Mirrorscape

  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