King Edward , Book V Summary . This book is part of a twelve - part series on King Edward , as follows : Content . Chapter 5 : In the Crystal Tower Inside the Tower , Edward ' s first impression was of whiteness . Floors , walls , ceiling , all were white and radiated light . Their footsteps made soft crunching noises on the rough floor surface . Except for that , it was very still , with occasional soft , unrecognizable far - off sounds . Moraelyn moved confidently through winding halls and long rooms . He seemed very black in all that white . They passed long pools of water with fountains that sparkled in the light . " Where is everyone ? " Edward whispered . " At table , I hope . I ' m hungry . Aren ' t you ? " " No . " Abruptly a big , broad ugly shape appeared in front of them and roared a challenge . Edward grabbed for Moraelyn ' s arm with both hands . Moraelyn shook him off irritably . " Gods , boy , don ' t grab my sword arm if ever you do spot a monster . Stay clear ! " But Moraelyn didn ' t reach for his blade . He stood still while the monster wrapped its long arms around him and pounded on his back , still roaring . Moraelyn roared back and pounded on the monster ' s chest . Then he introduced Edward to the Captain of the Archmagister ' s guard . " Don ' t hug him , " Moraelyn warned the troll , who grinned at Edward showing pointy teeth . " He ' ll break . " " I thought trolls were dangerous ! " Edward gasped as they ascended a long winding stairway . " They are . I ' ll have bruises for a fortnight . I ' d have shielded , but I didn ' t like to hurt his feelings . " " He likes you ? ! " " Oh , aye , it can be done , you see . " " Why does the Archmagister keep troll guards ? " " They keep the rat s down . " More trolls , but these paid them little heed . Another long stairway . More corridors . A sort of guardroom where three trolls appeared to be gaming with bones . One of them shambled to his feet and led them down a shadowy passage . A row of cages with huge rats , then some with small odd creatures that looked rather like elves seen in a badly distorted mirror ( though Edward kept this observation to himself ) . They gobbled and squeaked as the elf and boy paced quickly by . " Goblin s , " Moraelyn said with distaste . They turned a corner and went past two cages that held only large stone statues . There seemed to be more cages off down other hallways . The troll unlocked a huge black metal door . It clanged shut behind them . A very large green and yellow hooved creature sat man - like in one corner . Its unwinking eyes didn ' t flicker as they passed quickly and climbed still another stair . More white halls . These were patrolled by huge black dogs that sniffed at them as they passed . Edward stretched a hand to pet one , but it snarled at him . " I wouldn ' t . " Moraelyn said . " Yes Sir . " They came to another massive black metal door . A voice sounded . " What is black and white , has one body , two heads , four arms , four legs , two red eyes and two brown ? " " That ' s disgusting ! " Moraelyn yelled at the door , hands on hips . " You are correct , mortal . You may pass . " The door swung slowly open , creaking . There was no one behind it , just a narrow stairway that wound sharply . It seemed dark above . Moraelyn raced up the stairs , leaving Edward clinging to the bottom rail , shaking . There was not a thing to do but follow . " Welcome , Edward . " The Archmagister stood white and gold in the center of a large dim room . Huge windows looked out on the purple twilit sea below . " Come here , child . Give me your hands . " Edward put his hands in the Archmagister ' s who smiled down at him . Edward ' s fatigue and fear vanished instantly . He smiled back at the Archmagister , who said softly . " It is well . You may go , " to the furious dark elf who stood glowering to one side . Edward was barely aware of him , his whole attention occupied by the Archmagister . " Goodbye , Edward . " " Bye . " Edward didn ' t take his eyes off the Archmagister . From far away he heard the dark elf go down the stairs . " He calls you son , " the Archmagister said . " Yes sir . I asked him if I might call him father . " " But you are not entirely comfortable about it . " Edward sighed . " No sir . " " That may be as well . You will return to Daggerfall one day . And then you must be Corcyr ' s son . So let the claim be on Moraelyn ' s side . " The Archmagister moved companionably to the windows with him . The dusk was fast gathering as Edward stared out over the hill through which they ' d journeyed . A dark figure appeared below and strode swiftly off into the night . " That ' s Moraelyn ! I thought he was going to stay the night . It ' s dangerous out there alone in the dark . There are evil things out there . Can ' t you . . . " " Dangerous for any evil that meets Moraelyn in his present mood . He will go safely , I promise you . " " Oh . But I haven ' t thanked him . He ' s been very kind , really . Why was he so angry about the door ? It was just a silly question . The answer was him and my mother , when they ' re asleep and I ' m not there . How do you make a door talk ? Is it an illusion ? " " That ' s three questions . Which of them do you want answered ? Aren ' t you hungry ? Would you like a bowl of stew ? " " Yes , please . I ' d like to hear about the door , please . " " Ah . You think the talking door may prove more comprehensible than a surly dark elf ? More interesting ? Or safer ? " The Archmagister ' s large golden eyes regarded the boy thoughtfully . " I don ' t know if I , uh , like him . Sometimes I think I . . . and then other times I . . . do you understand about liking ? He said he didn ' t . " " You would be more comfortable if you felt the same way about him at all times , yet you do not . " " Yes , that ' s it , exactly . You do understand . " " Moraelyn is not a comfortable man . " " Well , I don ' t mean that exactly . Sometimes he is . Like when we rode the dragon . " The Archmagister laughed aloud . His laughter reminded Edward of chimes . " Yes , yes . I find comfort myself in having Moraelyn near at hand when dragons are about . " A young high elf brought in a bowl of stew and set it down on the table . Edward felt a bit disappointed that the stew had come in such an ordinary way . Until he remembered that the Archmagister hadn ' t sent for the stew . " The priest at home in Daggerfall said it was a mark of evil things , that they cannot bear the light , " Edward said between mouthfuls . " Moraelyn doesn ' t like sunlight . And he ' s black . " " I see . Do you know what evil is ? " " Um , well , if you do bad things , then you ' re evil ? " " I see . If the cook had burnt the stew , would he then be evil ? " Edward grinned . " No , just a bad cook . But if he did it on purpose , then I guess he ' d have done an evil thing . . . but maybe he wouldn ' t be altogether evil . Maybe he was just angry about something . " " Or perhaps the sort of person who is pleased by spoiling others ' pleasure ? " " I guess that ' d make my little brothers evil . They sure like to spoil my fun . " " And you ? " Edward felt his face redden . " I don ' t take any notice of them , " he said quickly . The Archmagister ' s large golden eyes regarded him steadily . To his own dismay , Edward began to cry . He bawled like a baby . " I don ' t know what ' s wrong with me , " he gasped . " I never cry , really , I don ' t . . . hardly ever . . . " " Why ever not ? " Edward looked up . His tears had blurred his sight , but there seemed to be tears on the Archmagister ' s face . His hand reached up to feel the wetness . " You have been very alone , have you not ? " the Archmagister said . " Yes . Until you brought the unicorn for me , I was all alone . They endure no evil , " Edward sighed with satisfaction , feeling relaxed and comfortable . The Archmagister was wonderful . " We summoned the unicorn , Moraelyn and the dragon and I and others . It ' s a great magic and one no single man or woman may command . But don ' t trouble yourself overmuch with judging good and evil . That ' s a human notion . Life is complex ; I know of nothing that is wholly good or wholly evil . Not even the unicorn . " Edward ' s time in the Tower passed quickly . There were few other novices and the youngest of these was several years older than Edward . The boy spent several hours each day with the Archmagister . He learned to cast a few spells and to open his mind so that he could renew his magicka quickly while he slept . But often they just talked . Sometimes Edward was given a book to read . Other times he was allowed to choose one from the thousands in the library . He usually tired of them quickly . He didn ' t read Elvish script easily ; his tutor had taught him the letters , but their few books were in Bretic . Spellcasting was more fun . Fire spells came easily to him and he learned to shield himself readily , but to his chagrin , he couldn ' t Heal at all . He invariably made things worse for the unlucky rats he was allowed to practice on . " I don ' t know what I ' m doing wrong ! " Edward cried out in frustration . He sent a dart of fire at the writhing rat and it turned into a charred corpse . " Edward , it will be well if you let the Heal spells wait awhile yet . " " Moraelyn said Light Heal is the first spell anybody learns , " Edward said sulkily . " Did he ? Well , he is a practitioner of magic , not a theorist . Even I would hesitate to say what a Breton might or might not learn , and when he might learn it . You are the first of your people with whom I have worked . Certainly Moraelyn has had no experience with your race , except for your mother , of course . " " My mother can ' t do magic . " " No , but we think the ability lies within her . She has not been able to learn to master it , possibly because she was too old when she first tried . If you want my opinion it is your thoughts and not your hands which are causing your difficulty . Weeping might help . " " I don ' t feel like crying , " Edward said rather sullenly . He felt more like kicking something , although incinerating the rat had helped relieve some of that . " Meditation might help , then . "