Three of Wands

Chapter 6:

Three of Wands

"The aegis of Chaos in she's clad.
Friend of the lost and scout for the mad."

-(from) Our Lady Amongst the Stars

      As soon as the tower doors sealed behind them Kriss stopped in her tracks and sucked in a noisy gulp of air. The tower was literally humming with power and the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood straight up at attention. From the outside the tower was large, by far the biggest structure she had ever seen, but the inside was positively gargantuan. There was no doubt that powerful magic was at work here because the inside diameter was at least two times larger than it appeared to be from the outside. The floor she stood upon was a type of stone that she had never seen; it's ebony surface was polished and shiny, shot through with streaks and flecks of gold that almost seemed to squirm and move until you focused your eyes upon a particular location. The walls were granite and hung with ornate tapestries and large paintings of places and creatures that she had never even dreamed of. A set of stairs curved along the wall and up into a ceiling made of the same black stone that was under her feet. Torches that gave off no smoke sat in sconces along the walls but the massive hall was lit mostly by an enormous chandelier that hung in the center of the ceiling. It must have contained a hundred or more candles from which Kriss could see no wax melting.

      She looked down at her sister and found her grinning wildly, her bright green eyes shimmering like jewels in the torchlight. Kriss's excitement was mixed with concern as she looked at her sister standing strangely silent and still. She knelt down quickly and brushed the cowl of her robe back over her sister's slick, hairless head. The loss of those beautiful red tresses still shocked her a little when she saw them. She wrapped her arms around Elly who responded only with a slow, limp hug in return.

      Reluctantly, Kriss released her sister and rested her forehead softly against Elly's. Gently, she spoke, “You're going to be alright here. I promise you.”

      Elly just blinked slowly in return yet continued to smile.

      Like ants, two blue-robed people emerged from a set of stairs that led darkly down into the floor, approaching Elly in silence. They each rested a hand upon her shoulders.

      Kem gently guided Kriss to her feet. “She is in good hands, Kriss. Let me show you to your room.” Quickly, the two newcomers shuffled Elly down into depths below the tower. She did not look back.

      Kriss was struck by an observation that had been tugging at the corner of her mind ever since she woke up in this odd place. “Kem, are there no children here? I haven't seen anyone younger than us and not many of our age, either. These blasted robes make it hard to tell much about anyone, yet still...”

      “No, you are right. There are not many children here but keep in mind, also, that you have not seen everyone.” Kem paused momentarily. “Nor every thing for that matter. Time does not move in the same manner here as it does in the outside world. Magic tends to age a person. The more powerful the spell the more time one can lose, therefore this place must stand outside of time. Of course, there are always exceptions...”

      Kriss cocked her head to one side and studied Kem's face closely. Soft blonde strands of hair emerged from the hood of her robe and framed her pretty face. Her blue eyes, arched over by thin eyebrows, watched Kriss carefully with a hint of mirth. She had a small, slightly upturned nose that crinkled slightly as she smiled nervously at Kriss, obviously a bit uncomfortable at being studied so hard up close.

      Kriss spoke slowly, “Just how old are you, anyway?”

      Kem laughed. “I have not been here long.” Before Kriss could respond, she grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairway. “Come! Let's go see your room.”

      Quickly, Kem led Kriss up the broad, winding stairs. Along the way they passed several fellow blue robes heading down and Kriss began to notice subtle variations of their robes along the way. Some had darker blue borders around their sleeves and cowl and a few others were even lined with gold. One was even covered in dark blue moons and stars. Kriss could only assume these differences indicated different levels of study but for the most part all she saw were robes like the ones she and Kem wore. There were a few smiles and nods along the way but most people shuffled quickly by, paying them little notice. Kriss continued to wonder how she would ever feel at home here.

      At last Kem led them through a door off the stairs that put them in a hallway following the gentle curve of the perimeter of the tower. “This is the girl's floor,” Kem explained. “This floor houses mostly other girls our age.” Kem led them past several doors, many of which were open and empty, Kriss noticed.

      At last she stopped at a closed door. “This room is yours. I'm right next door.”

      Kriss pushed the door open and entered the first space that was entirely her own. While not huge, and a little spartan, she couldn't help but feel a little thrill of excitement looking at the first bed she didn't have to share with her sister, her own table with two chairs, and something she had never seen before: a full length mirror standing in one corner. There was also a door that stood open, looking into what seemed to be some sort of indoor bathing area, a concept completely foreign to the young girl that had lived her life until now in a small cabin in the woods. Kem led her across the room to another set of shuttered doors and pushed them open. They led out onto a little balcony. Kriss stepped outside with Kem and looked over the the granite wall. They were impossibly high up, far higher than the stairs they had climbed. Kriss's stomach felt funny, like little monsters were in there throwing a raucous party. She stepped back and looked at Kem who was grinning widely.

      “How...how can we be so far up?”

      Kem laughed. “If you are going to be so surprised at every mysterious thing you see here then you are in for a long couple of days.”

      Kriss just stared at her, not thinking things to be so funny.

      Kem softened her smile. “Magic, Kriss. There are so many things here that I couldn't explain to you if I wanted to. Quite frankly, I doubt that Nora, who is one of the smartest people I have ever known, could tell us why certain things work around here. We are at the epicenter of some very strong magic, Kriss. For now, that's all I can tell you...but we are here to learn and you will learn things here that will astound you.”

      Down below Kriss heard sounds of battle so she braved a look over the granite wall again to see Patawpha drilling students in various arts of combat. She wasn't sure about magic but what she saw down there looked like something she would enjoy. Patawpha stopped shouting at his students for a moment, looked up, and gave a quick wave. Kriss gave a slow, dumbfounded wave back in return.

      Kriss turned and gave Kem a puzzled look. “How did he know?” Kem only chuckled. “Ah yes,” Kriss continued. “Magic.”

     Together they walked back into Kriss's room and Kem said that there was one more thing she wanted to show her. She led her into the little bathing area and showed her how to used the facilities, including how to fill the tub with hot or cold water simply by waving a hand over two large red or green jewels. Kriss put her curiosity on hold and just nodded as if such things were commonplace to her. With the tub full, Kem indicated various soaps and oils and then excused herself so that she, too, could wash up.

      Kriss enjoyed the most wonderful bath of her life and did her best not to wonder too much where the water went when she was through. Afterward she dressed and pulled her soft leather boots on, one of the few things left to her from her past life. She stood before the long mirror and pulled an ivory comb through her long, black hair. She had never, truly had a good look at herself before other than in her mother's hand mirror or in ponds and streams. Her hair was as black as a raven's wing; the sort of deep, dark black that in sunlight appeared to reflect shades of blue. It fell straight past her shoulders without any hint of curl like in her sister's or her mother's hair. Her eyes were green but a darker hue than that of her sister's bright emeralds. Her father used to say they made her look “mysterious," whatever that meant. Her nose was long and straight, not like the cute little button of a thing that sat in the middle of Kem's face, and her lips were thin. Too thin, she began to think, the longer she looked at them.

      Perhaps this mirror wasn't as great as she first thought, she sighed to herself as she turned away. She had never thought of herself as a pretty girl although her father had always told her so, but isn't that what fathers are supposed to do, after all? However, during their last trip to the market she had observed a young man watching her and trying following them unobserved in his clumsy, city fashion. After a time Kriss had grown tired of his prying, slyly purchased an apple from a vendor, and without warning spun around quickly and sent it flying unerringly at his head. The poor boy did not even have time to react before it magnificently splattered in the middle of his forehead, sending him scrawling away, stumbling and half blind, the laughter of the market vendor's nipping at his heels the entire way. Her father was laughing the hardest of all and in between gasps for air told Kriss that he was going to have to hire mercenaries to keep the boys away soon. The whole idea made her feel uncomfortable but she could not help laughing now thinking about the poor boy.

      Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door followed by Kem entering with a tray of food. She started for a moment at the site of Kriss but quickly recovered. “It's nice to see you smiling. I thought you might be hungry.”

      Kriss detected something else in her voice and thought for a moment that Kem looked at her like the boy in the marketplace had. Kriss, however, felt no need to hurl an apple at her even though there were several readily available on the tray in Kem's hands. They ate together quickly, chatting of little things, trying in vain to overcome the awkwardness that had suddenly come between them.

      After Kem left Kriss felt quite relieved, extinguished the lights, and spent the first night of her life in her own bed. It felt like heaven. She briefly thought of her sister, hoping she was enjoying her own bed as much as she but quickly fell into an exhausted sleep. That night she dreamed of endlessly chasing her father through the marketplace until, at last, he disappeared from her view altogether.

The Tower

Chapter5:
The Tower

Set in the field of Nothingness,

No slave to passing hour,

Stands tall and silent, all alone,

The great Discordian Tower.

      Kriss found herself slowly climbing to her feet just to take it all in. The tower stretched high into the sky, taller than any tree she had ever seen. Even taller than the Great Willow that Father had shown her when she was around Elly's age. The structure was made out of a type of stone she had never seen before; it was black and shiny as if giant hands had spent the day polishing it to a near perfect sheen. Little slits of windows ran around the walls until about halfway up where they got much larger and ornate. Near top Kriss could make out balconies and sentry stations and on the very top, through the crenelations, she could just make out guards clad in dark blue mail; they shimmered in the sunlight like fish in a stream.

      Glancing around her, she stood in a lawn ringed with a low wall of stone. Off to one side of the tower stood wooden dummies for weapons training. Stretching around the wall of stone, forming a larger ring was a wall of trees, the beginning of a forest thick and dark. She did not remember walking through such dense underbrush. “And where”, she thought, looking up at the clear, blue sky, “did all the snow go to?” Like a shadow her sister slipped up to her and took her hand. The two of them stood silently for a while just taking it all in.

      “Welcome home,” Kem's voice startled both of them and they turned to find her standing there with the hood of her robe pulled up, hiding most of her face. Other than her they were alone on the carefully manicured lawn. Kem had two bundles of blue cloth in her hands which she held out to each of them. “These are yours now. Put them on.” A proud smile crept across her face. Kriss was about to object when her sister reached out and took one, admiring the rich texture with her hands. She looked silently up at Kriss who sighed once and took a robe of her own which she slipped quickly over her head. The fact that she had little choice in the matter grated on her nerves yet in spite of her inward objections the robe felt lovely, unlike anything she had ever worn before. Kem stepped close and helped adjust the cowl of the robe over her long, raven-black hair. Kriss felt a little uncomfortable with the attention and blushed slightly. Over Kem's shoulder she saw her sister slipping the hood of her robe over then off her head swiftly several times in a row. The soft fabric felt both strange and pleasant as it slid over her hairless head.

      Whatever levity there was in those moments was quickly sucked from the air as the large, wooden door to the tower opened swiftly and without warning. Nora stepped out silently, followed by Patawpha, then score after score of blue-robed figures who quickly filled the entire courtyard. Kriss felt the weight of their silence squarely upon her shoulders. Once again she was comforted by the presence of her sisters hand. She squeezed once, gently, and Elly squeezed right back.

Once the crowd was settled Nora faced them and began to speak. “Praise Eris!” she cried, her voice booming with power.

      The crowd shouted back with a unity that was strange and inhuman, “HAIL KALLISTI!”

After a moment's pause Nora continued, “Today we welcome two more into our midst. Mehumes no more, they are one of us and are to be welcomed and treated as if they had been here all along.” Her iron gaze fell to Kriss and Elly. “You will find no rituals or hazing here, no forced or artificial bonds to bind you to us. You were our lost sisters long before Eris called you. We are your brothers and your sisters, your family. We have been here all along waiting for you to arrive. In truth, we have missed you and longed for the day you would find your way back to us.”

      Kriss could feel Elly trembling beside her, crying silently. She gave Elly's hand a firm squeeze and tightened her jaw. Nora rambled on for a bit longer but Kriss's mind wandered back to her little home, saw her mother mending clothes on the porch and her father coming home from the hunt. It hurt to think of them but she vowed to herself never to forget. This cold tower would never be her home and when she was old enough to leave it she would.

      After what seemed like an eternity Nora stopped droning on about Eris and the Discordian way. Elly had stopped crying and let go of her hand and the two of them stood still, silent and nervous, as the crowd shuffled its way back into the tower. When the lawn was almost empty Kem turned to them and spoke. “Well then, let's get you inside. You must be exhausted. Sleeping in a proper bed will cure that. Elly, of course, will need to see a healer. We should take her there straight away.”

      Kriss looked perplexed and a bit put off. “There's nothing wrong with her. Her arms are fine...her hair will grow back.”

      A shadow of sadness passed over Kem's face. “You haven't noticed...”

      Kriss dropped to one knee to be at Elly's level. She brushed the cowl of Elly's robe back over her head and cupped her cheeks in her hands. “What...” Her eyes locked with her sister's. “There is nothing wrong...Elly? Tell her there is nothing wrong with you!”

      Elly simply cocked her head slightly to one side and stared sadly into Kriss's eyes. Kriss's mind raced back over the past couple of days, soaring like an eagle over the high trees, heading straight for their little house in the woods. Her mind circled over the grizzly scene and she shuddered inwardly at the sound of her sister's dreadful keening. She followed as their little party traveled through the forest, camped through the night, she watched herself argue with Patawpha then rush to her sister's side when she had awakened. There had been a fleeting thought as they marched off into the mysterious blizzard. She lost them there but captured the thought like a field mouse and brought it streaking back to her in an instant.

      Elly had not uttered a sound since her mournful cries back at their home. Now, as she stared back into her sister's despairing eyes she saw that something was missing. The spark of life that made her so uniquely Elly had been snuffed out.

      Kriss looked up at Kem, unable to find words herself. As if reading her mind Kem spoke softly, “I don't know what is wrong with her, Kriss, but there are no healers better than the ones here at our tower. She will be in good hands.”

      Kriss rose slowly to her feet and found her voice as she did so. It was quiet, husky, and full of danger. “If any further harm comes to her I swear upon your Eris and whatever gods there may be that I will tear this tower to the ground with my bare hands. She is all I have left. These healers should hope that they can fix her or they will have to contend with me.”

      Kem nodded slowly. “I promise you that no harm will come to her. She will be made well.”

      Kriss only huffed in response and pulled the cowl of her robe down low to conceal her face.

     “You are wrong about one thing, Kriss. She is not all that you have left.”

      Kem took Elly's hand and Kriss took the other. Together the three of them entered the tower and the massive wooden doors swung shut behind them.