Pug said, 'I do not expect you to understand what I'm about to say. But should you ever come to a time when you need to say something upon my behalf, say this, "The last truth is that there is no magic." '
'Tell me what "there is no magic" means'
Nakor's face screwed up in concentration. 'Stop,' he said. James, Gamina, and Nakor moved their horses out of line and halted by the roadside, just beyond the boundary of the city. Nakor reached into his rucksack and pulled out three oranges. 'Can you juggle ?'
'A little, 'said James
Nakor tossed the three oranges to him. 'Juggle.'
James, who had always had dexterity bordering on the supernatural, caught the three oranges and propelled them upwards, and quickly was juggling them while holding his horse steady - no mean feat. Then Nakor said, 'Can you do it with your eyes closed ?'
James tried to get into a rhythm as even as possible and close his eyes. He had to force himself not to open his eyes and yet every instant he felt as if the next orange would not land in the palm of his left hand.
'Now do it with one hand.'
James's eyes opened and the oranges fell to the ground. 'What ?'
'I said you were to juggle with one hand.'
'Why ?'
'It's a trick. It's not magic. But if you don't know how to do it , it looks like magic. That is why people toss coins to jugglers at the fair. When you can do it with one hand, you've learned something.' Then he spurred his horse on and said, 'And when you can do it without using your hands, you'll understand what pug meant.'
-Extract from,
Prince Of The Blood
Pages '94' and '392-393'
Author 'Raymond E. Feist'
Under 'Grafton Books (1989) '
