PIECE PROFILES

Mydwynter

The old castle is dark and damp and Mydwynter is no longer as young as he was. He prepares to retire for the evening after a long day's experimenting, dressed only in his warm underclothing and heavy robe.

Holding his candle and latest volume of notes from experiments both failed and half completed he starts his way up the never ending cold stone stairs to his bed chamber. There his comfortable old chair and a blazing fire await him. He is destined to spend the night gazing into the moonlit sky hoping for inspiration and an answer to the eternal question of how to turn lead into gold.

This long version of the story of Mydwynter below was printed in the Winter 1989 Land of Legends Chronicle.

Mydwynter is cold. From his window he can see that the land is covered in a blanket of deep frost which sparkles in the moonlight, and tonight will surely be the coldest of the year.

Mydwynter is old now, and like his castle has seen better days, and his bones are frail and aching with the cold. No matter, the fire which rages in his bed chamber will warm him as he reads his notes and casts idle glances at the stars. Halfway up the flight of steps he stumbles and falls, cursing as his candle flame dies and plunges him into darkness. Mydwynter knows that without its light, he is little more than a helpless old man.

He laughs, a helpless old man indeed! Why, not so many years ago he faced the flames of a dragon’s fiery breath with nothing more than a bag of pearls and a ruby for a weapon! Yes, those had been the days…

In times long past, Mydwynter lifed life of daring and adventure, a roving young wizard who – for a price, of course – accompanied parties of fighters and exiled Elfin Princes on quests through the darkest, most dreaded dungeons in the land. He had lived life to the full, never fleeing from a fight, always ready to summon magical fire and fury to halt an enemy’s advance. He had rescued maidens from ogres’ mountain caves; stolen diamonds from a dragon’s gathered horde, and even tracked a werewolf through the caverns of an underground labyrinth. He has had enough violence, heard too often the clash of swords and the screams of dying friends. Now the years which remain to him are devoted to science.

Day after day he works to answer the eternal question: can lead be turned to gold? Can he solve the riddle of transmutation, and end his days in comfort and luxury?

He does not know the answer. All he can be sure of is that he will try his best.

The photos on this page were kindly supplied by fellow collector Harold Blackwood and as such he owns the copyright to them.