Brigid looked over her accommodations. Like all of the students, she had a small room to herself, with a sturdy bed, a plain wooden desk, bookshelf and chair, and a small wardrobe. Throwing open the doors of the wardrobe, she was not surprised to discover that the sparse contents of her trunk had been unpacked and hung with care there. An open window, set across from the bed, showed the castle’s wall, and the desert beyond.
As she looked out the window, she heard a faint voice from the door beside her.
”Do I have the pleasure of addressing the Lady of the Kindly Ones, the one known as Tail’sbane?”
Brigid looked over and down at a sleek green-eyed cat with dark chocolate-brown fur standing in the doorway.
“Indeed, I am that one; and you are?” she replied in the same strange manner of cats she had learned upon her first days in Amber, and now could do without the need of transforming into a cat herself.
The cat approached and twisted itself around Brigid’s legs. Brigid grinned and sat down on the chair and the cat leaped onto her lap. Brigid began stroking him across his back, and the cat stretched in gleeful response.
“Just a little lower … yessssss…” The cat began to purr under Brigid’s petting, and she grinned.
“There he is!” said a voice from the doorway.
Brigid looked up to see two women standing in the doorway: one, a petite brunette in a plain brown robe, the other taller, deeply tanned with flowing dark brown hair wearing a dress that matched the sapphire of her eyes. The smaller one looked pointedly at the cat in Brigid’s arms and said. “Found another sucker, eh?”
Brigid motioned towards the two in the door. “I take it, he’s yours? As much as any cat is anyone’s, that is,” she continued, feeling his claws press against her leg, then retract.
“He’s my familiar: Sinister, you scoundrel, always looking to be petted, aren’t you?”
“Are you indeed her familiar?” Brigid said to Sinister, looking into his eyes.
“As much as she needs,” he replied. “I help keep her out of trouble, which is all she requires at this point. She is only modestly endowed in the Art.”
Brigid smiled again and handed Sinister to the woman. “I’m Brigid,” she said, remembering at the end the castle’s rule, not to giving her full title as Lady of the Court of Amber.
The smaller woman took the cat gratefully, then rubbed him under the chin. “I’m Star; this is L’shaya,” she continued, gesturing over her shoulder. The taller woman nodded once. “Why are you here? At least, we can ask that.”
“My mentor suggested it would broaden my experience; I’ve come to acknowledge her insight and expertise. And you?”
“L’shaya’s a healer, here to learn from the Healer-Mages; I’ve got the Sight, but not too reliably: hopefully they can help me with it here.”
Brigid nodded. Star’s Sight must certainly not be very reliable, or at least not very efficient, for her to so calmly recognize an Amberite before her.
“I heal, too, but I’ve been told not to limit myself: my mentor says I have practically unlimited potential,” Brigid said with some pride but also matter-of-factly.
L’shaya nodded over Star’s shoulder, her gaze resting frankly upon Brigid. “Wise words,” she murmured quietly. Brigid would learn that L’shaya was a woman of few words, well chosen.
There was a loud gong resounding through the corridor. Star’s smile broadened at the sound. “Dinner!” she cried, turning and scurrying down the corridor, L’shaya following dutifully, and Brigid trailing behind.
Three floors down a dining area was arranged for the thirty or so students. Most of them had already arrived: the raven-haired enchantress was most noticeable in front, with her small coterie gathered around her. Most of the other students avoided the group, not from any spell or enchantment Brigid could determine, but simply from the force of the woman’s personality.
Star deposited Sinister in the center of an empty section of the tables, one just large enough for three, and he began washing himself. Star sat herself down in the middle of the open space, and L’shaya and Brigid slid into the empty spaces on either side of her. No sooner than they had seated themselves when a small army of servants appeared from a side door carrying an array of trays, platters, and pitchers and deposited them on the tables. Without any more formality, dinner began.
Brigid, between bites, stole surreptitious glances towards the enchantress, who was acting as though she were holding court at her table. Several times Brigid saw a woman approach her, haltingly; the enchantress would say a few words to them and then give them a cold but confirming stare, and they would return to their seat. Again, Brigid could detect no spell, simply a strong and commanding personality that disquieted anyone else around her, and instilled in them the urge to seek an end to their discomfort. Anyone else, that is, except for such as the ebullient Star, who chattered unconsciously throughout the entire meal, and the silent L’shaya, who seemed to possess the calm, unyielding presence of the mountains themselves, and, of course, Brigid.
In between courses, Brigid asked “Who is she?” to Star on her left, pointing out the enchantress.
“I don’t know,” replied Star, and it was accompanied by single shake of L’shaya’s head. “Don’t worry,” continued Star, “they’ll ask us to introduce ourselves after dinner is over.”
Sure enough, as the trays and plates were being removed from the tables, three men entered and stood on a dias overlooking the room. “Good evening, ladies,” said the one in the center, the same man who greeted the women earlier, a taller man than his two companions, somehow more impressive even through they were all dressed similarly in somber brown hooded robes. “I am Carolan, headmaster of this section of the University. I hope you have enjoyed your first meal: it may be the best you have for the rest of your stay here. There was great magick involved in creating such a meal.”
There was a slight murmuring from some of the women, who, from their remarks, were wondering what they had eaten, from meals conjured from thin air to transformed beasts. There was a slight curving of the corner of the man’s lips as he spoke, and silent humor flashed in his dark grey eyes. Brigid liked him immediately, and the feeling, she noted, was apparently shared by Star as well. Brigid noticed that the enchantress held no such feelings towards the man.
“The magick of the chefs in our kitchens, of course,” said the man, chuckling and waving his hand to silence the murmuring. “We boast the some of the finest cooks in the Golden Circle, save for Castle Amber itself.” Brigid nodded to herself in agreement.
“As for you, the following weeks will be busy ones, and there will not be time for grand dinners during that time. Those of you here to learn a specific Art will find our teachers the finest in the Golden Circle: even Princess Fiona of Amber herself has come here seeking our assistance in the Art on occasion.” At hearing her mentor’s name, Brigid started, then filed the fact away in her mind.
“As for those of you who are here to learn a general knowledge of the Art, the days will be even busier. There are many fields of the Art, and we would not wish to sully our reputation by not giving you a complete introduction to any of them.”
He pointed to the men to his side. “Myself, along with my assistants here Dominick and Greyslake, are here to help make your time with us profitable and worthwhile. If there is any problem we can assist you with, feel free to consult us.
“Now that we have introduced ourselves, it is custom for our students to introduce themselves to the others.” He bowed and gestured to the women to begin.
The raven-haired enchantress was the first out of her chair, with a unhurried grace that embodied both speed and suppleness. “I am Soraya,” she said proudly, as if expecting the others to recognize the name. After a moment, when it appeared that no one outside her little group knew it, she returned to her seat. The residual power of her character kept the others of her coterie from standing after her, and Star leapt into the pause, standing and picking up Sinister.
“My name is Star,” she said, “and this, is Sinister,” she continued, holding him up and petting him. Sinister yowled once, and Star sat back down.
Beside her, L’shaya drew herself upright. “I am L’shaya,” she said quietly, and sat back down as smoothly as she had arisen.
They both looked at Brigid, and she stood, shook back her streaming red hair, nodded in politeness to the headmaster and his staff, then to the others, and said pleasantly “I am Brigid.” She smiled warmly, with only a hint of mischief dancing in her green eyes. “This, I believe, will turn out to be an interesting month.”
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