Light Reading (21 Oct 2001) Tom does some library research. Note: Mirari players other than Tom should not read this log.

At Tom's request, Lord December offered him a guest chamber -- a bedroom suite with enough empty space that the boy was left thinking he could fit his whole house inside with room to spare. What furnishings it had were lavish and proportioned to the room, making Tom feel out of place in it. Too wound up to sleep, he went to wander the halls of the castle, eventually finding himself in the library.

December's Library
As with elsewhere in the castle, the walls here are chill to the touch, and smooth. The west wall is transparent, partially covered by sheer white curtains with a pattern like icicles on them. The Other walls are lined by book cases so tall they stretch to the top of the vaulted ceiling thirty feet up. A railed balcony of dark wood lines the walls half way up, with a staircase providing access to it and the upper books. Rolling ladders allow reach of the highest books on both levels, and comfortable chairs with their own braziers adjacent provide places to sit and read.

The raven haired boy runs both hands through his hair, then interlaces his fingers and pops his knuckles. "Well, what do we have here?" He muses, "Looks like a library. I hope Lord December won't mind me getting a couple books to read before getting some rest." He walks along one of the stacks of books, trailing his fingers along the spines. "Well, let's see if he has anything on the real Lord Explorer Thomas. I want to see how badly I've pretended to be this person."

Examination of the spines of the books suggests they're not in alphabetical order by title, certainly. They appear to be categorized, first up and down, then left to right, by author. The authors have odd names, ranging from single names like "Merribelle" to "Lord Historian Abraham of the Seventh Circle" (filed under "S") or "Nineteenth Chronicler of the Company of Thunder, Jerruvian" (filed under "T"). The logic behind the choices is hard to follow, and there doesn't seem to be a handy index, and it's made more confusing when he comes to the end of the alphabet at "Zuroven" only to have the next shelf appear to start over again at "A".

The first section doesn't have any books under either "Thomas" or "Tom", nor does the second.

Thomas frowns. He goes back and looks over the shelves again. Perhaps they're subject-arranged.

A second pass suggests that there's some kind of arrangement by subject, as well as alphabetical. It looks like the first series, near library door, seems to be histories of some kind. The next section, much smaller, has treatises on various languages. The one after that Tom can't identify just looking at a few titles -- things like Doorways of Silver Passage and Hope and Sorrow aren't as obvious as A History of the Company of Thunder, Years 41 to 44 or On the Secret Language of Birds.

Tom interlaces his fingers and peers at the shelves. "This is futile. I don't know of any author that might have written about Thomas ... unless Thomas wrote about his own travels," the boy says. This time, he starts looking for any author of the name "Thomas", or under "Thomas of the Golden Hawks", under "G". He goes back to the first section on "Histories" and starts going over them. He makes a mental note to watch for a general "Mirari History", or something that says "Year's End". While he looks, a thought crosses his mind: Maybe a story on Thomas would be under fantasy or legend, since it was so long ago.

Under "G" he finds A Chronicle of the Golden Hawkes, volume I, by Historian Julian of the Golden Hawkes. There are a couple of empty spaces next to them on the shelf.

Tom blinks, and grins. "Well, that's sort of promising, I guess. I wonder what was next to them." He makes a face. "Probably the ones I really want." He grabs the book anyway, noting where it came from and leans against the shelf. He starts to skim through it, hoping it has a table of contents.

After a list of acknowledgements which includes various names, including a Minstrel Samuel, and listing at the end, "And a most sincere debte to Lord Explorer Thomas, without whom none of thys would have been wrytten." It has what must be a table of contents, though it's headed "Rubrysshe." All the chapter titles are in sentence form, many of them starting with "How". The first one is "How Lord Explore Thomas met the Translator Oberia and the Captain of April, and how they did form the Golden Hawkes after certain Adventures", and they go on in that fashion. Most of them mention meetings or discoveries, and occasionally hint at battles, or court intrigues.

Tom ponders, "Wonder if Lord December would allow me to borrow this. Probably not." He notes the author's name, then looks for a publish date before he starts to flip through slowly, hoping for at least an illustration or two.

The book has neither a copyright notice, nor a publication date, but he finds in small print at the bottom of the title page, "From Year of Mirari 34 to 38". The illustrations are mostly woodcuts, and the people have a queerly stiff look to them. There's an illustration of Lord Thomas meeting the pygmies, and another of him encountering men whose heads seem to be set in their chests, and similar things involving an array of different Hawks. Based on the woodcuts, it's hard to get a good idea of what Lord Thomas looked like, except that he habitually wore a dark beret, sometimes with a small broach or feather in it. He seems to have had a well-defined jaw line and a sharp chin, and his build was athletic, though fairly slender.

Thomas shifts from foot to foot uneasily. Well, it doesn't look too much like me, he tries to convince himself. He turns his head, looking at the pictures sideways. "But the beret," he mutters, looking down at himself, "and build. Gah! Why couldn't these people invent a camera?" He flips back to the table of contents page and looks at the lowest entries to see if any of them might mention the last journey of Thomas, or some such.

One of the last entries reads, "How Lord Explorer Thomas did Informe the Lord Protector of the Plotte against the Crowne of Mirari" and then, after that, "How Lord Explorer Thomas, with His Companions and the Lord Protector, did bring about the Defeat of Summere's Plotte". Then, "How the Golden Hawkes did Search for Jack of Heartes, but He had Fled and Even Lord Thomas Coulde not find Hym". The last one is just, "How the Golden Hawkes did Attend on the Court of All Season for the Succession of the Lady of May to the Throne of Mirari".

"Jack of Heartes? That sounds rather interesting." Intrigued, Thomas flips to the last couple of pages in the section about the "Search for Jack of Heartes" and mutters, "Let's see where Thomas looked for you, hmm?"

Jack of Hearts (the spelling doesn't seem to be terribly consistent in the book -- sometimes there are extra "e"s and sometimes there aren't, among the odd uses of y and occasional double letters and the like) is identified in the short chapter as "An Warlock of Greate Powere". The Lord of August, "even under Penalty of Torture" could not say where Jack of Hearts had gone after his plan unraveled.

The Lord Explorer searched for "seven Days and seven Nights", thinking he had fled to the West, but could find no sign of him. The author makes a big deal of Thomas not being able to find Jack, with the general sense being that Thomas had never failed to find anything before in two or three Days, never mind seven. At the conclusion, the author writes, "Then did Lord Explorer Thomas call off the hunt, saying they would rest a tyme and think of what might be done. But the Lord Explorer did Vow this would not bee the End, for he would finde the Warlock and see that Justice bee done, for the safety of the new Queen that would be."

"Was the Jack of Hearts ever found?" Thomas asks out loud. He flips to the last section of the book, to see if Thomas attended the Succession Ceremony. As he flips, he wonders, Is this why you left Mirari, Thomas? To find this Warlock? I hope you succeeded. I hope ... I hope the warlock didn't kill you in the end. Maybe he trapped you somewhere.

The Lord Explorer attended the Succession ceremony, along with most if not all of the Hawks. Minstrel Sam was there, and there's an apparently comical song he did, reproduced in full. It's about the Hawks tripping over each other looking for a damsel's lost kitten. Lord Thomas shows up in the last verse with the kitten in hand, winning groans of dismay from his companions and a kiss from the damsel.

But the chapter ends on a much more somber note: "But Midnight waxed close, and all the company grew quiet and stille. At last, the king stepped down from the throne, and the Lady Panelea of May did take hys place on it. He lifted the heavy Crowne from hys head, and laid it on her brow. 'All honour due unto her, you who were my subjects!' he cried, 'Pledge thy Fealty to Queen Panelea of Mirari, and unto her be True and Faythful, as thou wert unto me.' The new Queen bowed her head and wept, as the olde King did step away from the throne for the last time, and so did pass King Theoron, 37th ruler of Mirari."

Tom mulls over this. "Thirty-seventh ruler ... so that would have been around the thirty-seventh year, I think. When did Elinor say Thomas vanished? Fourteen years ago, current time. I wonder what year it is here now ... It couldn't be Fifty-One ... could it?" Thomas shrugs, hoping he can ask Lord December that question next time he sees him. He starts to close the book, then stops. On a lark, he flips to the section where Lord Explorer Thomas informed the Protector of the plot. What was the plot he told him about?

It takes Tom a while to decipher the details of the plot, since the author appears to be acting under the assumption that his reader will have read the earlier chapters already. Fortunately, Historian Julian is inclined to repeat important facts, especially names, over and over again, and eventually Tom pieces together that the plot involved the Houses of Summer raising up an army, with the intent of assaulting the Palace of All Seasons and taking the throne by force. Their intention was apparently to install Jack of Hearts as the new King, rather than abiding by the King's designated heir.

Tom eases the book closed. He stares at the cover for a few minutes, expression grim. Carefully, he inserts the book back onto the shelf where he found it and looks about the room. He leans back against the bookcase and mulls over the things he learned from the book. "Gah, I wish I could talk to the others about this," he finally admits. Trying not to dwell too much on that, he looks down the stacks, looking for a section on myths and legends. "Let's see if anything on Year's End exists, shall we?" he mutters.

Skipping over the section with cryptic titles, Tom finds a "bestiary" section which might be about legendary beasts, or maybe those are the real creatures of Mirari. As he's looking through them, trying to decide if these are supposed to be real or mythical, he hears footsteps echoing down the hallway outside.

Tom turns to look back at the door. Ut-oh. I hope it's okay that I'm in here. Thomas thinks to himself, Should probably make sure whomever it is doesn't think I'm sneaking around or something. "Um, hello? Is anyone out there?" Thomas calls out.

"Someone is out here," answers a curious voice, light and cool, like the tinkling of ice. "Is someone in there?" At that moment, a face peers around the doorway. The cast to it is feminine, but she has a strange sheen to her skin, and it looks almost translucent, silver or white. The "hair" that frames it shades between white and clear, and the effect reminds Tom of the branches of a tree, sheathed in ice and blanketed by snow. "Someone is in here," the stranger says, carved features bending to frown.

Thomas fidgets. "I'm sorry. I don't know if this place is off limits or not. I'm a guest of Lord December's. I couldn't sleep at all and needed to walk. I ended up finding this place and couldn't help but look at the collections," Thomas explains, walking slowly toward the girl. "If I'm not supposed to be here, I apologize and will leave immediately," Thomas says, then blinks, "And where are my manners? My name is Thomas Winthrope. May I inquire your name?"

"I am Whisper of Stars, Librarian to Lord December," the woman answers, coming fully into view. She wears a layered dress as white as snow, and folded to her chest are two books. The skin visible on her arms and hands has the same curious silvery-translucent sheen as her face. "You are -- oh!" She looks suddenly startled, almost dropping her books as she drops her chin to look at them, then jerks her head back, staring at him.

"What?" Thomas says, making a quick step backwards, "I put the book back in the right spot, I swear I did."

"Lord Explorer!" she gasps. Her cheeks glitter, and then she shakes her head, as if to clear it, then frowns at him again. "But you could not be -- or -- oh!" She seems flustered and momentarily speechless.

"Lady Whisper," Thomas says, "I'm not the Lord Explorer. I'm just Thomas Winthrope, really." Suddenly, he's really glad he's not wearing his beret at the moment. "There's no way I could be this person you're talking about," Thomas stammers, "I mean, I created him in a game ... er, I...." Apparently, Thomas finds himself equally flustered.

"But -- are you some changer, playing a prank on me?" she asks, looking suspicious and annoyed. "Skimbleshanks, I'll have thine ear if thou art teasing me again!"

Thomas' brow arches up. He walks over to the girl so she can get a good look. "I'm not a changer, I'm just a visitor. My name is Thomas Winthrope. Really," Thomas says, turning slowly. "See?" When he faces her again, he runs his hands through his raven hair and says, "I'm terribly sorry for startling you. I think you're mistaking me for someone."

Whisper of Stars lets her expression ease as Tom turns, though she still looks at him a little askance. "As you say. I'll warrant Skimble would ha' done a more precise copy, an' he were jesting with me," she concedes. "But you are very like the images o' the Lord Explorer, an' he has been gone these many long years."

"A more precise copy?" Thomas repeats, digging into his pocket and pulling out his beret he had stuffed there. "The only pictures I've seen here were some wood carvings of guy in a hat like so." Thomas pulls the beret onto his head with a bit of flair and shrugs. "But anyone can wear something like this. It's just a hat, and lots of people are fairly athletic." He offers a small smile. "Sorry if I got your hopes up. I was, in fact, just reading the Chronicle on the Golden Hawks on the shelf. I ... " Thomas searches for the words, finally sighing, "In truth, I don't know if I am this Lord Explorer or not. I'm trying to understand everything that's happened to me. I mean, I'm human, I think. I don't see how I could be the Lord Explorer."

The ice faerie's suspicious look melts to simple confusion, and as he trails off, she laughs, the sound like little icicles tinkling as they break off from evergreen needles. "You are surely a strange one -- e'en Skimble would not ramble so, an' he were hoaxin'. Here, I will show you the image fra' this book. You are by far too young to be the Lord Explorer, Thomas Winthrop, unless he has grown younger instead o' older these fourteen Years gone by." She walks to a table beside one of the chairs, and lays one book down. The other she opens to an illustrated page protected by a sheer sheet on the face. Unlike the woodcut pages, this is on slightly glossy paper. It shows, with photographic quality. a man who looks very much like a grown version of Tom -- perhaps a bit more handsome, taller, and stronger, with less willful hair. He has a daring but determined look in his eye, and standing against the backdrop of distant mountains, he looks very much an adventurer.

Thomas lets out a slow breath. "It's not me," he murmurs softly, tone a mixture of relief and maybe disappointment "It's not me." He looks back to the librarian and says, "Thank you. You've answered something that has been ... bothering me." He takes a couple breath, then asks, "If it's not too much of a bother, do you know what happened to him?"

"Aye," the librarian answers, with a nod. "He left for the mountains in the West, in January of the Thirty-Ninth Year of Mirari. He left to find the Jack o' Hearts, some say, tho' this book would tell you a tale beyond that one." She taps it with one finger. "But whysoe'er he went, he's ne'er returned from the West. 'Twas a sorry end to a great man, especially the way he left."

"How did he leave?" Thomas asks softly.

She gives a soft sigh, like snow melting and running into a river, then turns the pages of the book. "He went to the Court o' All Seasons and told the Queen that Jack o' Hearts was the Year's End come again to Mirari, and he asked the Crown and all the Houses to back him in a hunt for the Warlock. The Lord Explorer said he feared the Year's End might come again the next, an' stir up worse trouble, an' they did not catch him soon."

"They didn't back him, did they?" Thomas asks, then says, "And he was right, you know."

"No, they did not, save the Lord Protector. E'en the other Hawks did not believe him, and tho' they offered to help, he told them not to come unless they believed his cause." She turns another page, absently, not really reading them, then gives a sharp look to Tom. "An' he were right, well then, he must have caught the Jack all on his own, for there's been no trouble in the Years since. Unless ... " She trails off, looking at the curtained window and the dark, wintry landscape beyond.

"It's now," Thomas says, tone even as he walks to the window and looks out. "Their creatures, the jruuh, attacked myself and my friends several times now. The Lord Protector saved us one time. I did not see the Lord Protector, but the others did." He turns and looks at the strange fey woman. "And in the old caves, we were attacked again. We barely escaped that time."

The woman turns to look at him after a pause, her eyes thoughtful. "An' you told me this a month ago, I would not have credited it. But in these Days ... " She closes the book. "I would that the King were here to aid us. He could stop the Houses from their squabbling, and he would know what to do about the Year's End. This is a bad business, indeed. But -- you say you saw the Lord Protector? Where?"

"My world," Thomas replies. "But, we have not seen him since that day," he adds. Thomas turns to look at Whisper, green eyes locking on her. "I came here to learn and understand. Too many unknowns, too many shadows to chase." He waves a hand and says, "Lady Redmane and the others, I do hope they are safe. I haven't spoken to them since the cave."

At his words, the faerie looks disappointed. "It has been too long since any have seen the Lord Protector. I fear we may have seen the last o' him, just like poor Lord Thomas. Tho', mayhaps -- Lord Melchizedek came back from the West when the Lord Explorer did not, so mayhaps he will come back from this, too."

Noting the disappointment, Thomas replies, "Well, I can at least bring you the news that The King is probably alive and well." Tom shrugs. "As for Lord Thomas, perhaps he didn't want to return. After all, even his closest friends did not support him in the end."

The librarian traces her fingers over the embossed cover of the now-closed book. Tom catches a slight sound by the open door, but the faerie doesn't seem to notice. Instead, she looks at him intently. "Do you know where the King is, Thomas Winthrop?"

Thomas' eyes trail to the door. "Not for certain, Lady Whisper," Thomas replies, "What I know may be completely wrong."

The Lord of December stands in the door frame, his arms folded loosely over his chest. He nods his head to Tom, acknowledging the look, and says, "And what he knows, Whisper of Stars, he is keeping to himself -- are you not, Thomas?"

The librarian starts in surprise, whirling about to look at her lord, and drop a low curtsey to him.

"Correct, Lord December," Thomas replies, bowing slightly as well. "I will not endanger the King be revealing what I may, or may not, know until the true villains are exposed. And I must apologize to you, Lord December. I fear I frightened your librarian earlier. She thought I was the Lord Explorer when she found me here looking at the shelves. I couldn't sleep, so I took a short walk and found this place."

The man inclines his head to acknowledge the librarian's curtsey, and Thomas's words. "So I understand. I came to retrieve my books, which my librarian has thoughtfully decided to put away, whether I was done with them or not."

Whisper's cheeks gleam, and she ducks her head, stammering out an apology that Lord December waves off with a small smile.

"Reading up on Explorer Thomas, then, sir? She happened to be returning at least one book on him," Thomas says.

The older man strides on long legs to the table where the other two are gathered. "And your band of companions, Thomas," he answers. "I believe Whisper of Stars was calling to your attention the mysterious disappearance of Lord Melchizedek?"

"She did, yes," Thomas replies, watching the man approach. "My companions, sir? Do you then think I am the Lord Explorer, in some way, then? Or am I misunderstanding your statement?" Thomas inquires.

"You understand me correctly -- which is not to say that I understand these circumstances any better than you do," the wolf-lord answers. He looks at the boy. "You will not find the King for us because the King does not wish to be found. But I think no such obstacle would apply to the Lord Protector. I ask you this: Will you help me find Lord Melchizedek?"

Thomas remains silent for a time, thinking. "Why do you search for him?" Thomas asks, then adding, "And please do not take offense, as it is my duty to defend this beautiful world and its people. For I too, deep down, believe I wm the Lord Explorer as well. Therefore, I will not betray the one person who had faith in me fourteen Years ago. Secondly, I swore my loyalty to the crown, and it remains there. On whose side do you stand? If you are on the side of the King and can prove it, then yes, I will work directly with you in finding him."

As he replies, Thomas feels as if he's standing taller in some way, and the Lord of December watches him, a certain wary respect in his eyes. The librarian takes a step away from both men, her eyes wide and lips parted. December answers, after a moment of thought, "As I am master of this House, let it be known: I stand with Mirari, and against the Year's End. I stand with Mirari, and against the Year's End. I stand with Mirari, and against the Year's End." As he repeats the phrase, Tom has a sense of certain charge to the air, like electricity before a storm. When he finishes, the tension eases. The librarian bows her head to her lord.

"Indeed, Lord December. I believe that you do," Thomas replies, nodding slightly, his green eyes locking with the wolf-lord's yellow ones. "Then we have little time. I think the Jack of Hearts has made himself known to us once again. He thought he had escaped me, but he was wrong; the hunt had never ended. He will stand and face justice." Thomas strides over to the window and looks out, hands clasped behind his back, "The last to have seen the Lord Protector was Angel, at the royal Siege. I do believe he is still in the other world. Perhaps the Jack has trapped him somehow. In any case, we must find him, and quickly." Thomas turns slowly and looks back at the librarian and Lord December and states simply and with a rakish grin, "It's good to be home."

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This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.