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.He blinked again when he saw the captain bowing onone knee, his shovel dipped at his side.Ponzar extended his right hand with the index finger pointing at Jemidon,Page 180 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlthumb skyward and middle finger to the side.Jemidon whirled to look at therest.They were all doing the same."By the grace of the great right hand, homage to the new pilot," Ponzar said."Homage to the new pilot, or as he would say in his own tongue, homage to themeta-magician, master of all the laws.""What do you mean?" Jemidon asked."I failed.Of all of these, I was the onlyone who could not pass the simple test.If I cannot master the basicprinciples, what hope do Ihave of controlling the metalaws as well?""You are not Melizar's mampulant." Ponzar rose and pounded his shovel on theground."He would never have322sent a possible rival if he knew of that one's power.There is an instinctivedistrust that grows as awareness unfolds.No, faraway one, the test hasconfirmed it.There can be no doubt.You are a metamagician.May the greatright hand make you strong.""Two metalaws," Jemidon protested."Only two meta-laws do I know,""There is only one more," Ponzar said."The Verity of Exclusion is the third.""As Melizar indicated." Jemidon nodded."After the battle in Plowblade Pass.""Exactly so," Ponzar agreed."The Verity of Exclusion, or, as the Skyskirrsay, 'if skill with the key, then none with the stone.You can be a mover ofthe stones or the one1who uncouples, but not both.The great right hand does not permit such talentto reside all in one."Jemidon gasped as the words hit him.The implication was staggering, if itwere true.Manipulator of the laws or a practitioner, but not both.Talent inone excluded performance in the other.It was the answer to all his failures,bundled neatly in a single mass, coupled to a cause totally outside himself.He felt his lifelong burden suddenly release from his shoulders and sail away.Despite Meh'zar's twisting of the laws, despite the growing menace of thenoxious air, his spirits soared.More swiftly than the fastest lithon, thefeeling careened through his thoughts.There was nothing wrong with him.Hewas as worthy to hold his shoulders straight as the next.He was truly a man,able to return even a master's stare without looking away.He reached out and grabbed Ponzar's arm."1 want to believe, Ponzar, mostcertainly I do.It would explain so much.The bumblings, the miscarriages theywould be tolerable to bear.I cotild not have become the thaumaturge'sapprentice despite my sister's sacrifice, nor the magician's initiate, norFarnel's tyro, nor any of the rest.It is a taw, a metalaw, that prevented meall the while."Jemidon managed to laugh.He almost jumped to click his heels, but rememberedin time and grabbed onto the safety rope.He ran the facts through his mind;as they323fell into place, one by one, his smile broadened.On Morgana, he could notwork the simplest charms until after sorcery was no longer a law.He hadfumbled through the ritual in Rosimar's guild, even though it was the simpleststep.In the grotto, he could not grasp the rock-cutting sword.And evenalchemy when the domain was tightly coupled and the formula had no part oflaw, he remembered perfectly.But just now, when there was Indeed a chance toeffect its potency, he could not recall a thing.He was suited for no craft.No master's robe would he ever wear.It would be that of a metamagicianinstead, one whose skills transcended all laws.He couldJemidon stopped and frowned at Ponzar."You say that there are only threemetalaws, and now 1 know them all.The constraint of seven I understand andthe manipulation of least contradictions as well.But the uncoupling." JemidonPage 181 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlshrugged."Iknow nothing of the working of Meti-zar's cube or even Utothaz's pyramid.""Those are only the crutches," Ponzar said."The aids that help bring forththe powers the pilots possess inside.They are bound to the gradualawakenings, the growing understanding of the working of the laws.For eachpilot, it is different, something unique to his own being, something thatresonates with what molded him into the power that he is to be.""But I have no such device," Jemidon said
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