A castle stood among the mountains. Low angles of dark stone outlined its massive bulk, turning upwards into sharp towers and spindled buttresses. A star perched on its tallest point, beating with the steadiness of a massive heart. A greenish light crept up its walls as the sun set, highlighting the mass like a ghost.


    It was the Castle; larger than any other building Ismene had ever seen, and the place she was finally, finally returning to. The wind was rising as they reached a high place on the road, but the view of the Castle was breathtaking.


    The permit had taken longer than usual this time, and then the weather had been miserable. Lady Harmonia had taken her time. Finally, Ismene had been able to go. During that delay, though, her mother''s letter had arrived.


    I''m expecting good rains for you this spring, it said. Maybe you can get away and visit? The carefully-couched language, meant to pass under her employer''s eyes unnoticed, told Ismene to expect another, privately delivered, letter. If it couldn''t be seen by Lady Harmonia, it wasn''t news of a death in the family, or village gossip. It would be another attempt from her mother to convince her to leave the city.


    Ismene would never give up serving under Harmonia. Not as long as she was able to travel as she did. As long as she could see the Castle.


    Her horse followed Harmonia''s down along the road, and they lost sight of their destination. Before it was hidden by the trees, Ismene smiled at it as though welcoming a long-distant friend. How could she give up the opportunity to visit such a magical place?


    "It''s magnificent," Eryx said beside her, "but, it''s... unnerving. It''s so big!"


    Ismene didn''t disagree; but she loved that, too. The Castle had so much of a presence that she felt like she was standing near a living, wakeful being. The mountains were larger, yes; but the impossible bulk of the Castle among them was breathtaking. As night deepened, she''d get to see the tower star casting an aurora-like halo over the edifice.


    What fuelled its light? She didn''t know. But it would be lovely to see.


    Some had theorized, because of its location overlooking a massive cliff, that the Castle had once been some kind of walled fortress; but if so, it had been incorporated into a single structure for centuries, and had no surviving separate keep. There were illustrations of the Castle that dated from many years ago; it looked much the same. Any primordial fortress must have been very old indeed.


    "Ismene?" Harmonia called. Ismene brought herself out of her reverie and slackened her reins. Eryx, too, tried to catch up.


    As they descended and the road turned again, the Castle came into view again. The road led to the edge of the cliff that separated them from the castle, attaching to the bridge that crossed the chasm. Was it really a cliff, or an ancient divide cut between the hills? No; nothing that huge could be man-made. "That''s the bridge?" Eryx asked Ismene.


    Ismene nodded.


    "It seems... narrow," Eryx suggested.


    Ismene could allow for Eryx''s skepticism. The bridge was strangely built; at this distance, it looked impossibly spindly. Its piers, figured gracefully with stone, seemed too thin for the gap it spanned. "It''s bigger than it looks," Ismene reassured Eryx. "You''ll see when we get there. It''s really solid."


    She was excited to have a guest come along with them. Permits were difficult, and Harmonia usually didn''t need anyone else to come do the work, so it was often only she and Ismene who made trips there. This time, however, Harmonia''s father had sent Eryx along so she could more easily pick things out in the Library. Privately, Ismene thought he was showing off his ability to get the Assembly''s approval; but it was novel to have someone along. And Ismene adored the Castle, in all its mystery. She hoped Eryx might come to like it, too.


    Once on the bridge, Eryx made no further comment about its stability. However thin and intricate it seemed at a distance, the pillars were massive at close quarters. As they rode across it it made no movement or sound. Arches of dark polished stone stood at the end, lining the main gate, and as they rode underneath, the Castle looked even bigger. The gate itself was a canyon-like split in the outer wall, continuing for some distance until it widened into a huge unroofed courtyard. At the far end, on a wide staircase, there was a single visible figure. Harmonia straightened up, riding on towards them. At a respectful distance from the figure, she dismounted.


    “Is that the Voice?” Eryx whispered to Ismene.


    “That''s them,” Ismene said, climbing off her horse and leading it up to a proper distance behind her employer. Even without her usual attendant, Harmonia looked regal. Eryx followed with Ismene. The floor was made of the same dark, shining stone as the outside ramparts, and her horse''s hooves clacked on it. The walls were translucently glassy, lit greenly from below by some concealed trick of light. It gave the entry hall a weird aura, like it was an entrance to the netherworld and not a high-up mountain eyrie.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As they approached, Harmonia raised her hand in greeting. The figure, veiled in a very sheer silk, did not return the gesture. Their dark robes fell like shadows.


    "I am the Voice of the Castle," they declared instead. They sounded deep and confident, but somehow very aged. Once their voice must have been resonant. "Identify yourselves, travelers."


    “I am Harmonia, Tyrenian business owner, daughter of Prytane Mellon; here by permission of the Assembly,” Harmonia said. “I greet you, Voice, and bid you peace. These are Eryx, a scholar sponsored by my father, and Ismene, my servant." She indicated her companions in turn.


    "I greet you, Harmonia, and bid you peace," the Voice said. "The Castle lies open to those who would share knowledge, and seek it."


    "I have knowledge I would share," Harmonia said, following the formula, and produced a folded list for the Voice. Eryx watched, fascinated, but Ismene was used to the process. The protocol to enter the Castle had been worked out long before Ismene''s time. A visitor would bring new texts, and the Voice would allow them entrance to the Library. The Castle seemed insatiable for knowledge. Harmonia always brought new stories and records from her father''s House.


    In return, Harmonia and Ismene could enter the Library and use its archives. The Castle had a very long memory, and a startling quantity of Tyrenian-gifted works. Between the Library''s age and its seeming inability to forget, it had far more than any blandly profitable—and legal—Tyrenian library Ismene had been allowed into. It was a valuable source for works whose originals were lost, or came from other regions, or which had been destroyed in Tyrene by the Assembly.


    The Voice perused Harmonia''s manifest. "Your contribution is accepted. Items five and thirty-seven are redundant; they will be used in comparison to the existing texts. Thank you." They spread their arms wide. "Harmonia," the Voice said. "Eryx. Ismene. You are welcome to stay within our walls."


    They made no mention of Harmonia''s full status; heir, not associate, not assignee. No blood relative of Mellon''s family outranked his adopted heir. Here, it didn''t matter.


    "It is an honor," Harmonia replied crisply.


    “You are welcome to our hospitality; a Hand will guide you if you have need. And please,” the Voice said, seemingly focusing on each of them in turn, “do not wander from the guest halls. The Hands will warn you if you go too far.”


    With that cryptic comment, they turned and swept into the arching doorway behind.


    Harmonia sniffed after the Voice was gone. "Arch as always. You''d think we spied." People did, of course, and they tended to get intercepted. No one seemed to be able to escape the Hands'' attention; they had a way of appearing, and Castle doors had a way of staying shut. Ismene suspected Harmonia had found that out herself. "Well, it isn''t my problem if someone insulted the Voice." She turned back to Ismene. "The deliveries need seeing to; I''ll be in the library tomorrow to check on you." She turned to Eryx. "We have ten days. I trust you can go about your work?"


    "Of course, Lady Harmonia," Eryx said. "I look forward to it."


    "I''ll check in with you later. Do you like the Castle?" Harmonia asked.


    Eryx said nothing of her discomfort. "It''s a wonder, and I''m grateful for your father''s patronage. I''ve never seen the like."


    "Father approves of you," Harmonia said. "Consider this trip a gift, and use it well."


    "Thank you, Harmonia. I appreciate the opportunity," Eryx said.


    "The horses need care," Harmonia directed towards Ismene as she started walking up the stairs.


    "Yes, Lady Harmonia," Ismene acknowledged.


    With Harmonia disappearing up into the Castle, Ismene was left with Eryx in the colossal hall. Her day wasn''t over. She was sore, and tired, but she would make it. Later, she could enjoy the luxuries, too. "Are you going straight up?" she asked Eryx. "I can get a Hand to take your horse."


    Eryx realized she''d be alone in the edifice. "No, I''ll go with you, if you''re fine with that. I don''t know the way." She grinned, ruefully. "And I am grateful to be here, but this is pretty spooky to a first-timer."


    "I guess it can be," Ismene said. "Stables are this way," she said, pointing them towards a somewhat more human-scaled door halfway down the entrance hall.


    Eryx took her own horse''s lead and followed Ismene. "That whole rigamarole was interesting. What did the Voice mean, don''t wander?"


    "I don''t know," Ismene commented. "At least, they''ve never said it before. The rest of the formula is very old." She was curious about the break in form; but she could think of a dozen reasons why. "Sometimes someone tries to sneak around; the Hands seem to find them every time, but maybe someone found a way to get into places they shouldn''t be." Ismene didn''t mention that, very rarely, she''d seen Tyrenians there who couldn''t possibly have been issued travel permits. Apparently that wasn''t the Castle''s problem, although Ismene was certain Harmonia would disapprove if she knew. Ismene was happy that the Castle didn''t seem to turn anyone away. If someone made it across the Tyrenian border without a permit, she wasn''t about to draw attention to them.


    "What if you don''t go back when they tell you to?" Eryx asked.


    "I don''t know," Ismene said. "I''ve never tried. They say if you''re here to cause trouble, though, you have nightmares. And the Voice has had some people escorted out."


    "Hmm," Eryx commented grimly.


    Ismene shrugged. "The forest is supposed to be more dangerous. At least, there''s all those fire-tales about it. The road is safe enough, though."


    The lateral hallway was narrower and roofed, with high vaulted ceilings that fit together in angular networks. None of the stone was translucent here; instead, pale flameless lamps set into the walls lit their way. Eryx followed her, looking every which way at the walls and floors and ceiling.


    "It feels like a temple," she commented, "but I''d be afraid of meeting the god it honored." It did look temple-like, in a way; there were often high-cut windows in the walls, on the eastern side that must eventually open out in the castle wall. The cuts must be long indeed, to pierce such a wall, Ismene thought; but light came through them, so they had to end somewhere.


    "Would you really?" Ismene said. "It''s a god that doesn''t ask very much of you. And lets you read all you want."


    Eryx only hummed in response.