Meridian
I watched the mirror Cerridwen had just stepped through, trying to
figure out what had disturbed her so. I could see her in its image,
walking towards the stairs that descended from the Tir, but saw nothing
that should have caused the reaction I had witnessed. Recalling that she
had stroked the frame of the mirror, I reached forward and did the same,
and discovered that I was now able to adjust the focus and perspective of
the image. It was then that I saw what must have disturbed her so. In
looking at her image in the mirror, I noticed that her right hand and arm
were almost gray, and maybe a touch gaunt, like a form of withering. Now
that I thought about it, when Cerridwen had frowned, she appeared to be
looking at her own reflection. Perhaps she saw the same withering that I
did now? What did it mean? Cerridwen obviously had some idea, and
judging by her reaction, it did not indicate anything pleasant.
As I pondered this, Cerridwen descended the stairs from the Tir
and moved out of sight. I tucked the problem of her arm away for the
moment and returned my attention to the task at hand. Using the mirror, I
was able to catch up with her and continue to keep her in sight, though no
sound came through the image. I saw her reach a strange white building,
adobe in construction, that reminded me of Kashfa. Cerridwen passed a
pool where a bald, muscled man took note of her and summoned a man I
assumed to be Meridian. He was quite the spitting image of Caine, though
taller and softer seeming. So this was the man who had caused so much
trouble for all of us. I studied his features well as he spoke with
Cerridwen, already picturing the Trump card I would draw of him.
Cerridwen might place him in her barred Shadow, but I had no intention of
allowing him to remain there alive.
Cerridwen and her uncle began to walk to the Tir, continuing their
conversation. Several times, his expression changed to shock at something
she had said, and I wished heartily that I could hear what they were
saying. Or that I knew how to read lips. I resolved to learn how to do
so in the future and directed my attention to the mirror itself. It was
rather strange, given the nature of the enchantment upon it, that it could
not relay sound psychically to me while I was touching it. Perhaps
Cerridwen had deliberately disabled the mirror's ability to conduct sound?
If so, then there was a chance I could determine how it might be undone.
I examined the mirror more closely, and realized that there were traces of
bindings on the mirror, as if a spirit were bound to the object. There
were many layers of bindings over this 'spirit,' but I was able to
pinpoint the one that prevented it from speaking. Unfortunately, at that
moment the action in the mirror caught my attention again.
Cerridwen and Meridian had reached the balcony at this point, and
Meridian looked rather angry. Cerridwen was laughing at him, scorn in her
eyes. He turned to walk away and then stopped, some kind of unseen
barrier obviously preventing his flight. He turned then, his jaw set,
already incanting his first spell. With a wave of her hand, a circle
appeared on the ground around Cerridwen, and I watched as many spells were
traded back and forth. Meridian favored water and ice spells, and
generally Cerridwen countered them with more elemental heat and cold
dweomers, turning his ice to water and his water to ice and steam.
Obviously angry, Meridian began using more primal applications of magic,
and the spells ceased to be visible to the naked eye. I was still able to
view them through my magics, of course. And then Cerridwen burned him.
She made a flippant gesture, like a child tossing a ball, and something
rolled to his feet. I barely had time to discern that it was a terribly
small, blackened skull, before a pillar of flame erupted around him, and
he began to burn. I saw the word spoken on her lips, and this time I
could make it out. "Pyre."
If that was not the signal, I did not know what would be. I began
moving the Tir away as planned, watching with interest to see what
Meridian's reaction would be once he realized what was happening. He
jumped from the flames, and I could see that he had only been scorched,
though rather badly. Before he could call another spell, Cerridwen hit
him with a spell of binding. Animate manacles lashed out and snagged his
wrists, ankles, and throat. He paused then, and concentrated, and then
looked shocked. He cried out to her, and I with an effort I could just
barely read the words on his lips. "You set me up..."
Cerridwen's only reply was another spell, and Meridian became
semi-transparent...diffuse, almost. The chains dropped through his flesh
and he looked confused. He mouthed some words, but Cerridwen seemed not
to notice, and I failed to make them out. Cerridwen turned her back on
him and entered the main hall. Meridian followed her clumsily, but she
appeared to take little note of him. I realized then that he was not
walking on the ground, but rather hovering just a bit above it. What had
Cerridwen cast on him? Without sound, I had no chance of reproducing it,
and it was not a spell I recognized. Pity, it looked like a rather useful
one to know. Perhaps I would ask her at a later date.
Watching her move through the mirror, I suddenly saw her look me
straight in the eyes and smile. The reflection shimmered around her, the
background changing, then the mirror reflected the room I was in now, save
that I was absent from the reflection. Cerridwen stood in my place.
Almost against my will, I reached towards the glass, a move mirrored by
her. And as I touched the glass, I felt a pressure on my shoulder...but
surprisingly, I did not start. Turning, I found that Cerridwen stood
behind me, her smile coy. There was no sign of Meridian.
I inclined my head slightly. "Very well done, I must say. For a
moment there, I wondered if you were going to try to contain him without
having me move the Tir."
"He proved a far more incapable opponent than I had anticipated.
Funny, that," she responded, her expression light. "I believe that I have
changed my mind. There is no need to deposit him in Shadow now. I'll
just leave him here." Her tone was cruel as she laughed, and I found
myself sharing her amusement. How perfect. Far better, even, than
killing him, for now he would suffer forever.
Cerridwen's laughter trailed off, and she looked serious again.
"I do believe we have a prize to claim down on the further shores of
Meridian's folly. Shall we go?"
"By all means." The chance to finally have full use of my magics
again? I would not miss it for the world.
Melanie's Page |
Melanie's Journals
All text on this page is © 1998 by Kris Fazzari.
Last modified on December 25, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.