Tapestries

Tapestries
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Publishing Information
Author(s)	Kathy Ice (ed.)
First printing	July 1, 1995
ISBN-13	978-0061053085
Preceded By Final Sacrifice Followed By The Cursed Land

Tapestries is one of the two pre-revisionist Magic anthologies. It was published in July 1995. Authors include David Drake, Morgan Llywelyn, S.M. Stirling, and 14 others. It was edited by Kathy Ice.

Stories

Thief's Flight

Written by Carla Montgomery.

Kyree, a member of a barbarian tribe that utilizes flight spells, has to nick something valuable from a tomb as a rite of passage. Lifting an Ivory Cup summons a Serra Angel who chases her. She loses the cup, but when she wakes up she discovers she's still clutching a Serra Angel feather, which is even more valued in the eyes of her tribe.

What's in a Name?

Written by Michael A. Stackpole.

Loot Niptil is an amnesia-afflicted wizard, who is a refugee of a planeswalker fight, summoned to do battle and then left behind when the planeswalkers were done. He is picked up by a group of cat warriors, who see him as their loot, and dub him "Nipped Tail". A Crookshank kobold named Dreadfang forces Loot to do his bidding. The kobold wants to steal some items from a tomb, but the items are cursed so that if you remove them they will bring ruin to "all of your name". Dreadfang reckons Loot doesn't have a name, and can thus get around the curse. But Loot does have a name, so now all the loot is cursed and the kobold dies.

The Brass Man Who Would Sink

Written by Hanovi Braddock.

A boy is being forced into marrying a local noblewoman but is told he can get out of it if he can do impossible tasks, like tilling an entire field in a day. He finds a Brass Man who helps him complete all the tasks. The Brass Man asks if he's allowed to "sink into hell" after each chore, but the boy's love interests keep saying no. Then eventually the noblewoman takes the boy and the Brass Man away. Now the boy finally gives the Man permission to sink, and it drags the noblewoman down with him.

Inheritance

Written by S.D. Perry

A girl lives in a village with only boys and women. When the boys grow older they get sick and are quarantined until they die. But then the girl finds out that all the children are children of the Rag Man, and the boys turn into Rag Men themselves. She turns out to be special because she is the first and only woman to be changed.

Gathering the Taradomnu

Written by Mark Shepherd

An elven princess, called Terena, travels to a distant corner of Llanowar to gather Taradomnu root to cure her father, who was poisoned by her power-hungry brother. On her way, she meets a nice human boy whose family was killed by her xenophobic brother. She then kills the brother when he confronts her. Getting back to the Elfhame she discovers she's too late and her father is already dead, but because of Llanowar inheritance law, the throne will go to the children of her now-dead brother, since she has no kids herself. She unexpectedly finds out that she is pregnant by the boy she met on her adventure, which allows her to take the throne for herself and her half-human child.

Smoke and Mirrors

Written by Ben Ohlander

Commander Grinstable has to take a citadel to conquer the valley beyond. Since she's working for an evil warlord who always kills failing underlings she enlists the help of a Dwarven Demolition Team. The dwarves use too many explosives and blow up the entire citadel, blocking access to the valley completely.

The Light in the Forest

Written by Michael Scott

An aging mercenary called Dolena fears she won't be able to work soon since her eyesight is fading. While guarding a caravan she notices something odd in the forest and goes to investigate. A younger mercenary follows her, hoping to kill her and take whatever she finds. What they find is a mysterious Basalt Monolith that reverses aging. The younger man stays too long and regresses into a puddle of protoplasm. Dolena gets away with her eyesight and vitality restored.

Dochyel's Ride

Written by David M. Honigsberg

Dochyel is a young Rundvelt Goblin who convinces the old war hero Pashalik Mons to adopt an improved Goblin Rock Sled to bring raiders to the front line sooner.

Heart of Shanodin

Written by Bruce Holland Rogers

Send by the king Amjad, an assassin and a knight are heading for the Heart of Shanodin to kill an enemy. However, the Heart of Shanodin magically brings out someone's "inner self", turning their prey into a religious fanatic and the knight into a peaceful wrestler from Oneah. The knight named Ittono Khairt ni Hata Kan, falls in love with Shanodin Dryad. The assassin's "inner self" turns out to be an actor, so he can still be whomever he wants, and he wants to be an assassin. He kills the man they were sent to kill and then kills the dryad as well. The knight reverses to his former evil self.

Animal Trap

Written by M.C. Sumner

A fourteen-year-old girl called Kolli is sent into the woods to find out the secret from the Keldon trader Kalenth Ush. Ush has an unexplainable large supply of silver wolf pelts, which threatens to put all of his competitors out of business. Kolli finds out that the trader has been abducting travelers, and has been changing them into werewolves before skinning them. Kolli is bitten by Ush and transforms into a werewolf herself, but is still able to kill the trader. In the morning, she transforms back. Unsure if her condition is permanent, she frees the remaining prisoners of Ush and appropriates his gold.

The Theft of Bayende, Heart, and Soul

Written by Billie Sue Mosiman

A wizard, Thane Du-Moriss IV, has set up a land of peace and settled down with a wife, Bayende. But then an old rival tracks him down and murders his pregnant wife. Thane spends the next seventeen years tracking down his opponent, Noranda-Zang. He kills his son, leaving Noranda devastated. Du-Morris feels no joy though, just more misery, knowing that he and Noranda are going to be at war forever.

Wellspring

Written by Cynthia Ward

An old elf tells a story about the origin of the Wizard Tyrant. Two elves discovered how to draw mana from the land, destroying the land in the process. They used their magic responsibly, but their kid turned out to be evil, abusing his powers. The old elf telling her story is young, just weathered with magic use, and is the granddaughter of the Wizard Tyrant. She vows to kill him with her magic.

Dryad's Kiss

Written by Morgan Llywelyn

An old hermit has spent his entire life learning magic, without success. A dryad turns up to seduce him. He finally gives in to the call of magic and disappears.

The Lament

Written by S.M. Stirling

A Black Knight named Sauruven Hellwald meets a mourning Hurloon Minotaur in the Gurdurngs. The minotaur and his mate were summoned in a planeswalkers' duel and she got killed by a Stone Giant. The knight helps with the lamentation ritual and the two then plan to go and kill the Stone Giant. But then the Knight is summoned by his planeswalker, Thomil, for a duel, and his new minotaur friend is summoned by the opposing planeswalker. The knight kills the minotaur, sings the lament for his friend, and then goes and kills the Stone Giant.

Airborne All the Way!

Written by David Drake

A wizard's aide oversees the setting up of a Goblin Balloon Brigade, but because of the stupidity of the goblins, she ends up in the balloon herself.

Not Just Another Green World?

Written by Peter Friend

Two cute sapient creatures find an injured human. The man, 'Alzarakh, hails from Dominaria, but fled after a duel. He teaches one of the local kids how to summon an Ironroot Treefolk, but the kid is promptly incinerated by a fireball sent by Alzarakh's enemy. The locals believe that Alzarakh did this on purpose, and brutally murder him.

The Going Price

Written by Sonia Orin Lyris

Three dwarves find a bunch of dragon eggs, and start selling them to a guy called Reod Dai. This story is no longer canon. The later novel And Peace Shall Sleep provides a contradictory account of the same story.