The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare

by April Leonie Lindevald

  “This is what I mean. Creative thinking. Ideas. Faith that there actually are ways to succeed.” Tvrdik was exuberant.

  A small movement from one chair in the circle drew every eye. It was Praeger, squirming somewhat uncomfortably in his seat. Now he realized that all the attention was on him, waiting for his comment, the only one left unexpressed. It was Jorelial Rey who prompted him at last, “Mr. Praeger, what say you? Do you think we are all mad?”

  “No, no! Oh, no, my lady, that is the farthest thing from my mind. I have only been sittin’ here wonderin’ how a plain man, such as myself, finds himself in such powerful company, and what ye all think I could possibly contribute of any value. I am a simple man. I know little of magic or kingdoms or great causes – only that I have seen great miracles, restorin’ my daughter to health, and changin’ the fortunes of my whole family, near overnight. And, I have seen only suffering, fear, and misery come from an act of bold violence. I have no stomach for the latter any longer. There is no good in it, no matter what we are told by those who hold power in this world. I can tell ye from experience that this Drogue, that calls himself a ‘Prince’, he is a dangerous man, and greatly to be feared. I have been in his presence, and there is about him a quality that chilled me to my bones. It will be no child’s play to defeat him. Even so, I have no wish to harm him myself – only to stop him from taking what is not his. As for you, Mistress Regent, and Master Mage, I owe you my life and my service, and think highly of yer wisdom. Whatever a man such as me has to offer, I give freely.”

  Tvrdik put an arm around the wiry man’s rounded shoulders, “Master Praeger, everything you have just said is precisely why you should have a seat here, and your wife as well. Your experience has strengthened your convictions. You have lived the contrast between the fruits of war and peace. And, you have met, however briefly, our adversary, and know his mettle. You have credibility, and are a perfect spokesman for us with the real people of this realm – the farmers and herders and merchants and craft folk. Will you take our message? We cannot succeed without the good will of the people.”

  “I suppose we still have a few friends in the town and country at that, and I will pass the word, gladly.”

  “Good. Then we are all in agreement. Time is short. Speak to whoever you can, and see what support there is for such a plan. We meet again one week from today with as many other representatives as you can persuade to come. Thank you all for your confidence and your faith. You cannot know how much you have lifted my hopes today. Each of you will be a leader in a completely new and untried endeavor, a new force for good. Together we will push back the darkness that threatens us now, and that to come…”

  Delphine chimed in, “Oooooh! That’s good. We need a name, a slogan with which to rally people and inspire them. ‘Push back the darkness’ is good. That would make us, what? Soldiers of Light? Armies of Light?”

  “Legions of Light,” Mark pronounced, and shrugged at the approbation he saw in the faces of all present, and at their excited exclamations. “Just a little alliteration…” he mumbled, while Delphine squeezed the hand of her poet.

  “Right then,” Jorelial Rey summed up, “the first meeting of the Legions of Light is officially adjourned. We leave this place with a name, a vision, a timetable, and work to do. Before a week has passed, everyone in the kingdom will know our name and our purpose, and will deem it an honor to come and sign on. May every benevolent being of the universe smile on our endeavors, and guide us to victory.”

  “Victory!” shouted everyone else, whipped into a froth of excitement and hope.

  As the guests took their leave to find their own homes and supper, the sun was sinking toward the horizon, a giant ball of fiery red. There was much handshaking and enthusiastic back-thumping, words of encouragement and compliment, and a tangible sense that something important and remarkable had begun. Tvrdik returned Ondine to the river, settling on a plan to meet on the following day. The Praegers set about moving the chairs and benches back to their normal places, cleared the trays and cups, straightened up the place, and begged leave to go back with the others to Theriole, where they would spend their nights until they could properly refit the back rooms of The Cottage for their purposes. Tvrdik thanked them for all of their efforts, told them he looked forward to a long and mutually beneficial association, and added that he would look into the details of their salaries on the morrow. Mr. Praeger stopped him in mid-sentence, “Master Wizard, sir, it is kind of ye to be thinkin’ of our needs just now with so many things pressin’. But there is no need to hurry about it. The way I see it, I still owe ye labor and service for no pay at all.”

  Tvrdik replied, “You have already more than paid me back, Praeger, believe me. We will come to an arrangement that is fair, never fear.”

  They left along with Warlowe, Andrus, Verger, and Bargarelle, while the fading light still showed the path home, Lynette, half-asleep, toddling along beside her mother. Mark and Delphine followed close behind, Delphine giving Tvrdik an enthusiastic hug on her way out.

  “Oh, Tvrdik, I knew you’d be lucky for us. We are going to change the world.”

  Tvrdik smiled as she pulled away. Realizing how very tired he felt, he quipped, “Very likely, my friend, only perhaps not tonight, alright?” and winked at her. Mark shook his hand, and the couple headed off under the colorful twilight sky. Jorelial Rey was the last to approach. “Would you like to stay for supper?” he offered, “I think Mrs. Praeger has left me something simple, and I am sure there is enough to share.”

  She shook her head. “Thank you, but I must get back to the palace. There will be so much there awaiting my attention before I can go to sleep, and I think I really will sleep tonight.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing. I felt so energized all day, but now, I feel like all the sap has been drained out of me.”

  “It was certainly a full and rewarding day, but more than you are used to taking on all at once since your injury. You must be exhausted. Are you in pain?”

  “No, I’m fine. Just tired. But hopeful, and excited, for the first time in a long while.”

  She smiled, “You did it, Tvrdik. You got things started. It begins.”

  “We did it,” he insisted. “It is your faith in the idea that gives it any credibility whatever.”

  “Too early for congratulations, I think. Still a great deal to be done.”

  “Yes, but look how far we have come.” He walked her over to where the great green dragon awaited, and watched as she climbed to her accustomed perch. “Lord Tashroth, your presence at my home honors it, and your participation in our endeavor gives me hope for its success.”

  “Mage, I will do what I can. I find the idea both intriguing and appealing, and I have always held Xaarus in high esteem. Be well. I will return soon.”

  Tvrdik bowed to him and waved to Rel as they prepared to take off, then backed up and watched the duo circle once in the air and head off toward Theriole. Weary now, and alone in the big house for the first time, he wandered to the kitchen to see what Mrs. Praeger had left him for supper. It was then that he realized Stewart was by his side, following along to the kitchen.

  “Will you be staying the night, then, my friend?”

  “If it is not an imposition. I’ve grown rather accustomed to it, guardin’ the place while ye were indisposed, and such…”

  “You are most welcome. Your presence already makes me feel safer, and more at home. Can I fix a place for you by the fire, perhaps?”

  “I have all I need, thank ye. It is quite cozy here.”

  “Share a bite with me before retiring, then?”

  “I thought ye’d never ask.”

  Mrs. Praeger was treating her caretaking duties very seriously, he noted, as she had left out a variety of items, marked with little notes, for the two of them. There was more of the fresh bread, a rather generous wedge of cheese and fresh butt
er, a bowl of nuts and a few more strawberries. The tea things were set up, and there were some small sweet cakes as well with which to end the day. The two companions bustled about fixing themselves plates and getting the tea started. They ate at leisure at the kitchen table, conversing about the day’s events. When they couldn’t eat or drink another mouthful, Tvrdik conjured a little magical help with the dishes and tidying up, and bid Stewart a fond good night, as the dog circled and settled down on a rug before the hearth in the sitting room. Despite the warm weather, the Praeger’s had lit the fire there before leaving, against the evening’s chill breeze. Burning low and steady, it made the whole room seem warm and drowsy.

  In the big bedroom that had once belonged to Xaarus, Tvrdik found the fire just smoldering enough to take the chill from the stone room, now hung with tapestries on three walls. The sconces were lit, the covers turned down on the bed, and a few books from his studies at the palace were placed by the bedside to be returned to as his fancy dictated. There was a small tray also on the bedside table, holding a cup and a pitcher of clear water. Tvrdik had felt a little sheepish about sleeping this first night in his master’s bedroom. But Mrs. Praeger had spared no effort to make him feel truly at home. His stomach filled, his cheeks warm, his body weary, and his mind swimming with memories and ideas, he undressed, tended to his evening ablutions, and crawled into the big feather bed, glad of its soft embrace. Wrapping himself in the thick quilt, deciding he had not even the energy to read, he mentally doused the lights and lay in the dark, a smile on his pale face, until sleep carried him off.

  TWENTY–EIGHT

  Meeting the Unicorns

  TVRDIK’S DREAMS THAT NIGHT, HOWEVER, were dark and disturbing. There were battlefields and combat, running and being chased. There was fear, and hiding, and the face of Xaarus, oversized, floating in the air, desperately trying to tell him something again and again. But, for whatever reason, he either could not hear or could not comprehend what his mentor was trying to communicate. At the last – and this part seemed somehow different from the rest, clearer and more real, perhaps – there was an image of Delphine, terrified and crying out for help, being pulled away, while someone who might have been Mark, reached out for her and fell short…

  That was when Tvrdik woke up, breathing hard and sweating. Relieved that he had been, after all, dreaming, and counting it a result of the previous day’s stresses, he resolved to face the new day with a fresh spirit. Looking out of the window, he was surprised to see that he had slept through a good part of the morning already. He could see that Mr. Praeger was out in the garden weeding, and the aromas that greeted his nostrils told him that Mrs. Praeger had also been busy. He washed and dressed quickly and straightened the bedclothes, emerging from the inner chambers into the heart of the house, still a bit tousled.

  “Good morning, sir.” Mrs. Praeger greeted him cheerfully, “I hope we didn’t disturb ye. After yesterday’s doins, and ye not bein’ up to yer full strength yet, ye must have fair needed a good sleep.”

  “I suppose so. I don’t think I was quite used to the bed, either, but I feel well enough.”

  “Well, ye just sit yerself down there, and I’ll get yer breakfast. Eggs today, sir?”

  He frowned, “Mrs. Praeger, I appreciate everything you are doing, but I feel silly being waited on like this. You honestly don’t have to do this for every meal and every part of my day.”

  “Nonsense. I enjoy taking care of ye, sir. And it’s the least we can do to repay yer kindness. Trust me, yer days will be filled soon enough with tasks of import, and ye’ll be glad of a little help here and there with the small things.”

  “I suppose you are right, but I don’t wish to take for granted…”

  “Just sit right here and have yer tea, sir. There. Nice and hot. Honey? Will ye have one egg or two?”

  He sighed and allowed her to wait on him, and in very short order, was glad he did. “Mrs. Praeger, our relationship is just beginning, and already I am grateful I dress in wizard’s robes that will not show how much my waistline is expanding.”

  “Well, I’m that glad ye are enjoying yer meals, sir. It pains me to see a young man in his prime so rail thin, if ye’ll pardon me mentioning it, sir.”

  “That’s perfectly fine, but if you keep feeding me, I shall have to learn to employ some discipline not to travel too far in the other direction.”

  She beamed, and begged a word with him. Would it be alright, she wanted to know, if they began work in earnest today on renovating the back dormitories for their family’s use? It would be so much easier to take care of him properly once they did not have to travel back and forth to the palace every night. Tvrdik hesitated a moment as a sudden picture flashed across his mind of his classmates’ belongings lying about just as they had been left. He was afraid that he could not deal with going through them all by himself, but Rel was right. No one was coming back to claim them, and the space was too precious to waste. He instructed Mrs. Praeger to commandeer one of the larger trunks, and to put in it everything that looked like someone’s personal property – clothing, books, mementos, jewelry, grooming items. Anything of general use they could keep for themselves, but the rest was to be packed away in a corner until he had the stomach to sort through it. Then they could tackle the place and rebuild or rearrange it to their heart’s content. If there were ever to be a school for wizards again, he did not expect it would convene there anyway. He excused himself a moment, went back to rummage through his things in the bedroom, and came back with a fat handful of letters of credit for local merchants, which had been issued to him by Jorelial Rey and the Crown treasury. These he held out to Mrs. Praeger.

  “Sir?” she stared at them uncertainly.

  “These were given to me for the repair and restoration of this house by order of the Lady Regent herself. I would say the back rooms qualify as part of the project. Anything you need or want to make them fresh or weatherproof, or comfortable – any construction supplies, or gardening items, or any furnishings you need, you just go to these merchants and the Crown pays for it all.”

  “But, sir, we weren’t expecting…”

  “The Lady Regent promised to set your family back on its feet, and also commanded me to put this cottage in shape. I’d say that entitles you to this assistance on two counts. I’ll even help you with the labor myself after you’ve emptied the place out.”

  “Sir, we never meant to ask you…”

  “If and when I have time on my hands, a little physical labor will be good for me. I’m actually pretty good with my hands. You’ll see. We’ll have you moved in back there in no time. Where is everyone, anyway?”

  She took the vouchers from him and accepted the change of subject. “My man is out doin’ some work in the garden, and Lynette is gatherin’ wildflowers for the house. She takes her time and wanders about, that one – quite an imagination, and a knack for bein’ distracted.” She sighed in the long-suffering way of a parent, but was smiling as well.

  “And Master Stewart?”

  “Goodness me, I almost forgot. He was up and out early. He told me to let ye know he was off for a few days to gather the talkin’ beasts and fill them in on your plan for the new army. He said he’d have them in tow for ye within the week, gods willing.”

  “Did your husband explain to you everything that was discussed yesterday, Mrs. Praeger?”

  “Yes, he did, Master Wizard.”

  “And?”

  “Oh, I’m all for it. We mothers think it’s time for someone to step up and change how things are done. Now, I have no son, as yet, but if I did, I would certainly not have him out riskin’ his neck on some battlefield far from home, for some tiff he knows naught of between lordlings. No, sir. Besides, we stand with ye, sir. We think ye can do anything ye set yer mind to, sir, and that’s a fact.”

  Tvrdik blushed. “Well. Thanks for that vote of confidence, and for your wise i
nsight, Mrs. Praeger. Would you be willing to talk to any of the other mothers you are still in touch with who might have similar feelings, and see if you can get them interested in participating? We are definitely an equal opportunity army.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I mean we hope to train men, women, beasts, sprites, dragons – anyone who believes in what we are doing, regardless of gender, species, or station in life.”

  “Oh. Then, yes sir, I most definitely will pass the word.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Praeger. Can I help you clean up?”

  “Not at all, sir. Ye just go about yer wizard’s business now. Go on, shoo!”

  Tvrdik was not entirely sure yet what his ‘wizard’s business’ might be, so he meandered out to the yard to see what Praeger might be up to.

  “Good morning, sir. Beautiful day, isn’t it?’

  “Why yes, it is.”

  “Looks like we’re goin’ to have a fair good crop o’ beans and squashes, sir. They’re doin’ fine. All the herbs are really thrivin’, too. Just look at the lavender and sage.”

  “Much of that is due to your hard work, you know. Anything you or your family need from the garden, Praeger, feel free to help yourself.”

  “Thank ye, sir. That’s most generous o’ ye.”

  “Can I help you with anything here?”

  “No, sir. Just about done here for today, sir. Nature has a way o’ largely taking care of itself. Seems a good time to go and take stock o’ those rooms. I should be getting’ to work on them right away.”

  “Oh….yes.” Tvrdik was a little disappointed and at loose ends, wondering how he should occupy his day.

  “Master Wizard, sir?” Praeger was addressing him again, hesitating a bit.

  “Unmmm?”

  “Well, I was wonderin’, sir, seein’ as how ye did such a fine job with my daughter, and as ye’re feelin’ better, do ye think it might be a good time to start seein’ folks now?”