Story name: Relic
Author: Charles Matthias
Publication date: December 1999(?)
Date: November, 706 CR (1 day)
Location: Metamor Keep (Baths, Sondeckis Shrine, Long House, infirmary)
Overview
Zhypar tells Charles to give back Rickkter's Sondeshike. When he refuses, a dangerous confrontation takes place.
Summary
Today is Metamor's first real snowfall. In the early morning, Charles Matthias enjoys the empty baths, thinking about his plans to enjoy the day. As he thinks about Garigan's Sondeckis training, he remembers that he has yet to find his Calm as a rat-taur. Before he can try, Zhypar enters. Charles attempts to hide, but Zhypar sees his washbasin and calls out to him for a surprisingly casual conversation. However, Zhypar suddenly asks if Charles has returned Rickkter's Sondeshike, having heard of his taking it at Stepping Rock. Charles snarls that it belongs to the Sondeckis, and Zhypar reminds him that he dishonors his clan by breaking his promise. Charles splashes him and storms off. Zhypar notices that he left behind his clothes and washbasin.
That afternoon, Rickkter is taking advantage of Charles's and Garigan's absence in the Sondeckis Shrine, where he contemplates how to steal the Sondeshike off the altar; only a Sondeckis can remove items off the altar. He tries poking it with a wooden rod, and then with the Sondeckis banner, but both turn into ash. At that moment, Charles enters the Long House to find Misha, but sees the Shrine door ajar, and confronts Rickkter. After insulting each other's dishonor (and Rickkter revealing that he had spoken to Garigan), Charles orders him to leave and never enter again. Rickkter leaves, promising that he will have it back.
Charles channels his anger into the altar, calming himself once more. As he wonders how he'll replace the banner, and where Misha is, Zhypar suddenly enters through the open door, carrying Charles's breeches and the washbasin. Saying only that Charles left them behind, Zhypar pours the water over the altar, wraps his hand in the breeches, and picks up the Sondeshike.
Charles screams and grabs Zhypar by the neck. Without a word, Zhypar springs open the Sondeshike's ferrules, breaking Charles's right arm. As Charles falls to the floor, Zhypar warns him again to return the Sondeshike, or his dishonor will doom him. He flings the Sondeshike across the room and leaves, tossing aside the breeches. Charles returns the Sondeshike to the altar, and sets off for Coe's.
Coe is not convinced by Charles's explanation that he punched a column by accident. After some arm-twisting, Charles admits he was jabbed by a spear. Coe gives him some magical splints to heal his arm in a few weeks, but orders him not to get it wet, and so confines him to the Keep grounds until it is healed. Charles sees a flicker of eyes in a door cracked open. Coe closes the door and says that it is Vinsah's room; he is still in a coma, but says aloud that he thinks Vinsah could recover any day. After giving Charles a sling, Coe tells him it will cost five silvers, including not telling anyone the truth of his "accident". Charles is angry that he won't get to take Kimberly to dinner this evening, and swears he will get back at Zhypar for ruining this winter.
Characters
Main Characters:
- Charles Matthias: A rat morph, a Long Scout, former Headmaster of the Writer's Guild, secretly a Sondeckis in hiding. He has been teaching Garigan the ways of the Sondeckis in a Sondeckis shrine, built next to the Long House. Inside, he kept a Sondeshike that he borrowed from Rickkter, but has no intention of returning. When he tries to stop Zhypar from handling it, Zhypar breaks his right forearm.
- His wound, specifically, is of a fracture just below his elbow under a fist-sized circular bruise.
- He washes his feet in a clay washbasin, before he bathes the rest of himself.
- He recently trimmed his feet claws.
- Zhypar Habakkuk: A kangaroo morph, Headmaster of the Writer's Guild, formerly a merchant of rare books from the Southlands. He knows Charles's Sondeckis secrets, and has been critical of Charles's lack of honor before. He tells Charles to return the stolen Sondeshike, and is rebuffed. He appears in the Shrine, and in full view of Charles he outwits the altar's defenses to take the Sondeshike. However, he leaves it behind, reminding Charles again to return it, or he'll be doomed.
Supporting Characters:
- Rickkter: A raccoon morph, a battle mage, a Kankoran, Charles's enemy by clan. He gave Charles his Sondeshike in battle, but never confronted him about it. He tries to engineer a way to take his Sondeshike off the Sondeckis altar, but is caught by Charles before he can.
- He is wearing a dark cloak.
- It has been many winters since Rickkter saw snow this early, and even more since he played in it.
Minor Characters:
- Brian Coe: A raccoon morph, the Keep's physician. He does not believe Charles's story, but he agrees to keep it a secret.
- He possesses a set of magic wooden rods to help heal fractures faster. They still take time to work, and they are less effective if gotten wet or shaken loose. He asks Charles to return them.
- He also has some cloth to use for slings. The one he gives to Charles is blue.
- He possesses a set of magic wooden rods to help heal fractures faster. They still take time to work, and they are less effective if gotten wet or shaken loose. He asks Charles to return them.
Cameo:
- Vinsah: The personal aide of the deceased Akabaieth. He is seen as a flicker beyond the door; he is said to still be in a coma, but has secretly been awake for weeks, and unwilling to reveal himself.
Important Mention:
- Garigan: A ferret morph from Glen Avery, Charles's student in the Sondeckis. He has been spending the day playing in the woods, teaching the young Keepers how to make a snow fort.
- Nearly all of his time is being spent either in his quarters, or in the Sondeckis Shrine. Sometimes he sits under a tree in the gardens, seeking his Calm.
Referenced:
- Kimberly: A rat morph, a kitchen maid, Charles's fiancee. She played with Charles in the snow and watched him after she got tired.
- Sometimes Charles visits her in the kitchens for an unanounced tryst.
- Jerome: Charles's childhood friend. Charles has been contacting him through Raven.
- Raven: A wolf morph, the Lothanasi high priestess of Metamor Keep. She has been sending Charles's messages to Jerome, with the help of her gods.
- The Patriarch who recently died.
- Misha: A fox morph, leader of the Long Scouts. Misha is letting Charles rest today; Charles does not know where he is.
- Charles knows Misha likes to work just before dinner.
- Tallis: A rat morph, Charles's friend from the Writer's Guild. Charles played with him in the snow today.
- Nahum: A fox morph, Charles's friend from the Writer's Guild. He played with Charles in the snow today, among other things burying his head in the snow.
- Arla: A border collie morph, a Long Scout. She fought off two dogs in the Deaf Mule, starting a bar fight.
- Sam and Skylos: Two dog morphs who started a bar brawl while trying to court Arla.
- Yonson: A diplomat from Marzac, a Weathermonger mage.
- Andre: A wolverine morph, who saw Rickkter and Charles fighting at the Battle of Stepping Rock.
- Caroline: An otter morph, Misha's girlfriend, on whose behalf the Battle of Stepping Rock was fought.
Locations
- The Metamor Keep baths have marble tiles.
- The Sondeckis Shrine has a granite altar, with a porcelain angel kneeling before it. There is a locked weapons locker, and a hearth with coals. Before Rickkter destroyed it, there was a black banner on the wall with the Sondeckis emblem on it. There are torches burning in sconces, and a window looking out. The door to the Long House is able to be locked.
- Touching the altar or anything on it will kill anyone without the Sondeck. This includes wood and cloth.
- The wood began to rot as soon as it came into contact; pushing only decayed it faster. It crumbled upon being thrown at the altar.
- It is implied here, and confirmed later, that there is a way into the Shrine from Charles's quarters.
- Touching the altar or anything on it will kill anyone without the Sondeck. This includes wood and cloth.
- The main room of the infirmary has Coe's desk and a chair for patients who do not expect to stay long.
- Vinsah's room is at the far end of the room.
Society
- Most Keepers take baths in the evening.
- To Rickkter, the Sondeckis power of the Shrine feels like a putrid, fragrant ooze. This could be his imagination, although note the similarity of this description to Wessex's description of the Symphony.
- Sondeckis do not begin weapons training until they have reached the green.
- The Sondeckis are able to charge parts of their body with the Sondeck, preparing them for quick use. They are also able to channel their Sondeckis rage into objects powered by its magic, such as the Shrine altar.
- The Sondeck is apparently able to be scrubbed off in water, and sticks to a Sondecki's clothing over time — though it is not known whether this is from regular wear against the skin, or from exposure to Sondeckis power.
- A Sondecki's anger is powerful; it will destroy any who are not prepared to "accept it".
Chronology / Story Connections / Continuity
- The patients that Charles says Coe has let slip out of the infirmary before without knowing the whole story, could possibly refer to Michael (Battling a Tree), Hough (Keeping the Lamp Lit), Chandra (Zin-Gll'Hanaan), and Caroline (Casualties of War) — though Michael's case was very nearly fatal and plausibly an accident, Chandra had amnesia, and Hough and Caroline were rape victims. Needless to say, Coe does not take the comparison kindly.
- Note, of course, that Coe usually does get a full story from his patients before their release, such as Lurene (Ward), Saroth (Raining Cats and Dragons), and Misha and Rickkter (Testing 1, 2, 3, 4).
- Stories written later, but chronologically set earlier, could also add Ryuo (Rurouni Ryuo) and Grey Wheeler (Rider).
- Charles's fight with Rickkter was several months back (June 706), in A Place Where There Is No Darkness.
- Yonson's fight with Rickkter, where Rickkter used his Sondeshike, was in House of Secrets.
- The Battle of Stepping Rock, where Rickkter loaned Charles his Sondeshike, was in Killing Time.
- Zhypar ate with Yonson and spoke with Rickkter in Libraries, said to be a couple months back (mid-September 706) — though, unlike what he implies here, he knew about Rick's Sondeshike beforehand.
- Zhypar fulfills his promise from that story — breaking Charles's arm, if he didn't return the Sondeshike.
- Charles mentions that he has been busy with patrols for the last 2 months (since September 706).
- The Patriarch's death happened in Liturgy of Blood; Charles spent time in the Lothanasi temple, and built up a good rapport among the temple-goers. It is said here that Charles last sent a message to Jerome shortly after his death, which lasted 3 hours after people came to greet him.
- Charles mentions his engagement to Kimberly, which happened in the last Matthias-written story Nuptials.
- Charles's trip to Devil's Strand, which took place in Penance and Retribution, is said to have happened within the last week.
- Several minor details from "Penance and Retribution" and other stories, however, suggest it happened in September. Most significantly, Charles mentioned that he had yet to ask Kimberly to be engaged.
- The bar fight, where Arla fought off two dogs and Charles drunkenly joined in, is a brief recap of Arla, said to have happened not too long ago.
Today
- This story takes place on the day of the first real snowfall at Metamor Keep, and thus the same day as Winter Horizons.
- There are some apparent discrepancies between these two stories. Charles is unaware of any dinner invitation to Andre, and in fact planned to spend the evening at the Deaf Mule with Kimberly, and changes his plans to drink there. See "Winter Horizons" for a possible explanation.
- It snows in the morning, and becomes a very light snow in the early afternoon.
- Zhypar mentions there is a Writer's Guild meeting today, with a planned snowball fight afterwards. It seems the meeting takes place that morning.
- Though Charles had planned to invite Kimberly to the Mule for dinner, he instead plans to drink there to dull the pain.
Points of Interest
- Charles mentions he only knows two denizens of Metamor Keep with the body shape of a kangaroo, which probably refers to Jesse Roo, Oren's kangaroo friend. Charles is apparently unaware that Jesse does not live at Metamor Keep; he lives on his mother's farm in Lorland.
- Zhypar says that Charles once told him a real friend tells someone when they are doing something stupid. There is no such scene between the two in canon, although it could have happened before 706 CR.
- How did Rickkter and Zhypar get past the Long House guards? (Granted, though Rickkter leaves through the Long House, it is possible he entered through the window, or used the Charles's secret passage.) Why didn't Charles hear about Misha's whereabouts from them? Note that Charles implies there are indeede guards, to which he could have given alarm.
- Why didn't Rickkter use magic to levitate the Sondeshike? Is it because the altar would treat his magic as "touching" and kill him? Or would the altar have nullified his magic?
- What was the purpose of pouring Charles's foot-water on the altar? Was it to mask a non-Sondeckis's touch? Was it to dampen the altar's concentration of power? Was it to loosen the altar's hold on the Sondeshike?
| < 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 |
|
