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acted fairly and honorably, but under the guise of self-interest, and the
trader had accepted self-interest even while he had scorned the ideas of
fairness. Was that deception on Hagen s part?
Did the book have any passages on deception and honesty? Kharl began to leaf
through the pages until he found a section that looked like it might address
his questions.
The greatest danger in practicing deception is not the reaction of others,
whether it be anger or cupidity. A greater danger is the cultivation of
contempt for that which is. Deception is a practice of contempt, contempt for
those whom one would deceive, and contempt for the world as it is. Just as
understanding what is must be the first step toward using order, contempt for
a true vision is the first step toward being the tool of power rather than its
enlightened user&
Kharl nodded. That made sense, but it didn t offer him anything to do&
He kept reading. In time, he came to another section.
& often those inexperienced in using order will force raw order upon an
object, thinking that such an effort will strengthen the object. Such an
effort will indeed strengthen the object, even as it weakens the one who
attempts this, but only so long as the would-be mage lavishes his strength.
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When his strength is spent, the object will become once more as it was. Far
better is to study the object, and to learn how it is tied together with order
and chaos, and to gently change those bonds in keeping with what the object
is, for if weak bonds are properly replaced by strong bonds within the object
itself, those bonds will remain strengthened, just as black iron remains
stronger than iron forged without ordering&
Kharl sat up. He had black iron on his staff, and there were iron brackets in
the carpenter shop. Could he compare the two somehow? He closed the book and
stood, uncoiling in the brisk afternoon wind and stretching, before heading
below.
The shop was empty, and Kharl eased his staff out of the overhead bin where he
had replaced it and set it on the narrow bench against the bulkhead. Then he
took out an iron bracket and set it on the bench, directly beside the banded
section at one end of the staff.
He looked at the two metals. The black iron was darker, indeed blackish to the
sight, while the iron of the bracket was a duller gray. He couldn t compare
their weights, and he already knew that the black iron was harder. So he
closed his eyes and tried to sense the difference between the two. Almost
instantly, he could feel the aura of darkness tied to the black iron.
He opened his eyes, and he still saw the difference. Was that because he was
learning how to use some sort of order-sensing? He tried to sense the linkages
or ordering within the black iron. At first, nothing happened. All he could
feel was the order-darkness. But he knew there was more there. He tried to see
if he could sense a difference in the grain of the metal. That made a
difference, because the iron bracket somehow felt rough, almost jagged, in
comparison to the black iron bands on the staff.
Could he make plain iron into black iron? Somehow, the bracket looked large
and heavy, even though it was only slightly larger than his hand and but a
fraction of a thumbspan in thickness. Kharl bent down and looked in the bins
below the bench, where he found an iron nail. He straightened and set it on
the bench beside the staff.
Then he concentrated on sensing just how the black iron felt, how the grain of
the metal almost locked together. Could he somehow smooth the roughness of
the nail into a pattern like that of the staff bands? He tried just imagining,
visualizing that change. Nothing happened.
Could he use his order-sense more like a forge hammer, in a regular rhythm,
striking, shaping?
How long he concentrated on that Kharl was not sure, except that a good
quarter glass had passed, and the nail was darker-not quite with the smooth
orderedness of the staff s black iron, but far more ordered and& solid.
As he looked at the nail, he felt light-headed and had to reach out and steady
himself with a hand on the bench. He looked down at the iron nail once more,
which was no longer gray iron, but a form of black iron.
I did it& he murmured.
But he felt so weak-and all for a little nail.
He sat down on Tarkyn s stool and took out the book. Doggedly, he began to
skim through pages.
Black iron should only be created while being forged& attempting to change
less-ordered cold iron into black iron is possible only with great effort,
enough to exhaust even the strongest of mages&
Kharl didn t know whether to shake his head or laugh. Once more, he had almost
gotten himself into danger because he hadn t been patient enough. He took a
deep breath, then reached out and slipped the black iron nail into his wallet.
Sometime, he might find a use for it, but if not, it might be a good reminder
that he needed to try to learn more before he acted.
Then, that had always been his problem-except where he had not acted at all.
LIX
Once through the Straits of Esalia and past Summerdock, where the Seastag did
not port, Hagen brought the ship onto a course to the northwest for most of
the day. In late afternoon, as Kharl took a break from working on a
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replacement for a top gaff that had splintered, and stood near the bow, he
checked the position of the sun. Then he glanced to starboard, where he could
just make out the thin line of darkness that was land. From what he could
tell, the ship was headed back eastward. A glass or so earlier, Kharl had felt
that the ship had begun to pitch more than earlier in the day, and ahead, the
swells were deeper.
He glanced up. Rhylla was standing just forward of the paddle wheels. Kharl
walked toward the third mate.
Ser?
Carpenter. How are you coming with that gaff?
Be done later this afternoon. Kharl gestured toward the distant shore.
Thought we were headed to Hamor.
We are. The captain heard that the Suntasan went aground night before last,
broke her back on the reefs of Cape Feer. So we re headed to Biehl first. He
didn t tell anyone, not even the officers, until we were clear of Dellash.
Kharl cocked his head. Are we trying to get to pick up a cargo that the
Suntasan would have taken?
It s cargo-fine china. Captain thinks we can take their cartage. No one else
knows yet. Rhylla paused. Some skippers know that the Suntasan went aground,
and there might be some that know Captain Ceagir was the regular shipper for
the china folk, but the ones who know that don t seem to be in this part of
the Eastern Ocean. Captain thought it was worth a try.
China s worth that much?
This is very special china, for the emperor s household. There are almost
always special shipments in late fall, and they have to get to Swartheld
before the turn of the year. That s what the captain said. We might even get a
bonus if it works out.
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