Blast from the Past -- Moirel and the Eyes
I was cleaning out my e-mail and I found one I had sent to myself (who, me? crazy?) regarding Moirel and the Eyes. This was way before the most recent spate of updates that made clear who she was/is, and before the Eyes served their purpose and got dusted.
At the time, I was trying to come up with my own explanation for Moirel, the Eyes, Condor, etc. Long-time readers of this Story Hour thread will be familiar with my other wildly unsuccessful predictions, such as that Condor and Cranchus were the same person, or that Darkeye (heretofor unseen leader of the Sharshun) is actually the mirror universe version of Mrs. Horn, complete with tight-fitting black leather outfit.
Actually, I still hold out hope for that latter prediction.
Anyway, I thought it might be amusing to re-post some of these "greatest hits" here. Relive these moments, and marvel once again at the tightly woven strands of Sagiro's plot tapestry.
[sblock][from Previa]
The Eyes of Moirel are another story. Legend has it that Moirel was an elven mage who appeared in the Mirrors of
Semek, well over 2000 years ago (exact date not known), carrying a number of highly magical diamonds, each cut
round, with many facets. She was robbed of them by bandits, and she spent the rest of her days searching for them.
The legends say that she was driven mad with the desire to find them, and there are conflicting stories of her fate.
Some say she was killed by halflings who lived in the grassy hills near the Mirrors, for in her madness she was
wrecking the little people's homes with powerful magics. Others maintain that after years of searching she walked
back into the mirrors and vanished. By most accounts, however, she died a wandering lunatic, asking all she met to
give her back her Eyes so that she could go home.
= = = = =
The Company arrive back in Tal Hae [after Mirrors of Semek] and go immediately to the Greenhouse, but the crystal ball is still dead, and there's no
sign of Abernathy.
There is another letter from the Temple of Ell, with some information that might be about an Eye of Moirel near the town of
Medir on the island of Nahalm:
To Morningstar, Shield of Ell:
Greetings, sister, from Previa, Chronicler. I have discovered one more reference, though vague, that may have
bearing on your request for knowledge. This excerpt is from Chronicler Eloa of Dimres, written 48 years ago:
"And this man, who named himself Isaac, he came at night to the doors of our house, bleeding from a dozen
wounds, and with the madness in his eyes. At first he begged for sanctuary, and so we admitted him, and tended to
his hurts. From his ravings we gathered that he had staggered almost fifty miles from the low hills about the town of
Medir. He had been the leader of a band of outlaws, and there had been some falling out among them, and he had
slain many of his own comrades, so that (in his own words) 'they would not steal his sight.'
"When we asked him what this meant, he became restless. When one of the Hands attempted to calm him further, he
flung himself away, and from the folds of his tattered cloak he withdrew a strange gem. It was a clear, round-cut
diamond, the size of a child's fist, and in its center was a blackness, perhaps a flaw, perhaps a bit of jet -- we could not
say. The outlaw held it up, and began to shout: 'Do you not know? I have the eye that sees truth! And I see the light
that will come into this place, scrying out all your shadowed corners, and piercing your secrets. I can see it! I can see!'
"At that moment Verna, the High Priestess, came into the chamber, and ordered that the man be turned out of the
Temple. He was, though his ravings continued, and among them he vowed to return to Medir and slay the rest of
his treacherous fellows. At Verna's command the man was followed some miles out of Dimres, and he was headed
east, and our sisters returned. The High Priestess would say no more about the man, and he did not come back."
-- Previa
= = = = =
Masteen has been in the hire of Sagiro
and the Sharshun for a few months, and has been given lots of information about the party. He knows that the Sharshun are
looking for the Eyes of Moirel, and that the Eyes are devices that are used for some sort of travel. He has a guess that the Sharshun
are trying to free their imprisoned Emperor, though that is only a guess. By inference, it is clear that Masteen is not being affected
noticeably by the Masking. And he divulges (by thought) how much he has been paid and where he's keeping the money.
Eventually, he figures out that his mind has been read this entire time, and he despairs. The Company decide to let him go, but
not before Kay makes him drink a fake potion, which she claims will kill him if he commits any act of violence against
women. He departs with some unkind words for her.
Meanwhile Sarai, while grateful for the help against the Sharshun, is upset that the Cyclops is missing. Kay sorts out some
tracks that seem to match, and follows them into the forest, where they end at a tall tree. The Cyclops is sitting up in the tree.
And then, as the Company and Sarai look up at it, it begins to talk in a gravelly voice. Dranko calls up to it, offering to keep it
safe in a storage room in the Greenhouse, but it claims that it would rather be set prominently on a mantelpiece.
Sarai jumps in
and offers to do just that, and the Cyclops agrees to go with her. (It actually seems to consider itself as the tiger's property.)
In the discussion with the Cyclops that follows (and over the next few days' travel), the Company learn some interesting things,
though the creature is often hopelessly enigmatic.
It is clearly self-aware, and refers to the other Eyes as its "brothers." It dislikes
the Sharshun, because they want to use the Eyes to "travel nowhere," and it doesn't want to do that. It claims that Moirel went
mad for that reason; that she "traveled nowhere" and, not being ready for whatever that entailed, lost her mind. It seems to regard
all notions of (and questions about) time as meaningless. It feels closely associated with its physical form -- it thinks of itself as
the Cyclops, not just the Eye. It's also of the opinion that its brother should not be held captive in the Greenhouse. [2, 33-34]
= = = = =
Eddings is there to greet the party as usual. What is less usual is that his eyes are missing from their sockets, and in their
places are the two Eyes of Moirel! The edges of the sockets are rimed over with colored crystal, one purple, the other green.
They speak through Eddings using his voice, each one glowing (either purple or green) while it is the one "talking":
WELCOME HOME, ERNEST. KIBI.
YOU HAVE KEPT ME PRISONER, BUT I HAVE ALSO BEEN YOUR GUEST. YOUR GUEST I WILL REMAIN. BUT I LIKED THE LIZARD
MORE.
LISTEN WELL TO ME. THE VENTIFACT COLOSSUS IS WAKING FROM ITS SLEEP. THE WORLD IS AT A CROSSROADS.
LISTEN WELL TO ME. THE GREAT SAND TURTLE WILL ARISE FROM SLUMBER, AND DESTINIES WILL SCATTER LIKE GRAINS OF
SAND TUMBLING FROM ITS SHELL.
HEED WELL MY WARNING. IF THE COLOSSUS IS NOT SLAIN BY THE STORMKNIGHTS, THOUSANDS WILL PERISH. IT WILL LEAD
ITS BRETHREN IN A CRUSADE OF MINDLESS DESTRUCTION.
HEED WELL MY WARNING. IF THE COLOSSUS IS KILLED BY THE WAR GOD'S CHILDREN, THOUSANDS WILL PERISH. ITS DEATH
WILL HERALD THE COMING OF THE FIRE.
YOU MUST NOT ALLOW THE WATCHERS TO SUCCEED. THEY WILL SACRIFICE THE PRESENT, AND ONLY TO SAVE AN EMPTY
FUTURE.
YOU MUST NOT ALLOW THE WATCHERS TO FAIL. THE STORMKNIGHTS WILL THROW THE FUTURE INTO CHAOS, AND ONLY TO
SAVE THE EPHEMERAL PRESENT.
MY BROTHER IS CORRECT. THE DEATH OF THE COLOSSUS WILL CREATE A PERILOUS FUTURE.
MY BROTHER IS CORRECT. THE SURVIVAL OF THE COLOSSUS WILL RESULT IN DESTRUCTION BEYOND MEASURE. BUT BEST THAT
NONE BE ALIVE TO SEE THE FUTURE BURN. FOR THE FUTURE IS CARVED IN DIAMOND, THAT NONE MAY ERASE OR CHANGE.
NO. THE FUTURE IS WRITTEN ON WATER, AND WE ARE ALL ITS AUTHORS.
Then both Eyes speak, glowing at the same time as Eddings speaks in a strangely double-toned voice:
YOU HAVE THE FOCUS, IN WHOSE VEINS RUNS THE BLOOD OF SANTO. YOU HAVE THE OPENER, WHO BRIDGES THE LIGHT
AND THE EARTH. YOU WILL STILL NEED THE TALISMAN TO PRESERVE YOUR SANITY. YOU WILL STILL NEED A SOURCE OF
ENERGY, FOR WE WILL BE OTHERWISE OCCUPIED. AND THERE IS ONE MORE THING.
OUR CREATOR DID NOT FULLY UNDERSTAND US. THOUGH YOU DO NOT HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE OR THE MIGHT TO BEND
US TO YOUR WILL, WE ARE NOT ALL REQUIRED. TO TRAVEL NOWHERE, YOU WILL NEED US WHO ARE WILLING. TO TRAVEL
NOWHERE, WE WILL NEED OUR BROTHER.
HE IS IN THE HOUSE OF HET BRANOI, BEYOND THE GATE OF FIRE, AND HE CANNOT RETURN ON HIS OWN. THE CANARY
HAS ENTRAPPED THE CAT. RETURN HIM TO US, SO YOU MIGHT WALK IN THE FOOTPRINTS OF MOIREL.
= = = = =
[Kibi's weird experience]
you are standing on a white marble floor, and specifically within a wide grey circle drawn on that floor. Nine candles burn at various
points around its perimeter. Around you is a wide chamber with a high ceiling; the walls are marked with glyphs and patterns, written in
a grey, swirling hand. The room is lit by hanging lanterns, and through a round glass window at the highest point in the ceiling you can
see, in a black night sky, a full, red moon. In front of you are two people: a tall, imperious-looking woman in a brown and white robe,
and a small man with spectacles, holding a large book.
The woman speaks: "Something must have gone wrong. This is a dwarf!"
The man frantically looks through the book. "No, we did this right. I made sure of it."
The woman answers, "Dolt! The Opener is a mage. It has to be! And dwarves are incapable of magery. We must have made a mistake."
"Perhaps this one isn't. Maybe he's -- oh, I don't know. And besides, this one has to be the Opener. The summoning wouldn't have
worked on anyone else."
He flips to a page near the back of the book. "I'll read it again, milady, in case you've forgotten. "When the smoke of nine is set
beneath the Sigil of the Sky, and four of Tirat's children align themselves behind the moon, the Opener will be brought from an echoing
world. He is the wizard who will move the World Stone. He will bridge the Earth and the light, and force the gates of yesterday."
"I told you," says the woman frowning. "It says 'wizard.'"
"Hm," says the man. He looks at you. "Well? Are you a wizard?"
You feel as though you couldn't lie, even if you wanted to. "Of course," you say.
"Ah," he says. "Well then. Good. What is your name?"
"Kibilhathur Bimson."
"Well, Kibilhathur Bimson, know this. You have been summoned by the Lady Serpicore, Mistress of the Wizards' College, and by her
humble apprentice, Maudrin. You are under our control for as long as the task takes. When your task is done, you will be released to
your home. We will not mistreat you, but if you resist us, we will compel you, and that might cause you discomfort. Your task is
dangerous, and though we will give you assistance, and protect your life however we might, there is no guarantee that you will survive.
Understand that the fate of Cafille, our world, hangs in the balance, and that if you fail, you will perish with the rest of us.
"Will you assist us willingly, or will we be obliged to compel you?"
For the record, Kibi agreed to help willingly. He embarked on a quest [...]
= = = = =
The Eyes alternately glow, and speak slowly to the Company in Skorg's voice.
SUCH A COLLECTION OF FOCI IS WITHOUT PRECEDENT. ABERNATHY PLAYED A DANGEROUS GAME, BRINGING SO MANY
TOGETHER. AND NOW THE LIGHT IS WITH YOU. KEEP HIM SAFE, OR SUCCESS SOONER WILL TURN TO ASH LATER.
YOU ARE NEARLY READY TO MAKE THE GREAT JOURNEY, TO QUIET THE OSCILLATING THREADS OF FATE. INTO THIS PLACE OF
REFUGE YOU HAVE BROUGHT WHAT YOU WILL NEED. YOU HAVE THE FOCUS, SON OF HE WHO STOOD AT THE HEART OF
NOWHERE IN AGES PAST. YOU HAVE THE OPENER, WITHOUT WHOM THE LIGHT WILL TEAR YOUR BODIES FREE OF ALL
MOORINGS. YOU HAVE THE TALISMAN, FORGED IN DAYS FORGOTTEN BY THE EARTH MAGE, WITHOUT WHICH THE LIGHT
WILL TEAR YOUR MINDS FREE OF ALL MOORINGS. YOU HAVE NOW A SOURCE OF POWER, TO MAKE UP FOR THE LACK OF
FOUR OF OUR BROTHERS. ALL WE NOW LACK IS THE THIRD. HE MUST ACCOMPANY US.
CONDOR IS A NAME YOU HEARD LONG AGO, GREATEST OF NALORIC'S INNER CIRCLE. HE DROVE A SPIKE THROUGH THE
FABRIC OF ALL THINGS, AND LOCKED THE HOLE WITH SEVEN KEYS. HE TOLD NALORIC THAT IT WOULD BE NECESSARY, TO
CORRECT FUTURE MISTAKES THAT COULD NOT BE CORRECTED. THE EMPEROR WAS A SKEPTIC, LIKE ALL GREAT MEN. HE
DEMANDED THAT CONDOR'S DAUGHTER, MOIREL, BE THE FIRST TO GO THROUGH, AS A TEST. SEVEN KEYS SHE HELD, AND SHE
PLUNGED INTO THE HOLE THAT HER FATHER HAD MADE. SHE EMERGED WHOLE IN BODY, BUT BROKEN IN MIND. THE KEYS
WERE SCATTERED, AND MOIREL WANDERED FAR TO FIND THEM, UNTIL SHE FORGOT WHO SHE WAS. SHE HAD NO FOCUS.
SHE HAD NO OPENER. SHE HAD NO HOPE.
BUT ALL PLANS AND PLOTS FIND THEIR WAY INTO THE GREAT TAPESTRY. WE SEVEN REACHED OUT INTO THE MULTIVERSE
DURING THAT FIRST JOURNEY, CLUTCHING FOR LIFE, FOR ABERNIA WAS INACCESSIBLE WHILE WE TRAVELED. VOLPOS WAS
THE CLOSEST, AND FROM THERE COMES OUR SENTIENCE. WE BOUND VOLPOS TO ABERNIA, AND MOIREL ABSORBED THE
ESSENCE OF BOTH. TWO PLANES OF BEING LOCKED TOGETHER, MOIREL AT THEIR CENTER. NOW, HER LAST DESCENDANT…
HE IS THE CENTER.
BEWARE, SON OF MOIREL! WHEN ABERNIA AND VOLPOS EMBRACE, THE CENTER WILL BE BURNED AWAY, TO FUSE THE
TWO TOGETHER FOR A TIME. ENOUGH TIME. HEED THE WORDS OF THE KYASHA. HEED THE WORDS OF THE
NUMISMATIST. HEED THE WORDS OF THE TRAITOR. STAND IN SHADOW. STAND 'TWIXT THE SHADOWS. WHEN THE SKY
IS REVEALED AND THE ARCS TOUCH YOUR FRAME, THE WINDOW WILL OPEN. YOUR FLAME MUST BE EXTINGUISHED
BEFORE THE CORES CONVERGE ON YOUR SOUL.
= = = = =
Seconds pass that seem like an eternity. It is just creeping into peoples' minds that nothing is going to happen, when they start
to feel the vibrations. At first there is no sound, just a silent thrumming that buzzes through their bodies from all around. Then
a low rumble begins, sounding through the basement walls. The Greenhouse is trembling, ever so slightly.
"Kibi? Are you okay?" asks Ernie.
"Yes. They aren't saying anything."
The rumble becomes louder, as if a small earthquake is shaking the foundations of the house. An alembic on Aravis'
workbench starts to rattle. In Kibi's head, words form:
EARTH WIZARD, YOU ARE BECOMING WHAT WILL BE ONE WITH US.
BEFORE THE END YOU WILL DESCEND, DESTROY, AND OPEN THE DOOR TO YOUR GREATEST FEAR.
BUT THE JOURNEY FROM NOW TO THEN IS A JOURNEY FROM NOW TO THEN TO NOW,
AND MANY YEARS LIE 'TWIXT KEY AND DOOR.
NOW, ALL OF YOU -- WAIT, FOR THE TIME IS ALMOST UPON YOU.
Kibi repeats what he heard to the others. As they ponder the words, the Greenhouse creaks, as if a gale has started to blow
outside. The laboratory equipment is all a-clatter; a flask falls on its side, rolls off a table and shatters on the hard earth floor.
From upstairs they hear the sound of windows yammering in their frames.
The shaft of sunlight shining down through the stairwell goes out, as if the sun has been switched off. And from Kibi's mouth
two voices speak, his own voice doubled, sounding in unison. The Eyes in his hands glow brightly, purple and green, as the
words come.
IT HAS ALL COME UNDONE.
YOUR ENEMIES UNMAKE THE WORLD,
BUT YOU SHALL NOT BE UNMADE,
AND ALONE OF ALL THINGS YOU SHALL BE REMADE.
Flicker bounds up the stairs in a panic. It's a bit past two in the afternoon, and all is dark outside. And not just dark. Lightless.
He runs to a window and puts his face to the glass, but there is nothing outside. For all that he can see, the Greenhouse is
floating in a great black void. He runs back down to the others.
The Greenhouse groans as if something outside is trying to twist it apart. All around them their glassware is rolling off tables
and benches, crashing onto the floor.
The green Eye glows brightly, and from Kibi's mouth comes its voice.
OUTSIDE, THE WORLD IS AS IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN --
SLAVES, TOIL, FEAR, AND THE ENDLESS DIGGING.
THE EMPEROR DRIVES THEM, ALWAYS DEEPER INTO DESPAIR.
EVIL BEYOND EVIL, AND YET HIMSELF ONLY A MEANS TO AN END.
FEAR HIM, BUT FEAR MORE HIS SUCCESS.
There is a series of crashes from upstairs as jars and crockery fall from kitchen shelves. Tiny cracks appear in the floor, the walls.
The sound of shaking and rattling becomes almost deafening, and it seems a miracle that the Greenhouse is not flying apart in a
shower of beams and bricks. Beyond the sound of the house is that of a wailing wind, or the scream of an unearthly voice.
The purple Eye flashes in Kibi's hand, and his voice sounds clear above the din.
INSIDE, THE WORLD IS AS IT NEVER WAS --
HOPE, STRENGTH, FREEDOM AND THE SAFETY OF FORESIGHT.
THE ARCHMAGE CRAFTED IT, A HAVEN TO BE ANATHEMA TO YOUR ENEMIES' DESIGNS.
WISE BEYOND WISDOM, AND YET HIMSELF ONLY A MEANS TO AN END.
TRUST HIM, BUT TRUST MORE YOURSELVES.
The Greenhouse quiets.
Is that all?
Sweat is dripping down Kibi's face into his beard. His grasping knuckles are pale.
A shaft of light again shines down the stairwell, but brighter, oh so much brighter. From outside the Greenhouse shines a light
brighter than a hundred suns, absolutely blinding, filling every window with its blaze.
Both Eyes glow again, purple and green light intermingling with the powerful ambient sunlight from upstairs. In his strange
double voice Kibi speaks a final time.
THEY ARE FOLLOWING BACK THE PATH OF MOIREL. THEY HAVE ALWAYS DONE SO.
WE CANNOT PURSUE THEM WITHOUT OUR BROTHER.
IF YOU WISH TO TRAVEL NOWHERE, TO UNMAKE THE WORLD,
BRING US TO THE HOME OF SEVEN DARK WORDS AND MAKE US THREE.
BEWARE THE WORLD.
The dazzling light goes out. The Greenhouse is still.[/sblock]
