White Mage Tales

ANAMARION

Chapter 2: In Which Explanations are Given

Hoshino Mai woke to the sensation of a soft warm bed with sheets that were smooth and cool to the touch and a warm coverlet covered in soft, thick down.

Doriath beds were wooden frames with woven straw matting covered in cloth stretched over them, and were often uncomfortable. The Barahra women and children slept in their wooden carts on furs and skins, which, while warm and soft, would eventually begin to smell. The Barahra men slept under the wagons on the same skins and furs. Mai turned over and buried her face into the soft warmth which smelt of fresh rain and lavender, wondering where she could possibly be, to have such luxury.

She sat up to find a room dimly lit by a single oil lamp, whose pale flame gave off the faint scent of sweet grass. The room seemed to have been carved out of living rock, and there were several carved pillars placed around the room. Next to the bed was a beautifully carved wooden table on which were the lamp and a small silver bell, while a curtain of clear beads hung around the bed and the table. Outside of the beaded curtain, against the left wall was another table and chair, and the table had a shelf over it which was filled with books and scrolls, and on the table was an inkstone and palate and a pen and parchment. Against the right wall were a wardrobe and a trunk and a small shelf on which were a mirror and a pitcher and basin with a folded facecloth. At the foot of the bed was another beaded curtain.

Slowly, she pushed back the covers and slid out of the high bed and she found that the floor was warm, and her clothes had been exchanged for a soft linen shift. As she pushed aside several strands of the beaded curtain, she noticed, hanging on a hook on the wall, was a woolen gown of green with a black bodice and beneath it was a pair of green slippers.

Mai bathed her face, and gingerly took the gown off the hooks and pulled on the skirt and quickly laced up the bodice and slipped on the slippers and wandered to the curtain. She pushed a few strands aside, the wooden beads clicking softly together, and she found that the door opened into a dimly lit hallway lit by little globes on the wall that exuded a soft, golden light without flickering. The room she had woken in, she noted, was at the very end of the hall, and it seemed that where ever she was, it had been carved out of living rock.

A warm white light glowed at the end of the hall, and Mai approached it cautiously. The light was somewhat obscured, she realized, by a sheer white tapestry on which a beautiful landscape of a forest backed by a mountain and a fountain beside which a woman with flowing hair was stitched in fine pale coloured thread. She slowly stepped through the tapestry and her eyes widened. At the far side of the vast room which was decorated by pictures made of many tiny bits of coloured stone, where five stone alters on which five finely dressed people lay. Their faces were beautiful and wise, and their countenances were of peaceful sleep. The three men were handsome and had strong, wise faces, and their hands were clasped to their breasts upon which magnificent swords lay, and large, beautiful shields covered their feet. The women lay likewise, their hands clasped to their breasts, but they clasped twin daggers in their hands, and at their feet were quivers of arrows and a magnificently carved bow.

On the stone above their heads were written their names, Genbu, Seiryu, Suzaku, Byakko, and Kagetsuchi. Mai stared at the five in awe, and she slowly backed away, for obviously, this place was the tomb of these people, and she was, with her mere presence, disturbing their eternal rest. She turned and gasped.

Before her were four lovely figures, and she recognized them as the same ones who lay upon the stone tables, though one was missing. The only woman smiled at her.

“Greetings, child,” she said, “and welcome to our sanctuary. It has been eons since we last saw any living person.”

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Mai found herself following the four pale figures, who led her into a room in which a table was laid out with dainty dishes filled with the loveliest of provender, sweetmeats, and stews, eggs that were boiled and fried, and carefully carved steaks and light, warm, newly baked bread, with cheese and fruits of all sorts. A little waterfall fell tinkling into a pool in the eastern corner of the room, a tiny stream bubbling away as it passed along the side of the room and disappeared into the delicate mosaic decorated floors.

“Be seated and eat your fill, child,” the dark haired lord said, “The table is always cleansed in the last moments of night and laden and full come sunrise, though none here have ever needed the provender for long ages. This was Kagetsuchi’s doing, no doubt, for her magic is thick in the spells upon yonder table, and she had perhaps, foreseen your arrival…”

Mai hesitated, and said softly, “Great One, forgive my apparent impudence, but was there not another lady with you? In that chamber, I saw two Ladies and Three Lords, all but one of whom are here now…”

The four exchanged sad looks, and a fair haired lord said, “We know nothing of Kagetsuchi’s whereabouts. Long ago, after we had hidden away the Grand Palace of Ællearsë, in which the White Lady Eledhwen resided, I delved into the earth and carved this mansion from the living rock, and we Five came to reside here.”

“Here did we reside,” the last lord said, “And long did we labour to form a jewel which would bear our collective power and knowledge, to be passed down to our heirs. We were weary from battling the enemy, and after Kagetsuchi hallowed the jewels, we endeavored to rest, and as we slept, our spirits left our vessels of living flesh.”

“Kagetsuchi was last to lay herself down to sleep,” the lady said, “and because her vessel draws no breath, we know that she no longer lives. Even so, while we Four linger here, Kagetsuchi’s spirit is missing.”

“We are dead,” the dark haired lord said, “and no longer have we the power to guard the White Lady. Yet Genbu had fashioned the doors that they would not open until either one who required sanctuary or a suitable heir came to this mansion, and here you stand.”

“Will you help us?” the Lady said, “Will you help us guard the Lady and seek out our sister, our dear Kagetsuchi as well? Without her spirit, the jewel that she had wrought will never awaken, and the full collective would never be tapped, and all would be lost…”

“Lost?” Mai whispered.

“Aye,” Genbu said, “You came in haste and your spirit was filled with dread and fear. We wondered what would invoke such fear, and so Suzaku scryed your spirit, and so we learned of the Spectre in the upper world.”

“The Spectre, Lord?” Mai said, “I do not understand…”

“The Spectre,” Byakko said, her pale eyes dim with remembered sorrow, “Are the most horrid creatures to ever exist. One touch, one touch is all that it takes to infect its victim, and with each entity it destroys, it becomes more powerful. It cannot be tracked, cannot be seen or heard or felt until one falls victim to its never ending bloodlust. We Five, even with all our power, could only stop the Spectre for a moment before it seeks another way to sate its lust for blood. Those who fall prey to it will either die a most excruciating death or be held in eternal pain and torment, their bodies torn and rent asunder but never bleeding or dying, and they never spared the pain because they yet live, and not even our hands drawing a dagger across their throats or a blade to the heart would end their torment… Suzaku could scry all he wished, and never find it, for it was every where and no where. Seiryu could ward the lands and territories with all the spells he knew and never slow it, for the Spectres were not of our kind, nor are they hindered by living flesh as we are. Genbu could raise and delve the earth and only hope to slow it, and I could mould and plant all the greenery that I wished and only pray that the Spectres would be slowed. Only Kagetsuchi could harm it, and where she walked, the Spectres would recoil in fear, for she could heal the wounds and cure those who were afflicted by the Spectres’ power. That mist you saw, child, that mist from which you fled into the sanctuary of our mansion, was the horror of the Spectre.”

“My village!” Mai gasped, “O Great Ones, what of my village? We live at the very base of your mountain!”

The last Lord sighed and said, “I fear they may be lost, Child.” He blinked and added hastily as he caught sight of Mai’s horrified and downfallen face, “But there is yet hope! Kagetsuchi once told me that she had laid a spell over the jewels that the home of our heir would be protected by sun, star and moon, and with the grace of the earth, air, water, fire and wood. I will scry for it.” And he hurried away.

Byakko sighed and reached forward, translucent fingers running through Mai’s dark hair, though her spectral fingers could not shift so much as a single strand of hair. Mai blinked and looked tearfully up toward the spectral form of the dark skinned woman.

“All will be well,” Byakko said, her pale eyes quiet, “I cannot imagine that Kagetsuchi would go through so much trouble for our designated heir, only to have the heir loose everything worth protecting. No, I believe that Kagetsuchi’s eyes were more far-seeing than we believed, and would have made preparations for such an event. Have no doubt that at least one of the Five will have set up measures to protect that which you hold dear.”

“I shall have hope…” Mai said, hiccupping quietly.

Seiryu smiled. “Kagetsuchi chose well,” he said quietly, “For I sense in that child much strength, and that strength will carry her far.”

“Hush,” Genbu murmured, “We do not even know if this child is indeed the One. It would not do to make her believe that she has no choice but to take up our duties and serve the White Lady only to discover later that she is not the heir after all…”

Suzaku returned later, a silver basin which was filled with a heavy silver substance which shimmered and glowed in his translucent fingers. His fair features were clear of any emotion, though his dark eyes were dim with some unknown emotion and thought.

“Suzaku?” Byakko said, “What have you seen?”

Suzaku hesitated, then said, “I have never seen so strange a thing… Some unknown power guards the village at the base of this mountain… The Spectres cannot pass the walls to enter the village, and it seems some dome of power guards the village by encasing it above, around and under… White Lady willing, this child is the One who can do what we could not…”

“Will you aid us, Child?” Seiryu said, “We can do nothing here, but will you aid us? This white power that guards your home may well be the will of Kagetsuchi, and it is proof enough that you are the one whom we seek. Will you aid us in the guarding of the Lady Eledhwen, and the scouring of the scourge that is the Spectre?”

“But my village…” Mai said, “I am my father’s firstborn, and thus, his heir… I have responsibility…”

“You can choose, child,” Genbu said, “If you choose to aid us, with what little power we hold, we can send you to Ællearsë where time moves slower, and you may do what is necessary, and the Lady Eledhwen’s power would be sufficient to keep your people from missing you, nor would they ever realize that you were missing in the first place. If you refuse, we shall corrupt your memories, that you will never remember us, and never feel any regret for your decision. The protections currently woven about your village would remain whether you chose aye or nay… Only you can make this choice, child, and we shall not force you into it.”

“May I have some time to think on this, Great Ones?”

Byakko smiled gently. “Certainly. You may wander the mansion as you see fit, and this table is ever cleared and filled in the morning, and the provender shall never spoil. When you come to a decision, come to the chamber in which our bodies lie in rest, and there we shall hear your answer, even if you see us not.”

Mai scrambled to her feet and dropped a clumsy curtsey as the four spirits flickered and vanished. Mai scrambled about the room, casted about here and there, but found no sign that the spirits had ever existed nearby.

“Truly, what a fool I am!” she murmured, sitting down at the table, “Of course there would be no sign of the Great Ones. They are spirits now, and all that is left of them are the bodies that lie in the Other Chamber.”