It had been three days since Aster arrived at Anna's house. Three days spent mostly lying in bed or on a sofa at the library. Anna had been adamant that she was still injured and needed to rest as much as possible for the next few days until she was well enough to go to Kav'deb for treatment and to be given a new eye. Anna had apparently asked him to come, but he had replied that without his laboratory he could not comply with her request. Frankly, although Anna had shown nothing but kindness, patience and understanding towards her, Aster was still not sure how to act. She had to be on her guard. It could still be a trap, Anna was perhaps only pretending to be nice to her so that she could hurt her better later. Vernon and Petunia had made it clear to her during her years with them that adults could be cruel in extremely creative and devious ways. As a result, Aster remained very suspicious of Anna. But Anna did not blame her, she simply looked sad when Aster flinched at her touch, kept her distance or watched her warily.
However, everything was going extremely well for her so far. Aster was fed, housed, clothed, washed. And Anna had never laid a hand on her so far. Anna had even set up a room just for her ! A real room with a bed, a bookcase, armchairs, a desk and Anna had even told her that when she was well settled and Kav'deb had taken care of her, she could decorate her room to her liking. Never the Dursleys would have done that for her. Not in her wildest dreams.
Aster had even had the opportunity to explore the house and garden. Of course under Anna's supervision, she said she was still too weak to overexert herself like that, but Aster was just too curious to stay all day reading, or just chatting with Anna. The books she could read were fascinating and talked about all sorts of things. Stories of knights in shining armour fighting monsters and living greats adventures, tales of travellers who visited strange and distant worlds, or just books weird plants and animals. Anna was patient and seemed genuinely interested in learning more about Aster and vice versa, but Aster just couldn't stand it for too long. Especially now that the ever-present threat of returning to the cupboard had been lifted. Anna told her that she did not intend to abandon her, ever.
So Anna had taken her in her arms, though Aster insisted on walking Anna had been adamant and refused, explaining that Aster was still too weak to start walking longer distances than between the library, the living room and her room. Aster was reluctant to be touched but Anna had so far been gentle with her and after a minute or two of hesitation she had reached out to Anna, allowing herself to be lifted off the ground and made comfortable against her new friend's chest.
The house itself was quite beautiful, built mainly of dark wood and slightly bluish cut stone. It consisted of a ground floor with a wide entrance leading to an heavy oak door. A living room, very bright thanks to the many windows piercing the walls, which according to the furnishings was a relaxing room dominated by warm colours, comfortable armchairs and sofas covered with cushions facing a large fireplace, as well as a low table and a round table which it was apparently possible to extend in order to transform the living room into a dining room, in case of receiving too many guests for the small kitchen. The kitchen adjacent to the living room was also used as a dining room for everyday use and also served as a secondary entrance through a French door to a terrace overlooking the large garden. The rest of the ground floor was much less interesting except for the loo and Anna's business office which Aster was forbidden to enter, as Anna regularly received visitors and wanted to keep Aster's existence a secret for the time being. Aster did not know why, and when she asked, Anna told her that she was too weak to suffer the excessive curiosity of her most regular customers. The upstairs consisted of Anna's room, Aster's room, apparently a former guest room, and the library, the largest room on the floor, filled with large shelves overflowing with old-looking books, most of them written in languages unknown to Aster.
Finally the workshop. Where Aster had obtained her new arm. According to her explanations, Anna's job was as a golemic craftswoman. Her trade consisted of making machines, golems (strange creatures made of ceramics and metal that helped Anna take care of the house and respond to simple commands, actually Aster was a bit afraid of them), prostheses and a wide variety of other objects that seemed to work with magic. The workshop itself was an enchanting sight, a jumble of tools, unfinished projects, crystal and odd stones, sometimes glowing or iridescent, giving off an intoxicating aura. Most of the rooms in the house were decorated with paintings depicting landscapes that were sometimes familiar and sometimes completely strange and alien, as well as numerous portraits, some of them showing normal people of all ages, others of vaguely human-looking creatures, sometimes with four arms, or simply having nothing to do with anything human at all. Anna had stopped in front of one of the portraits depicting a large emaciated creature with no real face, dressed in a strange toga, bent over a leather-bound book. Anna explained that it was the portrait of her friend Kav'deb and that she should not be afraid of him, as he was a perfect gentleman. Aster had not asked any more questions about him, slightly disturbed by the puzzling appearance of the … man? She didn't really know what he could be.
From the outside, the house looked like a simple thatched cottage with a stone wall and a thatched roof on which various flowers and plants grew. She had worried about the durability and solidity of the roof with all the vegetation on it but Anna had simply chuckled and told her that the plants on the roof kept the thatch from rotting by drinking the rainwater that had seeped in.
The garden was really big. And she recognised that Anna had been right to carry her, for at this stage her legs would surely have given up long ago. Aster was really happy that the garden was so big. After all, she had always enjoyed the outdoors and the sense of freedom it gave her. In addition to being beautiful, large, and home to a wide variety of trees and flowers, Anna had a large vegetable garden in which she grew vegetables and potions ingredients apparently for sale and personal use. (She had once watched Anna make a potion and had wanted to help as it looked like fun but Anna had said she was still too young and too weak for that right now.) The most beautiful surprise of the excursion was the discovery of a small lake behind the house, but especially of the boat moored to the shore. A pleading and hopeful look from her and a wide puppy eye, was enough to convince Anna to take her for a ride on the water, where she was able to observe many fish, insects and aquatic plants. Then Anna told her it was time to return inside because apparently too much time outside under the sun could cause nasty burns to vampires, even with the cream she applied to Aster's skin before going outside. The day spent exploring the house and garden had been the best day of her life so far, and Aster had fallen asleep exhausted as soon as Anna had put her to bed.
The next morning Aster was awakened by the golden light of the sun illuminating her room and gently waking her from a sweet dreamless sleep. Feeling particularly well, she got up and took a few tentative steps across the floor. Once she was sure her legs wouldn't give way, she headed for her wardrobe. She opened the large wardrobe and chose a light dress to replace her soft pajamas. This was the first time she had woken up alone without Anna coming over since she had arrived. Therefore she didn't really know what to do once she was dressed for the day. Gathering her courage, she went out into the hallway and down the stairs towards the kitchen where she could hear cooking noises and the smell of bacon and toast. She walked to the door and opened it to peek inside. Anna was standing behind the gas cooker with a frying pan in her hand, grilling slices of bacon and cooking fried eggs. At the sound of the door opening Anna turned and smiled at her for a moment before concentrating on her task.
"Good morning, Aster. You're up early."
At these words what hesitation remained in Aster disappeared and she entered the kitchen. "Good morning Anna. Yes, the daylight was enough to wake me up."
"Hm. Sit down, I'm almost done. Did you sleep well?"
Aster sat down at the table in front of her plate. "Very good, the beds here are great!
Anna turned and served her a fried egg, a few slices of bacon and filled her cup of tea before doing the same for herself. "you seem to be feeling much better today."
After taking a sip of tea, the warm cup, warming her still sleepy hands, Aster replied, "Yes, I'm not in any pain at all, and I can walk properly. In fact, I can't feel any difference between my two arms at all now.
Anna nodded. "That's a good thing. Although rare, rejection of a magically merged golemic prosthetic limb is always a possibility. While we're on the subject I should explain a couple of things about your new arm. Firstly, as you have probably noticed, it is stronger and more resistant than a normal arm. So be careful when you handle things in the next few weeks. over time that you get used to its strength so you don't break it, but for now be careful.
Aster giving in to her curiosity clutched her fork in her new hand as hard as she could and felt the metal slowly deform under the pressure until it cracked completely, the fork falling out of her hand completely crushed. Aster's eyes widened first in surprise and then in fear as she realised what she had done. "Sorry Anna, I'm sorry. I... I..."
Anna interrupted her attempts to apologise with a wave of her hand, "It's nothing, it's just a fork. I can fix it easily. More importantly, I have to warn you. most mages inscribe magecraft arrays on their skin so that they always have basic magic always ready to use with them. Kav-deb will explain this in more detail, but just remember that you shouldn't do this on your new arm. It will disrupt its function." Anna stared at Aster for a moment. "Do you have any other questions about this?"
Aster thought for a moment and then nodded, one last thing made her wonder. "You put a strange smooth black pebble in my arm to make it work. Why?"
Anna smiled her look having softened after his warning. "It's a ley line stone. A ley line is a magical stream in the earth following natural formations. They are found in very old forests, in the roots of mountains, in the hollows of rivers and in many other places. They are streams in which an intense flow of magic circulates, one could speak of the veins of the earth if the Earth were a living being. When two ley lines cross, the two flows of magic collide, creating places with a particularly strong concentration of magic. Most mages choose to build their houses on such places to be able to feed permanent forms of magic. In these intersections between magic flows, objects can become so full of magic that they change their appearance and become things like the stone I put in your arm. This one will power it as long as there is magic left in the stone.
Aster frowned. "But if that stone contains magic and that's what makes my arm work, then my arm works on magic. Therefore, by being a mage shouldn't I be able to power my arm myself?"
"Good question. Yes you could, but to do so you would have to put constant effort into constantly directing some of your magic into the array who make your arm work, which is exhausting and really bad for your health. You have to understand that magic is what keeps you going and spending too much or irresponsibly is really bad for your health. Again Kav-deb will explain this to you in more detail. Do you know how to write?"
Aster nodded.
"All right, wait a minute." Anna got up and walked towards her office. Then she returned quickly with a notebook and pencil in hand. "Write down any questions you have about mages and magic in it. Kav-deb will answer them. I could do it myself, but I'm not a mage, so I don't want to tell you any nonsense."
She took the notebook and handed it to Aster. Aster took it and began to write down all the questions that came to her mind. After that the discussion drifted to lighter topics mostly revolving around the garden and the various plants that Anna grows. A flash of concern crossed her eyes when Aster began to explain how she looked after the garden at her relatives' house. Anna chose not to delve into the subject of where she come from and what were her living conditions, preferring to wait until Aster began to trust her a little more before asking about this obviously sensitive subject.
When Aster had finished her breakfast Anna said, "Do you think you're well enough to make a little trip? Just an hour or so to get to my friend's house. He answered my last letter and said he was ready to treat you completely."
Aster looked at his hands for a moment, then ran his fingers over her lost eye and said, "Yes, I think so. But his portrait is really scary. Are you sure I'll be okay?"
Anna smiled and placed her hands on her's. "Yes, don't worry, he's not bad. That kind of looks is normal for a black mage. He's just a little strange at first. Be polite to him and you'll be fine."
Aster nodded and added a new question to his notebook.
"Rest well, we leave early afternoon. The journey will be tiring."
At these words Aster got up, and headed for the library, to get a book before settling down to read comfortably in her room, watching the occasional large snow flake falling on the garden grass. A feeling of apprehension, haste, anxiety and curiosity mingled in the pit of her stomach at the thought of her first trip away from home and her future meeting with this "man ?"called Kav-deb.
Aster was ready. She had just gone down into the cellar of the house with Anna and was watching her prepare the entrance to the edges. The cellar was quite spacious and seemed to serve as a storage space and cellar but also, according to Anna, as an entrance to the hidden paths. A circle surrounded by what appeared to be a complex array of thin metal lines embedded in the floor stood was in one corner of the room and Anna was busy taking out small black stones similar to those in Aster's arm and placing them in small crevices around the circle. Once the last stone was in place Anna stepped back a few steps to stand beside Aster and take her hand in her's. She grabbed a handle hanging on the wall and pulled it. The locations of the stones all rotated simultaneously, bringing them in contact with the rest of the array. "Aster, hold on to me and don't let go of my hand. Imitate me and everything will be fine." Aster nodded as a thick blanket of mist began to flood that corner of the room. Annna stepped into the mist as Aster walked beside her, clinging to her side. Soon the room disappeared. All around her was an ocean of mist glowing with a diaphanous, even glow. All sounds, even those of their footsteps, seemed to die out softly as they sank into the mists. A feeling of peace enveloped Aster. There was something restful about this place, her mind drifted as she enjoyed the pleasant silence and the softness of the mists caressing her skin. Only Anna's hand, firm around hers, kept her from getting completely lost in this sweet dream. Aster didn't really know how long they had been walking in the mists, seconds, or days she couldn't tell. Just the lack of pain or any feeling of tiredness told her that it must not have been very long. All too soon for her liking the mists began to dissipate around her.
When Aster's vision was freed from the soft embrace of the mists she was very surprised. She had expected to find herself in the same Asphodel Plain she had visited before, but it was not so. She was standing next to Anna in a small stone room similar to the interior of the cemetery chapel where she sometimes hid during Dudley's games of Aster hunting, except that there was no Christian symbol in sight and she was standing in the middle of a circle similar to the one in the cellar of Anna's house. Aster gave Anna a questioning look. Anna bent down and picked her up off the ground and into her arms. Aster flinched but let herself be picked up.
Seeing Aster's surprised look Anna said, "I know. This is nothing like the first time you entered the edges. Edges can sometimes open up in random places across the worlds if the magic is strong enough in a place. That's what must have happened to you the first time. Here it is a stable entrance that will always be there and can be opened if you manage meet the opening conditions."
Aster looked Anna in the eye for a moment and said. "So the chapel is to protect your entrance?"
"Yes, exactly!" said Anna, stroking Aster's long red hair.
She then started walking towards a heavy black wooden door at the end of the small chapel. She opened the door and stepped out onto the small path of short grass dotted with forget-me-nots. The 'edges' as Anna called the place had not changed. Still the Asphodel meadow as far as the eye could see, bathed in the light of an orange sun that hung eternally low on the horizon. Anna started to follow the path towards the sun. After a few minutes of silent walking, disturbed only by the song of the breeze in the Asphodel leaves, Aster noticed a white, emaciated form hiding behind an Asphodel bush, staring at them with two large, empty, milky white eyes.
Concerned, Aster said. "Anna, there is a strange creature watching us. It looks like an odd child with too long arms, too long legs and very thin.
Anna shrugged, cradling Aster in her arms. "He's a stranded. You have nothing to fear as long as you are with me. They are scavengers or prey on those too weak to defend themselves."
Relieved Aster relaxed slightly but still kept an eye on the creature that had started following them at a respectable distance. "What are they?"
Anna seemed to hesitate for a moment, glanced at the creature and then said. "The edges are a dangerous place for those who don't know them. It's easy to get lost. Besides, normal people are not supposed to be able to survive for long in this place. You see the edges are called that because they are the edges of the world. Of all the worlds to be exact. If someone gets lost there, wanders too far off the path or stays there for too long they lose their identity and slowly turn into this type of creature. At that point they are just empty shells. That's what the stranded are. They are not really dangerous, after all we are just in the first layer of the edge. This is the least dangerous layer, the closest to reality.
Aster didn't feel very well, a deep anxiety had settled in the pit of her stomach at Anna's explanation. "But in that case. If this place is so dangerous? Why are we going there to see your friend?"
Anna smiled at her and held Aster closer to her chest, running her hand through her hair to reassure her. "There, there. You are safe with me. Yes, the edges are dangerous, very dangerous. But they are only really dangerous for those who don't know their laws and rules. And when you first came here first you had to respect the most important one. Never stray from the path. And to answer your question the edges have some very interesting properties that are worth the risk of entering to enjoy them. You see Kav-deb lives far, far away from my home. So far that it is impossible to get there on foot, or even by flying. So far that it would take centuries even if you went very, very fast. But on the edges, the distances, the space in general does not function in the way you know of. One step here is worth several dozen metres in the normal world. And the deeper you go into the edges, the greater the distance a single step carries you.
Aster nodded. "So, if you go through here, even if your friend lives far, far away, as you say, it won't take long to get to his house."
"Yes, that's right, we'll just have to go down very deep into the edges and then up again. We're going to go down to the cathedral through the next rift and then we're going to walk through it for a while until we get to another rift that's going to lead us to the starry lake. We'll walk there for a while and then go straight up to the Asphodel Plain and we'll be there. I know they're strange names but you'll soon understand."
During this discussion Anna had made good progress on the path and was approaching another small grey stone chapel similar to the one that had brought them here. Anna opened the heavy iron gate closing the chapel and stepped inside before carefully closing the door behind her. At the heart of the chapel was a gaping hole from which greyish mists crawled across the floor like long, tired snakes. "Aster, we are going to jump. Hold on tight to me." Aster tightened her grip on Anna's cloak as she stepped to the edge of the chasm before jumping without hesitation. It was a long fall, the sound of the wind whistling in her ears like angry screams as she and Anna sank faster and faster into the abyss. Soon, to Aster's relief, the fall slowed as if held back by the mists before Anna's feet landed gently on the ground.
Aster looked around as she and Anna emerged from a crevice of what appeared to be a grey, cyclopean trunk whose top seemed to be lost in the darkness. Around her, Aster could see hundreds of other equally gigantic trees, like titanic pillars supporting an invisible vault, lost far above them in the darkness. The silvery light illuminating the place seemed to emanate from a carpet of green mosses covering the entire floor. Aster tried to look between the trees but saw nothing but the strange moss and titanic trunks as far as the eye could see. Anna then walked along a small path of polished stone through the trees. Each step an echo lost in the immensity of the place, resonating between the immense pillars. Aster turned her head towards Anna and opened her mouth to ask what this place was when Anna interrupted her by placing a finger gently on her lips.
Anna leaned in slightly and whispered in his ear. "Here we are in the cathedral. Silence is king. You won't find any stranded people, but we might run into ferrymens. Just ignore them. They are recognizable by their wooden mask, their big brown cloak but especially by their long staff where a lantern is hung. In it there will be small flames or small lights. If they address you, answer firmly that you are not dead. And if they insist, explain why you are here. Don't leave any room for doubt. Oh yes, and if you see a procession of hooded figures, ignore them. Do not look in their direction. Do you understand?"
Aster nodded his head sharply.
Anna quickened her pace. "Well, it's not a good place to hang out for too long"
After a few minutes of walking in this strange place Anna walked towards another tree which also had an opening in its trunk. She entered the gap and headed towards a chasm similar to the one in the chapel a few minutes ago before jumping back in. Another long free fall and Anna landed lightly again, this time at the... Aster could not believe her eyes. She and Anna were standing on top of a small island in the middle of an ocean. An ocean without any waves, water as smooth as silk. And reflected in this water, an infinite number of stars, red, blue, purple, white, an infinite number of small lights motionless on the surface of this sea of oil. And above her a firmament filled with an infinite amount of stars, identical to the surface of the lake, turning her eyes towards the horizon Aster saw no limit. The stars of the sky and the stars of the lake seemed to join together in a single starry sheet. Unable to help herself, her voice escaped her, "It's beautiful."
Anna nodded. "Yes, it's the most beautiful place of the edges. We are at the very edge, the last edge of the world. Any further and we fall into the circles of the beyond. Here the path is more than important, pass the surface of the water, and you will never come up again."
A shiver ran down Aster's spine. "Really?"
"Yes, but don't worry, I know the place well enough not to take any unnecessary risks."
Aster continued to observe the surroundings as Anna began to approach the shore. Aster's eyes fell on a huge white stone gate in the distance. "Anna. What's that over there?"
"Hm? Ah, this? I see... um. I don't really know. All I know is that you shouldn't go near it without being accompanied by someone who's already been there. But I only know one of them and I don't think I can trust them enough to do that. Aster listen to me. One of the most important rules of the edges is to never experiment alone with things you're not sure of. It's the best way to lose yourself forever."
Anna then put her foot down on a path of stone slabs just above the surface and began to follow it. As for Aster, she lost herself in the admiration of this otherworldly landscape. She was interrupted in her observation when the surface of the water distorted and the back of a smooth white creature emerged for a few seconds before disappearing into the sea of stars. "Anna?"
"Don't worry they never come near the path, I don't know what it is but I've never had any problems with them," Anna said as she held Aster a little tighter to reassure her.
"Anna, I was wondering. Do a lot of people come through here?"
"It depends. On the main roads you're more likely to see people, but on the outskirts it's rare. And when I say people, I don't mean many people either. The edges are not really easy to reach. And those who go there without knowing rarely come out, and when they do it's never really whole. When you're older I'll teach you the rules and then you too will be able to travel as far as you want. But until that. Never go their without me or someone who now this place as well as me."
"I see, thank you Anna."
After about half an hour of walking among the stars Anna took a narrower path and headed for another small island. There she stood in the middle of a stone circle in its centre and waited. After a few seconds a greyish mist surrounded them and then Aster felt Anna and herself lift off the ground and start to accelerate towards the sky faster and faster, around them the mist thickened and after a few minutes Anna stepped into the middle of a familiar room. The interior of a small chapel as it had been earlier.
Anna walked out of the chapel back to the asphodel meadow. "Aster, we are almost there. Hang on a little longer." Indeed, less than a hundred metres away, there was another identical chapel. Anna walked towards it and entered. "Here we are." Aster was gently placed on the ground beside Anna. "I will now tell Kav-deb of our arrival and he will open the path for us."
Anna then drew her cutlass and sliced her fingertip slightly, dropping a drop of her blood onto a metal circle embedded in the ground similar to the one at her home. The blood fell to the ground and stayed there for a second before being absorbed into the stone. "Now we just have to wait."
Indeed, a few moments later a white mist began to rise in the room and Aster grabbed one of Anna's hands and clung to her side. Another trip through the cottony expanse and they emerged from the mist again.
Aster took a moment to look around, she and Anna were in a small room surrounded by hewn stone walls and lit by a few torches. It was then that Aster looked at the person, the thing standing a few meters away, in front of them. Her eyes widened. The creature was tall, at least two meters, and was dressed in a large light grey cloak covering most of its body. Its long thin arms were not covered with skin but with a sort of thin black carapace, at the end of which were long cadaverous hands ending in thin claws. Its face seemed vaguely human except that the top of its skull seemed to be open to a hole of darkness where an orb glowed like a burning ember. His jaw opened slowly, his thin, gaunt lips stretching into a parody of a smile. A hoarse voice seemed to rise in the room.
"Hello Anna, Hello young lady, Welcome to my humble abode. I am Kav-deb the green. The Master of the Deep."