"By the time you're done with that, I should have the eggs ready," she informed him as he started with an apple.

After a very large meal, nearly more than Tarrin could eat, he settled down near the fire, laying on his back, staring up into the cloudless sky and soaking up the heat of the desert sun. Sarraya gave him a little kiss on the cheek, almost like a mother, then retreated into her tent to escape from the heat, and probably to take a much needed nap. He felt a little tired yet, but that was just an aftereffect of sleeping so long. His mind rolled over the amazing things that had happened the day before, trying to make sense of them. Jenna was a Weavespinner. He knew that she was, but he didn't expect her to bloom into her full power this quickly. He had seen Jenna and his parents again. that brought painful longing, but it wasn't something that he couldn't control. By now, they were all on board their grandfather's ship, if he knew his parents, sailing for parts unknown. They would take his warning seriously.

A warning that he felt hadn't come from him. The Goddess had a habit of injecting herself into his words now and again. It had happened before, and he had little doubt that it was what she had done this time. The warning to move Jenna had come from the Goddess, but looking back on it, he could only agree with her caution. Jenna was vulnerable now, and there were alot of people who would want to control her for the power she would gain when she recovered. Jenna would be like him, capable of using High Sorcery unaided, and that would make her one of the most formidable magic-users in the world. That was a power that absolutely could not fall into the wrong hands. She may have incredible power, but she was still little more than an adolescent girl, relatively easy to manipulate and control for one skilled in the inner workings of the young mind.

Two-no, three -Weavespinners. Himself, Jenna, and that Sha'Kar woman. How would that increase the power of the Weave? There were only three of them, it seemed ludicrous that only three beings could have such a dramatic effect on something that ranged over the entire world. Well, there were three active Weavespinners, he corrected himself. Those who had yet to touch their power would still have an effect on the Weave, but not as much of one. When Jenna made the transition, had come into full bloom of her power, the magical energy she released back into the Weave was more than what had filled her before it happened. Jenna's body, her presence, her magic, had amplified the power within her, made it stronger than it had been before, and then that power was released to spread out into the Weave. That had enriched the Weave somehow, like fertilizing a farm field.

A rather distasteful analagy, but essentially correct, the Goddess sang in his mind, her voice amused. Are you well, kitten?

"I'm fine, Mother," he said in a quiet tone. Sarraya was napping, and he didn't want to disturb her. "Still a little tired yet, but I'll be just fine. How is Jenna?"

She's still sleeping, the Goddess told him. But she'll be just fine.

"Do you, talk to her too?"

Tarrin, what a silly question, the Goddess laughed. She's one of my Children now. Of course I talk to her, but not directly as I do with you. She's a lovely little girl. I'm very glad to have her. I get unconditional, boundless love from her, unlike the guarded posturing I get from you, and the rather leathery regard I get from the Sha'Kar.

"You're going to make me jealous, Mother," he said in a light tone.

I'm just teasing, my kitten, she said impishly. All of you are my beloved Children, and I love you all equally.

"I know that, Mother." He paused. "How does it work, Mother? How-"

I can't answer that, Tarrin, she warned before he began. That's a secret that you'll have to discover on your own. But seeing Jenna do what you were too busy to see about yourself when it happened to you should give you something of a basic understanding of what you're asking.

That was truth. "Somehow we make the magic stronger," he answered. "I don't understand how, but where Sorcerers simply draw up the power from the Heart, the Weavespinners make it more than what was brought forth. The more Weavespinners there are, the stronger the Weave becomes, and the more powerful the magic it can sustain."

Correct. A very complete answer. Sometimes your intellect amazes me, kitten. You don't often act or think in such analytical ways.

"Thank the other side of me for that, Mother," he grunted. "It's dragging me down the path before the rest of me can stop and think about what it's doing."

That can be a very endearing trait, she said lightly. But on to matters. You're going to need to be able to talk with Jenna with absolute privacy, and you already know that you can't do that through the amulet.

"I know."

So, you need to find a way to talk to her without anyone listening. You already know how and where, you've been there before. Just think about it, and it'll come to you.

He closed his eyes. Someplace utterly private. Well, the only way he could talk to Jenna was through magic, since she was thousands of leagues west of him. The only magical means to speak was through the amulets, but it couldn't be that way.

Then he remembered seeing Jenna enveloped in a golden glow, and felt her soul join with the Weave and seek out the Heart.

Of course! The Heart! Only Weavespinners could go there, the core of the power of Sorcery, a place much like being in the arms of the Goddess. He had been there twice, by sending his consciousness into the Weave. That meant that he could probably enter that place any time he wished. And if he could do it, Jenna could do it too.

Very good, kitten, the Goddess said to him proudly. That is the very place. The only ones who will hear you there are Weavespinners also within the Heart, and myself, of course. The only thing you'll have to do is teach Jenna how to enter the Heart voluntarily.

Something clicked in his mind. "That's the real test, isn't it, Mother?" he asked. "Not gaining control of the power when it threatened to Consume, but the ability to find the Heart!"

You are getting too clever, kitten, the Goddess laughed. You're right, and also wrong. Finding the Heart is the main reason for the test, but at that time you have to be filled with magical power, as much as you can possibly hold, and that only really happens when you're in danger of being Consumed. That instant between achieving your absolute maximum potential and the Wildstrike that would destroy you. It does you no good to reach the Heart when not filled with energy, because it dramatically reduces the power you could have gained, and the power that is sent back into the Weave.

"So, being filled with power when reaching the Heart is why Weavespinners are so much stronger?" he asked. "The Heart changes the Sorcerer into a Weavespinner, but it needs that power to be there to do the job right?"

Very perceptive, but not exactly right, she replied. It's something I don't think I'd be able to explain to you, kitten, because it touches on things you haven't learned about yet. Let's just say that the more you bring when you arrive, the more you take when you leave, and the more that gets released into the Weave after you've succeeded. Both of those effects are extremely important, so it's imperative that Weavespinners take that next step only when the situations are favorable. As in, only when being Consumed.

"Mother, you've called me a Weavespinner all this time, but what you just said makes me curious. Could anyone become a Weavespinner?"

Kitten, there are Weavespinners, and there are Weavespinners. You were born with the potential within you, and it was ordained that you would reach this level. But to answer your question, yes, any Sorcerer can achieve the level of Weavespinner, if they can find the Heart during their moment of truth. Their power will be nowhere near yours, but they do gain access to Weavespinner magic.