Key to Destiny

  Aura laughed. “You can make illusion, but can't see through it."

  “Accuracy. Only Glamors and changelings can penetrate it, like my sister Ino.” She paused. “This is a sieve for changelings! An illusion trick that normal humans would be deceived by."

  “The nature of the selection is coming clear,” Augur said.

  “With distressing specificity,” Aura agreed. “This passage is allowing only a very special contingent to pass."

  They checked around, and found an alcove with four real placements. To Ini they were ordinary floor; now the illusion was of floor, covering the polish. That made quite certain that no non-changeling would be successful, even if suspecting the trick.

  They moved the altars to the correct site. They merged and faded, and another stair appeared, this one winding up. They followed it, and in due course emerged to the light of declining day—on the other side of the mountains.

  Now they saw across a vast caldera to the far side of the ring of mountains. Colored plumes hovered in parts of the depression. Plants grew there in abundance, and many birds were in evidence. That made sense, Aura realized: birds could fly over the mountains and get inside, while most animals could not. So this was a private paradise of birds of many types.

  “Where do we go now?” Augur asked.

  “Probably to the center,” Ini said. “That's the obvious place."

  Aura saw a small round peak in the center. That disturbed her, though she wasn't sure why. “Caution."

  Augur glanced at her. “Question?"

  “There's something I don't like about this. I want to understand my concern before we proceed."

  “Acquiescence,” Ini said dubiously.

  That doubt nettled Aura. “Ask Swale."

  I am here, Swale thought. I am able to travel again, at least within this valley. May I join you?

  Aura thought an affirmation, and was aware of the succubus entering her body. She did this via the vagina and the womb, where her main portion stayed; from there she could reach out to take control of the host body if invited to do so. The womb made sense; it was close to the site of sexual activity that the succubus related to so ardently.

  So what's your answer? Aura inquired.

  This valley is strange. I have never seen one quite like it. I agree that we should understand it before proceeding into it; it could be dangerous.

  “Swale agrees with me,” Aura announced.

  Augur shrugged. “We can camp here, perhaps within the tunnel; I think no creature will bother us there."

  “Appreciation."

  They made camp, and ate from their knapsack supplies. They sat gazing out at the darkening central valley. It was like a great pool, a lake, a sea, filling in from below. It was deepest in the center, except from the lone round hill there. That dark sea rose as the night thickened, until it lapped at the steep cliffs of the ring of mountains.

  “Volcano!” Ini exclaimed. “This is a giant caldera!"

  And that was it, Aura realized. The ring of mountains—the remnant of the cone of a giant volcano. But what a monster! It would take a person a day to walk across it. She had never seen a cone that big, never imagined one. This was awesome.

  “The point in the center,” Ini said. “That could be the result of new eruptions, starting over after the main blast. In time it could build up to the size of the original."

  “What Chroma?” Augur asked.

  That stumped them. There was no color near the center point. In fact, the center appeared to be nonChroma. It floated like an island above the pool of shadow.

  Swale borrowed Aura's mouth. “I never heard of a nonChroma volcano."

  “NonChroma!” Ini exclaimed. “Oxymoron."

  “Is it?” Augur asked. “Now that we know magic exists also in nonChroma zones, why not volcanoes to feed it?"

  “The Cartographers have never recorded a nonChroma volcano,” Ini said. “I have observed Counter Charm though my lens, and seen none there either. NonChroma is what exists when there is no Chroma, by definition."

  “What about the past?” he argued. “This caldera is ancient, dating from long before the time of man's arrival at Charm. Maybe in the early days of the planet, there were nonChroma eruptions, just as on our origin world of Earth."

  “Earth's volcanoes are Science Chroma,” Ini said.

  “But not white,” he said. “So at least one kind of magic is possible without Chroma. Maybe it was similar here."

  Now that her concern had been supported, Aura found herself questioning it. “I saw color around the edges of the valley—the caldera. That suggests that there are Chroma here. How could they be venting within the cone of a nonChroma volcano?"

  And now that her skepticism was being supported, Ini also argued the other side. “As Augur says, this crater is ancient. Volcanoes change all the time; every day there is some starting, somewhere on the two planets, and old ones going quiescent. That's why the Cartographers have to constantly revise their maps. So the huge nonChroma vent could have disappeared, and now otherChroma are invading. There has certainly been time to do it."

  “Doubt,” Swale said. “This was the biggest cone ever imagined on the planet. It must have had an immense reservoir of magma. How could that dissipate so completely?"

  “In time,” Augur said. “In sufficient time, the universe can change."

  “Yet there is a new cone forming in the center. That suggests that the magma remains."

  “And no Chroma in the center,” he said. “The nonChroma could have been blasted out across the planet, exhausting itself, and now only a tiny fraction remains. So the Chroma invades the perimeter."

  That seemed viable. The discussion lapsed, and they settled for the night. “Depart?” Swale asked.

  “Can you inhabit a body without governing it sexually?” Augur asked.

  “To a degree. My very presence enhances a body's sexuality, even if I do not govern."

  Aura remembered the effect, when she had been with Ini. “Stay,” she said.

  “But do not govern,” Augur said.

  Then they made love, as they had to, for the succubus's nature did make it urgent. It was Aura doing it, albeit with greater intensity than normal. It was as though she was walking, but somehow taking running steps; she was buoyed, so that her slight reactions became significant ones. She could tell that Augur was reacting similarly, whether because of her enhanced responses, or direct overlapping by Swale's spirit. Overall, it was very nice.

  For me also. I feel almost as though I am feminine rather than sexual. I could acquire the taste.

  Aura smiled in the darkness, acknowledging.

  Then they slept, and it continued nice.

  In the morning they watched the great shadow sea diminish to a lake as the light spilled over the perimeter and brightened. The lake shrank, until it was merely a pool around the center point, and finally evaporated entirely.

  It was time to hike. “I want to reach it well before night,” Aura said.

  They set off across the caldera, which was fairly even apart from its gradual slope down to the center. Flocks of tri-beaked birds were foraging and nesting, hardly spooked by the intruders; it was evident that they had never been hunted. They were of different colors, reflecting the small Chroma vents of their spot regions; this was a mini-world, with Chroma zones ranging from several hundred paces in diameter to barely an arm-spread across. Aura had never seen such small ones, and was considerably intrigued.

  “Plants of many Chroma,” Augur remarked. He of course was noticing the things of his specialty, as she was noticing those of hers.

  “And a few rats,” Ini said as a six legged one ran across their path. “They must have made their way through the caves, too small to be balked by the blocks."

  “I can range this region,” Swale said with Aura's voice. “I find no larger animals. This is a paradise for birds."

  They came up against a larger Chroma patch, this one black. “Let's go around it,”
Aura said.

  They skirted it, and that was just as well, because it had a small inruption while they watched. Black dirt and stones sucked down into the hole, and a cloud of dust formed and funneled down too. Then it was over as fast as it had begun, and the air sweeping in to the vacuum swirled chaotically, stirring up more dust.

  “If I have to be this close to an inruption,” Augur said, “that's the kind I prefer."

  But the experience started Aura thinking again. Eruptions brought magic out from the depths of the planet; inruptions sucked material back below. How could there be such a cycle, where there had been a monstrous nonChroma zone? Other Chroma might have leaked in from outside, but how could a vacuum leak in?

  She gazed ahead at the small mountain they were headed for. It did not look like a volcano, either current or extinct. It looked like a fused pile of rocks. Where could they have come from?

  It is inert, Swale thought. No volcanic activity, and I think there never was.

  Then Aura suffered a revelation. “This is not a caldera—it's an impact crater!"

  “Confirmation!” Ini exclaimed. “I knew there was something wrong with it, but not what. The center is the debris thrown up in the heat of the aftershock."

  “So there were no giant nonChroma volcanoes,” Augur said. “That explains much."

  “There must have been many impacts of many sizes,” Ini said. “All over the planet. Then as time passed, these became fewer, and the volcanoes took over, obliterating most of the prior traces. But there was no major Chroma pocket in this region, so the remnant of the crater remains."

  “And whoever set up the altars used it as a base,” Aura said. “It is safe from molestation by the wrong people."

  “Or they made it safe,” Augur said. “Using Glamor-proof wards, and perhaps sealing off any other routes over or through the mountains."

  “Question,” Aura said. “This is ancient. How could it have been made Glamor-proof before Glamors existed?"

  The others paused to stare at her. “Bafflement,” Augur said. “There must be more here than we suspect."

  But Ini was on it. “This must have been fashioned in connection with the Glamors someone knew were coming. So the way was prepared, but the Glamors themselves were barred. Whoever set this up knew the nature of what was to come."

  “That would be precognition,” Augur said. “Has there ever been evidence of such magic?"

  “Not that we know of. But maybe they merely put in place instruments that would cause Glamors to develop, without actually seeing the future."

  “And now we come to fathom their secret,” Aura said.

  “Nervousness,” Ini said.

  “Agreement,” Augur said.

  They forged on, avoiding most mini Chroma zones, passing through the Red, Blue, or Invisible ones, and watching out for bird colonies or dangerous plants. They reached the center mound by noon.

  It was certainly no volcano. Fused glassy rock rose up in a pointed peak rather higher than it had looked from a distance. A closed round portal was set in the base. They had merely to slide off a panel and pull a small lever to release it. The lock swung open, admitting them to the interior.

  Inside was a chamber containing a single altar. That was all.

  They considered it. “Confusion,” Augur said. “I expected more."

  “Disappointment,” Ini said.

  “There has to be more,” Aura said. “We have but to fathom it."

  They walked around the altar. It seemed exactly like the ones they had pushed through the chambers. It had eighteen small pockets on top, all of them empty.

  “Conjecture,” Ini said. “Other altars contained single Glamor ikons. They were in chambers very near active volcano cones, to be near the sources of their power. Perhaps this was intended to contain a nonChroma Glamor ikon, but there were no nonChroma Glamors at the time, so it remained unused."

  “Belief?” Augur asked.

  Ini sighed. “Negation. There were no Chroma Glamors either, at the time. This surely has some other purpose."

  “You mentioned a loom,” Aura said. “That acted like an ikon, but with no Glamor attached."

  “The magic loom,” Ini agreed. “The Ladies Ennui and Aspect, and the girl Nonce who carries it—they are weaving a magic tapestry map on it. It is what may be a map of a section of Planet Counter-Charm, where perhaps something important lies."

  “Amazement!” Augur said.

  “Awe, for me,” Ini said. “I have studied Counter-Charm, and long to learn more about it. The Glamors may go there in quest of their origin, and may take me with them. Absolute longing! But the relevance to this altar is uncertain."

  “Point,” Aura said. “Could this alter be like the loom? With some particular purpose it will take time to understand?"

  “We must understand it now,” Augur said. “Once we leave it, it will be too late to use it."

  “Unless it is another ikon,” Aura said.

  The others stared at her.

  “Surmise,” Ini said. “If it is, it will convert to portable form.” She touched the altar with her gloved hand. Nothing happened. She removed the glove and tried again.

  The altar disappeared. In her invisible hand was a tiny replica of it, the same in detail.

  “So we can take it with us,” Augur said.

  “And understand it later,” Aura agreed.

  “Confirmation,” Ini said. Then after a pause. “Complication."

  “Question?” Aura asked.

  “The ikons affect their bearers. They give them protection, a suggestion of Glamor powers, and may become attached to particular persons so that others can't handle them. Who should carry this one?"

  “You don't wish to?” Augur asked.

  “Privilege. But I understand they also arouse sexual appetite."

  Then Swale spoke with Ini's voice. “Confirmation. She's getting hot already. Problem?” Of course the succubus saw it as an asset rather than a liability.

  Aura laughed. “Borrow Augur!"

  Augur averted his gaze. Aura knew he was not averse, but did not wish to suggest that he wanted any woman other than Aura herself. She could handle that; she liked Ini. So Augur would be having a lot of sex on the return journey; he would survive.

  “Perhaps you or he should carry it,” Ini said.

  “Doubt,” Aura said. “Augur and I are evenly matched, both being changelings and of an age. Powers added by an ikon would distort our relationship. But you it would help."

  “Acquiescence,” Ini said. Her hand holding the ikon became visible. “It is acting like a Chroma gem, restoring my home Chroma magic."

  “Deserved reward,” Aura said. “Now let's return to the rim before nightfall. I think our mission has been accomplished."

  * * *

  Chapter 4—Tapestry

  Ennui paused, gazing at the expanding tapestry. “We are almost out of yarn,” she said.

  The Lady Aspect nodded. “Havoc says that Ini is on her way back, with Red Chroma Augur and Blue Chroma Aura, and another ikon. He wants us to delay our quest for yarn until they arrive, in case there is interaction between the ikons."

  “Understanding. But I confess I hate to delay on this even a day."

  “Commiseration. The tapestry wants to be made."

  They endured the delay, and in a few days the altar party arrived. Ini carried the ikon, which was in the form of a small altar, and it showed: she was visible and had a certain hungry sex appeal despite her plain face and body. Ennui understood exactly how that was.

  They met with King Havoc and Queen Gale: the three of them working on the Tapestry, the three who had fetched the Altar, Symbol, and Swale. Nine people and a succubus spirit intent on fathoming the mystery of the origin of the Glamors. The three royal babies were present also, alternately nursing on Gale or Symbol, gazing at the folk in the room, or napping. When they were active, Havoc entertained Weft, so that each baby had one adult to be with. Symbol wasn't a Glamor, but Flame liked
her well enough and gave her no trouble.

  Ini introduced Augur of the Red Chroma and Aura of the Blue Chroma, both of whom Gale had helped save from execution. They were both handsome changelings. She reported on their trek to find the altar ikon, which had turned out to be in a huge ancient impact crater, an isolated region largely isolated from the rest of the planet.

  “Mini-Chroma zones?” Gale asked, intrigued.

  “With mini-Chroma plant and bird communities,” Ini agreed. “Too small to have much effect on their neighbors."

  “Let's see this altar,” Havoc said.

  Ini brought the ikon from her mouth, and set it on the floor. It expanded to full altar size. “It is clearly a magic ikon,” she said. “But we have not fathomed what its purpose is."

  The group clustered around it. Neither Havoc nor Gale were able to touch it; it was proof against Glamors. But it did not seem to do anything.

  “When I carry the loom ikon,” Nonce said, “It guides me where it wants me to go. We expect to be guided to find more magic yarn, to complete the tapestry. Does the altar ikon have any similar effect?"

  “None,” Ini said. “It protects me and animates me, but leads me nowhere."

  “Let's see if it relates to the loom,” Havoc said. “Fetch the loom."

  “I have it here,” Nonce said. “We ran out of yarn, so had no need for the full size loom.” She stepped back, removing the ikon from her mouth. She set it down next to the altar, and stepped back.

  The full loom appeared, larger than the altar but less solid. The partial tapestry was on it.

  Side by side, the two magic items glowed. There was the sound of faint music. It was as if they were recognizing each other. Then the effect faded and both were quiescent.

  Havoc nodded. “We have more to learn. Altar crew, remain at the palace and study it. Loom crew, go where it leads. These mysteries will allow us to unravel them when they are ready.” He grimaced. “Meanwhile, the rest of us will get on with running the kingdom."

  Weft squirmed, and he amended his statement. “And raising fine children.” The baby relaxed, satisfied. The little Glamors did not yet speak, but seemed to pick up on thoughts. They were eerily precocious.