Sunday, October 30, 2005

Mall of Mâvarin, Part Thirty-Three

Well, I wanted to finish this tonight, and yee-haw! I've done it! Finally! It's long, but that just makes up for the short ones. Can I have that VIVI Award now? ;) - Karen

The easiest way to catch up on past installments of this serial is here on Messages from Mâvarin at http://mavarin.blogspot.com. However, all links in this entry are to AOL unless otherwise labeled. This is because I'm up for an award over there for "Best Fiction/Poetry Journal If you have an AOL or AIM screen name, you can vote for me, if you do it today (10/30/05). After that, it's all over for another year.

Synopses to Parts One through Six can be found at the top of Part Seven. Synopses to Parts Eight through Thirteen can be found at the top of Part Fourteen. Synopses to Parts Fourteen through Eighteen are at the top of Part Nineteen. Synopses to Parts Nineteen through Twenty-Five can be found at the top of Part Twenty-Six. The installments themselves can be read in order on Blogspot using the sidebar, or on AOL from the links at the bottom of this entry.

Part Twenty-Six: Cathma and Cathy wonder why they haven't lost consciousness with everyone else.

Part Twenty-Seven: Cathy and Cathma belatedly collapse and faint, much as the others did. They find themselves in a place without physical bodies, surrounded by a thousand versions of themselves. The only person present who doesn't have their face is Joshua Wander.

Part Twenty-Eight: Cathma is pretty sure they're in something called the subjective plane. Joshua Wander is pretty sure he's meant to be their guide. The other versions of Cathy and Cathma disappear, leaving just the two of them to work out the answer to Josh's question: which one of them will be the one to return home?

Part Twenty-Nine: Joshua Wander explains that there is an imbalance in magic between the worlds, which can only be solved by someone relocating to the other person's world - permanently. However, the explanation makes no sense, and Cathy doesn't believe it.

Part Thirty: Cathy refuses to sacrifice her normal life on the basis of what she's hearing. Angered by the lack of cooperation, "Joshua Wander" disappears, replaced by Cathma's self-proclaimed "oldest enemy" - Imuselti, former royal mage to a family of usurpers.

Part Thirty-One: Based on her secondhand memories of who Imuselti is, Cathy realizes that the man in this no-place knows things that the real Imuselti would not know, such as who the Beatles were. She begins to suspect that of all she sees and hears around her, "nothing is real," and nothing to get hung about.

Part Thirty-Two: Although the identity of the man making the offer remains in doubt, Cathy becomes convinced that unless she signs a blood oath agreeing to give up any chance of going home, she may never even leave this no-place in which she's trapped. She signs the oath, but only in exchange for a promise that everyone else "who wants to go home, will go home." Shortly afterward, she finds herself back in the mall in Mâvarin, surrounded by family, friends and cold pizza.



Part Thirty-Three: Croatoan

Art by SherlockCathy’s reaction to what Cathma had said must have showed on her face, because Carl frowned. “Thanks for doing what? What is she talking about, Cath?”

“She’s thanking me for sacrificing my chance to go home, so that other people can get there, and so that I wouldn’t be trapped nowhere at all,” Cathy said, a little bitterly. She pushed the pizza plate away.

Carl stared at her. “You did that, too?”

“What?”

“I was just in this weird dreamland place, all dark, just me and, well, more of me, and King Carli, and this other guy. Were you really there with me, Your Majesty?”

King Carli nodded. “That’s what I remember. Yes.”

“And I agreed to stay behind, too, just as you say you did. I even signed something called a blood oath.”

“Okay, so we were both maneuvered into giving up our lives in the real world,” Cathy said. “But we did it under duress. Isn’t there a way out of it?”

“Not if you took a blood oath, no,” said Fayubi. “Violating one of those has lethal consequences. Fabian and I had a similar experience, but we didn’t agree to anything.” He looked around. “Oh, and I’m myself again. For whatever reason.”

Jamie Barrett nodded. “Whatever that was, a dream or weird astral plane or something else, it straightened the two of us out, too. But nothing was said about giving up on going home. How could you two do that? I thought I raised you better than that. What about high school, your friends, your college plans, to say nothing of my feelings in the matter? What about the rest of your lives?”

“It looked as though I wasn’t going to get a chance to go home, regardless,” Cathy said. “I thought if I did this, at least you and Carl, Randy, the two teachers and everyone else could go home, even if I couldn’t.” She turned to Carl. “But no, you had to be all self-sacrificing too, didn’t you?”

“What, am I not allowed to do something heroic, and try to help my family, too?” Carl asked. “Are you sorry that we’re in this fix together?”

“Well, no,” Cathy admitted. “I think I’m grateful.”

“So what do we do now?” Jamie asked.

Jami Baret pointed to the other end of the food court, where Lee and Li and Josh Wander had just appeared around a corner, followed by Randy and Rani. “I think we’re about to find out,” Jami said.

The new arrivals looked around, apparently spotted the twins and their friends, waved, and hurried over. “I think we’ve got the portal working the way it’s supposed to work,” Li said.

Josh was all smiles. “It seems to be working great, in fact. Some of the Americans have gone home already, feeling almost completely like their old selves again. Are you folks ready to go?”

Cathy stood up. She was shaking with anger. “How dare you even ask me that? Where do you expect me to go?”

“Why, home to DeWitt, of course.” The itinerant magician looked around at all the angry faces directed at him. His smile fell away. “What’s the matter?” he asked. “What’s happened here?”

Cathy told him.

“Well, that wasn’t I,” Josh told her. “I suppose it could have been a different Joshua Wander.”

Carli Carl frowned. “A different one? How many are there?”

“At least two others that I know about,” said JW. “One of them is a pretty nasty character, much more insane than I ever was. He seems to think he can only get home if he can deprive other people of the same opportunity.” His lips parted. “Oh, my. I should have thought of this before. He could have caused this whole mess.”

Li shook his head. “I really don’t think so. This was at least mostly my fault.”

“He took advantage of the situation then, at the very least,” Josh said. “As I told you, he’s insane. He even tried to steal my daughter from me once. Fortunately, Ariel was too smart to fall for his tricks.”

“You have a daughter?” Cathy asked. “You didn’t mention that before. Where is she?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you about her? I thought I had. She’s in school, most of the time, but she’s inherited her dad’s tendency to wander the multiverse as well.”

“Where does she go to school, then?”

“Croatoan College. It’s a wonderful place, sort of an educational Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon, except with fewer puns.” He looked at Cathy and Carl in turn. “You know,” he said thoughtfully, “you two would probably fit right in there.”

There were a number of discussions that followed Joshua Wander’s idea, an argument or two over whether Jami or Randy or both would accompany Cathy and Carl into their new life, and more than a few tears when it was decided that both would return to DeWitt instead. Then it was time for everyone to say their goodbyes. Large portions of the mall had already vanished, presumably back to DeWitt, by the time Jamie, Randy and the two teachers walked away through the portal’s nexus point and disappeared.

“You know, despite all the trouble it caused, I like this shopping mall,” Fayubi said. “I’m rather sorry to see it go.”

Cathma chuckled. “Well, perhaps you and Mera can open your own little outlet mall. But not tonight. It’s been a long day, and Carli and I really need to get back to the Palace. Will we ever see you again, Cathy?”

Cathy shrugged, but Fayubi said, “I’m pretty sure Cathy and Carl will make a return appearance here – but probably not for quite a while. In my vision, they’re at least ten years older than they are now.”

“Really? What else can you tell us?” Carl asked eagerly.

Fayubi shook his head. “Nothing. What little I’ve seen would not help you now. But at least you know you will survive your adventures, for the next decade at the very least.”

Art by Sherlock, mostly. This was not exactly encouraging, but Cathma reassured Cathy that Fayubi meant well. There was one more round of goodbyes, and then the Mâvarinû were gone, leaving behind only Cathy, Carl and Joshua Wander. Even the last of the mall had disappeared.

“Now what?” Carl said.

“I’ll take you in my castle,” Josh said. “Ariel will be pleased to meet someone from her dad’s home town—I hope!”

Hand in hand, the twins followed Joshua Wander into the blue castle, now restored to its full size. Joshua fiddled with what looked like a box of rocks, and said words that sounded like Lopartin, the vaguely Latinesque spell-tongue used in Mâvarin and Mâton. Cathy was pretty sure she heard the name Ariel mentioned. This time there was little sensation of movement, but in a few minutes the castle’s front hall was suddenly filled with a pleasant green light. “Ah! Here we are,” Josh said happily. “Are you ready for your new lives?”

“I guess we have to be,” Carl said. He didn’t sound too upset about it, though.

Josh opened the castle’s front door into Technicolor sunshine – and an entirely new adventure.


The End



Welcome to Mâvarin

Use the sidebar here on BlogSpot to get to the individual installments of this serial and other fiction.

This serial on AOL:

Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five
Part Six Part Seven Part Eight Part Nine Part Ten
Part Eleven Part Twelve Part Thirteen Part Fourteen
Part Fifteen Part Sixteen Part Seventeen Part Eighteen
Part Nineteen Part Twenty Part Twenty-One Part Twenty-Two
Part Twenty-Three Part Twenty-Four Part Twenty-Five Part Twenty-Six
Part Twenty-Seven Part Twenty-Eight
Part Twenty-Nine Part Thirty Part Thirty-One Part Thirty-Two

Next week: New Adventure! Or something.

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Mall of Mâvarin, Part Thirty-Two

Sorry, Vince. I barely even started this entry before 1 AM.


The easiest way to catch up on past installments of this serial is here on Messages from Mâvarin. Synopses to Parts One through Six can be found at the top of Part Seven. Synopses to Parts Eight through Thirteen can be found at the top of Part Fourteen. Synopses to Parts Fourteen through Eighteen are at the top of Part Nineteen. Synopses to Parts Nineteen through Twenty-Five can be found at the top of Part Twenty-Six. The installments themselves can be read in order on Blogspot using the sidebar.

Part Twenty-Six: Cathma and Cathy wonder why they haven't lost consciousness with everyone else.

Part Twenty-Seven: Cathy and Cathma belatedly collapse and faint, much as the others did. They find themselves in a place without physical bodies, surrounded by a thousand versions of themselves. The only person present who doesn't have their face is Joshua Wander.


Part Twenty-Eight: Cathma is pretty sure they're in something called the subjective plane. Joshua Wander is pretty sure he's meant to be their guide. The other versions of Cathy and Cathma disappear, leaving just the two of them to work out the answer to Josh's question: which one of them will be the one to return home?


Part Twenty-Nine: Joshua Wander explains that there is an imbalance in magic between the worlds, which can only be solved by someone relocating to the other person's world - permanently. However, the explanation makes no sense, and Cathy doesn't believe it.


Part Thirty: Cathy refuses to sacrifice her normal life on the basis of what she's hearing. Angered by the lack of cooperation, "Joshua Wander" disappears, replaced by Cathma's self-proclaimed "oldest enemy" - Imuselti, former royal mage to a family of usurpers.


Part Thirty-One: Based on her secondhand memories of who Imuselti is, Cathy realizes that the man in this no-place knows things that the real Imuselti would not know, such as who the Beatles were. She begins to suspect that of all she sees and hears around her, "nothing is real," and nothing to get hung about.



Part Thirty-Two: Escape from Nowhere

Art by Sherlock“I don't want to get esoteric, but what do you mean by real?” Cathma asked. “Do you mean he’s not Imuselti, or that he’s not a person, or that he’s not physically present, wherever this is?”

“I’m not sure,” Cathy admitted. “But I don’t think this is your subjective plane. That’s supposed to be about truth. This place seems to be about lies.”

“Well, I haven’t lied to you,” Cathma pouted.

“Haven’t you?”

“No. And I’m real, whatever you may think.”

“Maybe you are, and maybe you aren’t,” Cathy said. “I’m not sure I really care at this point. I just want out.”

“Fine. So do I. How?”

Cathy turned to the male figure, who still looked like a smirking Imuselti.” “Right. How do we get out of here?”

“Oh, no,” said the man. “I’m not real, remember? So how can I be expected to tell you anything useful?”

“You were full of advice, until I questioned what you said. Whoever or whatever you are, I think you must have the information I need. Now tell me!”

“Or what? Is this where you shout that we’re nothing but a pack of cards? What do you want from me, ruby slippers?”

“What is he talking about?” Cathma asked.

“He’s talking about the worst possible ending to any story,” Cathy said bitterly. “And then she woke up, and it was all a dream.”

“Maybe it is a dream,” Cathma said. “We did see the others go unconscious.”

“Maybe. I just want back into the world.”

“Which world? Yours or mine?”

“I’ll settle for either one to start with,” Cathy said.

“Okay. Now we’re back to the question of how to do it.”

“If you give up, I’ll let you go,” the man said. “Not home, but I will get you out of this place of nothing.”

“Give up what?” Cathy asked suspiciously.

“Your life in what you thought was the real world,” the man said. “Agree to that in a blood oath, and you’ll be back in Mâvarin.”

“How do I know I can’t get out on my own?”

“Well, you’re certainly doing a good job of it so far,” the man said.

“And how can I trust you to do this?”

“If we sign a blood oath, we are bound by its terms,” the man said. “That’s how it works. And that’s true whether I’m real, as you put it, or not.”

Cathy turned to Cathma. “What do you think?”

“I think a blood oath is a tricky thing, but effective,” Cathma said. “The one Rani did probably saved my life. Just read it over very carefully, if you do it at all.”

Cathy thought about this. Ever since arriving in this non-place, she’d been trying to think of a way out. But pinching, shouting, opening her eyes, a good scare, even waiting things out, as she’d threatened to do – none of these things were likely to get her anywhere. And would it really be so bad, living in another world? Cathma seemed to like the place. It was more interesting than DeWitt, anyway. But still….

“I’m sorry, but that’s not a good enough inducement for signing my life away,” Cathy said. “I may yet wake up from this. Or something. And I want the others to be able to get home, even if I can’t. Can you promise that?”

“Everyone who wants to go home, will go home, except you,” the man said. Sometime in the last minute or two, he had reverted to looking like Joshua Wander. “And that’s a blood oath promise,” he added.

“Show me what I have to sign,” Cathy said.

Ten minutes later, according to the watch on her recently-insubstantial wrist, Cathy opened her eyes again, this time for real. She was at the table in the Mall in Mâvarin. The cold-congealed remnant of a slice of pizza lay on a paper plate in front of her. Around her, Carl and Carli, Uncle Jamie and the rest were just waking up.

“Thank you for doing this,” Cathma said.


Welcome to Mâvarin


Messages from Mâvarin (use sidebar to get to the individual installments).

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Mall of Mâvarin, Part Thirty-One

Tonight's installment is an interruption to my main project of the night, typing up several handwritten scenes into the 35th and final chapter of Mages of Mâvarin. I've entered 5 1/2 pages so far, and I have at least nine pages of handwritten text still to do, not counting the part I skipped over. (Guess I won't be finishing it tonight, Sara. Sorry!) Now I only have seven minutes to post - oops, six now - by my self-imposed deadline. So if this thing goes out only one paragraph long, you'll know why.


The easiest way to catch up on past installments of this serial is here on Messages from Mâvarin. Synopses to Parts One through Six can be found at the top of Part Seven. Synopses to Parts Eight through Thirteen can be found at the top of Part Fourteen. Synopses to Parts Fourteen through Eighteen are at the top of Part Nineteen. Synopses to Parts Nineteen through Twenty-Five can be found at the top of Part Twenty-Six. The installments themselves can be read in order on Blogspot using the sidebar.

Part Twenty-Six: Cathma and Cathy wonder why they haven't lost consciousness with everyone else.

Part Twenty-Seven: Cathy and Cathma belatedly collapse and faint, much as the others did. They find themselves in a place without physical bodies, surrounded by a thousand versions of themselves. The only person present who doesn't have their face is Joshua Wander.

Part Twenty-Eight: Cathma is pretty sure they're in something called the subjective plane. Joshua Wander is pretty sure he's meant to be their guide. The other versions of Cathy and Cathma disappear, leaving just the two of them to work out the answer to Josh's question: which one of them will be the one to return home?

Part Twenty-Nine: Joshua Wander explains that there is an imbalance in magic between the worlds, which can only be solved by someone relocating to the other person's world - permanently. However, the explanation makes no sense, and Cathy doesn't believe it.

Part Thirty: Cathy refuses to sacrifice her normal life on the basis of what she's hearing. Angered by the lack of cooperation, "Joshua Wander" disappears, replaced by Cathma's self-proclaimed "oldest enemy" - Imuselti, former royal mage to a family of usurpers.


Part Thirty-One: Nobody Knows

Art by SherlockCathy looked through her second-hand memories for Imuselti. He wasn’t hard to find. The former (and deceased?) royal mage had been involved in pretty much everything bad that had ever happened to Cathma.

“Wait a minute, though,” Cathy said. “This can’t really be Imuselti, can it? Isn’t he dead?”

“Technically, yes,” Cathma said, “but only in my reality. He’s still alive elsewhere.”

“But this can’t be him, can it?” Cathy said. “Whoever we were talking to before knew about the Beatles's music, and other stuff that Josh knows. Would Imuselti know those things, especially one from Rani Lunder’s world?”

Cathma stared at her. “You’re right,” she said. “That doesn’t make sense. So who is he?”

The man only smiled at them.

“I don’t know,” Cathy admitted. “Maybe he isn’t real at all.”


Welcome to Mâvarin

Messages from Mâvarin (use sidebar to get to the individual installments)

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Mall of Mâvarin, Part Thirty

Someday this story will end, and I will rejoice. But I sure as heck don't know when or how.

The easiest way to catch up on past installments of this serial is here on Messages from Mâvarin. Synopses to Parts One through Six can be found at the top of Part Seven. Synopses to Parts Eight through Thirteen can be found at the top of Part Fourteen. Synopses to Parts Fourteen through Eighteen are at the top of Part Nineteen. Synopses to Parts Nineteen through Twenty-Five can be found at the top of Part Twenty-Six. The installments themselves can be read in order on Blogspot using the sidebar.


Part Twenty-Six: Cathma and Cathy wonder why they haven't lost consciousness with everyone else.


Part Twenty-Seven: Cathy and Cathma belatedly collapse and faint, much as the others did. They find themselves in a place without physical bodies, surrounded by a thousand versions of themselves. The only person present who doesn't have their face is Joshua Wander.


Part Twenty-Eight: Cathma is pretty sure they're in something called the subjective plane. Joshua Wander is pretty sure he's meant to be their guide. The other versions of Cathy and Cathma disappear, leaving just the two of them to work out the answer to Josh's question: which one of them will be the one to return home?


Part Twenty-Nine: Joshua Wander explains that there is an imbalance in magic between the worlds, which can only be solved by someone relocating to the other person's world - permanently. However, the explanation makes no sense, and Cathy doesn't believe it.



Part Thirty: Who Are You?

Art by Sherlock“Well, I reject the whole premise,” said Cathy. “The fate of two worlds can’t possibly depend on whether or not I relocate to Mâvarin. For all I know, I may just be dreaming. Or you could just be lying.”

“Besides, it’s generally agreed that two versions of the same person shouldn’t spend too much time together,” Cathma said. “Who was the other mage who told you all this?”

“I didn’t catch his name,” said Joshua Wander. “But he seemed to know what he was talking about.”

“Did Li know him?” Cathma asked.

Josh shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, I’m not going to trust some stranger to tell me what to do with the rest of my life,” Cathy said.

“What is your alternative?” Josh asked. “How do you expect to get out of here, without doing what you’ve been brought here to do?”

The man had a point. It was all very well to stand firm and refuse to be pushed around by, well, whoever or whatever was trying to do this to her. It was quite another to actually get home.

“I’m going to sit here and wait until the scenery changes,” Cathy said.

“Aren’t you being a little selfish?” Cathma asked. “You may be trapping me in here with you, possibly forever.”

“I don’t care. That explanation makes no sense, and I refuse to be persuaded by it.”

“I guess that’s it, then,” said Cathma. “Sorry, Josh. If you can get us out of here, you should, because there’s nothing more to be accomplished in this non-place.”

“You people are so stubborn!” said Josh disgustedly. “Aren’t there any worlds in which you do as you’re told?”

“What are you talking about?” Cathma asked. Then her eyes narrowed, and she stared at Joshua Wander—if it was Joshua Wander. There was a look of malice in his eyes that did not go with the easygoing itinerant mage Cathy had met earlier in the day. “Who are you, really?” Cathma asked.

“Why, I’m your oldest enemy, my dear,” said the man. The figure of Joshua Wander faded away. Another man took his place, an elderly, white-haired man with piercing blue eyes.

“Imuselti. I should have guessed it was you,” said Cathma.



Welcome to Mâvarin

Use sidebar to get to past installments of this serial and other fiction.

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Mall of Mâvarin, Part Twenty-Nine

This is going to be a relatively short one. Sorry. I've been distracted all day and all night with sleeping in, comment spam, the Vivi Awards, a little shopping, a little laundry, My Favorite Year (with and without commentary) and Buffy Season Six, more or less in that order.

The easiest way to catch up on past installments of this serial is here on Messages from Mâvarin. Synopses to Parts One through Six can be found at the top of Part Seven. Synopses to Parts Eight through Thirteen can be found at the top of Part Fourteen. Synopses to Parts Fourteen through Eighteen are at the top of Part Nineteen. Synopses to Parts Nineteen through Twenty-Five can be found at the top of Part Twenty-Six. The installments themselves can be read in order on Blogspot using the sidebar.


Part Twenty-Six: Cathma and Cathy wonder why they haven't lost consciousness with everyone else.


Part Twenty-Seven: Cathy and Cathma belatedly collapse and faint, much as the others did. They find themselves in a place without physical bodies, surrounded by a thousand versions of themselves. The only person present who doesn't have their face is Joshua Wander.


Part Twenty-Eight: Cathma is pretty sure they're in something called the subjective plane. Joshua Wander is pretty sure he's meant to be their guide. The other versions of Cathy and Cathma disappear, leaving just the two of them to work out the answer to Josh's question: which one of them will be the one to return home?



Part Twenty-Nine: Give It Up

Art by Sherlock“What are you talking about?” Cathy said. “Why wouldn’t I be able to go home, assuming Li and Lee get the spell working properly?”

“And I’m already home,” Cathma added. “The Palace is only a twenty minute walk away.” Looking around in the dark nothingness, she faltered a little. “At least it was until a moment ago.”

“Oh, it still is, relative to your real body,” Joshua Wander assured her. “And I grant you, this will be easier if Cathy is the one who gives up her world.”

“I should think so,” Cathma said. “She’s not home already, and she doesn’t have a country to run.” She looked at Cathy apologetically. “Sorry, but you don’t.”

Et tu, Cathma?” Cathy said, a little bitterly. “I don’t believe this. Why shouldn’t I go home? I’m nobody very important at home, but I do have family and friends, and plans and dreams and all that stuff. Why should I be asked to give that up? Why should anyone be asked to do it? Everyone should go home.”

“Maybe so,” said Josh, “but just before I appeared here, I was talking to Li and some other mage who arrived to help. This other guy told us that the problem is one of balance. Dewitt has already absorbed too much magic to be put right easily, and everyone who has been to Mâvarin has already absorbed magic into themselves. That’s how Lee and Fabian managed to do spells. The world you come from can’t take everyone back without further damage.”

“But why should I be left behind? Why not one of the people who have actually done magic? I’m as normal as Cathma, if not more so. How can my arrival back home hurt anything?”

“Alternatively, how would my giving up Mâvarin help the spell?” Cathma asked. “We already have lots of magic here, and when it comes to magic I’m as normal as it gets.”

“Mâvarin actually needs more magic overall to mend the breech,” Josh said. “The amount involved is small but critical. If Cathy doesn’t stay, then you need to go, to make room for someone with slightly more magic than yourself.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t believe you,” Cathma said. “That makes no sense at all. And even if it did, why would the spell depend on the two of us? Why not you, or Rani and Randy, or even Jami and Jamie?”

“I’m not sure, but I think the others are being offered similar choices,” Joshua Wander said. “When someone agrees to do this, the spell can proceed.”

“So maybe I can go home, and Cathma doesn’t have to give up anything.” Cathy said.

“Don’t count on it,” said Joshua Wander.




Welcome to Mâvarin


Use sidebar to get to past installments of this serial and other fiction.