The Autumn Republic

“Bo,” Nila asked, desperate for a distraction from waiting to arrive, “when are you going to teach me about the elements?”

“When you’re ready,” Bo said. “Have you been practicing looking into the Else?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“You can’t just give me a basic lesson?”

Bo turned toward her, mumbling something under his breath, then lay his hand out flat in his lap and said, “Pay attention. A Privileged manipulates five different elements within the Else; air, water, fire, earth, and aether. Your main hand”-he wiggled his fingers-“can be used to summon those elements from the Else into our world. Your off-hand is used to direct them.”

“If I lose a hand,” Nila asked, “do I lose all access to sorcery?”

“The Else can be manipulated fully with just one hand, or your off-hand, it’s just much harder. Now, each of your fingers corresponds to one of the elements and determines how strong you are in each element, starting with your forefinger for the strongest, and ending with your thumb as the weakest. Do you follow?”

Nila nodded. This was simple enough so far. “How do I know what I’m strongest in?”

“Trial and error. There’s no clear way of testing it without having you rub your fingers together all day and pointing your hands at things. Considering the power I sense in you, that’s not a terribly good idea in any population centers. We’re going to have to figure it out slowly.”

“Oh.” Nila felt a little disappointed. She wanted to know what she could do now.

“I can tell you,” Bo continued, “that you’re strongest in fire and weakest in aether.”

“And how do you know that?”

“When you make a fist, and the fire spreads up your arm, it happens because you’ve touched the Else and brushed your thumb and forefinger together. You haven’t used air to carry the flame anywhere or water to make it behave like liquid fire or your off-hand to direct the elements and so it clings to you like a scared kitten.” He smiled at his own analogy.

Fire. She was strongest in flame. She felt a little thrill go up her spine at the thought. “I understand the fire, but what about the aether? And how do you know it’s my weakest?”

“Almost everyone is weakest in aether, and that’s the thumb. Aether is used to create and destroy bonds between objects and elements, so think of it as an ignition source. It’s the spark that starts your sorcery. Thumb to forefinger to begin fire and then moving on down the spectrum.”

Nila moved her fingers experimentally, being sure not to let them touch. She examined her middle finger, wondering what power it held. “You said almost everyone is weakest in aether?”

“Yes. With some exceptions. The ones who are stronger tend to be healers, as they can knit the bonds between flesh, bone-even blood vessels and brain matter.”

“I could never be a healer?” It had been a hope Nila had held on to, despite knowing how rare healers were. After all, being a healer meant she could help people instead of killing them.

Bo gave a shrug. “You can develop some basic skill in healing, but it takes decades of study and practice. I try to brush up on it myself every once in a while for an emergency. I can cauterize a wound competently or remove a bullet without damaging the tissue. Simple stuff. Much more and I’d probably do more damage than good.”

“What are you strongest in?”

Bo gave a little chuckle. “Careful whom you ask that. It can be a grave insult.”

“What? I just… oh. I didn’t know.” How was that an insult? It was just a question.

“You couldn’t have known,” Bo said. “Privileged love secrets. We hoard them like a squirrel does nuts and share them only sparingly. One of those secrets is our strengths and weaknesses. Now, over time, a healer will become known as a healer, or a fire Privileged known to do fire. But at the beginning, when you’re most vulnerable as a person, you’ll want to keep that information close to you. It could save your life in a duel with another Privileged.”

“I see,” Nila said. Except she didn’t, really. Were all Privileged so mistrustful?

Bo held up his forefinger. “My strongest is air. Then water, fire, earth, aether.”

“Well, wait,” Nila said crossly. “Why would you tell me that after-”

“Because I trust you,” Bo interrupted her. “And because I’m confident in myself and I have enough of a reputation that most Privileged already know my strengths and weaknesses. Once people have heard of you and had a chance to ask around, it’s hard to keep that kind of thing a secret.”

“Then why is it considered rude to ask them directly?” Nila demanded.

“Because,” Lady Winceslav spoke up suddenly, “you’re implying that they’re fool enough to tell you something that could leave them open to attack. Try to think with that pretty head of yours, girl.” Lady Winceslav crossed her legs and turned back toward the window.

Nila stuck her tongue out at her. When she looked back at Bo, he’d already settled back into his corner of the carriage, his mind far away.