A couple of years ago I came across a facinating shadow, which I had never seen anything like before. The shadow was called Cefiro. Cefiro was a wartorn land when I arrived in it, but it was supposed to have been a beautiful realm in the not too distant past. The rules of Cefiro were rather strange, there was very little technology, but magic was rampant. The rules for magic in the realm were very strange. It appears that anyone with a strong enough will could cast magic, in a way it seems very similar to how an Amberite is able to control shadows through his relationship with the Pattern.
The stronger a person's will or psyche the stronger their magic is. I arrived at a strange time in the shadow, supposedly Cefiro is a world controlled by the wishes of a person called the Pillar of Cefiro. Cefiro is linked to its Pillar, and the land changes as the mood of the Pillar does as well, or so I was told. I never actually met the Pillar, since there was no pillar at the time. I am told that the pillar had limitless powers, and could make any wish come true. I even met some girls from Shadow Earth, while I was there, and they said that the Pillar of Cefiro wished them over to Cefiro before she perished.
Cefiro was a desolate wasteland when I arrived, and I met many monsters during my visit there. The entire population of Cefiro had moved into the confines of a castle. The Pillar of Cefiro was dead, and it appears that two other nations had started an invasion of Cefiro. Both of these countries wished to place a new Pillar of Cefiro. Cefiro is a strange land in that the Pillar controls everyone and the only prerequisite to becoming the Pillar is that you have the strongest will in the realm. The invaders to Cefiro saw the path to its conquest open when the previous Pillar of Cefiro perished. I met many of the defenders of Cefiro and wishing to learn more and also help to defend this land from its invaders I joined in the defense of Cefiro.
I have a feeling that Cefiro might be one of those places of power within Shadow that are more real than others, like the Keep of the Four Worlds. You see, the invaders as best as I can tell aren't from the same shadow as Cefiro, but somehow managed to travel through shadow thanks to vehicles which they created. One of the crafts was made in a high tech shadow called Metropolis, and the other craft appeared to be powered by a form of magic, and its owner attacked with illusionary spells. The craft came from a shadow called Tianxia, which appears to be based on something loosely looking like Chinese Mysticism from Shadow Earth. I cannot say for certain as I never have visited Tianxia, though at some later point I think it would be an interesting place to visit.
The defense of Cefiro was carried out by a number of people, mostly the magicians of Cefiro. They were trying to hold out until they could find another Pillar. I assisted in the defense and found myself able to cast some magic as well within Cefiro, but I was a novice compared to others. Cefiro had three main defenders, the three girls that were summoned from Shadow Earth by the previous Pillar. Each of the three girls had a magical beast which they would ride into combat, but the beasts while living appeared to be more like machines. They looked similar to the fighting machines used by Metropolis, but they were creatures of magic and not machines.
The battle to defend Cefiro was rather long and difficult, but in the end, the invaders were repelled. I played a fairly minor role in the events, but it was interesting to watch what happened. I left the realm in search of other places to travel, and as far as I know there is still no PIllar in Cefiro. I will need visit again sometime soon and see what has become of Cefiro. The land is a strange place and others may wish to visit and see for themselves, but whoever controls Cefiro could very well become a force if they wish to become involved in the politics of others realms. If the Pillar of Cefiro can summon those from other shadows, who knows what it is possible for the Pillar to accomplish. The implications could be very scary indeed. I hope that the Pillar of Cefiro decides to stay content with just Cefiro and has no wishes to expand their control.
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