Stealing Sorcery by Andrew Rowe

was often sufficient to prevent weaker attacks – such as arrows or ordinary swings of a sword – from causing harm, the extra essence expended by a more potent defense was essentially wasted.
    Second, I found that soldiers and sorcerers alike were more cautious when they felt the impact of attacks. Someone who knows that they are likely to be completely unharmed by a certain number of strikes is far more likely to take risks, and much less likely to realize when their defensive spells have been worn away. The more granular nature of the armor spell allows the recipient to continue to feel the force of each impact increase as the armor weakens, giving him or her a chance to react appropriately.
    While I have primarily switched to using armor spells for protecting the troops under my command, I do still utilize the more traditional defenses in specific cases. Armor spells provide minimal defense against mental incursion, and thus, I typically protect myself and others with Sorcerous Shields when confronting Esharen sorcerers. Similarly, armor spells are insufficient against attacks with a level of force that would crush an ordinary suit of armor – and thus, Sorcerous Shields are also necessary protection against siege engines and war sorcerers.
    Of course, the best defense against a siege engine is still to avoid being hit by a siege engine. No amount of sorcery can provide certain protection in the face of sufficient force.
     
    The writing was sufficiently enrapturing that she didn’t notice Taelien standing outside the door of her office until she had nearly wandered into him. Blinking, she looked up to meet his grin. “Oh, Salaris. I don’t think I have time to give you any advice on the tests today.”
    Calling him Salaris still sounded awkward on her tongue. Using Taelien in Velthryn would drag them both into more politics than she was prepared to deal with – at least for now. Once Taelien was established as a paladin…then things would be very different. She needed to wait for the right time to strike.
    He stepped out of the way of the door, motioning toward the handle for her to open it. “I’m not here to bother you about that. It’s the eighth.”
    She quirked an eyebrow, searching her mind and failing to find the connection. Looks like one of my spells must have eaten that memory. Either that, or I’m just getting old. “The eighth?”
    “Sorcery measurements.”
    “Ahh, right.” She found a bookmark in her pouch, shoved it into the book, and then dug deeper into the pouch for the key to her office. After a few more moments of fumbling, she opened the door and gestured for Taelien to go inside. “I suppose we’ll have to do it now, then, or the tests will be invalid. We’ll have to be quick, though. I have some rather important business to attend to.”
    “Anything I can help with?” Taelien tilted his head to the side.
    She shook her head. “Not at the moment, unfortunately. Once I’ve concluded the preliminary investigation, perhaps.”
    Once they were within, she locked the door. This wasn’t the kind of business she wanted someone walking in on.
    Taelien took a seat in nearest chair, unrolling his sleeve. Lydia walked around to the opposite side of the table, lifting up her own chair and dragging it over to set it down next to Taelien.
    The swordsman took a deep breath. “Before we start, have you heard anything from Colonel Dyr?”
    Lydia shook her head. Back in Orlyn, Taelien had been advised to ask Orin Dyr about Erik Tarren – the man who had handed an infant Taelien to his adoptive parents. Lydia had asked Orin on Taelien’s behalf, but Orin hadn’t seen Tarren in years.
    At Lydia’s urging, Orin had sent letters to a few locations he knew Tarren visited – but it was not uncommon for the Erik to disappear for years at a time. An expert on travel sorcery, Erik wandered the countryside to learn its features, which enabled him to teleport to a broader variety of