Dinner was delicious and while the conversation was not quite lively, it was certainly more friendly than our earlier conversations. The brothers were starting to warm up to us, especially Jacob. I was not sure what happened when Rapunzel went to speak with him, but it was obvious they had found some common ground, an air of camaraderie between them.
Stories were swapped. Jokes were told. Laughs were shared. Occasionally we would have to pause while I clarified something for Morpheus, but he was catching on quickly. Rapunzel would sometimes give me a knowing look, but I pointedly ignored her.
“Okay, I will admit I may have misjudged you at first,” Jacob admitted. “We don’t often get visitors here, and the few we do get, while harmless, tend to be very annoying.”
“Traveling salesmen?” Rapunzel asked knowingly.
“Yes, we get many of those. They believe their personalities will outshine the poor quality of their wares and that since we live in such a secluded place, we will be easy targets for their scams.”
“Not all are shams, brother,” Wilhelm chided. “Just the other week we got a genuine deal on some farming equipment that was grown entirely from wood.”
“I believe I know the man who makes those," I commented. "I didn’t realize he came this far north, but it has been a while since I last saw him so it could very well be that he has moved or expanded his business.”
“Craftsmen from this kingdom create some of the most fascinating inventions,” Morpheus commented.
“That is high praise indeed from one who comes from such a wondrous place,” Wilhelm replied brightly as Jacob shot Morpheus a strange look.
If he had spoken seconds later, I would have choked on my drink, but I managed to compose myself before anyone aside from Rapunzel could notice.
“Say, have you ever had the woman up here who sells those colorful mystery elixirs?” Rapunzel asked, pulling the conversation back on track. Jacob took the bait, happy to complain about the various odd folk and charlatans who tried to sell them things.
As the last of the plates were pushed away, the feeling in the room shifted from one of ease to one of foreboding. The coming conversation was not going to be an easy one.
I started to stand to collect the plates when, to my surprise, the air began to hum, and the plates took themselves to the kitchen, along with the rest of the food.
“You have got to show me how this is done,” Rapunzel said, watching in awe. Her eyes locked onto the different places that bore rune marks, studying them with great interest. Knowing her she likely had a notebook out under the table to sketch the shape of them for further study. She always had that notebook with her.
“Come now, we can’t be giving away all of the family secrets,” Jacob joked, flashing her a playful grin. Then it dawned on him what he had said, and his demeanor changed.
“I know this will not be an easy thing to talk about, but whatever information you can give us would be much appreciated,” I said.
“I know, and I intend to help you," he said slowly. "It’s just, I have never had to explain this before. As far as I know, this has never been shared outside of our family. I trust my brother, though, and he says this is the right thing to do.”
“And what does your instinct say?” Rapunzel asked.
“It says there is something going on that will happen whether I tell you or not. But if I give you the information you need, perhaps you will be able to use it to stop this from happening.” Jacob avoided making eye contact with anyone.
“Stop what from happening?” I pushed.
“It sounds to me like someone has been trying to recreate the Seer’s book and reinstate the old king’s power, but this time under their own control. If they succeed, the effects could be devastating." He sighed. "I don’t even know where to start to explain all of this.”
“Why not start at the beginning?” Morpheus suggested. “How was the book made? Who made it?”
At this point the table had cleared itself and the last of the pots and pans were settling in the kitchen.
“Let’s continue this conversation downstairs,” Wilhelm suggested.
Turns out the brothers had the equivalent of a bunker dug into the ground under their cabin. According to Jacob, it was there when they purchased the place, but he did not discover it until they were moving in.
That is where we went to have our discussion. The air was thick with magic, and I could barely spot the faint signs of well-concealed runes. Rapunzel eyed them with great curiosity, leaning back in surprise after closely inspecting one. She looked at me for a second as if trying to communicate something, but nothing happened.
“This place is very well warded,” Jacob commented.
“We noticed," Rapunzel said. "I did not know it was possible to craft this level of protection into a system without drawing a large amount of power, but I guess depending on how small the space is and what base materials you were using…”
“Come now, Gothel. We have business to discuss now," I chided. "The three of you can talk shop later.”
“The two of them will have time to talk shop later. I was never much of an enchanter,” Wilhelm admitted cheerfully.
We continued down the stairs to what must have been a workspace. A large table in the center, with smaller tables lining the walls. Some contained small racks of well-packaged ingredients. There was only one chair at the large table, but the smaller tables had seats as well. We had them rearranged in minutes.
Once everyone was settled around the big table, I reached into my bag and pulled out a tea set, passing the cups around. The brothers looked at the cups quizzically and I was about to explain how they worked when I saw the cups filling themselves.
Of course they would recognize the function of the enchantment. I would not have been surprised if they knew how to craft the enchantment as well.
“I find a warm drink helps with difficult conversations. I also have a feeling this will take a while, so, whenever you are ready to begin.” I nodded towards Jacob then took a sip of my coffee. This was going to be a long night.
Jacob still did not look entirely comfortable with this, but there was an air of resignation about him. He was as ready as he would ever be to have this conversation.
“As you have probably already guessed, it was a Grimm who crafted the Seer’s book. There is some debate as to whether the enchanter and the Seer were related somehow, but honestly, I don’t think there is proof either way. It was so long ago. It probably doesn’t matter either way." He shrugged. "One thing we do know with relative certainty is that the Seer’s book is quite possibly one of the first items to ever be enchanted.”
“And that is significant because…” Morpheus prodded.
It took me a second to figure out how to answer his question.
“Back when magic was young, it was also raw and impressionable," I explained. "Those who could learn to harness it could do so to do impossible things. Through their actions they unwittingly shaped the way magic flows today." I traced patterns on the table, leaving behind tendrils of color. "Some crafted objects while others created spells. Many of the spells are either no longer castable or they have been destroyed for the danger they posed to any who would attempt to cast them. We have still learned much from what survived the years,” I explained.
“The objects,” Rapunzel continued, “were another story entirely. Some have grown unstable over time, releasing waves of volatile magic. Those have proved incredibly problematic to deal with. I know people who have been laid up for months after neutralizing one." The person in question had nearly been her, but our backup arrived just in time to shoulder some of the blow. "There have been a few that have proved helpful, as the records for how to use them survived alongside them. There are a few kingdoms and keeps across the realms that are kept safe through these. I also think the travel between realms is made possible by one of these relics, but I have no way to confirm that.”
“What of the stable ones where you could find no instructions? Has anyone been able to figure out how to use one on their own?” Morpheus leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on his hands. His eyes were shining with curiosity.
“There have been a few instances of people trying,” I replied. "It has never ended well for anyone. That is why certain members of the Table have sought to keep any that are found hidden and out of the hands of the common folk. The last thing anyone needs is for someone to incorrectly awaken something they barely understand." I thought back to the noble I had to warn away from awakening something equally dangerous. Which made me think of Arthur. "No one is allowed to interact with them. Few are even allowed to see them. Too many unknown factors to risk someone setting off a chain reaction of some kind. There is no doubt it would be catastrophic. The only question would be how far the devastation would spread.”
“Understood. So, the Seer’s book being the first object ever enchanted means it could easily be world-ending in the wrong hands,” Morpheus said.
“Correct,” Jacob said. “That is why, once the Seer realized the power imbued in the book was based on false belief, they had it hidden.”
“Why not have it destroyed? Or remove the enchantment?” Rapunzel asked, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
“The magic was too strong, too far steeped into the book,” Jacob explained. "They tried, but from the stories it sounded like the book fought back. Somehow the enchantment allowed it to absorb and retain the magic around it. It could not be removed, no matter what was attempted, and it only deflected what should have destroyed it.”
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I swore under my breath.
“They were able to make a change to the enchantment to stop it from absorbing ambient magic,” he clarified. “I don’t know how they did it, I just know that they did. Then the Seer gave it to someone they trusted to hide the book far from anyone who would know what it was. A place where no one could find it.”
Rapunzel shifted in her seat, but I was too busy attempting to massage away my oncoming headache to look up. She would speak up when she was ready.
“Thank you for expounding upon that, Jacob. The mere thought of something that powerful continuing to absorb and retain power for all these years was seconds away from shattering my mind,” I admitted. "As it is, with the fear instilled by the old king this book will be difficult enough to deal with on its own. We can’t even be sure if someone is using it now, or if they just found a way to recreate the effect. Or maybe they found a similar relic. There is still a lot we don’t know.”
“They could also bring back the king’s legacy, or twist it into something else, if they had the missing pages,” Wilhelm added.
It is amazing the impact such a simple statement can have.
I immediately straightened, eyes locking on Wilhelm. Rapunzel sputtered as she struggled to not choke on her drink. Morpheus actually choked on his drink. I reached over to pat him on the back instinctively, a touch of magic jolting through him to make sure he did not die. Force of habit, but better safe than sorry.
Jacob whipped around to face his brother so quickly that he sent his teacup flying off the table. There was a faint tinkling sound as it shattered on the wall. As I sent off a spell to reconstitute the cup, I wondered idly at how he was able to knock it so far so fast. This thought did not last long, though. I was too busy staring at Wilhelm, waiting for an explanation.
“What missing pages?”
“There were pages missing from the Seer’s book when it was passed off to their friend to be hidden.”
“Were the pages stolen?” Morpheus asked.
“That shouldn’t be possible,” Rapunzel objected. “I have seen the books your family enchants now, and they cannot be defaced in such a way. It makes no sense that the first book would be less protected.”
“That is a good point," Jacob agreed. "The enchantments they would have used are designed to keep the book whole. No one would have been able to remove or steal portions of the book without the owner's permission.”
“So, if there are missing pages, then it would have either had to have been the creator who removed them, or the Seer himself,” I mused. Pieces were starting to fall into place.
“Exactly!” Wilhelm exclaimed.
“The story goes that when the Seer realized that their visions were not what they thought they were, they were devastated." I stared at the wall. "Decades, perhaps centuries had been spent pouring visions into the book in the belief that they were the truth of the future. The known world fully believed in the power of the book. The fact that they had only been recording possibilities of some far distant future rocked the Seer to their core." The Hatter’s ramblings echoed in my mind as the pieces started falling into place. "One version of the story has them tearing out pages in a fit of rage before storming out of the room, leaving the book unattended.”
“That seems a rather extreme reaction,” Morpheus commented.
“Not really,” I said. “Think about it this way. The Seer had convinced an entire nation of people that they could see with certainty what was to come. The whole world believed that the Seer’s book contained the secrets of the future. Whether they meant to or not, they misled all those people to believe in a lie." I couldn’t help but feel bad for the Seer. "This lie had put them in such an extreme position of power that they probably couldn’t tell the truth for fear of shattering the foundation of the society around them. They were backed into a corner by a mistake that was, by that point, likely impossible to fix.”
“That...that makes more sense. They were trying to help guide the people and in doing so, they led them all to believe in a lie." Morpheus drummed his fingers on the table. "Is it possible that they tried to remove pieces of the book to decrease its power?”
There was a pause in the conversation as we pondered that question. Jacob rocked back in his seat as if hit by a gust of wind, not bothering to hide his surprise. Rapunzel immediately pulled out a book from her bag and began paging frantically through it, looking for a specific passage.
I pulled a few slim journals from my pocket as well, arranging them on the table before removing a couple of other items that I thought would prove useful in the discussion.
“I’m not certain-” Jacob started, when Rapunzel interrupted him excitedly.
“That would work. One of the basic rules of enchanted items is that if you remove part of the whole, the whole becomes less powerful. Because some of the power goes with the part. With how the book was supposedly enchanted, it would make sense that the pages would hold their own power." She rearranged the pages on the table like she was trying to put her thoughts together, then started flipping through her book. "So, if the Seer removed some of the pages it would have diminished the power, making it less potent. It could have been how they were able to alter the enchantment to stop it from continuing to absorb magic!”
She spun around her book and slid it towards Jacob. He pulled it closer and scanned the page, eyebrow raised. We watched as he read, waiting to see what he would say. About halfway down the page, he started to nod periodically, probably mentally checking off the things that fit.
After a few seconds he looked up and made eye contact with Rapunzel, then Morpheus.
“It makes sense. The pages would have their own power, which explains why they had to be hidden as well." He slid the book back to her. "Story says they were gifted to people the Seer trusted to keep them safe, while the book was hidden by another. No one knows who was tasked with hiding the book.”
“Then somehow the old king found it and found some way to twist its design to empower him to control the fates of his people,” I said.
“That would take a lot of time and an incredible understanding of how the book was made, but it is definitely possible,” Rapunzel said.
“And it's the only explanation for his power that anyone has been able to come up with,” I added.
“And when he lost the book, he lost his power,” Morpheus commented.
Jacob shot Wilhelm a puzzled look, but Wilhelm just shrugged.
“That is why the queen stole it. She knew that was the only way to break his grip,” I answered, my voice coming out softer and more wistful than intended. All the eyes shifted towards me.
“How do you know that?” Jacob asked gently.
“Dina told me, and Tinkerbelle hinted at it in her story.”
“Tinkerbelle?” Jacob asked.
“The Blue Lady,” Rapunzel clarified.
“So, the Seer’s book is out of reach and out of play. That leaves us with the pages, which I am assuming are still in this realm,” Morpheus stated.
Rapunzel nodded. “Correct, at least as far as we know. Some may have ended up elsewhere.”
“If someone found one of those pages, could they use it to recreate the effect of the book itself?”
“They would have to have known the whole story behind the book and its creation to even begin doing such a thing,” I commented. “It is possible though. Or he could use the pages to find the book.”
“I could count the number of people who know the truth about the book on one hand,” Jacob said, holding up two fingers. “My brother, and myself. There used to be three, but that uncle died years ago.”
“Could he have told someone?” Rapunzel asked.
“I doubt it, since he was born mute and lived as a hermit.” Jacob sighed.
“So, they would have had to have learned of the book and the pages some other way…”
“We could sit here discussing the possibilities all night, but I don’t think that will accomplish anything," I said, cutting Rapunzel off. "There are too many moving pieces and too many unknowns. If we can find one of the pages, I can craft a spell that will allow us to find others. We may even be able to tell where they are being used.”
“I heard the Seer passed one of the pages along to a Mystic before they went beyond the Veil,” Wilhelm commented.
There was something different about his voice, something subtle and almost unnoticeable. I would not have caught it had there not been a shift in the magic swirling and dancing around him. It was old and soft, gentle, and smooth as a worn blanket, thin but strong.
And hauntingly familiar.
“You need to go there, don’t you?” I knew the answer, but I asked anyway.
“Until this is over, that is the best place for me to be. I am not the hero of this tale.”
“Wilhelm, what are you talking about?” Jacob asked, rising from his seat. “You are going to stay here, where it is safe!”
“You have done great work protecting this place, and I apologize, but this is not the safest place for him,” I said carefully. "Not if the Seer’s book is in play. It holds too much power within this realm.”
“You want to put my brother in another realm? How is that safer than here?”
“When the old king rose to power, the other realms closed themselves off because they knew his power was restricted to the realm he was in," I explained. "The Seers had fled long ago to a place they refer to as ‘beyond the Veil.’ It is a safe haven, just beyond the reaches of our realm. There are old, powerful beings there, and if your brother is being called there, it is because that is where he is meant to be.”
My eyes remained fixed on Wilhelm because I knew what I would see if I looked at any of the others. I could feel their eyes boring into me, intense stares full of questions I was not yet ready to answer.
The air hummed with a mixture of tension and something else as the magic surrounding Wilhelm reached out to gently encircle me. It danced over and around me, trailing over my skin with soft tendrils. I could feel the hum vibrating my very being and, while not entirely comfortable, it was not a threatening sensation. The air was thick with power, but it almost felt inert. Docile. A difficult thing to describe.
Then it was over. I let out a long, slow breath, and Wilhelm gave me a single nod before turning to address his brother.
“She is right, Jacob. With all that is going on, beyond the Veil is the place I am meant to be." Wilhelm placed his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. "Don’t worry, this will not be forever. Once the job is done and things have been set right, I will return and meet you here.”
“How will you know when the job is done?”
“The same way I have known many things in the past, brother. I have complete faith that the four of you will find a way to stop whoever is attempting to reclaim the old king’s power." Wilhelm shrugged. "You don’t need my help for that.”
Jacob turned to me, his eyes beseeching.
“Is it true? Will he be safe? Will he be able to return?”
“I can think of no place safer, as the Mystics decide which individuals are allowed in. There is a protective shield of some kind over that place, unlike anything I have ever seen. Also, the Veil can be transversed both ways, though many who enter choose to remain." I searched for the right words to explain what I knew. "The Mystics are a... reclusive bunch, and I can’t claim to understand their ways. They are trustworthy, though. They will take care of your brother.”
Jacob's brow furrowed even more as he was faced with the realization that I was right. Everyone at the table looked preoccupied in one way or another.
“We all have a lot to process and a lot to talk about," I said. " How about we all retire for the evening, and pick things back up in the morning? Perhaps sleep will reveal some solutions we haven’t considered yet.”
“That sounds brilliant," Rapunzel agreed. "I don’t know about the rest of you, but I suddenly find myself sliding towards being unable to string together enough thoughts to make a sentence. I think some rest would do us all good.”
Murmurs of assent all around the table.
Rapunzel, Morpheus, and I were shown to our rooms by a bewildered-looking Jacob. No real conversation was had beyond basic pleasantries.
Rapunzel quickly disappeared into her room, no doubt to delve into her books to see what more she could unravel about the mystery of the book.
“She is going to stay up all night, isn’t she?” Morpheus remarked.
“I give it a few hours before she either finds what she is looking for or she will get lost down a rabbit trail and fall asleep in her book. Either way, she will sleep at some point tonight.”
“Darling, I know there is a lot on our plates that we need to deal with now." He gently grasped my hand. "I can’t even wrap my head around half of what is going on, but I know we will figure this out. There is a conversation I would like to have with you sometime, but that doesn’t need to happen right now.”
“Once we have a handle on the current situation, we will have that conversation. I promise. I won’t forget.”
I pressed a kiss to his cheek before slipping into my room. I took a second to send off a quick inquiry about the locations of the pages, then settled in for a night of trying to sleep.
