Cerridwen moved towards the mirror and adjusted the frame somewhat. She left the reflection, and the image focused on a city, and then on a large building that looked like some kind of temple. It dominated the center of the city. Turning to me with a slight smile, Cerridwen offered her hand, clearly intending to walk through the glass. I took her hand and followed, keeping a wary eye open just in case it was a trap, and then we were standing in a city square. The wind was strong, and I could smell salt in the air. The cobblestone streets were immaculate, and in the center of the square was the temple I had seen in the mirror. I could see four main towers, extending almost to the clouds, and atop each was some elemental representation. One had a fountain, another a flame, another a crystal spire, while the last spewed forth bluish vapor. The doors of the temple were closed, and there were guards. Beyond them, I could sense great power emanating from the building. Cerridwen closed her eyes for a moment and muttered something I did not recognize...something about 'between'...and the flame stopped, the wind stopped, and there was stillness and silence all around. Turning to me, Cerridwen remarked, "It's temporary...let's hurry past the guards and avoid wasting our energies."

I proceeded to do so with all due haste, while doing my best to analyze the spell Cerridwen had just cast. It was not a spell I knew, but I was able to determine that it had sped the two of us up. I was reasonably confident that I could reproduce the effect without too much difficulty, although it might not work terribly well in other Shadows. At least not until I walked the Circle.

Cerridwen opened the large temple doors with a light touch, and shut them behind us both. For a moment, I could not see anything inside, it was so dark after the brightness of the square. But my vision quickly adjusted, and my first impression that was that the inside of the temple looked somehow larger than it seemed from outside. I was able to make out hints of the vaulted ceiling overhead, but my attention was quickly captured by the flickering light emanating from an elaborate sigil drawn on the floor in the center of the room. It had to be the Magic Circle. It reminded me somewhat of my father's descriptions of the Pattern. Flickering lightly, its color changed in a gradual way, fading from blue to green to yellow to orange to red to violet and back to blue again. Unlike the Pattern, however, there appeared to be many ways to traverse it. It was not a circle, really, at all, nor a maze like the Pattern...there were too many routes, too many arcs and swirls. Traced in its curves I could see magical sigils and runes, some recognizable to me, some foreign. Near the center I could see a well of light...a stray beam that either emanated from a hole in the ceiling, or the Circle itself, it was hard to tell which. It seemed to me like a grand spellbook, waiting to be read. One thing disturbed me, though. One small part of the Circle was inconsistent in style, and its color did not waver from a silvery white. Its traces did not read like magical sigils, either. It seemed familiar to me somehow, but try as I might, I could not place it.

"The question now," Cerridwen remarked, "is where to begin."

I nodded somewhat distractedly. "Indeed. Pity Meridian did not leave an owner's manual behind." I continued to study the inconsistent section, trying to place why I almost recognized it. Since the traces did not seem to be magical sigils, perhaps I could identify another power emanating from that area. My methodical approach quickly paid off, as I realized that the traceries in question resembled a portion of the Pattern...part of the beginning of the Pattern, actually. Whether it resembled the Pattern sufficiently to be a barrier to those who were not of the blood of Amber, however, was unclear. Perhaps if I had actually walked the Pattern I might have been more certain, but as it was, all I had was what Father had chosen to share with me, and it was not sufficient.

I studied the Circle further, trying to find a way to cover it all in one trip, but alas, there were too many different routes. Not too surprising, I suppose, given that the thing was nearly over one hundred yards in diameter. I could plainly see a center, however. Unfortunately, I could now discern the beginning as well, and naturally it was in that silvery section that I had noticed before. Since I could not cover it all, I set my mind to plotting out a route that covered the most ground, preferably through areas with some of the magical sigils that I was not familiar with.

Cerridwen, too, looked at the Circle for several moments, and then stepped onto the beginning. She walked along it slowly, taking several looping paths. Like myself, she seemed to have chosen the longest path available, and she did not appear to be at all strained as she walked. Her expression, instead, was merely contemplative. As she walked, though, I noticed something odd. The Magic Circle was growing. Like a fractal, it expanded as she walked. In one part of the circle, I had noted a black spot where lines terminated. As Cerridwen walked, this spot was circled and sealed in by sigils and routes. It was very strange. By the time she reached the center, I estimated that the Magic Circle had become one-third larger than before. She waved her hand, and then she was beside me. "That was...different than I'd expected," she stated quietly.

I looked curious. "How so?"

"I have walked the Pattern...it was rather difficult. This was...sublime...like re-reading a favorite book and discovering parts I'd previously overlooked." She smiled at me and looked back at the Magic Circle. "And I seemed to have penned my own chapters, as well. Are you ready to attempt it?" she asked.

I studied it for a few moments more, incorporating the changes that had appeared during Cerridwen's walk. Then I nodded. "I am ready." And with that I began my walk, attempting to take the longest path that I could manage. It was much as Cerridwen described. I put my foot down, and I was locked on the path, but gently. As I walked, I remembered...remembered spells that I had cast, lessons I had learned. All centered on magic. It was like replaying it all in my mind. Most of all, I remembered hours spent pouring over spellbooks, taking it all in. And abruptly I realized that some of the things in my mind were not memories at all. I never studied a spell of wasting, and yet there it was in my mind. And the memory of studying it felt oddly displaced. I could not remember when I did that. I remembered Cerridwen teaching me lessons she never taught, like how to make magic transcend the boundaries of Shadow. It went on like this for a long time, remembering memories that were never mine to begin with. Teachers I had never met explaining theory and practice of magic...faces I did not know...the accumulated knowledge of all these users of magic pouring into my mind. It was exhilarating. I reached the center and my head throbbed a bit, like the beginnings of a headache, but the feeling immediately faded. And I was left with clarity, and an understanding I had never had before. The mirror? An easy magic to master. The binding Cerridwen placed upon Meridian? Difficult, but certainly manageable. The time stop enchantment? Child's play in a land so rich with magic as this place was. It was all in me now.

Across the way, Cerridwen smiled at me and waited. For a moment, I fear I allowed my emotions free reign across my face. Wonder at the things I had learned, sadness at the memory of those who were lost, a sudden longing for more. Fortunately, it was only a momentary lapse, and I teleported to Cerridwen with only a faint smile still on my features. "Sublime, indeed. It might be interesting to walk it again, after others have made their mark upon it."

I could not resist looking over the Circle as I spoke, to see how my walk had changed it. At first I did not see anything...and then I saw the traces of it. It resembled something akin to an art nouveau tapering in spots. Edges and glyphs that were formerly drawn roughly, now seemed polished in their curves...more artistic...more subtle. A definite improvement.

"Shall we go bring the others?" Cerridwen asked, interrupting my musing.

I nodded, seeing no reason to delay. "By all means."

Suddenly, I nearly started at a loud noise, the source of which turned out to be a man off behind the two of us, who clapped three times slowly. "Bravo, Cerridwen. Bravo," he continued, approaching the two of us.

"Edgar," she replied politely, but not warmly. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

"Per our agreement, I come to inform you that I am about to begin negotiations with the others. With any luck, the Shadows will soon be joined again."

Cerridwen frowned, but only slightly. "I wish you the best of luck at the bargaining table, Edgar. With my mother, you'll need it."

Turning to me, Cerridwen made the appropriate introductions. "Melanie, this is Edgar, son of Swayvill and Florimel, heir to all the titles appropriate thereof. Edgar, this is Lady Melanie of Chanicut."

"Charmed, I'm sure," he replied, with a slight bow.

I curtseyed equally slightly, keeping my expression polite. "A pleasure to meet you." I searched my memory for any recollection of this man, but none came to mind.

"I wish I had time to stay and chat with this vision of loveliness, but my duties draw me elsewhere," he said.

"Of course," Cerridwen replied. "I wouldn't want to keep you."

He smiled, and behind him a black door opened. I felt the temperature in the room drop suddenly, and perhaps the whistling of wind being drawn into the door. He stepped through and the door vanished, although the coolness lingered.

"Abyssal scum," Cerridwen muttered as she began casting a spell to take the two of us to the Tir.

I was rather surprised to hear this, and allowed a touch of this to show on my face. "After what you told me happened in Chaos, I would not have thought such would be tolerated any longer."

Cerridwen completed her spell before responding, turning to me as we arrived at the Tir. "He wouldn't be tolerated in Chaos, were his secret known. And I wouldn't recommend you reveal it, either. He is of the Abyss, but has blood ties to Amber and Chaos. He can go anywhere...surmount any barriers...and he would not hesitate to corrupt or destroy anyone who made his 'life' more difficult. At the same time, you deserve a warning in regards to him. He can be quite charming, in spite of his nature."

"He would have to be charming indeed to overcome the fact that he is Swayvill's get in my mind. But I do thank you for the warning. Both of them. I will be on my guard." I was puzzled by one thing, however. "If his Abyssal nature is such a secret, why on Earth was he foolish enough to reveal it to a complete stranger? Regardless of the fact they he could make my life hellish should I reveal it, that would not undo the consequences to him of such a revelation."

"He does it to challenge my authority. It was his way of making me take special effort to keep our compact, which is more and more growing useless to me," Cerridwen replied. "He flaunts his nature to my guest...and I am forced to warn about the dangers of crossing him. I grow so tired of his little games," she added. "He is a proper child of Amber, indeed. It is nearly time for Edgar to step into the spotlight...he now begins the preparations to ensure that all eyes will be on him. The point of his drama is beyond me, I'm afraid...but I doubt it will be comedy."

I posed the obvious question. "If he irritates you so, why do you not end your association? Or would that simply cause more trouble than it is worth?"

"We have a bargain, he and I," she replied, "and I will not be the one to break it. Our compact is nearly to an end, anyway, and with the restoration of Shadow, he will no longer have cause to speak with me."

"Why is he so concerned with the restoration of Shadow?"

"He mentioned something about the Abyss being littered with Shadows now," she replied rather smugly. "I suspect that the Abyss War turned out quite contrary to their expectations. Shadow wasn't destroyed, it was spread out over their own territories, and now they're left with the cleanup. I further suspect that proximity to reality weakens the creatures of the Abyss somewhat. Why else would they so resent the intrusion of pockets of reality into their domains?"

"And so he will try to act as if he is doing Amber and Chaos a great favor, while in reality he is serving his own ends. As you said, a proper child of Amber."

"Indeed," Cerridwen replied with a smile.

Melanie's Page | Melanie's Journals

All text on this page is © 1999 by Kris Fazzari.

Last modified on January 7, 1999 by Kris Fazzari.