Evelyn
Three days, I left him in the Mistresses' tender care. Three days, in which I was able to accomplish nothing of substance without his gaunt, pale face intruding on my thoughts. It didn't help, of course, that I was connected to all of my creatures on some level, even when they are being punished. Normally, the pain was an abstract sensation, something to be measured for its learning effect on the creature in question. However, in Cambri's case, the pain had become a buzz, strange and insectile. I finally gave up attempting to ignore it, and had him released and dragged into my presence once again.
"Mistress..." he said hoarsely from his supine position before the Heart. I didn't bother to give permission for him to rise...it wasn't as if he could stand.
"Cambri," I replied, keeping my voice distant. "I believe you have something to tell me?"
"Y-yes, my lady." The ragged sound of his breathing echoed around the cold stone walls. This pleased me, so I improved the acoustics slightly, so that his own ears must have been drowned in it.
"Well? I suggest you be quick about it. My time is valuable, after all."
"I...must apologize." He swallowed. "I disobeyed those placed...above me, and in...doing so, I showed grave disrespect...to you, my Keeper."
I considered the sentence, and eventually found it good. It didn't cover the entirety of the offense, but perhaps that was a little too much to be expected, under the circumstances. The important thing was that he was sincere, and now I could dismiss him from my mind. "Apology accepted, Head Librarian." I examined him; it would be a few days before he'd be ready to reassume his duties, more's the pity. "Prepare yourself. I will conduct you to your lair, where you will stay until you are in no danger of bleeding on the books." With that, I manifested my Hand to scoop him up, and place him into his lair.
Once I'd watched him drop into an exhausted sleep, I turned gratefully back to my chapter on the secondary effects of Giant Spider venom on the nerves of soles of the human foot. Now, I thought with satisfaction, everything would return to normal.
* * * *
There is one thing that I've always done my utmost to combat within myself. That is the tendency of successful Keepers to feel that they can do no wrong. I acknowledge my strengths, mind you, but I've always been very good about admitting the rare occasions when I make a mistake. Thus, I feel compelled to disclose that I've rarely made a statement--even just to myself--which was more foolishly optimistic than my assessment of the Cambri situation.
I found that I was unable to return to my solitary pursuits of research and writing. Throughout the endless subterranean nights, my mind wandered from the cold clarity of potions and anatomy diagrams to the Library and its warden. I had only to abandon my discipline for a moment, and I would find myself looking down at Cambri and listening to his attempts to teach the Imp to read. Although there was an element of scholarly fascination with the subject, it was not something that I'd normally have taken a personal interest in. And yet...I returned again and again.
"Now, Krem," Cambri was saying when my attention drifted that way yet again, "let's try it from the top." The Imp swallowed, and looked down at the book as if it were an enemy trap he'd just stumbled across. Cambri nodded encouragingly, and tapped the sentence the Imp was to read.
"In the tenth year of..."
"Kondari's."
"Kon...da..ree's riigan?" I winced, but Cambri just smiled.
"That's 'reign', pronounced like 'rain'. Go on,"
"In the tenth year of Kondari's...reign...there came a new...terror...from the frozen North." I started. Surely Cambri wasn't..."A g-great ladee of Darkness who slew the leegons of the Light. And her name was...Ev-e-lin...Evelyn!" Krem's eyes grew wide. "This is about the Lady! She's in a book!" He looked so astounded that I felt my mind try to stretch nonexistent muscles into a smile.
Cambri laughed, it made him sound much younger than he looked. "She's in quite a few, actually. She's written more than that, as well. Even among Keepers, she has a reputation for brilliance." Some expression slid across his face then, a fraction too quickly for me to identify it. He reached out and tapped the Imp on the nose. "Once we've gotten you proficient with this, I'll let you borrow one of her earlier texts."
"Read the Lady's words?" The Imp looked awestruck at the very prospect. I wondered why; the Imps were bound to me body and soul. I wouldn't have thought they'd even be able to comprehend a different link than that. Again, it would appear I was mistaken. Before I could muse on this in more detail, however, Krem asked a question that sharpened my interest once again. "Have you read the Lady's words?"
"Oh, yes," Cambri replied with a distant look on his face. "I've read everything of hers. In fact, that's...well, nevermind. We're here to teach you to read, not explore old memories."
"No," I said, for some reason extremely disappointed that I wouldn't learn more about the Librarian's past. It was only when Krem squeaked and dived to the floor that I realized that I'd somehow forgotten myself enough to vocalize. Damn, what in the Nine Hells was going on with me? Now that the mood was completely broken, however, I decided that I might as well indulge my curiosity. "No," I repeated, my voice stronger this time, "I'd actually like to hear the rest of that sentence, Head Librarian.
Cambri stiffened, and craned his head toward the ceiling. All my creatures do this, even though they *know* that I can see from any angle I wish. He looked uncomfortable. "As you wish, Lady, although it is but a trifle. I was only going to say that it was the quality of your publications that made me seek out employment in your service." He shrugged. "No doubt you've heard the same from many others."
I hadn't, actually. Normally, I didn't care why my minions joined me, as long as they did an excellent job. But, suddenly, I was curious. "I hear a great many things, true. What did you do before you joined me, Cambri?"
"I..." he seemed at a loss. "Why do you want to know, my Lady?"
"Are you questioning me, Cambri?"
"No," he said quickly, "it's just a little unusual. Um." I decided right then that I enjoyed seeing him flustered. The blush brought out the unusual pink shade of his eyes, and made him look a little like a rabbit.
"So...?" I prompted. "You did come from somewhere, I presume? Or did you just appear in the stacks one day, fully grown?"
"No, no, of course not. But it's a very boring story." He glanced over at the Imp, who was waiting with held breath. I let that stand as my answer, as well, and finally he ran through his silver hair, and sighed. "All right, but I did warn you. I was born to a minor Lord in the world above. The Kingdom of Bonny Grove, to be more specific. I was born as you see me here," he gestured to indicate his lack of pigmentation, "and I was considered a monster. I probably would have been drowned, but that I was male and my mother died in the birthing. A monstrous heir is better than no heir at all.
"As it was, however, I spent most of my time away from the other people in the keep, which meant the Library. I soon discovered a talent for magic within myself, and conceived of a plan to use a spell to turn myself...normal. The only spell that I found that seemed to have a chance of working required a sacrifice...a small, furry animal of the color that the caster wished to transfer to himself. It seemed a small enough price for acceptance, so I found one of my father's hunting dogs, and led it to an outbuilding with a piece of raw meat. I'd forgotten, in my fevered preparations, that my father was planning on a deer hunt that day. He went looking for his hound.
"He arrived just as the spell reached the sacrifice stage, along with the Huntmaster, and several of the kennel boys. He," Cambri's voice took on the monotonous timbre of someone overcompensating for great emotion, "saw his hound, and me. He was always impulsive. I didn't even realize he'd crossed the circle until he had his hands around the dog's neck and I was chanting the killing line.
"I broke the spell, but it was too late. Both my father and the dog lay on the ground, drained and lifeless, and all that energy dispersed into the air, useless. A total waste of lives, because I didn't finish the spell when I had a chance." That explained a fair amount, I thought. He'd fallen silent, and I thought about leaving him be, but now I was truly interested.
"What happened, then?"
"What? Oh," he shrugged, "They whipped me off the estate, and I took refuge with a bandit corps in the hills. They were brutal, and not very bright, but at the time I couldn't afford to be choosy. I took my share of their ill-gotten gains in books. One day, they killed another Warlock, and brought his collection back to me. One of the books was A Rumination Upon Arctic Dungeon Design." He smiled crookedly. "I left the next morning, looking for the writer of that book."
'It wasn't one of my best."
"No," he flashed a grin at the ceiling, "but it was the first bit of real sense I'd seen in my new life. Or, for that matter, my old life. It took me four years, but eventually I found one of your Portals, and was accepted."
Somewhere, one of my other creatures began to petition for my attention. Judging by the fervent pitch, it was probably urgent. "I must go," I murmured into the dusty air of the Library. "Krem, you're doing quite well. I expect this to continue. Cambri..."
"Yes, my Lady?"
"I'm...almost finished with my newest book. Would you care to preview it before I send it on?"
He stood and bowed deeply. "It would be an honor and a pleasure, my Lady Evelyn."
"Then you shall have it." And then I left, before I could reflect too deeply on my strange behavior.
Three days, I left him in the Mistresses' tender care. Three days, in which I was able to accomplish nothing of substance without his gaunt, pale face intruding on my thoughts. It didn't help, of course, that I was connected to all of my creatures on some level, even when they are being punished. Normally, the pain was an abstract sensation, something to be measured for its learning effect on the creature in question. However, in Cambri's case, the pain had become a buzz, strange and insectile. I finally gave up attempting to ignore it, and had him released and dragged into my presence once again.
"Mistress..." he said hoarsely from his supine position before the Heart. I didn't bother to give permission for him to rise...it wasn't as if he could stand.
"Cambri," I replied, keeping my voice distant. "I believe you have something to tell me?"
"Y-yes, my lady." The ragged sound of his breathing echoed around the cold stone walls. This pleased me, so I improved the acoustics slightly, so that his own ears must have been drowned in it.
"Well? I suggest you be quick about it. My time is valuable, after all."
"I...must apologize." He swallowed. "I disobeyed those placed...above me, and in...doing so, I showed grave disrespect...to you, my Keeper."
I considered the sentence, and eventually found it good. It didn't cover the entirety of the offense, but perhaps that was a little too much to be expected, under the circumstances. The important thing was that he was sincere, and now I could dismiss him from my mind. "Apology accepted, Head Librarian." I examined him; it would be a few days before he'd be ready to reassume his duties, more's the pity. "Prepare yourself. I will conduct you to your lair, where you will stay until you are in no danger of bleeding on the books." With that, I manifested my Hand to scoop him up, and place him into his lair.
Once I'd watched him drop into an exhausted sleep, I turned gratefully back to my chapter on the secondary effects of Giant Spider venom on the nerves of soles of the human foot. Now, I thought with satisfaction, everything would return to normal.
* * * *
There is one thing that I've always done my utmost to combat within myself. That is the tendency of successful Keepers to feel that they can do no wrong. I acknowledge my strengths, mind you, but I've always been very good about admitting the rare occasions when I make a mistake. Thus, I feel compelled to disclose that I've rarely made a statement--even just to myself--which was more foolishly optimistic than my assessment of the Cambri situation.
I found that I was unable to return to my solitary pursuits of research and writing. Throughout the endless subterranean nights, my mind wandered from the cold clarity of potions and anatomy diagrams to the Library and its warden. I had only to abandon my discipline for a moment, and I would find myself looking down at Cambri and listening to his attempts to teach the Imp to read. Although there was an element of scholarly fascination with the subject, it was not something that I'd normally have taken a personal interest in. And yet...I returned again and again.
"Now, Krem," Cambri was saying when my attention drifted that way yet again, "let's try it from the top." The Imp swallowed, and looked down at the book as if it were an enemy trap he'd just stumbled across. Cambri nodded encouragingly, and tapped the sentence the Imp was to read.
"In the tenth year of..."
"Kondari's."
"Kon...da..ree's riigan?" I winced, but Cambri just smiled.
"That's 'reign', pronounced like 'rain'. Go on,"
"In the tenth year of Kondari's...reign...there came a new...terror...from the frozen North." I started. Surely Cambri wasn't..."A g-great ladee of Darkness who slew the leegons of the Light. And her name was...Ev-e-lin...Evelyn!" Krem's eyes grew wide. "This is about the Lady! She's in a book!" He looked so astounded that I felt my mind try to stretch nonexistent muscles into a smile.
Cambri laughed, it made him sound much younger than he looked. "She's in quite a few, actually. She's written more than that, as well. Even among Keepers, she has a reputation for brilliance." Some expression slid across his face then, a fraction too quickly for me to identify it. He reached out and tapped the Imp on the nose. "Once we've gotten you proficient with this, I'll let you borrow one of her earlier texts."
"Read the Lady's words?" The Imp looked awestruck at the very prospect. I wondered why; the Imps were bound to me body and soul. I wouldn't have thought they'd even be able to comprehend a different link than that. Again, it would appear I was mistaken. Before I could muse on this in more detail, however, Krem asked a question that sharpened my interest once again. "Have you read the Lady's words?"
"Oh, yes," Cambri replied with a distant look on his face. "I've read everything of hers. In fact, that's...well, nevermind. We're here to teach you to read, not explore old memories."
"No," I said, for some reason extremely disappointed that I wouldn't learn more about the Librarian's past. It was only when Krem squeaked and dived to the floor that I realized that I'd somehow forgotten myself enough to vocalize. Damn, what in the Nine Hells was going on with me? Now that the mood was completely broken, however, I decided that I might as well indulge my curiosity. "No," I repeated, my voice stronger this time, "I'd actually like to hear the rest of that sentence, Head Librarian.
Cambri stiffened, and craned his head toward the ceiling. All my creatures do this, even though they *know* that I can see from any angle I wish. He looked uncomfortable. "As you wish, Lady, although it is but a trifle. I was only going to say that it was the quality of your publications that made me seek out employment in your service." He shrugged. "No doubt you've heard the same from many others."
I hadn't, actually. Normally, I didn't care why my minions joined me, as long as they did an excellent job. But, suddenly, I was curious. "I hear a great many things, true. What did you do before you joined me, Cambri?"
"I..." he seemed at a loss. "Why do you want to know, my Lady?"
"Are you questioning me, Cambri?"
"No," he said quickly, "it's just a little unusual. Um." I decided right then that I enjoyed seeing him flustered. The blush brought out the unusual pink shade of his eyes, and made him look a little like a rabbit.
"So...?" I prompted. "You did come from somewhere, I presume? Or did you just appear in the stacks one day, fully grown?"
"No, no, of course not. But it's a very boring story." He glanced over at the Imp, who was waiting with held breath. I let that stand as my answer, as well, and finally he ran through his silver hair, and sighed. "All right, but I did warn you. I was born to a minor Lord in the world above. The Kingdom of Bonny Grove, to be more specific. I was born as you see me here," he gestured to indicate his lack of pigmentation, "and I was considered a monster. I probably would have been drowned, but that I was male and my mother died in the birthing. A monstrous heir is better than no heir at all.
"As it was, however, I spent most of my time away from the other people in the keep, which meant the Library. I soon discovered a talent for magic within myself, and conceived of a plan to use a spell to turn myself...normal. The only spell that I found that seemed to have a chance of working required a sacrifice...a small, furry animal of the color that the caster wished to transfer to himself. It seemed a small enough price for acceptance, so I found one of my father's hunting dogs, and led it to an outbuilding with a piece of raw meat. I'd forgotten, in my fevered preparations, that my father was planning on a deer hunt that day. He went looking for his hound.
"He arrived just as the spell reached the sacrifice stage, along with the Huntmaster, and several of the kennel boys. He," Cambri's voice took on the monotonous timbre of someone overcompensating for great emotion, "saw his hound, and me. He was always impulsive. I didn't even realize he'd crossed the circle until he had his hands around the dog's neck and I was chanting the killing line.
"I broke the spell, but it was too late. Both my father and the dog lay on the ground, drained and lifeless, and all that energy dispersed into the air, useless. A total waste of lives, because I didn't finish the spell when I had a chance." That explained a fair amount, I thought. He'd fallen silent, and I thought about leaving him be, but now I was truly interested.
"What happened, then?"
"What? Oh," he shrugged, "They whipped me off the estate, and I took refuge with a bandit corps in the hills. They were brutal, and not very bright, but at the time I couldn't afford to be choosy. I took my share of their ill-gotten gains in books. One day, they killed another Warlock, and brought his collection back to me. One of the books was A Rumination Upon Arctic Dungeon Design." He smiled crookedly. "I left the next morning, looking for the writer of that book."
'It wasn't one of my best."
"No," he flashed a grin at the ceiling, "but it was the first bit of real sense I'd seen in my new life. Or, for that matter, my old life. It took me four years, but eventually I found one of your Portals, and was accepted."
Somewhere, one of my other creatures began to petition for my attention. Judging by the fervent pitch, it was probably urgent. "I must go," I murmured into the dusty air of the Library. "Krem, you're doing quite well. I expect this to continue. Cambri..."
"Yes, my Lady?"
"I'm...almost finished with my newest book. Would you care to preview it before I send it on?"
He stood and bowed deeply. "It would be an honor and a pleasure, my Lady Evelyn."
"Then you shall have it." And then I left, before I could reflect too deeply on my strange behavior.