The Book of Magic (11 page)

Helvin

This bard is beloved by the
Ayanowyn
fire angels. Although he was born blind, his other senses were so acute and his descriptions were so vivid that Helvin's rich, entrancing tales inspired the fire angels' first storypaintings, the spectacular murals that now cover the walls of caverns and tunnels throughout the
Middle Realm
of the
Great Tree
.
Tamwyn
's friend
Gwirion
, himself a storypainter, is most fond of Helvin's tales of
Ogallad the Worthy
. For those tales carry the hope that the fire angels might someday burn bright again—and possibly fulfill their dream of soaring up to the
stars
.

Henni Hoolah

Henni, whose full name is Henniwashinachtifig, stands half the height of
Tamwyn
. But he has more than double the young man's capacity for making mischief. As a hoolah, he has no sense of caution, no sense of honor, and no sense of dignity—basically no sense at all. To Henni, life is just a game. Any mischief is good fun; any danger is irrelevant. As he tells Tamwyn soon after they meet, "I've never met a death trap I didn't like."

Like other hoolahs, Henni has very large hands (good for climbing trees or hurling fruit) and silver eyes surrounded by circular eyebrows. He laughs easily—especially at Tamwyn's clumsiness—and releases a raucous "eehee, eehee, hoohoohoohahaha" that can be heard from one end of a forest to another. In the custom of his people, he dresses simply, wearing only a baggy tunic and a red headband, and carries a slingshot in his belt.

Something about Henni may be changing, however. Gradually, he seems more conscious of his actions, and he may actually be showing signs of concern for others. It may even be true that he is more aware of the value of life (including his own). Yet these changes may not last. And for now, at least, none of this is as meaningful to Henni as the simple fun of pelting Tamwyn with fruit—or pushing him into the
Spiral Cascades
.

Hywel

As the oldest of the Drumadian Elders, Hywel has lived in the compound longer than anyone else—including
High Priestess Coerria
, who is nearly two hundred years old. Hywel was a leader of the
Society of the Whole
before some of the current Elders were even born. As such, she takes very seriously her role as the keeper of the Society's traditions, through her responsibilities as the Dean of Timeliness and Decorum. After all, many of those traditions reach back to the days of the first priestesses,
Elen
and
Rhiannon
.

When Hywel stands beside the clanging Buckle Bell—which was made from the belt buckle of a giant, melted down by the breath of a fire dragon, molded by dwarves, and decorated by
faery
artisans—she wears woolen earmuffs to protect her hearing. But there is precious little hearing left to protect. Hywel's eyes, however, remain sharp. As she scans the newest crop of young apprentices, who are about to begin their formal prayers, she looks for any signs of disarray. What she does not expect is that one apprentice has skipped formal prayers altogether—for in all her years, she has never met anyone quite like
Elli
.

Ilyakk

No member of the eagle people, except possibly
Hac Yarrow
, loved to fly more than Ilyakk. And no other eagleman, except perhaps
Scree
, ever flew more courageously. As a young fledgling in
Rahnawyn
, Ilyakk decided to soar to the top of the highest volcano he could find. When that proved too easy, he rode the swells even higher, sailing over the Burnt Hills of the fire dragons. Finally, when he was too exhausted to fly any longer, he settled down for a rest—not on land, but on the scaly snout of an airborne fire dragon. The dragon, amused
by
this intrepid youngster, carried Ilyakk higher still, until at last they glimpsed the rumpled ridges of the
Great Tree
's trunk rising upward. This experience merely whetted the eagleboy's appetite. As he grew older, he constantly pushed himself to fly higher and higher, rising to the Swaying Sea and beyond.
No
creature from the root-realms of Avalon—save only the great dragon
Basilgarrad
, who once carried
Merlin
to the
stars
—has ever flown so high as Ilyakk.

Imbolca

This Drumadian priestess, known for her perpetual scowl, is an ally of
Llynia
. She believes that the
Society of the Whole
must regain its original purity. As such, she is deeply offended by
Coerria
's decision to admit
Elli
into the order, even as an apprentice third class. Imbolca's normally nasty mood always brightens a bit when her maryth, the ginger cat Mebd, scratches someone annoying.

Kerwin

Even as a young eagleman, Kerwin proved himself a warrior of great ability in many battles to defend the Tierrnawyn clan of upper
Olanabram
. Like his fellow eagleman
Scree
, Kerwin fought with supreme ferocity, but always within the bounds of honor. So it was no surprise that he was chosen to represent the allies of
Avalon
at the parley before the great Battle of Isenwy. Like the rest of his clan, Kerwin had skin as brown as the muddy plains, flashing eyes, and eaglefeathers marked with black stripes—as well as fierce devotion to his people's way of life.

Kree-ella

Kree-ella, an eaglewoman of the Bram Kaie clan in
Fireroot
, was bold enough to resist the murderous ways of the clan's leader
Quenaykha
. For this action, Quenaykha ordered her caught, tortured, and killed, then hung to a post as an example to other potential traitors. Such is the gentle temperament of the leader of the Bram Kaie—someone
Scree
must confront.

Krystallus Eopia

… All that seemed certain was that somewhere on his journey to the stars, this great explorer had perished.

The boy who would become
Avalon
's greatest explorer was born to the wizard
Merlin
and the deer woman
Hallia
in the Year of Avalon 27. Although he was almost crushed as an infant when the giant
Shim
tried to kiss him, Krystallus survived. Lacking his father's magical powers, as well as his mother's ability to run with the grace of a deer, he suffered from grave self-doubts. But from an early age, he demonstrated a strong passion for exploring. Blessed with an exceptionally long life, thanks to his wizard ancestry, he became the first person to explore many remote parts of Avalon, including the Great Hall of the Heartwood deep within the trunk of the Great Tree. Like his rival, the elf queen
Serella
, he developed considerable expertise in the dangerous art of
portal
seeking. He founded the Eopia College of Mapmakers in
Waterroot
, and chose for its emblem the star within a circle, the symbol for magically Leaping between places and times.

In the Year of Darkness, Krystallus journeyed to
Fireroot
. He was attacked by flamelons, but was subsequently rescued by the flamelon princess
Halona
. Despite the danger of the Dark Prophecy, they married and conceived a child. But soon after Halona gave birth, the family suffered a brutal attack. While Krystallus managed to escape, he concluded that both his wife and their son,
Tamwyn
, had been killed.

Beset with grief, Krystallus embarked on his most ambitious journey ever—to find the secret pathway to the
stars
. Neither he nor any members of his expedition ever returned. By the time Tamwyn decided to search for his father, no one could say what route Krystallus might have taken to reach the highest realms. And no one could say what might have happened to his magical torch, a gift from Merlin, which continued to burn as long as Krystallus remained alive. All that seemed certain was that somewhere on his journey to the stars, this great explorer had perished.

Kulwych (White Hands)

As he prowled in the dark shadows of a stone wall above Prism Gorge in High
Brynchilla
, this cloaked sorcerer was all but invisible. Only his pale white hands could be seen: The fingernails were perfectly clipped; the skin bore not a single callus. The rest of Kulwych, called White Hands by some, remained hidden. But his actions were more easily viewed—whether by finding the disemboweled bodies whose entrails he had read, or by seeing the enslaved creatures whose lives he had destroyed. For the sorcerer had forced those slaves to build a massive dam across the gorge, a dam whose true purpose was known only to Kulwych and his master: the warlord of the spirit realm,
Rhita Gawr
.

Kulwych pulled the hood of his cloak tight around his head whenever the wind howled through the canyon, wishing he could return to his lair deep underground in
Shadowroot
. When, at last,
Tamwyn
made him remove his hood, the sorcerer's face looked more dead than alive. A jagged scar ran diagonally from the stub of what was once an ear down to his chin, taking out a chunk of his nose along the way. Where his right eye should have been, there was just a hollow pit, full of scabs and swollen veins. His mouth, burned shut on one side, was merely a lipless gash. Even so, as
Elli
and Tamwyn discovered, the most hideous part of Kulwych was not his face, but his mind.

Who had caused Kulwych's disfigurement? According to the sorcerer, it was
Merlin
himself, at the height of the War of Storms. Kulwych's will to live helped him survive, but brought him centuries of pain. During all that time, he plotted his ultimate revenge against Merlin—and against Merlin's beloved world of
Avalon
.

Lady of the Lake

Revered and dreaded throughout the realms, the Lady of the Lake first appeared in the deepest forests of
Woodroot
in
Avalon
's sixth century. Where she came from, or how she gained her vast powers, no one can say. Even her precise location has never been confirmed. Of the many brave souls who have tried to find her, none succeeded and only a few ever returned.

Some people believe that the Lady must be a shape-shifting sorceress; others maintain that she is really the incarnation of the goddess
Lorilanda
. Still others claim that she is just an elderly woman who lives in a tree called New
Arbassa
, who surrounds herself with glowing
light flyers
, and who enjoys eating rivertang berries. Whatever her true identity may be, she remains shrouded in mystery as thick as the mists that swirl around her magical lair.

For reasons known only to herself, the Lady of the Lake has long favored the
Society of the Whole
. Yet even
High Priestess Coerria
only saw the Lady once, and that was in a vision. When the Lady appeared, aglow with blue light, she began by reciting the famous Dark Prophecy:

A year shall come when stars go dark,
And faith will fail anon—
For born shall be a child who spells
The end of Avalon.

The only hope beneath the stars
To save that world so fair
Will be the Merlin then alive:
The wizard's own true heir.

Then she revealed a secret—a secret about
Merlin
and his precious staff,
Ohnyalei
. Coerria told no one about this for many years. But that finally changed when she met a remarkable young apprentice priestess named
Elliryanna
.

Le-fen-flaith

Among the vaporous sylphs of
Airroot
, Le-fen-flaith is celebrated as the realm's greatest architect. He designed many structures, including whimsical cloud sculptures viewed by appreciative audiences all across
Y Swylarna
in the seventh and eighth centuries of
Avalon
. He also perfected the first successful anchors for the strings of aeolian harps stretched between clouds. His most practical construction project was the bridge whose cloudthread ropes span the narrow gap between
Mudroot
and Airroot. Although the bridge was finally completed centuries ago, in the Year of Avalon 702, it has continued to stand—albeit shakily, as
Elli
discovered. The architect named it Trishila o Mageloo, which means
the air sighs sweetly
in the sylphs' native language. But in time, travelers came to call it the Misty Bridge. The first people to cross it, other than sylphs, were two special guests of Le-fen-flaith himself: the
Lady of the Lake
, whose eyes opened wide with wonder, and her good friend, the pinnacle sprite
Nuic
, whose eyes remained shut tight through the entire crossing.