Brother's Majere

Chapter 17

Shavas walked the path of crushed white stone that led back to her house, admiring her flowers, whose dew-heavy heads hung over the path. The morning sun glinted off the stained-glass windows. Smiling, she tossed her head, shaking the mass of disheveled hair from her face.

The estate was very quiet, and even the sound of the waterclock was muffled, as if afraid to disturb her. Shavas went to the library, opening the heavy doors, closing them softly behind her. The room was empty. She frowned, wondering. What had she expected to find? The body of a young magic-user, his soul torn from him, dragged to stand before the Dark Queen? Had he truly escaped, proving his power? Or had he simply not tried? Shavas searched the room for some sign of his presence. There was none. The books on her shelf stood undisturbed. Perhaps he hadn’t read them. Perhaps he hadn’t even come.

No. Shavas smiled, and lifted the one book that the mage had not thought to replace, the one book that had seemed innocuous. He’d been here. And he had been triumphant. He was, indeed, worthy.

Shavas carried the book upstairs to her room. Without disrobing, she lay down in her bed. Opening the heavy book, she settled into a comfortable position to read the pages that were no longer blank. On the spine of the text were two words, freshly inlaid with gold: Brothers Majere.

A painting showed two men sitting around a campfire-one a large, handsome warrior; the other thin and frail, dressed in red robes, holding a black staff with a gold dragons claw clutching a pale blue orb. Shavas began to read.

Caramon enjoys guarding Raistlin’s sleep. This is the only time that the mage seems to his brother to be at peace, though occasionally this peace, too, is shattered by disturbing dreams. Caramon has always guarded his weaker brother against the dangers of the world, whether cold, sickness, or more obvious threats. He feels personally responsible for Raistlin’s well-being, though his brother does little to show his appreciation.

The responsibility Caramon feels for his brother stems from their youth. Raistlin’s physical weakness, his high intelligence and naturally sly, cynical nature, made him a target for bullies. Caramon’s timely intervention prevented his frail brother’s injury on several occasions when some of the pranks turned serious. Incapable of understanding the need to abuse the weak and helpless, Caramon became Raistlin’s guardian. Raistlin himself developed a hatred of those who would harm the innocent, the weak. The brothers have championed several such causes in Krynn.

Shavas sighed and bit her lip. Had she misjudged Raistlin? No, how could she? She had felt his ambition burning through his skin. And she had determined correctly that his lust for magic would overcome his lust for the pleasures of the flesh.

The twins are inseparable, always together, yet always apart. Caramon has watched Raistlin grow more moody and introspective even as the warrior himself becomes more outgoing. When Raistlin left to study magic, Caramon saw him change even more. Raistlin discovered that magic could compensate for his physical weakness. Through magic he can control, manipulate, dominate-needs Caramon cannot understand, or rather, has no need to understand.

The fighter is popular. Strong and handsome, he is admired and respected by his peers, most notably the friends of his youth, a rather motley collection of vagabond wanderers. (See volumes: Tanis Half-Elven, Flint Fireforge, Sturm Brightblade, Kitiara Uth-Matar, Tasslehoff Burrfoot.) Among them, Raistlin is tolerated.

Raistlin possess many qualities none of his peers can see. The most prominent is his courage, his willingness to fight those who would rule with an iron fist. This attribute is hidden beneath the young magician’s unfriendly demeanor and cynical attitude.

There have been many times when Raistlin, even as an apprentice mage, successfully unmasked the trickeries and glamours of the clerics of the so-called “new gods,” revealing them to be charlatans of the most parasitic kind, feeding on the fears of the populace.

Raistlin believed none of them and turned their venomous trickeries upon themselves, showing the crowds of awestruck, fear-ridden people that these clerics were as false as their ideals. More than once, Caramon has been forced to pull his brother out of the way of ruined clerics bent on revenge.

Caramon knows, deep inside, that he and his brother are slowly, inevitably drifting apart. Caramon sees that each day brings new power, insights, and magics to Raistlin, though the mages body can barely stand the strain. Caramon has watched his brother cast spells that turn the strongest warrior to ashes, only to see Raistlin collapse with convulsions that wracked his body from inside, bringing blood to his lips.

But each time Raistlin rises from his torment, struggling on arms too weak to lift himself, standing on legs limp with fatigue. And Caramon sees a very faint smile illumine his brother’s face-a smile that speaks of a great spirit unwilling to die, unwilling to let go of mortal flesh until every goal is ultimately achieved.

It is because of this perseverance that Caramon knows he must admit ultimate defeat at the hands of his brother, though he rails against the thought. The vision at the Towers of High Sorcery- showing that Raistlin, in his jealous rage, was willing to kill even his twin-was the death knoll of Caramon’s fond dreams.

“Ah,” murmured Shavas. “Now we’re getting somewhere. More detailed information please.”

The book obliged, adding a new page before the woman’s eyes.

No one knows for certain how Raistlin managed to pass the test, for the mysteries of the Tower are hidden even to me. Certainly the young mage was nearly defeated in a contest with a dark elf known as Dalamar. It is thought that Raistlin traded his life’s essence for his life. If that is true, then on some plane of existence there is a powerful being who watches over and protects the young mage-not out of kindness, perhaps, but to protect the beings own interests.

Shavas closed the book for a moment, her fingers keeping her place. If that were true, it might hinder her plans. Or it might help them, depending on the nature of the protector. She wished she’d known this information earlier. Now there was so little time. Shavas returned to her reading.

At the end of the test, the masters arranged it so that it seemed to Raistlin that his twin, Caramon, was endowed with magic. In a jealous rage, thinking his brother had stolen the only thing in the mage’s unhappy life that gave it any meaning, Raistlin killed Caramon. Actually, it was only a phantom of Caramon, created by the masters. But Par-Salian, Head of the White Robes, had also arranged for Caramon to watch his own murder at the hands of his twin. When the brothers left the Towers, their lives were forever changed. Raistlin has the power he seeks, but all Caramon has is time.

Shavas tossed the book to the floor. Leaning back among the pillows, she began to laugh.

That same morning, Lord Brunswick sat in his favorite chair in his estate’s main living room, a spacious area covered with dark wood and filled with the accoutrements of wealth and power. The minister watched his children play with cold eyes, running his fingers along the length and width of a leather bag, shaped like an oddly formed triangle.

His youngest daughter ran over to him and grabbed the pouch. “What’s that, Daddy?”

The lord slapped her across the face, pulling the bag away. “Don’t touch that, brat!”

The girl wailed and ran to her mother. The lord’s wife, comforting the child, stared at her husband, aghast. “Alfred! What’s come over you?”

The minister refused to answer, but stalked out of the room, slamming the double-doors behind him. He heard the muffled voice of the woman consoling the child. “There, there. Tonight’s the Festival of the Eye. Think of the fun you’ll have!”

The lord grinned. Yes, tonight the fun would begin.

The large house was dark. None of the rooms were occupied, the servants gone for the holiday. Brunswick walked through it hurriedly and into the grassy yard, clutching the bag to his chest.

Tucking the pouch away under his belt, the lord strode through the field surrounding his home, coming upon one of the many streams that ran out the city. He followed the tributary against the flow, walking steadily, with purpose, into Mereklar.

Lord Brunswick came to a park with a small grove of trees standing in the middle-a monument to his family. He stood, staring at it, then laughed in derision.

A small mew answered his laugh. At the foot of the tree was a kitten, lost, looking, perhaps, for a mother who would never return. The lord reached down and grabbed the kitten by the neck. Frantic with fright, the kitten clawed and scratched and sank its sharp milk teeth into the lord’s thumb.

Swearing, the minister hurled the kitten from him. Brunswick concentrated on the pain; the blood dried, and the wound closed and healed.

Lord Brunswick’s face darkened. He took the pouch from under his belt, tore open the flap, and pulled out a short wand, bent to an odd angle at one end. He pointed the wand at the kitten.

An enraged snarl, sounding from above his head, caused the lord to glance upward in fear. Too late. A huge black cat dropped from the tree, its weight driving the man to the ground. The wand flew from Brunswick’s hand. The animal bared its long fangs, preparing to tear out the man’s throat.

The minister, with superhuman strength, threw the animal off his chest. Leaping to his feet, he crouched in a fighting stance.

The huge feline slowly circled to the left, the lord sidestepping in turn. Man and beast eyed each other warily, their bright, reflecting eyes shining. In a single motion, the minister shot forward, attempting to grab the cat by the neck, but the animal was too quick. It leaped aside and jumped on the man’s back.

The minister fought desperately, attempting to dislodge the panther by reaching up from behind. The cat worried the lord in the back of the neck, using its hind claws to flay his flesh, tearing bleeding rents that should have killed the man in an instant.

The minister fell heavily, his hand lighting on an object on the ground. There was a blazing flash of red light. The panther, stunned, toppled off the man. Lord Brunswick, reddish liquid pouring from his wounds, rose up and narrowed his eyes, concentrating his vision on the enemy before him. Another flash of red seared the skin from the panther’s back. The cat made no sound; the pain shook it back to consciousness. It leaped again, straight at its enemy, but the minister had suddenly disappeared.

The panther began to stalk the grove, casting its gaze about. It walked slowly, head sunk beneath its shoulders in fury. It made no sound until it whipped around, sinking its foreclaws into the arm of the minister as he reached out to aim the wand. The man’s mangled arm went limp, and the wand fell from his nerveless fingers.

The lord, in desperation, attempted to grab the animal by the neck with his remaining good arm. The panther freed himself easily. Crouching on its hind legs, gathering strength, it sprang for the man’s throat, white teeth flashing.

A scream, a ripping sound, and a blood-drenched necklace rolled on the grass-a silver cat’s skull with ruby eyes.