falling, falling right into the
boiling, bubbling magma...
There was a shock as she hit the red, bubbling mass that
might have a temperature of perhaps two thousand degrees,
and an all-encompassing but very brief pain, much like that
which an electric shock would give.
And then she was floating, swimming, flying, suspended
in the mass but no longer sensitive to it. There was no up, no
down, no east, west, north, or south. There was, however, a
presence. It was in there with her, all around her and coursing
not only through the molten magma but right through her as
well. She did not know what it was, but it was undeniably the
locus, the source of the magic.
"Be at peace," came a powerful, all embracing, motherly
voice in her head. She realized that no words had been spoken,
since none could be, under these conditions; but the voice was
so commanding, so authoritative, yet so friendly and reassuring
that it could not be denied.
It was her long-dead mother's voice.
"Mother?" her mind shot out, trying to reach it.
"I am indeed the mother of the Kauri, of which you are
almost one," the voice responded.
"Who? What... ?"
"You are troubled, child. The Kauri are not troubled, for
were one to be troubled, the race would be troubled. To be
troubled is for threats to person or the race, not otherwise.
Mohr Jerahl is a place of peace, of art and dance and fun. The
Kauri are the creatures of Mohr Jerahl, and so they must reflect
its nature. Come to me in the fire, as all those who venture
outside our homeland must, and let me ease your trouble. Relax
and think not; come unto me and give me your mind."
The creature, whatever it was, hesitated a moment, as if
waiting for her, but she did not, could not, yield to it.
"You hesitate. You close your mind to me. Why?"
Page 28
Chalker, Jack L - Demons of the Dancing Gods
"I—I'm afraid," she admitted. "A change in form is one
thing, but I don't want to be not me any longer!"
"But you will always be you and no other," the voice of
her mother soothed. "You come from the world of the Creator.
He alone fashioned your soul and its nature, and He alone can
refashion it. But the shape of that soul is Kauri, deep down.
Your sorcerer knew this when he directed your destiny so."
"But the Kauri are of this world, not mine!" she protested.
"How can I have a Kauri soul?"
"Child, the soul is insubstantial, mystical. It exists on the
magical plane and on no other. The fairies—all of faerie—
are souls bared, souls distilled, unencumbered by human form
and fears, for they exist only in the world of supemature. They
exist on the plane of pre-creation, before the universes were
formed, at the level of elemental, basic magic. Humanity was
made by imposing natural law on the soul; natural form, pain,
toil, suffering, mortality—these came later, when the Rebels
caused the violation of Eden's perfection. All that is now taken
from you. All that was mortal and natural in you was borne
away when you entered here. The nature of the soul determines
the nature of the person.
"The fairies exist in all humankind and are hot bound by
any world or its rules, only by those rules imposed upon the
race by the Creator. We were the models and the overseers in
the grand design. Humans who go against their own natures—
as many do for a variety of reasons, not all under their control—
suffer all the more for it. For, you see, that is the true curse
36
JACK L. CHALKER 37
DEMONS OF THE DANCING GODS
laid upon man after Eden—that he will turn his back on supernature
and will fight his own soul. In such a way do misery,
unhappiness, and evil breed."
She was startled by this information and its implications.
"What you are saying, then, is that we are all changelings."
"Yes, all. But when death comes to the mortal and frees
the soul, and that soul is purged of its sin, it lives apart from
us, within the Sea of Dreams, in a world that is wholly
boiling, bubbling magma...
There was a shock as she hit the red, bubbling mass that
might have a temperature of perhaps two thousand degrees,
and an all-encompassing but very brief pain, much like that
which an electric shock would give.
And then she was floating, swimming, flying, suspended
in the mass but no longer sensitive to it. There was no up, no
down, no east, west, north, or south. There was, however, a
presence. It was in there with her, all around her and coursing
not only through the molten magma but right through her as
well. She did not know what it was, but it was undeniably the
locus, the source of the magic.
"Be at peace," came a powerful, all embracing, motherly
voice in her head. She realized that no words had been spoken,
since none could be, under these conditions; but the voice was
so commanding, so authoritative, yet so friendly and reassuring
that it could not be denied.
It was her long-dead mother's voice.
"Mother?" her mind shot out, trying to reach it.
"I am indeed the mother of the Kauri, of which you are
almost one," the voice responded.
"Who? What... ?"
"You are troubled, child. The Kauri are not troubled, for
were one to be troubled, the race would be troubled. To be
troubled is for threats to person or the race, not otherwise.
Mohr Jerahl is a place of peace, of art and dance and fun. The
Kauri are the creatures of Mohr Jerahl, and so they must reflect
its nature. Come to me in the fire, as all those who venture
outside our homeland must, and let me ease your trouble. Relax
and think not; come unto me and give me your mind."
The creature, whatever it was, hesitated a moment, as if
waiting for her, but she did not, could not, yield to it.
"You hesitate. You close your mind to me. Why?"
Page 28
Chalker, Jack L - Demons of the Dancing Gods
"I—I'm afraid," she admitted. "A change in form is one
thing, but I don't want to be not me any longer!"
"But you will always be you and no other," the voice of
her mother soothed. "You come from the world of the Creator.
He alone fashioned your soul and its nature, and He alone can
refashion it. But the shape of that soul is Kauri, deep down.
Your sorcerer knew this when he directed your destiny so."
"But the Kauri are of this world, not mine!" she protested.
"How can I have a Kauri soul?"
"Child, the soul is insubstantial, mystical. It exists on the
magical plane and on no other. The fairies—all of faerie—
are souls bared, souls distilled, unencumbered by human form
and fears, for they exist only in the world of supemature. They
exist on the plane of pre-creation, before the universes were
formed, at the level of elemental, basic magic. Humanity was
made by imposing natural law on the soul; natural form, pain,
toil, suffering, mortality—these came later, when the Rebels
caused the violation of Eden's perfection. All that is now taken
from you. All that was mortal and natural in you was borne
away when you entered here. The nature of the soul determines
the nature of the person.
"The fairies exist in all humankind and are hot bound by
any world or its rules, only by those rules imposed upon the
race by the Creator. We were the models and the overseers in
the grand design. Humans who go against their own natures—
as many do for a variety of reasons, not all under their control—
suffer all the more for it. For, you see, that is the true curse
36
JACK L. CHALKER 37
DEMONS OF THE DANCING GODS
laid upon man after Eden—that he will turn his back on supernature
and will fight his own soul. In such a way do misery,
unhappiness, and evil breed."
She was startled by this information and its implications.
"What you are saying, then, is that we are all changelings."
"Yes, all. But when death comes to the mortal and frees
the soul, and that soul is purged of its sin, it lives apart from
us, within the Sea of Dreams, in a world that is wholly
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