Intercessor, by Charles Matthias

Story name: Intercessor
Author: Charles Matthias
Publication date: May 26, 1999 (on TSA-List)

Date: July 8th, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep (Wessex's quarters, the Deaf Mule)

Overview

Wessex confides his dreams to his apprentice Jessica, who forms a bond with an unexpected visitor.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

Wessex has another nightmare, and returns to his room, too exhausted to think. His most talented apprentice Jessica arrives that morning, having noticed his ill appearance the last few days. Wessex reluctantly admits that he has been having nightmares ever since Dorson's death in April, but he doesn't know who can help him, and doesn't want anyone else to suffer as he does. He also doesn't want spiritual help from priests or gods. Jessica insists in learning the truth, and reminds him that she can perform augury on his clothes to do so. Reluctantly, he tells her everything.

Later that morning, Jessica sits toward the back of the Deaf Mule, terrified by Wessex's story. A man who has been watching her from the bar approaches; he is new to the Keep, and is undergoing a change into a hawk, and would like some company. The two hit it off immediately over becoming a hawk. He introduces himself as Weyden, the captain of Yonson's guards. He offhandedly mentions that, though he distrusts the Chateau Marzac, he finds Yonson a caring man, citing a time when he picked a hyacinth flower during his journey.

He asks Jessica to show him around the Keep and introduce him to the other avian morphs. Jessica is glad to do so, and to forget about Wessex's nightmares for the rest of the day.

Characters

Main characters:

• Wessex: A mage and child morph. He has been having nightmares of Zagrosek and Matthias for months, though lately they have been intensifying. He reluctantly shares his nightmares with Jessica.
  • He is not devoutly religious to either the Followers or the Lothanasi.
• Jessica: Wessex's most talented apprentice, a hawk morph. She is skilled in conjuration and divination. She manages to convince Wessex to reveal his nightmares to her. While mulling them over at the Deaf Mule, she makes a new friend, Weyden.
  • As a hawk morph, her hands have changed into wings; only a set of tiny claws on her wingtips remain, removing her ability to write well. She has brown red-tipped feathers. She has long black talons and gold-scaled toes on her feet. She has deep brown eyes. Her voice is scratchy but simple. She has a dimmed but still existent sense of smell. Her face is barely able to form facial expressions.
  • She is over 20 years old. Before the curse, she was in training to be an enchantress. The curse took away her hands, and thus any ability to enchant. She fell into a depression, until Wessex trained her in conjuration and divination. She still feels envy towards enchanters.
  • She was flying overhead at the time of Dorson's death; she saw something black on the side of the Keep, which soon dissipated. She would learn later about the censer and Zagrosek.
  • Her lessons with Wessex are normally in the afternoon.

Supporting:

• Weyden: The captain of Yonson's Ceremonial Guards. He is in the middle of changing into a hawk morph. He is happy to meet Jessica, a fellow hawk morph, and eager to learn more about the Keep, meet other avians, and learn to fly.
  • When Jessica meets him, he is already undergoing some changes into a hawk. He is a tall man with red hair, and small red-tipped feathers in his hair. He walks uncomfortably, likely due to emerging tail feathers and talons. His face is narrow and blocky and his skin is tight. His nose is long and pointed and has started to fuse with his upper lip. He wears a blue tunic with the heraldic unicorn and field of a Pyralian kingdom.
  • He is one of the few soldiers under Marquis du Tournemire who has not visited the Chateau Marzac. He is very afraid of the Chateau Marzac, and has heard many terrible rumors.

Prominent Mention:

• Yonson: The ambassador of Marzac to Metamor Keep, a weathermonger, and Weyden's superior. He is staying within the castle until his change finishes.
  • While en route to Metamor, at the border of Pyralis, he stopped his entourage in order to dig up a hyacinth. Weyden believes this indicates that Yonson is a friend to all living things. Weyden does not remember seeing it again for the rest of the journey.
  • He does not talk much about his weather magic.

Important Mention:

• Dorson: Wessex's previously most talented apprentice, a ferret morph. He was killed in late April.
• The Marquis du Tournemire: The current owner of the Chateau Marzac. He and most of his soldiers are now living there.
  • He was previously from the Pyralian Kingdom, and maintains his current holdings there.

Referenced:

• Zagrosek: The evil wizard responsible for Dorson's death.
• Charles Matthias: The other figure prominent in Wessex's dreams.
• Hough: The Keep's Ecclesian priest.
• Raven: The Keep's Lothanasi priestess.
• Coe: The Keep's primary healer. He apparently examined Weyden during his change.

Locations

• Wessex's room has a stool and a damask longue.

Story Connections

• Dorson's death was covered in Keeping the Lamp Lit.
• Wessex continues to have nightmares since Fingers in the Weave, which happened within the last two weeks.
• Hyacinths were previously established as native to the Pyralis border, and one was seen in Stepping Up to Destiny, which took place just after Yonson's arrival in the Keep. It is not known whether this is coincidental or not.

Points of Interest

• Most avian morphs are like Jessica, with arms reshaped into wings and limited use of their hands.
• Enchantment magic, the ability to imbue mundane objects with power, requires delicate and prolific writing ability.
• Jessica alludes to the well-organized rodents of the Keep, perhaps to their Gnawers' Support Group.
• Hunting is not allowed anywhere near the Keep, for the safety of animal morphs.

< Second Cycle	Matthias's Third Cycle	Fourth 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 · The Winter Assault
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