The Book of Magic (8 page)

Abelawn

The ancestors of Abelawn first settled in
Stoneroot
's land of bells at the end of the Age of Flowering in
Avalon
's third century. Abelawn continues the tradition of farming with Drumadian ethics—always seeking the consent of the goats, horses, and sheep who share his lands and labors. He is a friend of
Tamwyn
, and the young man often helps to harvest melons in the autumn, when there is little work for a wilderness guide. It was during one of those harvest seasons that Tamwyn dug up a dagger with most unusual markings—whose meaning he wouldn't fully understand until his battle with
Rhita Gawr
in the
stars
.

Aelonnia of Isenwy

Normally disguised as a mud-covered boulder, Aelonnia is much more than she seems. She is a mudmaker, one of the most mysterious and most magical creatures in
Avalon
. And she is the guardian of
Malóch
's southernmost
portal
, near the Secret Spring of
Halaad
. Although she rarely shows her true form, she does so for
Tamwyn
and
Elli
, swelling to twice their height. She has enormous eyes, as brown as the rest of her body, and four slender arms, each with three long and delicate fingers that stroke the air continuously.

Aelonnia's whispering voice carries a lilt more like music than speech. And her words are full of wisdom about magic and its highest uses. For in the earliest days of Avalon,
Merlin
himself gave the mudmakers an extraordinary power—the ability to Make, to form living creatures from the
élano
-rich mud of this land. In the years since, the mudmakers have used this power judiciously, bringing to life creatures as varied as the giant elephaunts of Africqua and the tiny
light flyers
who accompany the
Lady of the Lake
wherever she goes. As Aelonnia explains to Tamwyn, "To Make, ten things we need: the seven sacred
Elements
, the mud that combines them, the time to do our work, and one thing more. The magic of Merlin."

Ahearna, the Star Galloper

"The great horse on high" of legend, Ahearna is a creature of the
stars
. She has massive wings, powerful legs, and a strong, rippling neigh. Her wings bear silvery white feathers that gleam as if made of starlight. Her deep brown eyes have seen much—including
Merlin
the wizard, whom she carried into the sky when he finally departed
Avalon
in the Year 694. Ever since that time, she has flown ceaselessly around a star known as the Heart of Pegasus. Just why is a secret known only to her and Merlin . . . until she shares that secret with
Tamwyn
.

Aileen

This young elf maiden is one of
Brionna
's closest friends. Like Brionna, she grew up in eastern
Woodroot
, near the deepest forest of El Urien—and the rumored lair of the
Lady of the Lake
. Aileen lives in the highest tree house of a settlement built into the boughs of eight enormous elms. Unusually skilled as a carver, she is well on her way to becoming a master woodworker. More important to her friendship with Brionna, however, is Aileen's skill at brewing a tasty cup of hazelnut tea. Like most elves, she is a peaceful soul, although she could be convinced to fight for the survival of
Avalon
.

Angus Oge

This
fire angel
showed remarkable courage, as well as kindness, as he explored the farthest reaches of
Avalon
—so remarkable that he is remembered centuries later by Ayanowyn storypainters. As
Gwirion
explains to
Tamwyn
, Angus Oge gave so openly to the world that the world always found a way to give back to him.

Once, when Angus Oge was traveling across a distant realm, he lacked any food and was close to starvation. Weakly, he set his last remaining water to boil, hoping at least to make some thin soup from local plants. But he couldn't even find any leaves or roots that were edible. Just before he passed out from hunger, however, a wild hare bounded over and leaped right into the pot.

Arc-kaya

Her yellow eyes ablaze, this gray-haired eaglewoman healed
Scree
after he was badly wounded by a deadly shard from
Rhita Gawr
. Despite her fierce yellow eyes, her heart is deeply kind. Scree learns just how kind as he observes her helping others in
Stoneroot
's Iye Kalakya clan. He also learns that she lost a son, named Ayell, when the young eagleman threw himself into the path of an arrow that had been shot at his mother. Irrationally, Arc-kaya blames herself for her son's death. She wishes, above all, that he were still alive to follow her clan's ancient blessing: "Soar high, run free."

Ayanowyn (Fire Angels)

… Any hope they may rise again is merely a spark blown upon the wind.

The Ayanowyn people—the fire angels—live deep inside the trunk of the
Great Tree
(a region called the
Middle Realm)
. Inhabiting the caverns and tunnels near the upward-flowing
Spiral Cascades
, these people have painted the walls with spectacular murals that tell the story of their lives in
Avalon
. Theirs is a story that is truly glorious: Centuries ago, they traveled far rootward, to the realm of
Shadowroot
, and founded Dianarra, the City of Fallen Stars (called today the Lost City of Light). Yet their story is also truly tragic: As the fire angel
Gwirion
explains to
Tamwyn
, his people have declined terribly since the Age of Great Light, the Lumia col Lir.

Nothing reveals the fire angels' decline more clearly than their own withered forms. When healthy, their winged bodies flame bright orange with llalowyn, the fire of the soul. But when body and soul are ailing, as they are now, the fire angels can no longer fly—and resemble smoldering charcoal.

The last seer of Gwirion's clan, the elderly woman
Mananaun
, prophesied that, one day, the fire angels would return to wisdom and glory. They would regain the power of their wings and the flame of their soulfires. Then, the seer proclaimed, they would fly back to the
stars
from whence they came long ago, in the time before storypainting began. The fire angels would be greeted by the great spirit
Dagda
himself. At that moment, their story would be renewed and they would gain, at last, their true name as a people. But when Gwirion first hears this prophecy, he dismisses it as wishful thinking. He is convinced that his people have fallen too far; he is sure that any hope they may rise again is merely a spark blown upon the wind.

Babd Catha, the Ogres' Bane

Never have the ogres of
Avalon
met a fiercer foe in battle than Babd Catha. While still a child in
Stoneroot
, she lost both her parents as well as her sister to marauding ogres. According to bards, the ogres attacked during a sudden snowstorm, and ever after, Babd Catha felt an irrational fear of snow. Even in her later years, as a famous warrior, it was said that she would stop fighting and retreat if even a single snowflake fell upon her.

Although she was very young when the ogres destroyed her family, and despite the fact that her own leg had been so badly injured that she would always walk with a limp, Babd Catha vowed to do whatever she could to prevent such tragedies from happening again. By the age of ten, she had become an accomplished swordswoman, and in that very year she fought her first ogre. While she was not able to kill the enemy, she did manage to frighten it so badly that it turned and ran off toward the high peaks of Olanabram. What distinguished Babd Catha was not just her ferocity, but also her tenacity—which is why she tracked that ogre for over two hundred leagues before she finally caught and killed it. Taking a lock of its hair, she wove the lock into her shirt, thus beginning a simple victory tradition that she would continue her whole life.

At thirteen, she had felled more than a score of ogres, usually during their attacks on human settlements. Although broadswords remained her weapon of choice, she also perfected the skills of wielding axes, maces, lances, and pikes. By her sixteenth birthday, she had collected enough locks of ogre hair to weave an entire shirt. That is why it surprised so many that she joined the new
Society of the Whole
as a follower of
Elen
. The following spring, in the Year of Avalon 18, she became one of the first priestesses ordained. She remained a friend of Elen,
Rhia
, and
Merlin
throughout her life. She was even invited to the wedding of Merlin and
Hallia
, but decided to battle ogres in
Rahnawyn
instead.

She lived a very long life, possibly due to a few drops of wizard's blood that Merlin once gave her to heal her wounds. Finally, she perished while saving the life of the great dragon
Basilgarrad
in the Battle of Fires Unending (chronicled in
Ultimate Magic
, the final book in the
Merlin's Dragon
trilogy). She bequeathed her entire collection of ogre hair shirts to the Eopia College of Mapmakers.

Basilgarrad, Wings of Peace

The greatest dragon ever to live in
Avalon
, Basilgarrad's name means
Basil the Great Heart.
His origins remain a mystery . . . although some believe that he sprang into being as part of Avalon—making him a living embodiment of his world. Others believe that he spent his youth hidden in a secluded place. But what place could have hidden such a huge dragon? Still others claim that he started out as a tiny, unremarkable lizard, although this theory is very difficult to believe. In any case, Basilgarrad's first known adventure was a great journey with
Aylah
, the wind sister. Soon he earned the name Wings of Peace by vigorously protecting smaller creatures who were bullied or attacked. In the War of Storms, he fought so courageously that he became a living legend. He angered many of his fellow dragons by siding with elves, humans, and eaglefolk in the centuries-long war. But he swiftly proved himself an extraordinary warrior, often defeating several dragons at a time—less through his vast size and strength than through his supreme bravery.

In time, Basilgarrad became a great friend of the wizard
Merlin
. It is said that the dragon actually saved Merlin from a deadly, magic-devouring
kreelix
—and that during the fight, the dragon suffered his first battle wound: a broken tooth. He possessed the unusual ability to cast smells over great distances (including his favorite smell, that of the herb basil). But as a green dragon from the western coast of
Woodroot
, he could not breathe fire. Even so, his sturdy scales shielded him from the flames of attackers. And his unusually broad wings gave him remarkable mobility in flight. His massive tail, though, was his most powerful weapon. "Brutal as the tail of Basilgarrad" goes the saying, for good reason. Yet this warrior could also be extremely gentle—as he proved to the female dragon who became the love of his life:
Marnya
, the only water dragon who ever learned how to fly.

When the War of Storms finally ended in the Year of Avalon 694—thanks to Basilgarrad's stunning victory over
Rhita Gawr
and his servant
Doomraga
—the great dragon carried Merlin all the way to the stars, so that Merlin could relight the darkened constellation known as the Wizard's Staff. After that journey, however, Basilgarrad mysteriously disappeared. Although many have pondered where he might have gone, no one is certain.

Batty Lad

Never, in all his travels, did
Tamwyn
meet a more bizarre creature than this scrawny little fellow with wings so crumpled that they resembled dead leaves. Because of his batlike appearance, as well as his erratic behavior, he earned the name Batty Lad. Yet there was also something mysterious about him, hidden behind those glowing green eyes. Tamwyn could not identify it. All the young man could say with certainty was that this creature never failed to make him smile. Perhaps it was Batty Lad's cupped ears that dwarfed his face, or his wacky flying maneuvers, or his peculiar manner of speech—which included such words as "wetwater," "silwilly," and "absolooteyootly." Or perhaps it was that lingering sense that there was simply more to Batty Lad than could be seen.

Bonlog Mountain-Mouth

The eldest daughter of the giant sorceress Jubolda, Bonlog has long been feared because of her violent temper—and also her huge, drooling mouth that constantly spills rivers of saliva. In the Battle of the Withered Spring, in the Year of Avalon 498, Bonlog was saved by another giant,
Shim
, who accidentally crushed her attackers. Filled with gratitude, she tried to thank him with a kiss. But the mere sight of her puckering lips with rivers of drool terrified him so much that he shrieked in terror and dashed off into the mountains to hide. Humiliated, Bonlog Mountain-Mouth chased after him. Although she never caught him, a terrible thing did happen to Shim. For no explicable reason, he began to grow smaller and smaller, until he stood no taller than a young dwarf. Yet this misfortune did not diminish Bonlog's wrath: She continued to search for him, vowing revenge.

Brionna

… She was stolen into slavery.

As the granddaughter of
Tressimir
, the revered historian of the wood elves, Brionna grew up learning about the languages, customs, and stories of
Avalon
's many peoples. She loved doing anything with her Granda—including traveling with him to other realms. The elf maiden even went with him to
Shadowroot
(where she nearly died from the sickness elves call darkdeath). Like other elves, she was raised to cherish all life. So she found herself in a terrible dilemma when she was stolen into slavery and told that she must either help the wicked sorcerer
Kulwych
—or watch her beloved Granda die.

Brionna was slim, strong, and an expert archer, carrying a longbow made of springy cedar. A natural beauty, she wore her honey-colored hair in a long braid. And she was also feisty, with a very sharp tongue. Whenever her deep green eyes flashed in anger, it was time for others to beware, a lesson that
Scree
was especially slow to learn.