The Enchantress of Sylaire

"The Enchantress of Sylaire" is a short story by Clark Ashton Smith, set in his pseudo-historical French setting of Averoigne. It first appeared in the July 1941 issue of Weird Tales.
==Synopsis ==
The story concerns Anselme, a romantic young man who has become a hermit in "the wild woodland of Averoigne" after being spurned by Dorothée, the woman he loves. After 13 months of solitude, Anselme comes upon a beautiful woman bathing in a forest pool fed by the river Isoile--accompanied by an enormous wolf. She introduces herself as Séphora, an enchantress, and invites Anselme to accompany her to her domain, Sylaire, "a land lying outside of time and space" and reached through a stone portal erected by the druids.
Anselme becomes Séphora's lover and dwells with her in Sylaire. The "wolf" reveals that he is the sorcerer Malachie du Marais, now a werewolf, a curse he claims was bestowed on him when she tired of him as her lover. Séphora's servants, he claims, are vampires, and Séphora herself "an ancient lamia, well-nigh immortal, who feeds on the vital forces of young men".
Séphora warns that Malachie has become a danger to herself and to Anselme, and gives him a glass vial that she suggests he should switch with a similar container Malachie has, which holds a potion that will cure his lycanthropy, and thus restore his full sorcerous powers. She also gives Anselme a sword enchanted to be "effective against such as Malachie".
Anselme goes to Malachie's lair to secretly makes the switch, and while there Malachie gives him the "mirror of Reality", in which "all things are reflected according to their true nature." He sees that Malachie's reflection in it is that of a long-dead corpse.
Dorothée comes to Sylvaine, and professes that she now loves Anselme--who finds that his love for her has quite expired. Before he can explain, a maddened Malachie attacks in wolf form, and Anselme slays him with the sword. A grateful Dorothée tries to embrace him, but he shows her the mirror, and upon seeing her reflection recoils in "manifest horror" and flees back to her own world.
Séphora asks if he would not like to see what she looks like in the mirror of Reality. “I am content with what my eyes tell me, without the aid of any mirror,” he declares, throwing the mirror into a deep pit.
==Characters==
*Anselme du Framboisier: The second son of the Comte du Framboisier. He is "not so ill-looking" and has fair manners, but is an "addle-headed dreamer" who is suspected of writing verses.
*Dorothée des Flêches: The only daughter of the Sieur des Flêches. She has blond ringlets, a "full-ripened mouth," "round arms and slender waist."
*Séphora: An enchantress and the châtelaine of Sylaire. Possibly a lamia. She has "thick-curling chestnut hair", and a "short oval face with slightly slanted eyes and lips red as pomegranate flowers." Her eyes are blue-grey.
*Malachie du Marais: A werewolf, formerly a sorcerer and Séphora's lover. As a wolf, he is "far larger than the common grey wolves of the forest," and his fur is "a glossy bluish-black." In human form, he is "lean, powerful, with blue-black hair and beard, and darkly flaming eyes"; his hair grows almost down to his eyebrows and his beard almost up to his eyes.
==Publication History==
Following its appearance in Weird Tales, "The Enchantress of Sylaire" has been reprinted in several collections of Smith's work, including The Abominations of Yondo (Arkham House, 1960). It is included in both The Averoigne Archives (Pickman's Press, 2019) and The Averoigne Chronicles (Hippocampus Press, 2021).
==External Links==
*"The Enchantress of Sylaire", full text at Eldritch Dark
*"Pulp Fantasy Library: The Enchantress of Sylaire", review at Grognardia
Category:Clark Ashton Smith works
Category:Lovecraft Circle Works
Category:Averoigne Cycle