Figures of Avalon

In one of the far corners of my workshop, there was an antique mirror that I had never thought of looking into. A sort of forgotten relic that I had picked up on one of my travels, its origins were unknown to me and there seemed to be nothing to distinguish it from other objects of its kind.

That morning, without knowing why, I felt the need to pull it out of its dusty shroud and look into it. As I leaned in, I couldn't see any reflection, not even my own. The surface of the artefact blurred for a moment, deepening in wavy, elusive circles, before giving way to the moving picture of a shore bathed in mist. Five silhouettes stood out, motionless, frozen like moss-covered menhirs, like silent sentinels. Intrigued, I set about examining them in detail. The first of these individuals stood up straight and his forehead, bosom of a crown, seemed to confirm the rank that his stature only suggested. The second figure, a woman, was in a different position. With her hand raised as if to cast a spell, she wore her hair up, showing off her head. To her right stood a more stooped form, as if bent by the weight of ancestral knowledge, leaning on a staff on which sat a bird of prey. Then came another mute guardian, standing at a slight angle. A long blade ran down her side, held in place with her fingertips, while her loose hair suggested an increased closeness to the surrounding nature. Finally, the last of this strange gathering stood apart, shoulders hunched, seated on what looked like a throne, surveying the waters of the shore with a fishing rod in his hand.

This vision obsessed me for the next few days and it was impossible for me to work properly, my mind too busy wondering about these motionless figures. Tired of struggling in vain, I set about finding out more about mirrors and their properties, since I knew that some were used in the divinatory arts. At the same time, I started looking for compilations of the myths and legends of the region from which I had brought it back. I spent some time on this rather tedious work, so I won't go into further detail here. It was only after several weeks of patient research that I saw a clue. An obscure passage scribbled in the margins of an illuminated codex referred to a similar artefact, once given to a lake priestess whose name seemed to change from one text to the next. This information, combined with the mists of vision, seemed to indicate that the object was linked to the folklore of the Kingdom of Logres. It was here that the mirror seemed to want to guide me, so I decided to set off to explore, once more, these mysterious and legendary lands.

***

Once there, it seemed obvious to me to rely on the mirror and its visions, which gradually began to take shape, unfolding like a silent narrative. First, silhouettes were superimposed on blurred landscapes, then the misty shoreline gave way to ancient woods where the trunks still seemed imbued with a forgotten magic. At each stage of my journey, the visions grew fuller, providing me with new information and new details. There, a lone menhir, then a circle of standing stones or a few rocky promontories lost in the golden moorland.

And that's how, snippet by snippet, the mirror guided me towards the remains of an imposing building surrounded by gnarled shrubs. Under a low sky with a few crows circling, walls and towers lay. All that remained of the castle was a tangle of half-collapsed foundations and staircases that led nowhere, either because they were broken or because they were sinking into the ground, time having done its work to cover the rubble.

As I searched the vestiges, following my intuition, I discovered the remains of a hidden door. Surprising as it may seem, given the state of the surrounding area, it resisted for a while and it took more than one attempt before it gave way and separated from the surrounding stones. The air that escaped from the opening, cold and dense, was laden with the mineral humidity of the underground. A narrow corridor opened up before me, leading to a spiral staircase descending to the lower level. Lighting a torch, I descended slowly, guided by its flickering light. As I advanced, the silence became more oppressive, contrasting with the noise of the crows I had heard earlier and barely disturbed by the crunch of my footsteps on the rubble. I emerged into a vast room with cracked flagstones at the centre of which lay an ancient round table, broken at the centre. Although its fragments were gnawed by damp and marked by the ravages of time, and although it appeared simple, devoid of any emblem or shield, an ancient power radiated from it, permeating the veins of the dead wood.

Behind it was an impressive bas-relief depicting the deeds of illustrious figures from the kingdom, and it was as if, by listening carefully, certain oaths pronounced in these parts in the past could still be heard. After observing it silently, my fingers running over its rough edges, my attention turned away from it and returned to the intriguing table. Driven by a compelling need, I set about removing a few splinters of wood. Not stopping there, I also collected some stone dust and various plants growing there, proceeding carefully so as not to upset the delicate balance of their magic.

Pausing for a moment, still silent, I had the feeling I was being watched. Yet nothing moved apart from the shadows cast by the flickering flames of my torch. Sensing a certain expectation in the air, I felt I had to rely on the mirror once again. Taking it out of my bag, I couldn't help noticing that it seemed heavier, as if the energy of the place had weighed it down. After placing it carefully on the table, I looked at it again. Immediately, its surface blurred, making the five silhouettes reappear. Identical to the first vision, they were still frozen, as if attentive. But gradually the image became blurred as the mist thickened, masking the silent watchers. When the vision finally stabilised, the fading mist revealed five dragon eggs lying beside the mirror in the grass and fallen leaves not far from the shore of the lake. Just as motionless as the five silhouettes had been, they seemed to be waiting for their guardians.

In the silence of the crypt, I realised that all I had to do was go back to my workshop and get to work.

This collection is composed of four medium-sized eggs and one larger egg.

The shop will be updated on 18 June at 8.30pm.