe consequences.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I winced a little—Loranian was the language of magic, used in spell casting, and I was nowhere near mastering it. “What kind of shortcuts are you referring to?” I asked, curious despite myself.

Janta pursed her lips. “They are not worth speaking of.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t just say that and not tell me anything.” When she just stared at me, I gave her my best puppy-dog look. “Please?”

She frowned. “Very well, if only to dissuade you. One such method involves transferring the knowledge and memories of an older mage into your own mind. You would instantly gain mastery of Loranian as well as any spellcraft he knew and practiced.”

“By Magorah!” My eyes nearly popped out of my skull. “You can do that?”

“Yes, but it is hardly recommended.” Janta’s lips thinned. “The procedure has been known to alter a person’s character, and the newly gained knowledge is not always easily assimilated.”

“Yeesh.” I made a face at that—I certainly did not want to take on the personality of some cantankerous old mage. “Why was such a procedure even invented?”

“It was mostly used in wartime, when a master was near death and had not yet imparted all his knowledge to his favored apprentice. But such a scenario has not occurred in quite some time, at least not in the Federation.”

“Really? Even though war recently broke out here in Solantha?”

An uncomfortable expression flitted across Janta’s face. “If it has happened as a result of recent events, I do not know of it.”

I let out a small sigh. “Oh, well. It doesn’t really matter—I don’t think I’d be comfortable trying such a thing, even if I could find a volunteer mage.”

“Agreed.” A thoughtful expression crossed Janta’s face, and she reached into her sleeve again. A moment later, she pulled out a small text bound in light blue cloth. The title Spellcraft for Beginners was embroidered across the front in gold thread. “This is a basic primer a friend of mine had printed for his daughter when she was young. He was a notable Federation mage. Not many copies exist, as unsupervised practice is generally frowned upon. I do hope you’ll be careful when you practice with it.”