Libraries, by Charles Matthias

Story name: Libraries
Author: Charles Matthias
Publication date: October 8, 1999 (on TSA-List)

Date: Mid-September, 706 CR
Location: Metamor Keep, the Great Barrier Range, Ava-shavais

Overview

Wessex returns to Metamor, and finds two pages missing from his book. After Zhypar's visit with Yonson, he is tasked with tracking them down. Zhypar knows immediately who did it.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

Jessica is worried for Wessex. It's been a week since he moved to Lorland; since then, she has been flying by herself a lot more. During an afternoon flight, she sees Rupert driving a covered carriage from Lorland. Excitedly she returns to Wessex's apartments and rushes to prepare them for him. Rupert enters first with a load of wealthy clothes; these are taken into Wessex's workshop. Phil leaves to check on Writer's Guild business.

Wessex serves himself some milk and sinks deep into his thoughts. Jessica asks what's happened. Wessex says that after moving to Lorland, he has not had any nightmares, meaning that the perpetrator must be in or have some magical focus on Metamor Keep. He explains the current plan is to perform an augury on Loriod's clothes, and search for every time Loriod met Zagrosek. Jessica offers to help, but Wessex doesn't want her involved in this.

After Jessica informs Wessex of the quiet week, aside from Rickkter leaving behind some notes for his investigations in his private chambers, Wessex heads there. His joy at seeing the notes turns to horror as he examines his bookshelf. The spell on his bookcase has been tampered with; he pulls out the book Rickkter borrowed, the Sudenhart Aracnum, and senses something wrong with it. He orders Jessica to fetch Zhypar Habakkuk immediately.

First she tries the Writer's Guild hall, but finds it empty. A rat morph named Tallis directs her to Yonson's quarters, where Zhypar and Yonson are having an early dinner. There, she meets Weyden with Maud. Maud winks and teases them as the two hawk morphs, happy for a free moment, walk together. They talk about spending more time together, and about visiting the Lothanasi temple tomorrow. They see Maud gesturing for them to return.

Yonson has ordered a typically rich meal for him and Zhypar, but with every available fruit in the Keep. Yonson remarks how extraordinary it is to find a friend at the Keep; 11 years ago, Zhypar was captured by Weathermongers while crossing the Algra Hook, when Yonson was still in training as a blue. Yonson was the only person Zhypar had met during his week-long captivity. While remarking a bit on each other's forms and the beauty of Metamor, they leave so that Yonson can attend to a meeting with the Prime Minister. When they emerge, Yonson feigns displeasure at seeing Weyden distracted by Jessica, before surprising him by telling him that Larssen will take over guard duty for tonight, so that Weyden can have the evening free.

Zhypar makes his way to Wessex's study, where he has the Sudenhart Arcanum open before him. Zhypar flips through it, each page like an old friend. He realizes there are two gaps in the book, two pages seamlessly and undetectably removed except by memory. He tells Wessex that he suspects the culprit, and will confront him, but assures him that the pages won't be important to his research. He sets off to his apartments in a very quiet rage.

There, he changes into more comfortable clothes, takes out a greenish Arabarb wine and two tumblers, and then spitefully puts a single grain of yellow sleeping powder in each tumbler, undetectable to the eye. Satisfied, he hops straight to Rickkter's rooms and knocks on his door.

Rickkter is suspicious by Zhypar's excuse of sharing a drink with a fellow Southerner, but is curious to try wine from the Giantdowns. Rickkter invites him in and asks why he is here, and instead Zhypar praises Rickkter's book collection. Over a translation of Urgundum, Zhypar immediately calls overpriced, as the translation is garbage compared to the original he owns. He suddenly asks Rickkter if he has been to Fellos, as many of the books have burn marks that indicate they were from the sacking of Fellos. Rickkter, confused by Zhypar's rambling and the wine and possibly the sleeping agent, says that he acquired it from a soldier who knew nothing about what he was selling.

They pass an hour on the rug in general conversation about travel, when they begin talking about their first days at the Keep. Zhypar brings up the fight Rickkter and Charles had, and casually remarks how interesting to find a Sondeckis at the Keep. Rickkter is surprised, but Zhypar assures that as a well-read Southlander, it is obvious to him after a few years, and concludes that by their unspoken feud at first meeting, Rickkter must surely have been a Kankoran. Rickkter warns him that it is dangerous to go revealing secrets, to which Zhypar laughs that since Rick arrived, he has been flaunting his abilities around the Keep. His boxing match then was no accident, either, but a test to see if Rickkter could resist showing off.

Rickkter now realizes that Zhypar is not here just to flaunt his knowledge, and darkly asks him to make his point. Zhypar points out that earlier Rick had denied being at Fellos, which had been sacked by the Kankorans, and asks if he lied. Rick denies joining the Kankoran until after Fellos, and asks again why he's here. Zhypar asks him a hypothetical question, that if diamonds are only useful when they are carefully cut, then what good is the power to crush diamonds? Rickkter says that power is useful in itself, and the more important question is when to use it, to which Zhypar agrees; both Charles and Rickkter have proven eager to crush diamonds.

Rickkter again asks what he means, and Zhypar explains he owned a book from Wessex that had recently had two separate pages removed; a clan that had been destroyed with Fellos, and the clan that destroyed them. The only person who both knew of and would deface this book is Rickkter, who also has the means to seamlessly do so, and could plausibly want to hide his involvement with the Order of the Ebon Dragon. Rickkter snaps that he could just claim to be from Vorick and protecting himself. With a casual sip of his wine, Zhypar declares that not only had he concluded from Rick's evasive answer on Fellos that he is from the Ebon Dragon, but Rick has just proven his misdeed by naming the other clan.

Rickkter is shocked, but Zhypar merely advises him to hide his secrets more carefully, and cites an Ebon Dragon maxim to prove his point. Rickkter is unnerved that he has underestimated Zhypar, yet confused that Zhypar would expose himself to him. He asks why Zhypar is so concerned with Fellos. Zhypar comments that he was a trader of rare books, and Fellos knew many things. Among the things they predicted was that, soon after their destruction, the Leqquan Twelve would be reunited; he doesn't mention that Rickkter owns the one book that none before him had collected.

Zhypar finishes his glass, and gives one last warning not to take the Sondeshike from the Sondeckis Shrine, where Charles is keeping it. He promises to make Charles return it; if Charles refuses, he'll break his arm. Rickkter asks one last question as he leaves: how has he stayed friends with the people he's exposed? Zhypar suggests that maybe he hasn't, and hops off to tell Wessex the issue is resolved.

In a distant glacial plateau, Geurnef, a Nauh-kaee, returns to his mountain cave with fruit and meat from the warm lands below, to find his friend Abafouq, a Binoq, rereading his note from Qan-af-årael. Abafouq has decided that he needs to meet the people of Metamor, especially the Felikaush, that Qan-af-årael has mentioned. Geurnef tells him they should wait until spring, when it's safer to travel; because the note was written for both of them, he intends to go with Abafouq. Abafouq reluctantly assents.

In Ava-shåvais, Qan-af-årael watches the stars for the story to come. He sees the constellation of the master completely obscured. The nearby servant constellation's stars are dull and melancholy, its left arm obscured. Qan-af-årael summons his student Andares, and tells him to travel west, to seek a man who has recently lost his arm and grieves for his dead master. He must tell the man that his story is part of a larger story, which Qan-af-årael has already told him. He must leave tonight, and follow the stars. Andares is shocked at being sent to the human lands, but respectfully obeys his master. As he leaves, Qan-af-årael briefly glances up to see the stars changed again, to show the servant whole again, and brightness around his head. He shudders and focuses instead on the sounds of the festival below.

Characters

Main characters:

• Jessica: A hawk morph, Wessex's best apprentice. She has been watching over Wessex's apartments while he was away. When Wessex discovers his Sudenhart Arcanum is tampered with, she sets off to find Zhypar, and is delighted when he turns out to be at Yonson's, where she can have a personal moment with Weyden. She likely spends the evening with Weyden.
  • She has seniority over Wessex's other students, and has been teaching most of them in his absence.
  • She does not know Charles well, and only knows him as a scout who fought in the Battle of Nuln.
  • Jessica was born and raised in Metamor. She is a Lothanasi and attends feasts and temple services every month.
  • She does not wear clothes, except when required to for a spell.
  • She is skilled in divination.
  • Jessica dislikes drinking most beverages, except for the occasional ale or mead.
  • Jessica is on pleasant if not friendly terms with Maud.
• Zhypar Habakkuk: A kangaroo morph, headmaster of the Writer's Guild, and a collector of rare books. He is quietly enraged to see that Rickkter tampered with his book, and tricks Rickkter into a confession as a warning not to cross him again.
  • He is a bit taller than Yonson. His usual outfit are baggy tan pantaloons and a small vest. For his dinner with Yonson, he wears a simple chartreuse doublet, which is his most expensive outfit and what Zhypar wears for special occasions, and closer-cut pantaloons, which don't allow him to hop so well.
  • He prefers hopping over walking, and also has trouble with stairs. Fortunately, the Keep rarely puts a staircase between him and his destination. He also cannot sit in most chairs or stools; he prefers lounges if they're available, or can sit on a rug.
  • He prefers green vegetables over fruits.
  • He is rather perceptive, and knows a lot more than he lets on:
    • He is able to recognize Boreaux's heraldry, and it is implied he knows their individual craftsmen.
    • He knows Wessex has not been unwell the past week, which might affect his previously cast spells, despite Wessex telling no one but Jessica.
    • He is able to feel the texture and grooves of each page in the Sudenhart Arcanum, remembering how it felt years ago.
• Rickkter: A raccoon morph, a battle mage, a Kankoran and a member of the Order of the Ebon Dragon. Sixteen years ago, he helped the Ebon Dragons destroy the Vorick clan. A few days ago, while Wessex was away, he checked out Wessex's copy of the Sudenhart Arcanum, owned by Zhypar, and removed the pages on the Vorick clan and the Order of the Ebon Dragon, to protect himself. Thanks to some alcohol and a very slight amount of sleeping potion, Rickkter unintentionally incriminates himself to Zhypar. Zhypar promises to keep his secret safe, and Rickkter gains a new respect for Zhypar.
  • He claims to have never been to Fellos, and to have gotten his Fellos-scarred books elsewhere.
  • He tells Zhypar that he does not care for politics or subtlety, while giving him suspicious or dangerous glances.
  • He owns 7 of the Leqquan Twelve. The most that past wizards had collected was 11; Rickkter happens to own the 1 volume they were missing.

Supporting characters:

• Wessex: A child morph, a mage and a teacher of magic, recently affected by nightmares of Zagrosek and Charles. He finds his Sudenhart Arcanum tampered with, and sends Zhypar to investigate.
  • He plans to spend the next few weeks in Metamor, sleeping in the magically warded dungeon cells. He will then return to Lorland for secret reasons.
  • He has many students, who have been in the past week that Wessex has unspecified unexpected business in Lorland. He has some students whom he does not allow taught in his absence.
  • Wessex only drinks milk or juices in front of Jessica. Whether or not he drinks alcohol, Jessica does not know.
• Weyden: A hawk morph, captain of Yonson's guards, friends with Jessica. He is struggling with his new hawk form, but also seems to enjoy making Jessica laugh about it.
  • Weyden wears only a blue surcoat, to mark him as a servant of the Ambassador. His uniform has been modified for wings and a tail. He does not carry any weapons, as he has opted to use his talons and beak instead.
  • He is from Pyralis. He is Ecclesian, but shows interest in Jessica's Lothanasi faith. He is uneasy about priestesses, which Jessica enjoy teasing him about.
• Yonson: A lemur morph, the ambassador from the Chateau Marzac. He and Zhypar are revealed to have met long ago; he was the jailer when Zhypar was captured by the Weathermongers. This was a memorable experience for Yonson, and he has invited Zhypar over for dinner.
  • He is a bit shorter than Zhypar. He wears blue finery, finer than Zhypar's clothes, with the heraldry of Marzac embossed in the center.
  • He has become very fond of fruit with bechamel sauce.
  • He mentions having business with the Prime Minister soon, in a flat absent tone while watching the sun.
  • Yonson offers to share his collection of books with Zhypar, but is too busy to let Zhypar see any today.
• Abafouq: A Binoq who lives with Geurnef. He has been receiving letters from Qan-af-årael about prophecies being fulfilled in Metamor, and decides that he must visit Metamor in spring of next year.
  • He has short curly dark hair and small hands. He wears a bearskin cap, a fur jerkin, a heavy jacket, leather thongs, gloves, and boots.
• Qan-af-årael: An Åelf elder and astrologer.
  • He has an ancient angular face, and pearl-gray skin.
  • Aside from the rebirth rituals, he has not participated in Åelf rituals in at least a century.

Minor characters:

• Phil: A rabbit morph, Protector of Lorland, Crown Prince of Wales, headmaster of the Writer's Guild, and Wessex's friend. He arrives with Wessex, and then leaves to catch up on Writer's Guild business.
• Tallis: A rat morph, a junior headmaster of the Writer's Guild. He is in the otherwise empty Writer's Guild hall when Jessica arrives, and tells her where Zhypar is.
  • He has curly hair. He carries a fresh quill in one hand, and a chewstick in the other.
• Maud: A female gendermorph, one of Yonson's guards.
  • She enjoys being feminine, and maintains a more buxom form than most gendermorphs, to Jessica's distaste.
• Geurnef: A Nauh-kaee. He shelters and brings food for Abafouq, whom he rescued years ago. He convinces Abafouq to wait until after winter before going to Metamor.
  • He is at least 3 times Abafouq's size — not quite big enough to carry him. He is a griffin-like creature, his top half covered in white feathers and his bottom half in white fur, with wings and a long narrow tail. He has black-hooked beak and black eyes, the only parts that aren't white.
• Andares-es-sebashou: Qan-af-årael's student. He is told to follow the stars west, in search of a one-armed man grieving for his lost master.
  • He has a young angular face. He is bright, and very expressive for an Åelf. He waits on Qan-af-årael from the room below.

Cameo:

• An ermine guard who stands at the tower that Jessica lands on.
• Rupert: A gorilla morph, Phil's bodyguard. He drops off Loriod's garments for Wessex.

Important mention:

• Zagrosek: A Sondeckis wizard who Wessex believes is manipulating him in his nightmares.
• Loriod: A male gendermorph, the former lord of Lorland, with whom Zagrosek met often for his plans.
• Charles Matthias: A rat morph, secretly a Sondeckis, whom Wessex and Jessica believe is helping Zagrosek manipulate him in his nightmares.
• Larssen: A giraffe morph. He was sleeping while Weyden and Maud were on duty; Yonson orders him awake to be his honor guard so that Weyden can have the evening off.

Referenced:

• Duke Thomas: A horse morph, the ruler of Metamor Keep.
• Roscoe: A cave scorpion morph, the Keep's prison warden.
• Wvelkim: The Lothanasi god of the seas. He is September's feast day (on the 29th).
• Merai hin'Dana: A young girl who recently became a Lothanasi priestess.
• Hough: A child morph, the Keep's Ecclesian priest.
• Yahshua: The Son of God, according to Followers.
• Kammoloth: King of the Gods, according to Lothanasi.
• Thalberg: An alligator morph, the Keep's chief steward. Yonson borrowed most of his suite's decor from him.
• Zhypar's lover, a male gendermorph who had been trapped here with the curses, and was the reason Zhypar chose to stay at the Keep.
• The Prime Minister, whom Yonson has a meeting with.
• Ginzberg of Rodney and Lestrade the IX, who both managed to collect only eleven of the Leqquan Twelve.

Locations

• Wessex's apartments are nearly always open.
  • His front door opens up to a sitting room. There are satin chairs. A small ottoman is tucked away, one whose upholstery was torn when the ard'Kapler manor was razed 7 years ago. It is kept to allow Jessica and other morphs to sit without accidentally damaging the chairs. Between two bookcases are a brazier and a mahogany cabinet. The cabinet is enchanted to prevent spoilage in the food within, and is effective for several months. Inside the cabinet is a set of glasses and a subdued faience clay pitcher, full of milk.
  • The bookshelf in his bedroom apartment detects alterations to his books. It is attuned to give himself and Jessica access.
• The Writer's Guild Hall was an abandoned barracks, sacked in the Battle of Three Gates. It was remade into the current guild hall when Matthias arrived and formed the guild.
  • The exterior has finely wrought eaves and scrollwork, with cleverly hidden letters, caligraphy, and books in the moulding.
  • The front doors have mostly unused brass knockers. It seems that usually the doors are kept open.
  • In the center of the great hall is a long ink-stained two-pronged table. Braziers line the walls, a few cubits apart.
• Yonson's apartments are located near one of the spired towers in the lower Keep. When Jessica visits Yonson's apartments, it is often by way of the tower.
  • The hallways outside his apartments are carpeted. The door to his apartments is made of oak wood with cedar panelling, bearing the crest of a unicorn.
  • His suite is decorated with marble lintels, hand-carved with florid and frolicking animals, in a style more popular before the curse. Draperies and sways hang from them, borrowed from Thalberg's collection. He has a lounge for large-tailed morphs with satin lining. His window faces the sun. The jalousie are open, held by two ivory rods just enough to let the air in.
    • A mahogany bookcase by the wall holds Yonson's collection of books, most of which Zhypar recognizes, except for newer books from the western half of the Southlands. There are even a few Metamor Keep Writer's Guild books oon the shelf. The newer books have heraldic engraving similar to Boreaux's, which is likely near their place of manufacture.
• In Zhypar's apartment, he has a wine cupboard. He has a shelf of tumblers, and a drawer of several bottles of fine-grained powders.
  • Several brews are local to the Valley, but some imported brews are quite rare. The bottle that Zhypar gets is a vintage from Arabarb in 651 CR. It is a pale chartreuse or brown wine in a dun gray bottle, that froths when poured and has a slight maple flavor. Its scent is easily strong enough to overpower the grain of sleeping powder Zhypar adds. The label is smeared from being shipped through a rainstorm. Zhypar tells Rickkter he got it 10 years ago (696 CR). It is implied that he got it for cheap from someone who'd raided Arabarb and didn't know its true value.
  • The powder Zhypar picks is of a fine yellow dust. The cap is screwed on.
• In Rickkter's quarters, there is a large bookcase with a modest collection of books. He has a writing desk with stool chairs that Zhypar cannot sit in.
  • Among these books are Haskell's translation of Urgundum, and 7 of the Leqquan Twelve.
• The Sondeckis Shrine, in the Long House, has an altar that can only be touched by Sondeckis. It is where Charles has placed the Sondeshike that Rickkter owned.
• The Algra Hook is a testing ground for Weathermongers of blue rank, before they ascend to the black. Apparently it is a treacherous place.
• Kitch is a city south of the Algra Hook.
• Fellos was destroyed 16 years ago (in 690 CR) by Kankorans.
  • Their famous great library had only managed to unite 11 books of the Leqquan Twelve.
• Beliheim is one of the places where Rickkter claims to have bought a book from the Fellos library.
• Geurnef's home is carved into a mountain in the Great Barrier Range. It is accessed by a stone bridge over an ice-covered river in a glacial field. It takes a month to travel on foot to outside the mountains.
  • From the canvas doorway, a sloping stone entrance leads to an anteroom for Abafouq's wet clothes.
  • The next room is a general living space. Among the furniture present is an unkempt mattress and a dining table. A hand-chiseled cache set in the stone holds Abafouq's messages and writing materials. There are illumination wards in the room, activated with one word.
• Ava-shåvais is a city in the Åelfwoods. It has long thin towers.
  • Qan-af-årael lives in the uppermost level of a tower over the trees. He has a single jewel in a sconce for light.

Chronology

• 2800 years ago (circa -2100 CR), according to Rickkter, was the last time that the Leqquan Twelve were united.
• 1000 years ago (circa -300 CR), the Felikaush predicted their own destruction, and that it would signal "the beginning of the end".
• 16 years ago (circa 690 CR), Fellos was sacked by Kankorans, along with its library. At around the same time, Vorick was destroyed by members of the Order of the Ebon Dragon.
• 11 years ago (circa 695 CR), Zhypar attempted to cross the Algra Hook alone, hauling a huge collection of books. This was unprecedented, and dangerous. Zhypar was captured and held in a cellar for a week, while the Weathermonger blacks argued what to do with him. Yonson, a blue at the time, brought him food, and was the only person to see him that week. At the end of the week, Zhypar was then suddenly put on a ship south to Kitch, never to return.
  • Yonson never walked the Algra Hook; just before he would have walked it, he was sent to southern Pyralis.
• 696 CR is when Zhypar says he visited the villages south of Arabarb and got a bottle of Arabarb wine.
• A few years ago, Abafouq was rescued in the mountains by Geurnef, with whom he now lives.
• Zhypar visited Metamor Keep multiple times since 695 CR, shortly after leaving the Algra Hook, but it was 4 years ago (702 CR) that Zhypar chose to stay to join his lover.
• A week ago (early September 706 CR), Legacies took place.
• Soon after Wessex left the Keep, Rickkter came by to borrow a book. A couple days ago, Rickkter returned this book, and left some notes on the book on Wessex's table for him.
• This story takes place in mid-September. Jessica mentions that the Day of Admission (September 13) had recently happened. There is an upcoming Autumn Equinox Festival (begins September 22).
• Yonson will have a meeting with the Duke before 4th watch — that is, before 3 pm.
• Tomorrow evening, Jessica and Weyden will attend a Lothanasi service.
  • How often are there Lothanasi services? Daily? Weekly? Certain days of the week?
• Wessex plans to stay at the Keep for a few weeks before returning to Lorland.

Story Connections

• Zhypar's loaned Wessex some books in Dancing with Shadows; though not stated at the time, the Sudenhart Arcanum was likely one of them.
• Jessica refers to the Battle of Nuln that took place in Declarations of Allegiance.
• The "paltry conversations" Zhypar had with Rickkter at the Festival happened in Fun and Games. Aside from the fight in A Place Where There Is No Darkness, this is the only time they've interacted.
  • Zhypar asks a question that he asked Garigan in Stepping Up To Destiny: what good is the power to crush diamonds?
• The Binoq were last introduced in Fireside.
• The Åelf village was last seen in Intersecting Correspondence.
  • This story reveals that the Aelves' "little friend up north" is Abafouq.
• Compare Yonson's absent remark about an appointment with the Prime Minister, to his trance-like remarks in The Three Sides of Truth.
• The Sondeshike, now in the Sondeckis Shrine, was previously owned by Rickkter, but was handed off to Charles in Killing Time and never returned.

World

Keep society

• Yonson and Zhypar know of only 2 other Southerners at the Keep: Matthias and Rickkter.

Curse behavior

• Most of the nobility in Metamor feel humiliated by the curse, especially those with the animal curse.
• Tensions between predator and prey species are common at the Keep.
• There are a few distinct avian behaviors on display, as human gestures are less feasible:
  • Wingtips and tail feathers twitch in irritation;
  • Fluttering wings in order to shrug;
  • Hopping on talons in order to walk without tearing the carpet;
  • Lowering the wingtips to blush;
  • Cracking the beak open to grin;
  • Rubbing the tip of one's beak through another's feathers to show affection; rubbing it against another's beak for even deeper affection.

Food

• Among the foods that Yonson and Zhypar have for dinner, they have breads, sauces and creams, cheese-flavored crumpets, bechanel sauce, white wine, and every variety of fruit.
  • Among the fruits they have are peaches, cherries, and plums. The cherries are the last of the season.

Southlanders

• Kankorans are enemies of the Sondeckis, and apparently just as dangerous to desert.
• The Order of the Ebon Dragon have a saying: "A quick motion in shadow is more visible than standing still in daylight."
• The Vorick clan was destroyed by the Order of the Ebon Dragon 16 years ago.

Other races

• The Binoq are a small race, rarely seen by humans. They do not live in glaciers, but Abafouq is an exception.
• The Nauh-kaee are a griffin-like race, though too small to carry people around. They rule the glaciers of the Great Barrier Range, living in caves and glacial plateaus, and do not like trespassers. They are unable to speak words, but their language can be understood by those they want to.
• The Åelf are holding a festival of colors and lights — presumably, to celebrate autumn. They have an elaborate ritual; at the point this story takes place, they are painting their foreheads with a band of maroon.

Books

• The Sudenhart Arcanum is an untranslated account of magical enclaves of the Southlands, written 100 years ago.
  • Zhypar has only one copy, which he's studied extensively and memorized every page. He loaned this copy to Wessex months ago; it is discovered that Rickkter cleanly removed 2 pages, concerning the Order of the Ebon Dragon and the Vorick.
  • Wessex had not yet managed even a complete translation of a single section of it, saying that he's been too busy.
• The Urgundum that Rickkter owns is a translation by Haskell. Rickkter paid 10 gold for it in the Southeastern Kingdoms. Zhypar derides it, claiming there are mistakes on nearly every page.
  • Zhypar claims to have an original Urgundum, and offers to write out a translation in a month or two for Rickkter. Of course, this could be merely to disarm Rickkter for Zhypar's question on Fellos.
• Another of Rickkter's books was blackened spots on the edges of its pages, a tell-tale sign of a book from the sacking of Fellos. Rickkter says it was part of a modest collection he acquired in Beliheim.

Magic

• Qan-af-årael's astrology involves watching the stars for subtle variations in the stars — such as changes in brightness, or changes in their fixed motions. It also depends on where the clouds are, on specific nights and in specific places.
  • Among the prophecies mentioned from Qan-af-årael to Abafouq, are the shadow without a shadow, the presence of a Felikaush, and that several things will happen in the next year.
  • The prophecy he reads tonight involves a dead master and his grieving servant with one arm. After Qan-af-årael sends Andares, the servant regains his arm, with brightened stars on both sides of his head.
  • The stars will also guide Andares to the location of the grieving one-armed servant.

Points of Interest

• Yonson notes that Metamor is the most beautiful place on Earth, and it therefore makes sense that most Keepers are local to the Midlands. The implication seems to be that few people would leave such a beautiful place, despite its curse or its assaults from the North.
• Yonson is the Keep's first official ambassador since the Curse. This means that, although Electra from Magdalain Island and Phil from Whales both act as representatives of their homelands, neither act as "official" ambassadors.

< 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