Fingers in the Weave, by Charles Matthias

Story name: Fingers in the Weave
Author: Charles Matthias

Date: late June, 706 CR¹
Location: Metamor Keep (Wessex's quarters)

Overview

As he continues to study the Sondecki symbol, Wessex has a nightmare.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

Wessex is studying an old grimoire, as he has been doing for several weeks. Aside from lunchtime on the battlements, and teaching students during the day, all of his time is going into studying the hand-and-sword symbol on Zagrosek's robes. He uses books from Zhypar, but they are no help, as they are too ancient. The memories of his past haunt him: being bullied by his brothers, being the only survivor in his family of the battle, seeing the death of Dorson, confronting his enemy Zagrosek, discovering Charles was a friend of that enemy.

When he goes to sleep, he has a nightmare. Zagrosek mocks his inability to defeat him and succeed at anything. Charles mocks him for his childishness. Hough and Madog appear, accusing him of wanting to murder Madog; Zagrosek uses this to claim that Wessex wants to be evil. Wessex tries to escape, and protect himself with wards, but Zagrosek won't let him escape. He predicts that one day Wessex will free them, as he and Charles merge into an eyeless monster that devours him.

Wessex screams and awakes, finding himself in Metamor's hallways, his undergarments soiled. He looks around, and finds that he is beside the wall to the isolation chamber he'd sealed up months ago. He returns to his chambers, where he remains awake until his apprentice finds him that morning.

Characters

Main characters:

• Wessex: A mage and child morph. His full name is Wessex ard'Kapler. He specializes in foreign, forgotton and shunned magic. He also teaches magic to students.
  • He was always short for his age. In his childhood, he was bullied by his bigger and older brothers and sisters. In one incident, two of his brothers, training to be warriors, tied him to a horse's belly and sent it charging across a field.
  • His father sent him to Metamor to learn magic. By the next summer, Wessex had become a master of magic. Relations between him and his siblings softened, but remained tense.
  • His whole family was killed in the Battle of the Three Gates; their heads were found on decorated on pig skewers.

Important mention:

• Zhypar Habakkuk: A kangaroo morph who has been assisting Wessex with his research.
• Charles Matthias: A rat morph, an old friend of Zagrosek. Wessex believes he and Zagrosek are working together to destroy the Keep.
• Zagrosek: The wizard who killed Dorson. He appears in Wessex's dreams, taunting him and threatening to kill him.
• Hough: A child priest, who vouched for Madog's soul. In Wessex's dreams, he defends Zagrosek as well.
• Madog: A fox automaton. Weeks ago, Wessex insisted that Madog did not have a soul. In his dreams, Madog cries out in despair at his judgment.

Referenced:

• Dorson: Wessex's former pupil. He has been deceased for several months.
• Loriod: The former lord of Lorland, who owned an evil censor.
• Rupert: A gorilla morph who salvaged the censer that brought forth Zagrosek.

Locations

• Wessex's quarters: He has a painting of his father's manor over the mantle. He owns a Fadger clock, which sits on the mantle between two candelabra. He owns a small desk and a damask lounge, and a collection of magic books on his bookshelf.
• Mycransburg (misspelled as Myeransburg) is a town in Metamor Valley. Wessex's father's estate lay just outside the town, but it was destroyed during the Battle of the Three Gates.

Story Connections

• Among the things which haunt Wessex:
  • Dorson's death and his confrontation with Zagrosek in Keeping the Lamp Lit;
  • his conflict with Hough over Madog's soul in Snips and Snails and Aging Gracefully;
  • Charles's revelation of his friendship to Zagrosek in Diplomacy.

Matthias's Third Cycle
Stories	Stories in yellow are not part of the cycle proper, but give important context for other stories.
	False Winds · Stepping Up to Destiny · Fingers in the Weave · Four on the Floor · Fireside · Hunt · Intercessor · Intersecting Correspondence · Jormugand · The Three Sides of Truth · Lawbreakers · Casualties of War · Killing Time · Legacies · Libraries · Four by Four · Liturgy of Blood · Longing · Nuptials · Relic · Wandering the Keep · Winter's First Chill
Major Characters	Charles Matthias · Garigan · Kimberly · Misha Brightleaf · Rickkter Akabaieth · Caroline · Gornul · Father Hough · Jessica · Kashin · Phil · Saulius · Thalberg · Duke Thomas · Vinsah · Wessex · Yonson · Zagrosek · Zhypar Habakkuk

Footnotes

1. Explicitly takes place days after the Summer Solstice festival, and barely a week since Diplomacy.