Umber

Corwin travels to Rastor to meet a new mentor, to find something he didn’t expect. (af, sab)

One day during the adventurers’ lengthy rest after defeating Moloch and restoring the multiverse, Corwin received a message from his old teacher in Rastor: A new master with skills that I believe well-suited to you has joined the Assembly. If you are interested, you should return there at your earliest convenience.

Without mentioning it to the others, he traveled to Rastor to learn more about this “new master.” As he approached, his old teacher, now going by the name ‘Legifer’, called out to him. “Ah! I am glad that you have come so quickly. I am certain that you will be interested in what you are about to see.” He led Corwin to the front door, on which a new, very sophisticated, lock had been recently installed. His body hid the manipulations he made to open the door, though Corwin did notice a faint light play about him as he worked the mechanism. The door swung open with a creak, and Legifer walked inside.

On Corwin’s left was a door that led to a hallway of administration rooms where he knew Legifer’s office was, and on the far side of the room before him was the entrance to the dormitories. Legifer walked to the latter, saying “Just a moment. I will fetch our new member.” He disappeared into the doorway, closing it behind him.

After a few moments, the door to the administrative hallway opened. Legifer stepped out, saying, “Corwin! It’s good to see you! But… how did you get past the lock? Have you already defeated the mechanism? Please tell me that this is not so!”

“I cannot be dishonest with you,” Corwin replied, “I did not make it in here alone. You are brought to where you are meant to be, sometimes. I’m here to learn about our new member, who may be able to teach a somewhat different path.”

Legifer replied, “Our new member… how could you possibly have known of him? I was in the middle of writing a letter to you, telling you about him, just now… Ah. I see. Come with me.”

He turned abruptly back to his office, where someone sat in the chair at the far end of his room. He turned his head. It was…Corwin, who jumped to his feet, drawing Torment. “What trickery is this?” he demanded.

Rapidly Corwin scanned his duplicate. At first he found numerous flaws, but then quickly realized that it was because he was used to looking at himself in a mirror, while this stranger was not a mirror image. Instead, his form was identical in every way – scars, wrinkles, coloring… everything.

Legifer looked back and forth between the two of them, sighed, and sat heavily in his chair.

“I would guess that you are the trickster, not I.” The real Corwin began probing for cracks in the disguise. “That is a fine blade you hold there; tell me, what were the components used in its creation? What elf would forge such a thinblade?”

“Oh ho, you seek to trick me, do you?” the other replied. “Then you must know that it was no elf, but a master dwarven smith that created this blade, from the leaves of a very special tree, and whom furthermore challenged me in combat to prove my worthiness. In the end, he cheated, which drove our most honorable paladin to strike the final killing blow. Such is life. Do you have a similar such blade? If so, I will place mine on the table before us, and we can compare them. For this sword is absolutely unique; therefore at least one of ours must be a fake.”

“Torment is indeed unique,” Corwin replied, thinking of the deleterious result when anyone else attempted to wield it. “In fact, it is quite comfortable in my hand. I would hope that only one of ours is the real thing, as opposed to ‘at least one of ours’, but no matter. I’ll place my blade on the table here, and we can inspect them. I hope you don’t mind that I give yours a few swings to ensure its lack of authenticity?”

The stranger studied him carefully. “I feel that you are making this offer in an attempt to trick me, but I trust my eye to notice any petty deception.” He reached forward with the blade, hilt-first, towards the table, clearly slowing for Corwin to do the same.

Corwin set Torment on the table, unsheathed. “Like it or not, I find I have an honorable – or at least respectful – streak towards many, including those in this building. I trust that Legifer is sharp enough to notice any attempt at slight of hand or trickery. Perhaps we’ll even have him swing the blades and give us his impression of them.”
 

Legifer shuddered slightly at that suggestion.

The Corwin-double smiled and said, “By your action – the releasing of your blade – I have learned all that I needed to know. Thank you.” He bowed slightly, his facial features wavering a bit like wax softening slowly under the midday sun. “I have come to this place, at this time, for a very specific reason. Would you like to know what it is?”

“Indeed I do,” Corwin replied. “It is why I have come here.”

He stepped forward, form flowing rapidly. His hair lengthened, facial features flattened; he became shorter, and female. And T’lar stood before Corwin, her full strength revealed. Arcs of power raced up and down her body and a ferocious wind  blew. Scraps of paper from Legifer’s desk were sucked into the maelstrom that surrounded her, flaring and turning to ash, and blowing away before they touched her body. “Fool!” she shouted, “Pawns and fools, each of you! We walk daily amongst you and you do not so much as blink! Kneel before Us, slaves all!”

Then abruptly, his form switched back to that of a normal man, stocky and perhaps five and a half feet tall. His hair and eyes were a nondescript brown, and he was wholly unremarkable. “Fire, with fire,” he said, “is how we must fight. They prey on ignorance when they can, breed mistrust and suspicion when they must. They do walk everywhere, see most everything, like rats peeking out from beneath the wainscoting. Like rats, they are often physically weak, as you have found. But they cloud minds and turn even strong men and women into puppets. Until recently, they have not had a single significant setback for over two hundred years. Cunningly, they spread their reach. Perhaps even the resurgence of the Cult of Entropy is sponsored by them – creating a real and present foe for us to focus on, while they work in the shadows.

“It is time for us to fight back. Fire, with fire. I apologize for my deception. I needed you to put down Torment, so I could read your true self. The skills I offer to teach are significant – too significant to be given away lightly. I needed to know that you follow the path of Order, without mercy, but also without contempt. This is the incorruptible path.”

“Stay true to your current course, and I will teach you all I know. Stray, and your life would be forfeit. What say you?”