Disclaimer: Diadem: Worlds of Magic does NOT belong to me. It belongs to Peel and his publishers, currently Llewellyn Worldwide. I highly respect his work and am making no profit from this, nor do I intend for this piece of fan fiction to interfere with his profits.
Author's Note: Takes place sometime after Book of Nightmares and before Book of War
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Diadem: Book of Thoughts
CHAPTER 2: “Reunions”
by Luna
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Shanara awoke with a cry, her heart frantic and her chest breathing hard. Outside her castle walls the dark night of Rawn was calm, contrasting in every way from the sorceress’s mood. She had felt her powers reduced, as if one of her spells had been yanked violently away from her soul. She tried to still her fears. A magic-user with that much raw power targeting her was more than unwelcome; it was a death omen.
In her day she was undisputedly the most powerful sorceresses in her circuit of the Diadem, but she was far past her prime. With her powers of transformation and shape shifting, no one would suspect her as a day over twenty, but her insides knew better. Her magic was not as potent as it once was. In her present condition, a rival, young, upstart with the right amount of power could overthrow her reign. She quickly put on one of her full-length, figure fitting dresses and yelled to her familiar.
“Blink! You lazy, fat, good for nothing panda! Get up!"
“Oh bother! What now?” whined Blink; his voice was horse with sleep. He had been sleeping on top of his little padded tower, as usual. With his red-maroon fur and the humble size of a small housecat, Blink was obviously not an average panda. "Are those three friends of yours in trouble again?"
"Perhaps, but that is not what is troubling me. We have a threat of our own to deal with.”
“Eh?!” For once, Blink became fully alert without the use of a bribe. “What threat? Dragons? Unicorn revolt? Rogue magician?”
“Someone disrupted my containing spell. We must check the scrying pool. So, get up and help me get to work, or you’ll never taste another meal."
Blink scowled. It wasn’t bad enough having to be woken up in the middle of the night, but he had to (shudder) work before breakfast. Reluctantly, he heaved himself into a seated potion.
"All right then. The sooner you find out what happened to your spell, the sooner I can eat." Blink climbed down his tower and despite his pudgy figure, scurried gracefully up Shanara’s shoulder with the ease of an acrobat.
Shanara could feel Blink’s energy flow within her. With their magical powers thus combined, there was little they could not call forth in the scrying pool. When infused with enough magic and the guidance of a skilled magician, the pool could show any scene from the recent past or present in the entire realm of the Diadem.
“What are we searching for?” asked Blink.
“A large sphere, ten feet across, made of Chisal crystal and hollow within,” said Shanara with so much steel in her voice that Blink dared not complain anymore.
"Which world?"
"This one."
An image rippled onto the pool. There appeared the crystal globe, but it had a large, three foot crack down its middle. Blink felt reminded of a broken egg, making his stomach growl.
Shanara had a look of pure horror on her face. "By the Deep Magic, I am too late!"
“Whatever is the matter? What was in the sphere?” asked Blink, genuinely concerned.
"Never mind!" snapped Shanara, surprising Blink. "Just keep concentrating on the pool."
Promptly, another image appeared. It was that of a boy, perhaps only ten years of age. By the light of the twin moons they could make out his face. His hair was jet-black and he smiled a devilish grin. He was adorned in a warm fur coat and was climbing steadily up an ice topped mountain, heading strait for Shanara’s polar palace. Suddenly, the pool went black.
“What in the worlds!?” shouted Blink. "That’s never happened before!"
“We must leave, quickly!” shouted Shanara, ignoring Blink’s questions.
Without warning the door to the study burst open. Out stepped the boy, triumph on his face.
“Hello, Mother,” he said. “Remember me?"
Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
