by Mike Wilks
There was a loud buzz of conversation among the assembly. They had much to talk about.
‘I can’t believe you’ve not heard. It’s been the talk of Vlam for the last few weeks. Where’ve you been – Pyrexia?’
‘Not nearly so far. I’ve just this hour returned from Issle.’
‘So you won’t have heard. There’s been a secret election in the House of Mysteries. Everything’s changed. The High-Council of the Fifth Mystery’s fallen and the other Mysteries have tumbled along with them.’
The traveller looked sceptical. ‘If the election’s so secret, how come you know?’
‘I just do. Lord Brool, the High-Bailiff and other influential members of the High-Council have been voted out of office and gone into exile. Every last one of them.’
‘You’re pulling my leg. If that’s the case, who’s running the Mysteries?’ asked the traveller sceptically.
‘Lord Floris is back and ….’
‘And what? What’s put such a smile on your face?’
‘… all of the most outrageous Pleasures have been abolished!’
‘What?’
The hands of the clock moved one minute nearer the hour.
A wheelwright and his family passed close by.
‘Mummy, why have those men got red hands and faces?’ asked their smallest child.
‘Hush, poppet. Don’t point,’ said her mother.
‘They’re released prisoners, sweetie,’ said her father. ‘They used to work in the mines on Kig but they’re all free men now.’
‘My friend says there’ll be no more colour from now on?’ persisted the child. ‘Is it true?’
‘Bless you, no,’ said her father. ‘Quite the opposite. The Fifth Mystery’s warehouses have been thrown open. They’ve been stockpiling pigment for years. There’s colour enough for everyone now. Pigment that we can all afford.’
Every strata of Vlamian society seemed to be represented in the throng.
‘There are Lord and Lady Cleef and their youngest son, Ludolf, the one in the wheelchair,’ whispered a baker to his companion. ‘I heard that he was injured in a fall. But he’s mending fast.’
‘So who’s the green man pushing him?’
‘Search me.’
‘You mean you don’t know?’ said a stranger interrupting. ‘He was once one of Ambrosius Blenk’s apprentices. He had a run-in with the Fifth Mystery and ended up on Kig. Don’t tell a soul, but I heard,’ the stranger leant closer and lowered his voice, ‘that he was the leader of the Rainbow Rebels.’
‘I don’t believe you. How could he have escaped from Kig?’
‘Apparently there was an original Blenk hanging in the Governor’s quarters and there was some kind of hidden doorway behind it ….’
‘You mean, like a secret passage?’
‘Of course. What else? Anyway, several more prisoners used it to escape before Lord Floris was removed as Governor.’
‘And then what?’
‘I heard that some important man was helping them. Supplying them with money and documents. Someone big – very big.’
‘I think you’re having us on. I don’t believe a word of it.’
Nearby, a prosperous burger leant close to his plump wife and said, ‘I know for a fact – for a fact, my dear – that Lord Smert’s son, Groot, has finally graduated from Ambrosius Blenk’s studio and had gone to seek his fortune elsewhere in the Seven Kingdoms as a journeyman artist.’
‘About time too.’
Vlam had become a city of rumours.
Alongside the well-to-do there were also people from other strata of Nemish society and from much farther afield than Vlam. Marked out by their clothes were a provincial weaver and his wife.
‘I hear their son’s one of Ambrosius Blenk’s apprentices,’ commented a fashionably dressed woman. ‘And quite talented for a Fegie, by all accounts. But look at them, my dear. You never see tabby in Vlam. It’s so dowdy.’
‘Do you really think so, darling?’ said her companion. ‘You know, I’m getting fed up with all this colour. Now that the Pleasure’s been abolished, even the hoi polloi will be able to afford it. Can you imagine? I rather like what they’re wearing. It’s so restrained, so natural, so unaffected. I think I’ll ask my dressmaker to see if she can source any tabby – especially if it’s as well-made as theirs. Mark my words, it’ll be all the rage by next season.’
Overhearing this, an astute merchant introduced himself to the Fegish couple and inquired about the availability of tabby of such quality as theirs. The merchant was also introduced to the couple’s companion, an elderly priest in a wheelchair.
‘So you’re to work in the Maven’s library? You’ll certainly have your work cut out. I’ve heard that his collection of books is the biggest in the entire Seven Kingdoms,’ said the merchant.
The clock now stood at three minutes to the hour and a murmur spread through the crowd as Thomas Delf, the clockmaker, entered the square. He and his workshop were responsible for the revamped timepiece they had all come to see. People stood aside and greeted him warmly.
‘Is that his daughter, do you suppose? The one in the Blenk livery?’
‘Surely you’ve heard. She’s been admitted to the Blenk studio – as an apprentice.’
‘A girl apprentice? Whatever’s the world coming to?’
‘Don’t be so fuddy-duddy. Personally, I think it’s a splendid idea. I’m sure we’ll be seeing more female artists in the future.’
Times certainly were changing in Nem.
The windows of the houses on the three sides of the square that faced the mansion were crowded with people, the owners in the upper floors and their servants below. The younger and more energetic of both classes had climbed to the rooftop turrets and even crowded into the semaphore machines that crowned several of the grand edifices. They watched sweetmeat-sellers with handcarts as they worked the square below, selling foods concocted from delicacies that only a short time ago would have been prohibitively expensive due to the Pleasures levied on them. Now they were selling like the hotcakes they were. Hurdy-gurdy men strolled about playing newly Pleasure-freed tunes to the delight of the crowd.
‘Look! There’s Ambrosius Blenk. Up there at the window.’
‘Who’s that with him?’
‘That’s his wife and Lord Floris.’
The master waved an acknowledgement to the throng.
‘And look. There’s whatshisname.’
‘Dirk Tot. Come closer. Swear you won’t tell, but he’s the man who’s invented all the new and cheap pigments that you can now buy.’
‘Really? Such beautiful colours from such an ugly man. Who’d have thought it?’
‘I hear he lost half his face and his hand while he was experimenting with those new pigments.’
As the hands on the clock reached one minute to the hour, an expectant hush fell throughout the gathering. The street musicians were silent and all that could be heard was the musical gurgling of the fountain. Everyone turned expectantly to face the mansion.
Then the moment arrived. The minute hand eclipsed the hour hand and the familiar carillon began echoing across the square. The many doors around the clock face swung open and from them appeared what everybody had come to see. The first figure to appear was a minstrel. It was as if he was singing a ballad of the figures that were to parade beneath his window. Then a giant emerged, pursued by a scarlet carriage. Halfway across the clock face, the rear wheels of the carriage fell off, causing a wave of laughter to ripple through the crowd. Then three small blue-clad figures led a strange creature on a leash across the face. Suddenly, in a coup de théâtre, the mechanical beast sprung apart and transformed itself into a larger and more frightening creature. There was applause as the three figures succeeded in dragging it to the far side and disappearing back into the clock.
Then there came an interlude in the automated tableau as dozens of tiny scarlet automata chased a band of multi-coloured figures across the clock face, on
ly for the tables to turn and for them to be chased back again. It ended with the humorous spectacle of a green figure repeatedly kicking a skinny red figure in the behind.
Then came the finale. It was a grand battle involving a veritable bestiary of monsters. The first out was a skeletal creature with a dinosaur’s head and many feet, its huge jaws opening and closing rapidly as it chomped a bevy of hybrid monsters that seemed to be as much machine as beast. Windows on either side of the clock opened to reveal a bearded artist in each, working at their easels. Below them processed a strange, human-looking house assailed by monsters. First the monsters would gain the upper hand, only to be thwarted by the house before everything was reversed. Repeatedly, a figure with many rotating faces lent a hand. As the mechanical battle continued, more and more of the house dropped away until at last it was gone. Then, in a final flourish, a masterpiece of the clockmaker’s art, the pieces of the house suddenly flew back together until it was whole, and it triumphed over the monsters.
All the while, two illuminated angels flew round and round overhead, harrying the attackers and generally behaving in a very un-angelic manner. As the house, the swivel-man and the angels bowed to the onlookers, they were carried back inside the clock and the chiming ended. Only those with the sharpest of eyes for detail noted that during the whole of the mechanical performance three small, blue-clad figures, two male and one female, remained on stage playing their own part in the conflict. Throughout the entire spectacle, the stars and planets whirled overhead as they always had done and always would. When everything finally disappeared back into the clock face, the crowd broke into spontaneous cheering and applause.
Hardly anyone noticed a blond-haired, blue-eyed apprentice dressed in the Blenk household livery in the corner of the square. While everyone was lost in baffled admiration of the clock and its enigmatic procession of figures, he was busy sketching the scene. He held open a new sketchbook of expensive paper and cradled a pot of the very best ink in one hand. With the other he held his drawing instrument. The finest he would ever own. It was a quill made from a brilliant white feather that appeared to glow with its own inner light. It seemed to dance in the air as it moved across the page.
Only once did he pause and look up from his work. That was to exchange a wave and a knowing wink with a couple of friends in the crowd.
Glossary of Terms in the Seven Kingdoms and the Mirrorscape
Allopecopithicum – A fox/monkey hybrid
Arachnophant – A spider/elephant hybrid
Arpen – The capital of the province of Feg
Bestiary – A book describing animals
Bols – A village in Feg
Borealis – Northernmost of the Seven Kingdoms
Cameleopard – A camel/panther hybrid
Catoblepas – An imaginary beast
Chicevache – An imaginary beast
Chromophage – A colour-eating worm
Cockatrice – An imaginary beast
Coloured Death, The – A wasting disease that colours the victim’s skin
Coloured Isles, The – Chain of pigment-producing islands off the west coast of Nem
Crocotta – An imaginary beast
Diaglyph – Religious symbol worn by Fas
‘Empire of Sleep, The’ – A place in the Mirrorscape
Fa – The title given to a priest
Farn – The river that runs through Vlam
Fas (pronounced Fars) Major – Second echelon of priests, above Fas Minor
Fas Minor – Lowest echelon of priests
Feg – A distant province of Nem
Fegie – An insulting term for an inhabitant of Feg. A bumpkin
Fifth Mystery, The – Guild governing the sense of sight
First Mystery, The – Guild governing the sense of touch
Fourth Mystery, The – Guild governing the sense of taste
Frest – A port in Nem
Fugitive Garden, The – Experimental garden in the mansion
Fustinbule – An imaginary beast
‘Garden at the End of Days, The’ – A place in the Mirrorscape
Great Houses, The – The House of Spirits, the House of Thrones and the House of Mysteries
Grothling – An imaginary beast
Gryphon – An imaginary beast
Harlequin-Mangabey – An imaginary beast
Hierarchs – Third echelon of Priests, above Fas Minor and Major
High-Council, The – Ruling body of the Mysteries
Hill of Mysteries, The – Hill beneath the House of Mysteries
Hill of Spirits, The – Hill beneath the House of Spirits
Hill of Thrones, The – Hill beneath the House of Thrones
Hippardium – A horse/panther hybrid
House of Mysteries, The – Palace of the five Mysteries
House of Spirits, The – Palace of the Maven
House of Thrones, The – Palace of King Spen
Iconium – A magical pigment that fades rapidly
Inspiration, Mine of – A place in the Mirrorscape
Interpellation, Instruments of – Torture implements
Issle – A province of Nem
Kig – One of the Coloured Isles. Home of the pigment mines
Kop – Mel’s home village in Feg
Mansion, The – Ambrosius Blenk’s house in Vlam
Manticore – An imaginary beast
Maven, The – The spiritual leader of Nem
Megaphine – An imaginary beast
Mines, The – Pigment mines on Kig
Mirrormark, The – The secret symbol that unlocks pictures
Mirrorscape, The – The world inside paintings and drawings
Mirrortime – The strange flow of time in the Mirrorscape
Mysteries, The – Five guilds governing the senses
Nem – Westernmost of the Seven Kingdoms. Mel’s country
Nemish – The language of Nem
Omniscope – An optical instrument with special powers
Pleasures – The rights to anything beyond the bare necessities of life
Pyrexia – Southernmost of the Seven Kingdoms
Second Mystery, The – Guild governing the sense of smell
Service Passages – Secret passages that riddle the mansion
Seven Kingdoms, The – Nem and its neighbouring kingdoms
Tabby – Plain, uncoloured cloth
Temporal Labyrinth, The – A place in the Mirrorscape
Third Mystery, The – Guild governing the sense of hearing
Thringle – An imaginary beast
Vermiraptor – An imaginary beast that feeds on chromophages
Vlam – The capital city of Nem
Volm – A province of Nem. Home province of Vlam
Western Ocean, The – Ocean off the west coast of Nem
Winding Shed, South-Eastern, The – One of the winding sheds that power Vlam’s trams
’World Turned Upside Down, The’ – A place in the Mirrorscape
Some Artistic Terms
Achromatic Colours – Black, white and grey
Apprentice Piece – A picture made by an apprentice to graduate as a journeyman
Azurite – A blue mineral pigment
Background – Distant elements in a picture
Body Colour – Opaque colour
Canvas – Linen or cotton fabric used to paint on. Also a finished painting on canvas
Cartoon – A preparatory drawing
Cartridge Paper – Inexpensive white drawing paper
Charcoal – Drawing material made from burnt wood
Caricature – Exaggerated depiction of a person
Chiaroscuro – Bold depiction of light and shade
Cinnabar – A red mineral pigment
Collage – Picture made by sticking elements on to it
Composition – The visual organisation of a picture
Craquelure – Crazing on old paint or varnish
Easel – Stand or support for a painting
Foreground – Pictorial space close to the viewer
Foreshortening – The compressing distortion caused by perspective
Format – The shape and size of an artwork
Fugitive (colour) – A colour that fades in daylight
Gallery – A room or building used to display pictures
Gesso – White ground used to paint on
Gilding – Application of gold leaf
Glaze – Transparent colour
Golden Mean or Golden Section – Harmonious ratio for dividing a picture
Gradation – Smooth and gradual change of tone or colour
Graticulation – Grid used to enlarge, reduce or otherwise distort a drawing
Hatching – Tones formed by closely spaced parallel lines
Impasto – Thick, layered use of paint
Indian Ink – Dense black ink
Journeyman – Stage between being an apprentice and a master
Landscape – Picture of an outdoor scene
Landscape Format – Wider than it is tall
Lapis Lazuli – Blue semi-precious stone. Basis of ultramarine pigment
Linseed Oil – Oil commonly used as a medium with oil paint
Local Colour – The inherent colour of an object
Malachite – A green mineral pigment
Masterpiece – A picture made by a journeyman to graduate as a master. A picture worthy of a master
Medium – Liquid mixed with pigment to make paint. Also, materials used to make a picture
Middle Ground – Pictorial space between the foreground and background
Nocturne – Depiction of a night-time scene
Ochre – A rich brown or yellow natural earth pigment
Oil Paint – Paint made from pigment mixed with oil
Opaque – Impervious to light
Orpiment – A yellow mineral pigment
Outline – The drawn boundary of an object or colour
Painting Knife – Small-bladed knife used to apply paint
Palette – Surface on which paint is mixed. Also, a range of colours
Palette Knife – Flexible knife used to mix paint