The Book of Magic (12 page)

Lleu

This tall, lanky priest of the
Society of the Whole
has sharp eyes crowned by thick, dark eyebrows. He is often accompanied by his
maryth
,
Catha
, a silver-winged falcon who likes to perch on his shoulder. Lleu was a good friend of
Elli
's father, during their years together at the Drumadian compound, and is now one of
High Priestess Coerria
's closest allies. Accordingly, he is deeply suspicious of the priestess
Llynia
, whose actions are guided more by her personal ambitions than her Drumadian principles. And he is willing to do anything to protect
Avalon
—even if that means facing the deadly changeling
Neh Gawthrech
in battle.

Lleu's great-grandfather,
Lleu of the One Ear
, authored the famous Drumadian text
Cyclo Avalon.
He was a good friend of
Merlin
and one of
Elen
's original disciples in the earliest days of Avalon.

Llynia el Mari

Once she became the Chosen One, who would eventually become High Priestess, Llynia's arrogance and ambition began to overcome her devotion to the basic principles of the
Society of the Whole
. Not only was she the youngest Chosen One since
Rhiannon
herself, she possessed the gift of seeing visions of the future. Those visions may have been only occasional, and vague, but they were still enough to win her renown—and also to win her advantage in political schemes. As Llynia told herself regularly, she should use whatever means were necessary to climb to the highest levels of power. For she alone represented the purity of faith that could bring glory once again to the Drumadians.

Although she resented the efforts of
High Priestess Coerria
to humble her—requiring, for example, that Llynia wear the same simple greenish brown robe as other priestesses and priests—Llynia felt certain that she would prevail in time. She remained convinced of her own superiority even after a strange green mark appeared on her chin, the
Lady of the Lake
unexpectedly snubbed her, the lowly priestess
Elliryanna
outwitted her, and her devoted
maryth
,
Fairlyn
, finally rejected her. Fortunately, the wise teacher
Olo Belamir
appreciated her singular virtues, and proclaimed her Llynia the Seer.

Lott (Master Lott)

The only activities that Lott enjoys more than bossing around his roof-thatching laborers is eating a big, sumptuous meal—and then napping for several hours afterward. Having done much of both over the years, he is enormously fat. His eyes, sunk deep into the rolls of flab on his cheeks like a pair of almonds in a mound of dough, study his laborers suspiciously. Especially laborers such as
Tamwyn
—who, in Lott's view, is clumsier than a blind troll. Like many people who live in central
Stoneroot
, he often speaks in alliteration. Thus he shows his affection for Tamwyn by calling him "horrible hooligan," "lame-brained lout," and "sluggish scalawag,"

Mananaun

The last seer of the
Ayanowyn
fire angels, Mananaun lived a long life. She died only eighty flames before
Tamwyn
arrived at the village of
Gwirion
's clan, located near the upward-flowing
Spiral Cascades
in the trunk of the
Great Tree
. Despite the misery of her people, whose soulfires had dimmed almost to the point of going out completely, Mananaun left behind a prophecy of hope. The fire angels, she predicted, would one day regain the power of their wings and the brilliance of their flames. They would fly back to the
stars
, where they had come from long ago in the days of
Ogallad
, and would be greeted by the great spirit
Dagda
. Then, at long last, the fire angels would gain their true name and their remarkable story would be renewed.

Marnya

The daughter of Bendegeit, highlord of the water dragons, Marnya spent her youth swimming, diving, and cavorting in the iridescent waters of the Rainbow Seas. Her luminous blue scales and azure eyes often gleamed in
Waterroot
's waves. But this adventurous young dragon dreamed of doing something else, something no water dragon had ever done: She longed to fly. Finally, the brave dragon
Basilgarrad
showed her how. In return, she showed him the strength of her loyalty and the power of her love.

Maryths

… “Our friends, the maryths, will ensure that none of us will forget to open our ears to other songs.”

Every priestess and priest in the
Society of the Whole
could count on the companionship of a maryth, whose loyalty would last as long as their lives as Drumadians. Inspired by
Merlin
's friendship with the brave hawk
Trouble
, the Society's founders decreed that maryths could be any kind of creature but human. In the words of
Elen
, "Our friends, the maryths, will ensure that none of us will forget to open our ears to other songs—no matter how different the melody, or how strange the rhythm." Consequently, maryths are as varied as the pinnacle sprite
Nuic
, the tree spirit
Fairlyn
, the bold falcon
Catha
, the irascible cat Mebd, and the hive spirit
Uzzzula
.

Maulkee

To
Quenaykha
, the eaglewoman who leads the renegade Bram Kaie clan of
Fireroot
, Maulkee is her most promising lieutenant. But to the eagleman
Scree
, who saw Maulkee kill the healer
Arc-kaya
, he is nothing but a bloody murderer. Maulkee is broad-shouldered and muscular, with a mouth that often twists into a haughty sneer. Though he is no more than seven years old, the eagleman is fully grown, the equivalent of a human in his twenties. And he is very experienced in the ways of warfare, a sport he quite enjoys. When he faces Scree in battle, both warriors feel unbridled rage—although Scree also feels a troubling hint of familiarity.

Morrigon

Despite his advanced age, Morrigon is spry enough to serve his master, the teacher
Belamir
, quite effectively. And he is also mean-spirited enough to encourage the violent excesses of Belamir's Humanity First movement. Although he looks rather frail, with scraggly white hair sprouting from his chin and both sides of his head, Morrigon is adept at archery. But it isn't his skill with the bow and arrow that arouses the elf
Brionna
's curiosity. Rather, it is Morrigon's irritated eye, which is so bloodshot that it looks pink—unnaturally pink—the sign of a changeling.

Museo

Riding atop the head of the bard
Olewyn
, a museo is hidden under the bard's lopsided hat . . . until the time comes to sing. Then this small teardrop-shaped creature shows itself—more by its sound than its appearance. For like the others of its kind, the museo can sing with a rolling, layered hum that can entrance any listener. This rich hum contains many emotions, profoundly affecting anyone nearby. As the saying goes, "nothing is so deep as the note from a museo's throat."

Although museos can be any shade of blue or green, their skin is always flecked with gold. They are neither male nor female, but both at once. Museos have always been rare, even in their native land of
Shadowroot
. Centuries ago, they were driven out of the realm of eternal night. Since that time, they have wandered
Avalon
's other root-realms with their chosen bards—always searching for the home they cannot find, always singing about the home they cannot forget.

Neh Gawthrech

Changelings are feared throughout
Avalon
—but no changeling is feared more than Neh Gawthrech. Known for the completeness of his disguises and the swiftness of his attacks, he changes so quickly that any witnesses see only a blur of claws, fangs, and the victim's blood. It is rumored that this changeling's true head is triangular in shape, with fangs that curl like scythes and scarlet eyes aflame with wrath. Last seen near the caves of the wyverns near the Wasteland of the Withered Spring in
Stoneroot
, he may have formed an alliance with the sorcerer
Kulwych
.

Nuic

This ancient pinnacle sprite from
Avalon
's high peaks in
Olanabram
is small enough to ride on
Elli
's shoulder. Yet just as his gruff, crusty manner conceals deeper emotions, his diminutive form conceals enormous wisdom and experience. Like all pinnacle sprites, he can produce a net of gleaming silver threads that serves as a parachute to float him down from cliffs. But his favorite pastime is more stationary: Nuic loves nothing more than to bathe relaxedly in a mountain stream, kicking his tiny feet in the water. An expert herbalist, he often forages for vegetarian foods and herbal remedies—then takes a long, cool soak afterward.

Precisely how old he is remains a mystery, though pinnacle sprites (like giants and dragons) can live for over a thousand years. The only mortal creatures who can live longer are wizards. Thus Nuic had many adventures before he became Elli's
maryth
. He became a valued friend of the
Lady of the Lake
. He was one of the first to cross the famous Misty Bridge of
Y Swylarna
. And he even attended the wedding of
Merlin
and
Hallia
, which took place atop the highest peak in the Seven Realms, in the Year of Avalon 27.

While Nuic's liquid purple eyes and green hair are striking, his most remarkable colors are those displayed by his skin, for they reveal his emotions. His skin fairly vibrates with colors, often in combination: orange for impatience, gray for somberness or gravity, red for anger, yellow for hunger, misty blue for contentment, and deep purple for pride. Two colors signify emotions so rare for Nuic that Elli was quite surprised when she noticed them—frosty white for terror, and flashing gold for amazement. And then, as she later discovered, there is one color even rarer: lavender, for pure affection.

Obba and Ossyn

Combined, the mental capacities of these two brothers equaled that of one barely functional imbecile. And their stupidity was exceeded only by their cruelty. Obba and Ossyn were hired by the sorcerer
Kulwych
, whom they called White Hands, in
Avalon
's long-dreaded Year of Darkness. Their task: to find the child who was the true heir of
Merlin
. For that reason they traveled to the Volcano Lands of
Rahnawyn
. . . and to the nest of a fledgling eagleboy named
Scree
.

Ogallad the Worthy

Ogallad was the first great leader of the
Ayanowyn
people, the fire angels. Crowned by a golden wreath of mistletoe, a gift from the spirit lord
Dagda
himself, he led his people down from the
stars
long ago, in the days before storypainters began to record the fire angels' lives. Ogallad led the Ayanowyn to the
Middle Realm
of the
Great Tree of Avalon
—just as he led them to their age of wisdom and glory, the Age of Great Light known as Lumaria col Lir. Today, Ogallad's memory flames bright in the minds of
Gwirion
,
Fraitha
,
Tulchinne
, and
Ciann
—just as it did for the seer
Mananaun
and the blind bard
Helvin
. For that memory offers a hint of hope that those days of Great Light might somehow come again.

Olewyn the Bard

This strange old bard has a knack for appearing in the most unexpected places around
Avalon
. He looks bizarre, even comical, with a sideways-growing beard, a lopsided hat that conceals a genuine
museo
, and dark eyes that seem both very young and very old. Yet despite his appearance, quirky manner, and jaunty walk, there is something hauntingly serious about him. His name, Olewyn, is reminiscent of the legendary mer woman
Olwen
, who dared to leave her people and her ancestral home to wed
Tuatha
of
Lost Fincayra
. But that similarity could be just a coincidence: His name, like so much else about the bard, simply defies explanation.

Palimyst

… Palimyst was gigantic, standing twice Tamwyn's height.

Palimyst belonged to the Taliwonn people, the most remarkable creatures of the branch-realm
Holosarr
—and maybe of any realm in
Avalon
. When
Tamwyn
first met Palimyst, he realized that he must seem as strange to this creature as the creature seemed to him. (In fact, the name Holosarr was the Taliwonn word for
lowest realm,
since they had explored the higher branches of the
Great Tree
but remained completely unaware of the root-realms below.) Like the rest of his people, Palimyst was gigantic, standing twice Tamwyn's height. He had two brawny arms, a hunched and hairy back, and a single leg as thick as a tree trunk. By contrast, at the end of each arm was a hand with seven long, delicate fingers, which Palimyst used for fine craftsmanship. His eyes were dark and intelligent, and he was quick to perceive the hope—as well as the heroic qualities—in Tamwyn. It was he who told the young man about the fabled
River of Time
, "the seam in the tent of the sky."

As a craftsman and collector, Palimyst lived in a tent of his own making. There he displayed objects that he had woven, carved, and sculpted. As varied as they were, those objects shared one fundamental virtue: All were made from natural materials shaped by mortal hands. Thus, as Palimyst explained, "they hold both the beauty of nature and the beauty of craftsmanship."

Tamwyn witnessed the strange, silent dance of Palimyst's people. They clasped their slender hands and formed a circle, hopping and bowing in unison. Despite their great size and their need to balance on one leg, they moved with all the fluidity of blowing clouds. And so, like everything else about these creatures, their dance was rich in remarkable contrasts.

Pwyll the Younger