The Aperture

Chapter 12

The Problem of the Atranox

After a brief rest, the party was back on the road again, heading south toward Roggentine. First rode Rahl and Theo; next rode Jalban, then Sind, then Connie. Tristana rode last behind the party after Theo had coaxed her onto Rahl’s pack hanyak. Theo had to cast spells of strength and endurance on the hanyak that carried her so that it could bear her additional weight.

Now in the deepening twilight, no one spoke much except Rahl and Theo, who spoke in hushed tones. Connie sensed the Swordbearer and the spirit mage were discussing her. No other member of the party participated in the conversation. Each was lost in thought from the day’s happening. Jalban hadn’t said another word to Connie since the beating, and she did not make any attempt to speak to him.

Rahl and Theo had been speaking in hushed tones their hanyaks some paces ahead of Connie for some time when Theo quietly halted his hanyak and waited until Connie passed where he stood.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, resuming riding along with her.

“I feel wonderful. Today was the best day of my life,” she replied sarcastically.

He glanced down at the dark bruises on her arms. On seeing him do this, Connie looked way, feeling self-conscious and ashamed, for those bruises resulted from her being unable to defend herself despite her years of martial arts training. There were a lot more bruises on her body besides the ones on her arm. They hurt no less than the fresh bruise she now had on her soul.

“Are you in pain?”

She was going to tell him to get lost, as he, like the others, had done nothing when Jalban began beating her, but she detected in his question a note of sympathy, and so she decided to answer him.

“I’m sore all over, Theo. He beat my back. He beat my arms and my legs. He kicked me in the stomach. That hurts the worst.”

Theo did not reply. Instead, he began softly muttering strange, incomprehensible words under his breath in an oddly rhythmic fashion. After a minute or so of doing this, he touched her forearm gently.

“I hope you feel better soon.”

He rode ahead of to resume his place with Rahl.

“What was that all about?” she asked herself.

Moments later, Connie felt a tingling in her gut and a slightly itchy feeling on her skin. Then, gradually, the pain subsided from her bruises, and the dull ache she felt in her stomach diminished until she no longer felt pain at all. After the pain had vanished, she examined and pressed the various places on her arms and legs where formerly there were bruises. To her welcome surprise, all the bruises were gone. She gasped at this realization. She turned around to Tristana, who had been riding behind them. Though she had seen everything, her expression said nothing. Connie turned to Rahl and Theo at the head of the group and whispered thanks to them.

A moon rose up from the eastern horizon about an hour after the last ray of light disappeared from the sky. This was the first time Connie had a good look at the sphere in the last few days. The moon did not look right in her eyes. It was much smaller, it had a pale yellow glow instead of the silvery-white she was accustomed to, and its features were slightly different. She decided the moon looked too unusual for it to be attributable to optical distortion in the atmosphere. This whole matter disturbed Connie. When the second moon rose above the horizon, Connie became alarmed for the first time. She kept her fear buried inside, lest she incur the ire of the party once again.

The hills turned to forest. Roggentine was still hours away. They took a vote; the consensus was to stop at the next clearing in the forest to break for dinner. Once they began to unpack the hanyaks, Rahl approached Connie to build the fire again. Connie reluctantly agreed. This time, with her twine and sticks she kept from the last campfire, she was able to get the fire started in just under a half-hour. While Rahl was out searching for firewood, he was able to catch and kill a large bird that looked to Connie like a cross between a turkey and a peacock. Jalban was able to flay the bird in short order, and by the time the fire was burning full force, it was on a spit and cooking. Before their meal had time to settle, they were back on the road to Roggentine.

They reached the walls of Roggentine at the first rays of sunlight. Now the gates parted for them, and they entered. Once inside the walls, Rahl, Connie, and Theo went to the residence of the Wizard Calicus, while Jalban took Sind and headed straight for the great Centarium, the building where the Law of the Land originated from.

Rahl found the gate to the wizard’s residence in short order. The residence lay up against the eastern section of the city off Seledel Street. Seledel was the great mage of the city’s distant past who had erected the original inner walls of the city solely with his great magic. Calicus’ residence was a grandiose building with a curved ceramic roof. The building itself was surrounded by a high, blue-tiled stone wall. Inside these walls between the building and the walls, visible through a steel gate, was a luxuriant garden of vines and huge flowers that looked to Connie like they could be roses sprayed with fluorescent paint.

The four travelers stood at the gate, peering inside. Seeing no one in the lush garden, Rahl pulled a knotted rope from the wall. From inside the garden came the harmonious chirping of birds. A brown sparrow watched them quizzically from the top of the wall. A few minutes later, the large, wood door to the residence opened up, and a pretty girl with lime green hair exited. Her hair was braided tightly against her head, and she wore a comfortable-looking robe that reminded Connie of an Indian sari. She walked briskly up the gate, stopping a few paces from the bars. At that instant, Connie realized that except for Tristana, they all appeared haggard and disheveled from their long night of travel. Connie didn’t blame the girl for keeping her distance, for they probably smelled bad, too.

“What can I do for you all?” she asked them in a curt tone.

“We are here to see the Wizard Calicus,” Rahl said.

“Do you have an appointment to see him?”

“Not properly, but we were sent here by Lord Maray.”

“Do you have writ?”

“No. You must take us on our word.”

“The Wizard Calicus is very busy,” she said. “He does not accept any visitors that he has not personally invited or does not hold a writ.”

Rahl pressed her. “This is an urgent matter. There has been an outbreak of Chaos at the Castle Maray. The inhabitants of the castle have been slaughtered. None survived, including the lord himself.”

“Come, come now,” she said with a smirk. “If none of those at the castle survived, then how was it that Lord Maray had sent you?”

Rahl and Theo looked at each other. The story did sound outrageous.

“Ha-ha! Caught you!” The girl laughed.

“Theo tried next. “His ghost appeared to us.”

“Whose ghost? Lord Maray’s?”

“Yes, it was his. His ghost told us to come here.”

“Surely you all can think of a better story than that,” the woman said.

Theo scowled at the woman.

This exchange was making Connie impatient. She was tired from riding all night and was more than ready to rest her bones on something more comfortable on the saddle of a hanyak.

She walked up to gate. “Let me talk to her,” she said, gently nudging Rahl and Theo aside. She pressed herself against the bars.

“Look, you little snot,” Connie began. “We’ve been riding all night to get here to see Calicus. And I’m getting really tired of standing out here in the street while you mouth off to us. Now open this gate right now and let us in to see the wizard. If you don’t, we’re going to break it down, and after we do, I’m going to personally kick that little smirk right off your face.”

The girl with the green hair was no longer smiling by the time Connie got to the end of her speech. She stared at Connie with an expression of shock and disbelief, as did the rest of the party. Even Tristana looked surprised.

“I will return in a moment,” the woman said.

She turned around and walked back into the building, heaving the heavy wood door shut behind her. At the sound of the door, the sparrow watching them atop the wall flew away.

“Such a vicious tongue you have,” Rahl said to Connie.

“She was being impudent, and I didn’t like her attitude.”

“You must learn to be more tactful. That’s Calicus’ assistant you were speaking to.”

“Stop! I don’t want to hear it. You handle things your way, and I’ll handle them mine. You might be content standing around out here on the street while that arrogant little snot makes us wait, but I’ve had enough of all of everything and just want to go home.”

“Okay, okay,” Rahl said, holding up his hands to her. “Just calm down.”

Theo cleared his throat. “Do you think she will get him?” he asked Rahl.

“Why would she not?” Rahl answered. “Our party spokeswoman here has both insulted and threatened her. The girl is probably complaining to him about us as we speak. I fully expect Calicus to appear before us at this portal at any moment with a thunderbolt for each of us.”

“If he comes, put Alyndia up front,” Theo said.

“Why don’t you two keep your mouths shut?” Connie said, her hands on her hips. “If it weren’t for me, we’d still be talking to her, pleading to be let in. At least my method gets results.”

“Your method may get us killed,” Rahl said. “Don’t you know of Calicus?”

At that moment, the door to the residence opened, and the woman appeared. Then, behind her standing at the door, was a bent old man wearing a light, blue robe. The girl walked back to the gate. Her face wore a pout. She looked like a spoiled child who had just been scolded.

She stopped a few paces from the gate and waved her hand in a circular motion, as if she were wiping the dirt from an imaginary window. The gate soundlessly swung open. The girl moved obsequiously to the edge of the stone walkway to let them pass.

The four of them entered. Connie admired the intense beauty of the garden they passed through. She was struck by the desire to pick one of the luscious roses that grew there, though she dared not.

Calicus waited for them at the top of the steps, just outside the main door. He was an old man, bent with the weight of years upon his back. His chin bore a wispy, gray beard. He still had a head of hair despite his age, and this long silver hair flowed down his back like an ancient stream. He supported his weight with a wood staff similar to Theo’s, only much more lavish in its ornamentation.

On closer look at Calicus’ feeble, bent figure, Connie could not help but smile. In sharp contrast to what Rahl had intimated about his great power out on the street, maybe only to frighten her, he looked perfectly harmless.

The wizard gazed at each of them with wet, blue eyes. Connie wondered: Had he been weeping before they arrived? She noticed the wizard’s eyes widen and clear when he rested them upon her. He did the same when he saw Tristana, who stood a few paces behind the rest of them. Connie might have dismissed his reaction toward her and Tristana as senile lust, except she sensed the wizard looking into them and not at them. She wondered what he saw.

Rahl addressed Calicus with a respectful bow. Connie and Theo did likewise.

“Greetings, good sir,” Rahl said. “I am Rahl the Swordbearer. This is Alyndia, the elemental sorceress; this is Theo, our spirit mage; and this is his assistant, Tristana. “We have been sent here by Lord Maray. There has been a great tragedy at the castle.”

“Yes,” Calicus said in a voice surprisingly firm for his advanced years. “Yes, I am aware of this. I have been awaiting your arrival,” he said, opening the door for them. “Please step into my abode. Quickly, now. Time is of the essence.”

The four of them approached the door.

“Halt,” Calicus said.

They stopped, momentarily confused by his abrupt order. He pointed a bony finger at Tristana.

“Not her. The three of you may enter. She must remain out here.” He tapped twice on the doorstep with his staff to emphasize his words.

The three of them instantly turned to Tristana, who stood regarding the wizard coolly with her arms crossed at her chest. Connie was struck by the way the sunlight gloriously lit her creamy complexion. The woman had perfect skin. If the wizard was suspicious of anyone, it should be of them, not her. And exactly how did Tristana manage to look so clean and well-coifed after the night of riding through the forest?

“Which of you speaks for her?” Calicus asked, addressing the group.

Theo spoke up. “She is with me.”

“The force that animates her is composed of negative energy,” Calicus said.

“This is understood, but under my control, she is.”

“I sense that your binding to her is weak, and your control of her is tenuous. She might even slay you when you sleep.”

“Respectfully, I say you must be mistaken, Calicus. I hold her amulet.”

Calicus narrowed his eyes at the spirit mage. Although he said nothing, the message conveyed by his expression was obvious: You are a fool.

“Theo,” Rahl broke in, “Do not be disrespectful. Leave her here to tend the hanyaks while we all consult with Calicus.”

“But Calicus is mistaken,” he said. “She is of no harm while I control her.”

“She will eventually control you,” Calicus said. “In any case, I do not permit her to enter my abode.”

“Then I too shall not enter.”

“Very well, then. Remain here with your spirit.”

“Please, Theo,” Rahl said.

Connie sighed. “Look, Rahl. If he wants to stay outside, let him stay outside. We’ll fill him in later.”

“So be it,” he said, resigned.

Rahl and Connie entered the building, leaving Theo with Tristana on the doorstep along with the young girl who had trailed the party from the gate.

Just inside the doorway was a large entry hall. Stacked around the hall in disarray were thousands of books stored in every which way. Some were stacked perilously high, sagging with poorly dispersed weight. Others were thrown haphazardly into wood crates. Most of the books seemed exceedingly old and disused as they were covered in dust. They followed the Wizard through an archway, into an antechamber, and up an elegant spiral staircase. The staircase creaked with their weight.

“You will have to excuse my apprentice, Fandia,” the wizard said of the young woman at the gate. “She was not aware of the urgency of your mission.”

“I apologize for threatening her as I did,” Connie said, “but she was rude to us, and we were getting nowhere with her.”

“You must not blame her for her behavior,” he said, huffing as he slowly made his way up the stairs. “Vagrants and hucksters appear at that gate at all hours. Her job is to prevent them from disturbing me and interfering with my work. But rudeness is not called for. Likely, she has been spending too much time with one of my former apprentices. I will speak with her about it.”

“And please forgive Theo’s impertinence,” Rahl said to Calicus. “He is smitten with that apparition and does not think rationally because of it.”

“No offense taken.”

“Is she really that dangerous?”

“Not as long as he can retain control of her. And if he can do so, she may even become an asset to our cause.”

“I have a stupid question, Calicus, if you’ll permit me to ask,” Connie said.

“By all means, I’ll answer it if I can.”

“Everybody keeps saying that Tristana’s spirit is negative energy or comes from the negative plane, or something like that. If that’s true, is there a such thing as positive energy?”

“Yes, of course. There also exists a positive energy plane of equal size, which is the source of all positive energy.”

“Do beings exist with spirits made of positive energy?”

He stopped on the stairs and around to face her. A smile lit up his face. “Yes. Of course. Your spirit is composed of positive energy. So is Rahl’s, Theo’s, your hanyaks’, and every other living thing that is born through nature.”

“How is having a negative spirit different, then?”

“Spirits made of negative energy are not born into this world. They’re either conjured or instilled into dead tissue in order to reanimate it. The energy they radiate is toxic to creatures with spirits made of positive energy like you and me.”

“In what way?”

The wizard smiled at her again. “Were you to spend some time in close contact with such a creature, you would find out soon enough. Come along now. There is no time for more questions.”

After several turns of the staircase, they finally entered a door behind which lie a room, as was the entry hall, stuffed nearly to the ceiling with books and scrolls. This room was also cluttered with an assortment of strange objects, most of which looked completely alien to Connie. Some of the more striking items were a mottled-looking stuffed creature that looked like a cross between a wolverine and a dog. On a group of tables were glass bottles and equipment that looked like it was taken from a chemistry lab at the turn of the 19th century. On a group of broad shelves covering one wall was a collection of exotic-looking bottles, many corked or sealed in some manner. At the corner of the room were two curvy windows beyond which faced the morning sun. The sun above the horizon filled the room with a verdant light.

“Please take a seat,” he bid his guests. “Sit anywhere you’d like.”

Connie and Rahl took a seat where they could in the cluttered room, while Calicus took a seat in a great wood chair made of blood-red wood. The chair had a fanged human skull placed atop either side of the back, and the legs ended in claws where they contacted the floor. The skulls appeared to leer down at whoever sat in front of the chair.

“I am certain you have many other questions for me,” Calicus began. “I will answer them as best I can, but first, I will tell you of the calamity that has befallen us, a terrible thing I fear may portend the end of all we know.” Calicus rested the staff across the arms of the demonic-looking chair. “Four thousand years ago, after a war that had lasted one hundred years, Chaos had nearly consumed the world of humankind. Our last hope was the Atranox, a great structure built in time immemorial by a great council of wizards known only as the Zelend’ar. This structure, built in the Virginal Forest of Hepne, was the repository of a spell that banished Chaos to the outer plane, away from the material world in which we live.” Calicus reached down beside his chair and pulled out a scroll. He opened it and began to read:

And then the great spell was cast,

The league of minds, their kind the last,

Salvation wrought when the world, it turned

And banished disorder to the place of Zhern.

“And so it was that we brought reign on the Chaos, banishing it to the outer plane.”

“If Chaos was banished, why has it returned?”

“The spell of banishment has been steadily weakening for the last two thousand years. Now, a critical point has been reached. The old spell has weakened enough that Chaos encroaches once again on the civilized world.”

“Didn't you just say the spell was cast four thousand years ago?” Connie asked.

“Yes. The original spell was cast four thousand years ago. However, two thousand years after the first spell was cast, it had grown weak. Chaos once again broke loose and sought to destroy our world. Over half of Cerinya was taken back by the forces of disruption before we realized what needed to be done. The old spell was boosted and extended, and a great wall was constructed to keep out what was already lost.”

“Is that the Calphous Wall?” Connie asked.

“Yes. And though the magical retainer has held steady for the last two thousand years, even the spell power used to create is faltering, and Chaos threatens to break through. But if the Atranox also fails, no weakening magical barrier will hold Chaos at bay.”

“Why wasn’t the spell recast so many years ago? Why couldn’t we banish Chaos then?” Connie asked, shifting uneasily on a stack of books beneath herself that threatened to topple over.

Calicus managed a weak smile. “By that time, Chaos was long forgotten. The Atranox was only a myth. Perhaps no one believed Chaos could ever return. Only when it reappeared did they realize the myth was the reality. Humanity was wrong, and no spell, however powerful, lasts forever.”

“You mean, the spell of banishment was forgotten?” she asked, scarcely believing such a thing was possible.

“I’m afraid so, and we have found that the old spell is dying. It can no longer be boosted or extended. When it finally expires, humanity and all things living will find themselves once again in the maws of Chaos.” Calicus gazed into Rahl’s eyes. “And not even a thousand Swordbearers would be able to hold it back.”

“So, we are doomed?” Rahl asked.

“Yes, but hope is not lost. After our last bout with Chaos, a society was formed comprised of wizards of all disciplines. This society was called the Katarrh. Their purpose was to research and recreate the spell that was cast at the Atranox thousands of years ago that had banished Chaos.”

“Were they successful?”

“Ah! Were they successful?” Calicus got to his feet and made his way over to the window. He stood at the window without speaking, letting the morning sunlight sink into his skin. “That,” he began, “remains to be known. Here is where things become interesting. About a thousand years ago, after a thousand years of research by generations of wizards and sorcerers, the Katarrh created a spell that they thought could be cast at the Atranox to replace the spell existing there now, although it was uncertain as to whether it would work, for it was untested. There came to be two factions. One faction wanted to cast the spell at the Atranox with the hopes of banishing Chaos forever and reclaiming the lands that had been overrun. The other faction wanted to wait until the original, extended spell had expired.” Calicus turned to his visitors.

“Why didn’t they cast the spell at the Atranox and get it over with instead of leaving half the world to Chaos?” Rahl asked.

“There are two very good reasons for this. A dozen years or so before this new spell came into existence, there was another spell that was widely believed by the Katarrh to be the one that would banish Chaos for good. The moment had come, and the Katarrh gathered around the Atranox to cast the spell. It was to be a day of glory. But then the inconceivable happened, and the new spell perverted. There was a bright explosion of light, and all living creatures within twelve leagues of the Atranox burned to ash within the beat of the heart.” Calicus studied the dismay in the facial expressions of his visitors. He resumed after a moment’s pause. “Many of the most powerful wizards and sorcerers of the age were lost in that brilliant flash, many altruistic souls who had worked nearly their entire lives on the spell they thought would save civilization. It was a tragic day for the world.”

Connie visualized the wizard’s words as he spoke. Based on his description, it sounded as if a nuclear explosion had taken place.

“What happened to the Atranox?” she asked when he had finished.

“The Atranox was badly damaged, but miraculously, the original spell it contained had not been disrupted. The Atranox was rebuilt in time, but then something strange began to happen. The people living in the city surrounding the structure began dying of mysterious plague. At first, it was one or two deaths, then many at once. Then people grew sick and died by the hundreds. No one could find the origin of the plague. Eventually, the people became fearful and abandoned the city. Meanwhile, the remaining wizards of the Katarhh analyzed the failure of the spell. After time had passed, another had been created.”

“Did they cast it?” Connie asked.

“They did not. You see, after the loss of the great wizards, a new type of spell was created, this one using the power of enchanted artifacts. With the combined power of these artifacts, one man could recast the Atranox spell that would otherwise take the combined power of a league of wizards. After the creation of this spell, a conflict came about. The Katarrh split. From then on, there was the Katarrh who wanted to cast the spell right away, and the Katarrh-Atal who wanted to wait until the end of the millennial when the old spell had almost expired. Knowledge of the spell and its material components was held mainly by the Katarrh. A war broke out between the two factions. The war was quick and decisive. The Katarrh-Atal won. They took the material components from the Katarrh and held them in safe keeping at the Temple of Bardane in the ancient city of T’nal. The artifacts secretly remained there in safety until five hundred years ago, when the city was sacked by a horde of barbarian tribes from the east. The temple was looted at that time, and ever since, the artifacts have been scattered to the four winds.”

“What can we do?” Rahl asked.

“These artifacts have been lost for centuries, as was the knowledge of their use. Through diligent research and divination, my assistants and I have located them. There is a talisman, a bracelet, and a crystal artifact. You must take them to the Atranox so that the spell that of Chaos banishment may be recast.”

“Where are these artifacts?”

“I have one here now.”

Calicus hobbled over to a table covered with maps and diagrams on sheets of yellow vellum. He cleared a spot on the table and waved a hand in a circular motion over the area. There came the flux of magic in the room, and a large, ornate metal box soundlessly appeared in the cleared area. He waved his hand over the box, and a lid appeared on the topside of it.

Cool trick, Connie thought, scarcely believing what she had just seen.

Calicus opened the lid of the box. From it, he withdrew a clear crystal pyramid about four inches tall. He put it on the table for them to view.

“This is the Stellarad Marax. It contains the reconstructed spell of the Atranox. There is an identical artifact in the Atranox itself at the heart of the structure. You must replace it with this one. The cosmic energy collected by the Atranox will rechannel through this artifact, powering the spell it contains.”

“What about the talisman?” Rahl asked.

“Yes. The Kn’all-ba-tasalb, which translates to ‘The Whisperer of Intuition’. It is said that there is a labyrinth within with Atranox, and whosoever wears the talisman can navigate the labyrinth without error.”

“It must be a big labyrinth if you need the talisman to navigate it,” Rahl said.

“Indeed, you may be correct, but legend says that there is a presence within the labyrinth of the Atranox.”

“A presence, you say?” Connie asked. “I don’t like the sound of that.

“What is the nature of this presence?” Rahl asked.

“I do not know. But legend also says that one may not turn back in the event of a wrong turn within the labyrinth. Perhaps that is why the talisman is necessary.”

“You said there was a third artifact, a bracelet.”

“Yes. It is the Heptakon. It is also necessary. As I told you earlier, the newer Atranox spell had perverted. When it did, it left a lethal field of raw, unchanneled celestial energy around the building. Most of this energy has likely dissipated over the years, but it still may present a hazard. Wearing the Heptakon will protect the wearer and allow him to approach the Atranox without harm.”

“Where is the Heptakon?”

“Several days ago, we detected its presence here in our fair city, so you must procure it. I will give you instructions to its location. From there, you must begin your journey to the Atranox. I have done a scry. I predict your success.”

“Will you accompany us, Great Wizard?” Rahl asked.

Calicus gazed at his visitors with a sad expression of yearning. His eyes became moist. “I wish that I might go with you. Indeed, I have prepared for this moment all of my life. But now my bones are brittle, my vision grows dim, and my hearing has faded. Alas, I am now too old,” he said in a wistful tone. “However, I will send my best apprentice to accompany you to cast the spell.”

With those words, Calicus reached into a bowl of blue sand. He lifted a handful of the sand from the bowl, then let it run through his fingers back into the bowl. He put a blank sheet of vellum before him on the table, and then, after a moment’s thought, he ran his index finger lightly over the vellum as if he were tracing imaginary lines across the page. Connie watched him, puzzled by this action.

After Calicus had traced his finger to the bottom of the page, he rolled up the page, slipped a silk ribbon around it, then attached a wax seal to the ribbon. He gave the document to Rahl. “Take this writ to the Temple of Petra-Roggen. Give it to the archbishop there. He will release a former apprentice of mine for service. Then go home and rest. Sleep well, for you will need it. Arrive back here at sunrise ready for travel with those you will take with you, and I will give you the additional information you need for your quest.”

When Rahl and Connie left the building. Theo and Tristana were strolling through the garden. From her expression, she seemed completely baffled by the presence of so many flowers in one place. Fandia sat on a stone bench by the gate, keeping an eye on the hanyaks. She got to her feet when the door to Calicus’ house opened. With the wave of her hand, she opened the gate for the party and allowed them to pass into the street.

“So what do you think?” Theo asked Rahl as they made their way toward the temple.

Rahl gave Theo an overview of the conversation with Calicus. “I will need a good spellcaster to come along with me, Theo,” he said, “and I’ve been impressed by your work so far.”

“I’d be honored to join you in the quest,” Theo replied. “However, I would like to request that Tristana be allowed to join us.”

“Certainly, I grant that,” Rahl said, remembering Calicus’ words about her being useful to their ends. “That is, provided you do not give her the opportunity to slay you before the quest is complete.”

Now the city was a bustle of people going about their daily business. The crowds became thicker the longer they traveled. Connie was feeling achy and tired. She wondered where her supposed home was in relation to where they were going in the city.

“Where is the temple?” Connie called out to Rahl amidst the throng.

He pointed. “Over there!”

Ahead, stories above the rest of the city loomed the said Temple of Petra-Roggen. From their vantage point, she saw gracefully tall spires and a steep, convex roof taller than most buildings combined. All of this was done in glossy, white stone. Even from the distance, the building was incredibly large and elegant enough to rival the greatest cathedrals she’d visited in Europe.

After about twenty minutes of wading their way through crowds on tortuous, narrow, cobblestone streets, they arrived at the main entrance of the temple. A mob of the downtrodden, simple, or poor stood clustered on the broad steps in front of the great main doors, shouting and jockeying for a position to be admitted.

“What is going on there, Theo?” Connie asked. “Why are all those people there?”

“Most of them are seeking favors or spells. Some have come to be healed of a disease. Many have most likely come to have a fertility spell cast on them. The Season will be coming soon.”

“The Season?” Connie asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Theo looked away from her shyly.

“Theo! Answer me!” she pressed.

“Alyndia, don’t ask such questions you surely know the answers to,” he replied.

Rahl sidled his hanyak next to Theo’s. “I don’t think we will be able to make it through that crowd at the front portal.”

“I know of a side entrance. It may not be blocked as this one. Follow me.”

The three of them followed Theo around the crowd and along the side of the building. There they found a steel gate to a small courtyard adjoining the cathedral. They got off their hanyaks and walked up to the gate.

“It’s locked,” Rahl said, giving the gate a firm shake.

Theo reached into one of the packs on his hanyak. He pulled out a ring of silver keys and a yellow ceramic jar covered with a metal cap. He removed the cap from the jar. The jar contained a viscous substance that looked to Connie like petroleum jelly. Theo first found a key that would fit into the lock, then dipped the key into the jelly, then slid it back into the lock. He waved his other hand over the lock while muttering an incantation. Then he turned the key. Gate opened with a click. When Theo withdrew the key, Connie noticed its generic shape had transformed to complement the innards of the gate lock.

“Fancy magic,” Rahl said.

“My sister gave this to me on my birthday,” Theo said as he stuffed the key and jar back into the hanyak’s pack.

The four of them entered the gate. From the courtyard, they entered the cathedral. Once inside, Connie was taken astonished at the vastness of the cathedral. The apex of the roof was fully thirty stories high. Its length ran into the hundreds of paces. From the walls hung dozens of tapestries emblazoned with gold runes. Large sheets of pastel-colored glass filled vast sections of walls, which lit the floor with various shades of soft light. The floor of the cathedral was devoid of any real furniture except the long rows of wood pews as might be found in any church. Connie attempted to find the religious theme of the cathedral but found she could not. With the absence of proper crosses anywhere or statues of saints, she had no idea who or what was worshiped there.

Moments after they entered the cathedral, they were accosted by a man wearing a black robe tied at the waist with a silver cord. The man was dressed handsomely with a broad ribbon made from silver cloth draped around his neck to the lower part of his ribcage. His long, dull green hair was tied in a ponytail near the top of his scalp, and it hung down his left side along with the silver ribbon. The man had a large, bulbous nose and poor complexion. Connie thought he was particularly homely, despite the handsome robe he wore.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in here?” he asked the party in a snooty, nasal voice.

“We are on a quest from the wizard, Calicus.”

The man raised his eyebrows. “You were sent by Calicus?”

Rahl handed him the writ. “Give this to the archbishop. We are here to release his apprentice from duties here at the temple.”

The acolyte took the writ from Rahl. “Please wait here,” he said, voice echoing in the great chamber. Writ in hand, he began walking down the side aisle of the cathedral toward the front, finally disappearing through one of the doors there.

“What do we do now?” Theo asked.

“We wait,” Rahl replied.

Connie felt weary from traveling most of the night. Sleep now threatened to overcome her on the spot. She plopped down on one of the pews next to Tristana had taken a seat. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. She shook her head. For a moment, she thought she was standing in the center aisle between the pews. She heard Theo shout something. The next thing she knew, she was looking up at Theo from the floor in front of the pew where she’d been sitting.

“Alyndia!” Theo said with a look of concern.

“What happened?” Connie asked with surprise. She quickly got to her feet, now wide awake but feeling confused about how she ended up lying on the pew.

“You fainted,” Rahl replied.

“Strange,” Connie said. “A moment ago, I thought I was standing over there.” She pointed to the center aisle.

Theo frowned. “Does this kind of thing happen to you often?” he asked.

“Yes,” Connie nodded.

“How often?”

“Twice today already, but it’s not as bad as yesterday and the day before. It happens when I get stressed or when I’m tired.”

Connie explained the out-of-body sensation to them. After she finished, Theo and Rahl looked at each other. Theo spoke first. “It sounds like she’s projecting.”

“That’s not unusual for you spellcasters,” Rahl said. “Don’t you train yourselves to do that?”

“Yes, but she’s not willing it to happen, and it’s not natural that it should happen spontaneously.” Theo grasped her forearm. “She seems to be in perfect health, yet it appears that her spirit is not fully bound to her body.” He looked at Raul with a grave expression. “Something is not right with Alyndia on a spiritual level, although I cannot tell you what.”

“Can’t you read her aura?”

“Yes, and I’d like to, but I don’t have the proper humor with me.”

“Let’s ask the priests to have a look at her.”

“I agree.”

“Wait just a minute,” Connie said. “I don’t want any priests looking at me.”

“Why not?” Theo asked.

“I’m not religious.”

“That does not matter. Something is wrong with your spirit. It is bound very weakly to your body.”

“I don’t care. I just don’t want any priests looking at me.”

“What do you have against priests?” Rahl asked.

“Why do I always have to explain myself? Now, after we get done here, I want one of you to get me home so that I can get some sleep.”

“You should heed Theo’s advice and let the priests look at you,” Rahl said. “He is a spirit mage. He knows these things.”

“Nonsense. Just get me home.”

At that moment, there came a noise from the altar end of the cathedral. The three of them forgot about their discussion momentarily and turned their attention to the front of the chamber. There in the distance, they saw a bright red speck walking toward them down the green carpeted aisle between the pews.

“That must be Calicus’ former apprentice,” Rahl said.

The four of them moved out to the end of the center aisle to greet the figure walking briskly toward them. At two hundred paces. Connie saw that she was a woman. At one hundred paces, she was strikingly beautiful with long, strawberry-blond hair, the first real blond Connie had seen in the last few days. At fifty paces, Rahl held out his arms and called out her name. “Elenglea!”

The woman stopped her tracks and stared at the disheveled man wearing the armor. “Rahl? Is that you?” After a moment of recognition, the woman ran into his arms, and they embraced.

“Elenglea! I didn’t know that you—you are Calicus’ former apprentice.” Rahl said, obviously delighted to see her.

“Yes, I’m her. They call me ‘Snow’ now. That was Calicus’ pet name for me when I was an apprentice.”

The sorceress said this proudly in a false, girlish voice, as if the ridiculous name were an award of some sort. How mawkish, Connie thought. She thought she was going to be sick. Already, she did not like this woman.

The Swordbearer and the sorceress separated from their embrace. Snow pulled back to have a look at Rahl. She smiled broadly with her set of perfect Cupid’s bow lips. “My, you have gotten big! How long has it been, Rahl? Ten years?”

“More than that, I think.”

“You look good.” Snow turned her attention to Rahl’s companions. “And who are your companions?”

Rahl introduced each member of the group. She fixed a penetrating gaze on each member as he did so. She flinched when she laid eyes on Tristana. Rahl introduced her as Theo’s new assistant.

“Where did you find Tristana?” Snow asked.

Rahl explained how they had found her in the chapel at the Castle Maray.

“You know, your Tristana should not be in this cathedral,” Snow said when Rahl had finished.

“Yes, I assumed that,” he said. “Calicus had a similar reaction to her. It’s her negative energy.”

Snow returned her attention to Connie. Connie noticed that Snow had widened her eyes at her as Calicus had when Rahl introduced her. Snow stepped up to Connie. From her expression, she seemed at once puzzled and astounded. She gazed deeply into Connie’s eyes, then she spoke deliberately and slowly, as if she were in a trance. “Physically, you look like the Alyndia I once knew, but inside…” Her voice trailed off.

“What do you see?” Theo asked her.

“I see—” Snow paused, then she turned to Theo. “I see a nosy spirit mage who looks malnourished. And that’s you!”

“I resent that.”

She turned to Rahl. “And what kind of women do you hang around with since we’ve been apart?”

“What do you mean, Elenglea?”

“I’m talking about your girls here. And don’t call me Elenglea anymore. I told you my name is ‘Snow.’ Don’t start again like we did before, or you’ll be sorry. I haven’t forgotten, you know. In fact, I never forget.”

At that moment, Connie felt that this woman could be troublesome. Either way, she didn’t care. This was not her quest, and she wanted no part of it or these people.

“Rahl, can you lead me back to my home?” Connie asked, almost pleading.

“Can you not do this on your own?” he asked in return, sounding annoyed.

“I doubt she can find her way home,” Snow interjected before Connie could respond.

“Why not?” Rahl asked.

“Because this woman is not Alyndia the Elemental Sorceress of Roggentine, daughter of Alitrea, even though she looks like her.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I know Alyndia, and the spirit inhabiting Alyndia’s body is not hers.

“Who is she, then?”

“One moment.” Snow gazed fixedly at Connie. “Her true name is—Co—Con—Constance—L—Lou-Louis B-Bain. Constance Louise Bain is her name—or is it Connie?”

Connie felt a chill run through her spine to hear someone speak her full name. She felt at once vindicated and frightened. But how did this strange woman in this strange land—a woman she’d never met—know her full first and last name?

“Don’t look at me like you’re made of wood,” Snow said to Connie. “Answer me. Is that who you are?”

“Yes,” she said. “I am Connie Bain.”

Snow turned back to Rahl. “See?”

“We brought her along to cast elemental spells, but she was unable to fulfill her role.”

Snow let out a small laugh. “Of course. She knows nothing at all about magic. She’s actually a police officer of some sort—something related to covert investigations. Is that right, Connie?”

“Pretty close.”

“So, she’s an impostor!” Rahl shouted. He put his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Hey! Now wait a minute!” Connie broke in. “What do you mean ‘impostor’? What have I been telling you all for the last few days?”

“That is true,” Theo said. “She made no pretenses that she was Alyndia or that she could cast spells. She personally confided to me many times that she was incompetent.”

“I didn’t say it like that, Theo. All right. Now that my great secret is out, can somebody here get me home?” Connie said in a pleading tone. She met the gaze of each member of the group. “Theo? Can you?”

“I don’t know where you live,” he replied.

“You mean, you don’t have a spell for that?”

He shook his head.

“Then how about a pair of ruby-red slippers?”

“A pair of what?”

“Never mind.”

“Now do you see where I’m coming from, Rahl?” Snow said. “You have this dark spirit here and this woman with a misplaced soul; we have an idiot spirit mage.”

“Hey!” Theo broke in. “Who are you calling an idiot?”

Just then, the acolyte who had led them into the cathedral approached. “By the gods! Please!” he shouted. The party grew suddenly silent. “This is a place of meditation. Please take your bickering outside.”

“We deeply apologize,” Rahl said to the acolyte.

Snow rolled her eyes.

“Will someone take me home?” Connie asked.

“I can take you back,” Rahl said.

Snow broke in. “No, it’s better that I do. I know where Alyndia lives, and Connie and I have some important matters to discuss.”

“Thank you,” Connie said.

Snow led the group out of the temple through a side exit to avoid the throng outside the front where the hanyaks were tied. “Which one is your hanyak?” she asked Connie.

“That one,” she said.

“They’re actually my hanyaks,” Rahl said. “But you can borrow it like, bring it back to me later.”

“No, that’s too much bother,” Snow said. “Connie, remove Alyndia’s spell books and other things from the packs. You will carry them yourself back to your home.”

Connie looked at Snow, incredulous. “I can’t carry all of those packs myself. They’re way too heavy.”

“You will carry them. Now go take them off the hanyak. Do it now.”

“I’ll help you take them off, Connie,” Theo said.

Snow spoke to Rahl off to the side in private while Theo and Connie removed her packs from the hanyak. Once the packs were removed and piled up by the back gate, they met Connie there.

Snow picked up a small leather pouch carrying Alyndia’s comb and some personal items.

“I’ll take this. Now you carry the rest.”

“What?”

“You heard me. Pick up your things. Let’s go. We haven’t got all day.”

“I can’t carry all this stuff myself.”

“She likes to whine,” Rahl said. “Now you see what we put up with for the last few days.”

“How annoying that must have been! Connie, pick up your packs. Now!”

“I will see you tomorrow morning,” Rahl said to Snow.

He kissed her on the cheek, and then he and Theo, followed by Tristana, left the temple grounds with the remaining hanyaks. Snow and Connie entered the street and started walking in the opposite direction toward a small bazaar. Snow walked briskly ahead of Connie while Connie struggled behind her to carry the heavy packs. They had only gotten fifty paces when she put down the packs.

“Snow, I can’t carry all of these. Maybe you can carry a few.”

“Excuse me—do I look like a hanyak? No, I’m not going to carry your things for you.”

“But I can’t do it myself. They’re just too heavy.”

Snow pointed to a nearby market stall. “Carry your packs to that stall over there. Come on. Move it!”

Connie gathered up the packs again and lugged them over to the stall as she was directed. She was so winded from moving them that she thought she was going to pass out. Inside the stall sat a heavyset woman with a round face, with a plethora of small plates and other metal jewelry woven into her hair. Connie recalled that she had the same kind of metal jewelry in her hair when she woke up in this land.

“Hi, Galda,” Snow said, addressing the woman. “How’s business today?”

“It’s all right. What can I do for you, Snow?”

“We need a Featherlight on the packs here.”

The woman looked at the packs. “What’s inside?”

“Mostly paper, I think.”

“Do you need an enchantment, or—?”

“No. We’re just going across town.”

“A simple one-node ought to be enough for that.”

“Make it two.”

The woman left the stall, walked over to the packs, and rested her hands on them. When she did, Connie felt a tingling sensation in the air around her. The inexplicable feeling of wood came to her, but she did not know how or why. The feeling was pleasant and familiar to her. She looked at Snow to see if she felt it too, but the sorceress displayed no outward emotion. Instead, she appeared to have been watching Connie’s reaction at the moment the spell was cast.

“Six rezni,” the woman said.

“Give her six copper rezni,” Snow said to Connie. “Do you know what they look like?”

Connie nodded. She gave the woman the copper pieces from her belt pouch.

“Thank you, Galda. Let’s go now, Connie. Take your packs.”

Connie lifted the packs. To her surprise, they now weighed perhaps a tenth of the weight they’d had moments before. “Amazing,” she said, easily hefting them onto her shoulders.

“Let’s take you home now.”

Snow did not speak much to Connie until they got to the curved, narrow street called The Circle of the Elements. Connie was curious about how Snow knew her name so readily when everyone else had difficulty even believing she was not Alyndia.

“How did you know my name?” she asked the sorceress as they approached Alyndia’s home.

“The Power of the Temple,” she replied. “Any divination cast within the temple is doubled in strength. I saw you with such clarity that I knew your true name. I also knew that Rahl and Theo didn’t know who you really are.”

“Really? You could have said something at the time. Rahl looked like he was ready to run me through with that sword of his.”

“Maybe he should have,” she said with a small laugh.

“But you know I’m not an impostor.”

“You assume I know more than I do. For all I know, you actually are an impostor.”

“I figured that since you knew all that information about me, you also knew I couldn’t have done this to myself.”

“Your point is well taken, Connie. In truth, I don’t know that much about you or how you got here—but I’d like to know. I’m also curious about what happened to Alyndia’s spirit, not that I miss her or anything.”

Connie followed Snow through an arched entrance into a building. Just past the entrance was a staircase. She instantly recognized them as the stairs leading up to Alyndia’s apartment. She reached into a pocket in her robe and removed a key she found there earlier. The key fit the lock, and she opened the door with it. Snow followed her into the apartment uninvited.

“So this is the abode of Alyndia, the great elemental sorceress,” Snow said in an uncomplimentary tone. She walked into the center of the room and looked around, taking in the decoration and furnishings. “She loves floral patterns, that’s for sure. It’s all a little too busy for me, though. Just looking at it gives me a headache.”

Leaving the packs by the door, Connie went over to the plush bed and sat, allowing her weight to settle into the soft mattress. “I woke up in here alone. I never saw her.”

Snow turned to her. “Of course you never saw Alyndia, because you are Alyndia now.”

“I know who I am, Snow, and I’m not Alyndia,” she said, removing her shoes. “I thought we already established that.”

Snow let out a small, mirthless laugh. “You’re so clueless. You don’t know anything about this world or how you ended up here, and then you contradict me when I try to set you straight.”

“Who are you to talk to me that way? And why should I listen to you?”

“Because I’m a sorceress of the highest degree. There are many pretenders out there, but I’m the real thing. I know this. So it really irritates me that I’m trying to counsel you, and you disrespect me by countering everything I say.” She paused. “You know, you should be glad to even be in the same room with me.”

“Oh, really? Should I kiss your feet?”

“Yes. That would be appropriate, although it would be more customary if you kissed my hand,” she said. “Indeed, any apprentice of the magical arts would love to hear my counsel and study under me. And, for the record, I would never have allowed the original version of you the privilege.”

“Please stop insinuating that I’m Alyndia. I’m not her and never was her. Good grief, Snow. We don’t even look alike.”

“Have you viewed yourself in a mirror lately?”

“Yes.”

“Really now? And who do you see?”

“Myself.”

Snow gave her a wry smile. “Do you? Then your eyes fail you.”

“That’s not true. I see perfectly well.”

Snow walked over to the full-length silver mirror on the wall by the door and stood squarely in front of it. She fixed her hair and smoothed her bright red robe. Then she smiled and posed coquettishly, as though she were flirting with her image in the mirror. Connie shook her head. Snow was obviously as vain as she was arrogant.

“Come here, blind one,” Snow said to Connie finally.

“Why?”

“Why not? Are you afraid of me? Or are you afraid of what you might see?”

“I’m not afraid of anything,” Connie said wearily. “Least of all, you.”

Snow raised an eyebrow at Connie through her reflection in the mirror. “My, oh my! What you lack in knowledge and wisdom, you make up for in spirit—no pun intended. Now come to this mirror. I want to show you something.”

Connie sighed. She didn’t want to go to the mirror; she just wanted to lie back and sink into the bed. Why did her energy now leave her so quickly? She used to be able to last for days without little sleep when she and MacGregor went mountain climbing. Now she found she could barely stay awake.”

“Come here,” Snow urged her, waving her over to the mirror.

Connie summoned her strength, rose from the bed, and walked over to the mirror, where Snow stood. She gazed at her reflection. She appeared as her normal self, albeit a bit disheveled and exhausted-looking, and most notably, without makeup.

“What do you see?” Snow asked.

“I see myself. And I see you.”

“All right. Keep looking.”

Snow muttered an incantation. She waved a hand over Connie’s eyes. At once, Connie saw a bright flash of light as though a flashbulb had gone off right in front of her face. For a moment, she saw nothing but a grayish blur. When her vision returned, instead of herself, she saw a weary-looking stranger standing next to Snow. She gasped. It was the same woman she had seen in the mirror a few days ago when she awoke.

“Alas,” Snow said. “The deception is gone. The blind can now see.”

The image Connie saw as herself had green-highlighted black hair and a thin, angular face and green eyes. The woman was not tall and looked a bit thin and frail. She appeared to be about Connie’s age and was somewhat attractive in her own way.

“Who is that?” Connie asked.

“That’s you.”

“That’s not me.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I don’t look like that.”

“You do now.”

“What have you done to me?” she asked, now trembling.

“I have done nothing but clear the illusion you created for yourself,” Snow replied, studying Connie’s reaction with a cool expression through the mirror. “You look a bit troubled. Don’t you like what you see?”

“This can’t be real. It must be a trick.”

“There are no ‘tricks’ here.”

Connie brought a hand to her face while watching her movement in the mirror. She felt her facial features with her hand. They matched exactly those of the woman she saw in the mirror. Her movements also matched those of the stranger’s. As the surprise and shock at what she saw began to sink in, Connie became frightened.

“Am I inside Alyndia’s body?”

“In a sense, yes. But it’s more than that. You may have memories, but you’re not the same person you were before.”

“But I feel like myself.”

“Of course you do. Your spirit is here.”

“I just don’t understand any of this.”

“Oh? So now you’re admitting you don’t know as much as me? That’s a refreshing change.”

“You don’t need to be so cruel.”

She sighed. “Frankly, I’m a bit puzzled by all of this myself,” she mused. “From what I can tell, you and Alyndia went through some sort of commingling of spirits. I’m not sure what happened between you two or how Alyndia got you into this, but everything is mixed up now. I can see it as plain as day in your aura.”

“I’m living in a nightmare, and I can’t wake up.”

She smiled. “Well, I certainly wouldn’t want to be you in your place at this moment.”

“I used to have a life and a career. What am I going to do here?”

“You can answer that question better than me. Or maybe there is no answer. Or maybe you’ll just roll up and die. Time will tell.”

Connie fell to her knees before the mirror. I’m going to lose my mind here, she thought. Again, she looked at her reflection. Her alien eyes were now flooded with tears. She bowed her head to avoid seeing the teary-eyed stranger in the mirror who gazed back at her. Then, for the first time in nearly fifteen years, the spirit who had known herself as Connie Bain began to cry.