Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius)

by Stuart, Richard J

  Tiberius knocked softly at the door of Pastor Adams. His wife answered the door.

  “Well, young Master Fuller, what brings you by?”

  “I wanted a word with the pastor, if he has a moment?”

  “Of course. He’s not busy just now. Why don’t you come on in to his office and I’ll make you a cup of tea.”

  “Thank you.”

  The pastor had a small but pleasant house. It was well cared for and arrayed with a variety of ordinary furnishings. There were plenty of bookcases, and Ti had been here many times before, borrowing books from the pastor.

  Pastor Adams knew this visit was different though. He sat down at a side table overlooking the gardens and motioned for Tiberius to join him. His wife set down a pot of hot tea and some cups, then discretely retired. “Well, what can I do for you, Tiberius?”

  “I think I’m having trouble with the elves,” Tiberius answered.

  “What sort of trouble?” the Pastor asked raising an eyebrow. It wasn’t the sort of problem you expected a young man to be having. “They seem to think there’s some sort of prophesy relating to me. They’re following me around,” he said.

  The pastor stalled with a sip of tea. He was a wise man, and Tiberius and his family respected his advice. “What does the prophesy say?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’m not sure they know. Something about someone named Tiberius becoming some sort of powerful wizard and battling evil. They seem to think it’s me.”

  “Really?” the pastor said. He was surprised, but not disturbed. “Most curious.”

  “Curious? How can you say that? We aren’t allowed to practice magic! It’s written clearly in the Bible,” Tiberius replied, slightly shocked. “You gave a sermon on the evils of using magic.”

  “And I’d stand by it too, but I didn’t say there would never be any exceptions, my boy. I also preach a fine sermon on Mother’s Day, and I usually tell members of my congregation to honor their father and mother. But if you came in here saying your mother was about to attack the kindergarten with an axe, I wouldn’t be telling you to send her flowers, then, would I?” the pastor explained.

  Tiberius nodded agreement.

  “This prophesy says you’d be battling evil with magic? That’s not inconceivable,” the pastor said.

  “Yes, but how can I do that if I’ve become a wizard? I thought all magic was evil,” Tiberius replied.

  “Tiberius, the Bible is a book of great wisdom, and there are good reasons for admonishing the people to stay away from wizards, astrologers, and sorcerers. But remember that the rule against magic isn’t the most important rule in the Bible. The important rules are to love God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. There can be exceptions to other rules. The Ten Commandments say that we shall not murder, yet at times we kill in self defense. The original magi were astrologers, and yet God sent a special angel to help them against King Herod and brought them to the side of the Christ. If they were evil wouldn’t God have treated them in some other fashion?”

  “I suppose that’s true,” Tiberius said.

  “Then there is Saint Peter’s encounter with Simon the Sorcerer. Peter didn’t turn Simon to stone on the spot. It wasn’t until Simon asked to buy magic from Peter that Peter turned his back to Simon. It might be that you are able to wield some great power against evil. I’m as surprised as you to hear this, but the elves sometimes have glimpses into the future. Dallen may suspect as well.”

  “You don’t think they’re right do you? You don’t think I should go off and become a magi?” Tiberius said.

  “I think it’s always a mistake to chase after a prophecy, Tiberius. You should always strive to do the right thing. Act out of your love of God and your fellow man. Don’t change any of your actions because of some vague prophecy,” the Pastor replied.

  “No, it’s just, well, I know we’re all prone to sin. Dad didn’t want me hanging around all these magicians, and maybe he was right. I’m just worried that I’m going to make some sort of horrible mistake. Dallen says I could become a magi; I think he wants me to become one. I think he believes in the prophecy, even if he doesn’t say so,” Tiberius replied.

  “Do you think he pressuring you to become a magi?” the Pastor asked.

  “No, he’s been very careful not to do that, really. But he has let me know that path is open to me. I just see no reason why I should take that path,” Tiberius answered.

  “Then don’t for now,” the pastor replied. “Tiberius, I’ve met Dallen and some of the other magi. I know they aren’t evil men, even if their tactics are, well, a bit unorthodox at times. They may be sinners, but they are men who love God, and in the end I think that is the important thing. As for you, I think you are wise not to chase after power for the sake of chasing after power. I know you’ve got the heart of a true knight, Tiberius. I think you should follow your heart in this. As to magic, well, since the term is vague, let's look at it from a different perspective. Pray to no false Gods. Don’t seek power for yourself. Take power only to serve God and others. Those who lead must be the servants of all. Don’t try to make God do your bidding. Serve God at all times and do not take his name in vain. Those are the commandments of Scripture, Tiberius.”

  “I think I understand,” Tiberius answered.

  “One more thing I’ll say to you. Magic, any sort of magic, is terribly dangerous. Magic means using powers from beyond the realm of nature to affect the living. Those are powers no man can fully control. Seeking that sort of power can corrupt a man’s soul. Don’t try it lightly.”

  “I won’t, you can be sure of that.”

  Pastor Adams took another sip of his tea and thought carefully before continuing. “And yet there is the path of the magi, Tiberius. It’s a very dangerous path, trying to grasp hold of supernatural abilities without embracing demons or idols and yet keeping the love of God and your fellow man foremost in your heart. If we weren’t living on the borders of the fairy lands I would never attempt it. But here it is just possible that it might be done. Someone who held that power could do a great deal of good in the world. There are men who light great fires, not to burn villages, but to save them from burning. It’s possible you could be such a man, Tiberius,” the pastor continued.

  “Maybe. I just don’t think that’s for me. Granted, it might be barely possible do good works by my becoming a magus, but why take the chance? The one thing that is clear to me is that playing with magic is, at best, incredibly dangerous to body and soul.”

  “Only God truly knows the future. It may one day become clear to you that you can best serve God and your fellow man by taking the path of the magi. Remember what Jesus said about healing on the Sabbath. Sometimes it’s more important to help God and your fellow man than to play strictly by the rules. You should consider all your options and always keep firmly in mind how you can best serve God and your neighbor.”

  “I can think of other ways to help my neighbor,” Tiberius said.

  “Then do them, for now,” the pastor replied. “If it’s truly written that you have a destiny before you, then that destiny will find you. I’ve taken my share of walks in the fairy woods, Master Fuller. When strange things happen I remember not to chase after visions or prophesies. Conduct your self at all times as a gentleman and I think you’ll find that God can work with you to bring good into the world.”

  Tiberius thanked the pastor and finished his tea, ending with his remarks on an edition of C.S. Lewis that he’d been reading. After that he walked home, considering the pastor’s words. Was being a magi actually something he should consider? There were certainly a lot of times in the Bible where the practice of magic was forbidden. Dad quoted them all frequently. But maybe he’d been reading it to broadly. After all, words meant things, and the forms of magic the Bible prohibited were fairly specific. It was clear you were not to worship demons in exchange for power. But was there a way to help your fellow man using the p
rimal powers of the universe? Jesus said that a man with faith could move mountains. Could that be done literally?

  Jesus said the way to judge a man was by the fruit of his labors. People weren’t turning away from Christ on account of Dallen. Far from it, he was opposing witches and demons. Maybe what he was doing was breaking some rules, but he wasn’t an evil man.

  It was dangerous though. Very dangerous. In a way Tiberius could see himself taking those risks to help others, but … what was the necessity after all? He’d stopped one witch already, hadn’t he? He could do good work in the engineering corps. There was no need for him to take that sort of wild risk. No, his dad wouldn’t like it; Marybeth certainly wouldn’t like it. He’d stick to engineering, thank you. The thought firm in his head, he went home to supper and bed.

  A few days later, Dallen motioned for Tiberius to come to his desk at the start of class. He showed him a letter, a small note written in some foreign language. It was a beautiful piece of paper written in a fair hand. The note had been folded up quite a bit though. Dallen pointed to the note.

  “I’ve had the strangest note this morning. I have the curious feeling that it concerns you. Maybe you could explain it?” he asked.

  Tiberius glanced at the note. “Explain it? I can’t even read it. Is that in Elvish? I can’t read that gibberish.”

  “It’s in Alfaran; that’s one of the languages of the elves. Permit me to translate. 'I trust you aren’t blind. For heaven's sake teach him a proper tongue. Dancing too. Salina.'”

  Tiberius frowned at the message. “I wish that crazy woman would mind her own business.”

  “You’ve met Salina, have you?” Dallen asked.

  “I … well, I guess if she’s writing to you I can tell you. I ran into her in the forest. She seemed eager to meet me, a little too eager, actually. And who the heck does she think she is, laughing at my girlfriend?”

  Dallen traded questioning glances with Singh, who just shook his head. “Salina keeps her own council,” Dallen said. “She’s pretty stubborn when she’s made up her mind. I wonder who else we know like that?”

  Tiberius ignored the jibe directed his way. “You can tell her to mind her own business.”

  “You don’t wish to learn to speak Alfaran then?” Dallen asked.

  “No. Wait, on second thought, yes. If I’m going to deal with all these crazy elves, I better learn to speak the language hadn’t I?”

  “All these crazy elves?”

  “There’s that fellow, Gillyian. He keeps following me around on account of some idiotic prophesy.”

  “Ah, so you know about that do you?” Dallen said.

  “I suppose you believe in that?” Tiberius answered.

  “I’m aware of the prophesy, but I know too much of elvish prophesy to put much faith in that sort of prediction,” he said. “You needn’t blame Lord Gillyian, though. Whatever you or I may think of these prophesies, there are others who put great store by them. Rebel elves, Redcaps, might wish to do you harm on account of these stories. Gillyian watches because by doing so he lets the Redcaps know that the elf king’s eye is on you. They can’t harm you without rebelling openly, and this they will not risk, not on account of a mere Son of Adam.”

  “So some of the elves want to kill me. Others want to keep me alive. And Salina wants me to take her dancing. The lot of them are mental,” Tiberius said.

  “That’s a frequently expressed opinion. I might know a dance master,” Dallen said, thoughtfully.

  “When would I have time for that?” Tiberius protested.

  “Oh, I fancy we could make a bit of time. The math is going quite well after all. Singh and Ian could use a bit of instruction too.”

  “You’re joking,” Singh said, looking up sharply from whatever calculation he was working though.

  “I am perfectly serious,” Dallen replied. “It’s part of the proper education of every young gentleman, and we are gentlemen first and magi second. Salina properly reminds me that I’ve been somewhat deficient in this regard.”

  Singh turned to Tiberius. “What did this woman say to you anyway?”

  Tiberius just shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  ∴

  It was late summer in S.R. 298. Elves and prophesies and so on were forgotten over more important matters. Marcus was back from the Army. He’d done his two years with the Pikes and now had come home to get married and start his family. It hadn’t taken much suggesting for Tiberius to convince him to meet him once more by the creek for a round of quarterstaves. As usual, the loser would be taking a swim.

  Tiberius and Marcus faced off against each other over the old familiar creek. From the very first exchange, Tiberius saw that things were going to be a little different this time. Marcus tried one of his old favorite attacks, but now it seemed as if it was in slow motion compared to the attacks he’d faced from Mr. Okubo. Almost effortlessly, he parried, and countered with a swift riposte, giving his brother a tap in the ribs. Marcus drew back in surprise.

  “You’ve been taking lessons?” Marcus asked, stunned.

  “Have I?” Tiberius answered. He let Marcus launch a new round of assaults. Tiberius easily countered them now, blocking each in turn. He launched no more counterstrikes, though, for two reasons. First off, it was good strategy; he was letting Marcus tire himself out needlessly. Second, and more importantly, he had noticed something out of the corner of his eye. They had an audience.

  Marcus had always loved this town. He loved the print shop and now that his turn in the army was done he hoped to settle down here, taking over the family business. He had many friends here and they were all gathering round now to welcome him back. Much as Tiberius would like to have given his brother a little swim, this wasn’t the moment to embarrass him. Not if he loved his brother. The whole neighborhood was about, it seemed, even Mr. Okubo.

  Tiberius changed tactics; he launched some wild attacks of his own, giving his brother a few openings. Finally, he let him knock him over and into the creek again. A moment later his brother jumped down after him, helping him up.

  “Ti, that’s really amazing, pure luck that I won. No one in my unit even handles a staff the way you do now.”

  “It’s just a few lessons. I’ve caught up to you in height while you were gone, that’s all.”

  Marcus could see he was lying, but the crowd was around them now, slapping Marcus on the back. His fiancée, Daisy, gave Marcus a big kiss and a hug, and his friends were dragged him off to a celebratory lunch. Tiberius said he’d be along in a minute, after he dried off. Most of the crowd moved along, but Mr. Okubo was there to meet him as he got out of the creek. Little Maci was beside him.

  “You let him win,” Mr. Okubo said. He said it as a fact, but there was a question in his eyes.

  “I’m better than he is now. Much better. We both know it. There’s no need to embarrass him in front of his friends.”

  “So you let him win to save face for your brother,” he gave a satisfied nod. “I knew I had trained the right man,” he said giving a slight nod.

  “Don’t you want to win?” little Maci asked.

  “Not if it hurts our brother, little one,” Tiberius said. “It isn’t enough to fight. You have to know what you’re fighting for. Dad says it doesn’t do any good to take the hill if what you want is the valley.”

  “Maybe so, but you’re all wet,” she said.

  “It’s a warm day. In fact … can you swim?” he asked.

  “A little, why?”

  Ti made a grab for her. “Little sister could use a dip in the pond.”

  Maci shrieked and ran behind her father's legs, who stood laughing. Ti wound up settling for splashing a bit of water on her. Then he went and changed. He still had a party for Marcus to attend.

  ∴

  That fall was a happy time. Marcus got married and Tiberius was his best man. Things were getting a little more serious with his own girl. His eighteenth birthday was coming up. No
w that New Year's was past and year S.R. 300 was coming up, thoughts were turning to the future. He was starting on his formal application to the Military Academy. His father got the papers by post and he started in on the paperwork. It was almost anticlimactic the one day Tiberius took Marybeth walking down by the creek in late February.

  “It’s a bit cold for a walk, Ti,” she said.

  “Let me put my arms around you and warm you up,” he said.

  “I love you,” she said, “but I’m still cold.”

  “I only need a minute alone with you. I just wanted to do this someplace beautiful, someplace you could remember it.”

  “Do what? Why, Mister Fuller, what ever are you on about?” she said smiling, and yet with a question in her eyes. Tiberius thought she’d never looked more beautiful.

  He led her over to the railing, looking out over the creek towards a perfect sunset.

  “I sent in my application the Academy today. There’s no guarantee, but with Dad’s connections and my grades being so high, it’s pretty much a sure thing. I think my future is pretty well set, except for one thing. I need someone to share it with.”

  He reached into his pocket and pulled out his grandmother’s ring. “I’d like you to be that woman, Marybeth. Will you marry me?”

  She took a quick glance at the ring and then looked at Tiberius.

  “Oh, yes!” she said, and then they needed no more words.

  Before long the engagement was the talk of the town. Most folks were enthusiastic about the match though Tiberius noted that some were more enthusiastic than others. His father was happy as he said he thought it would settle him down, having a wife. Even Dallen and the magi congratulated him, though Ti thought Dallen’s congratulations were a bit muted. His kid sister didn't think much of Marybeth, but what did she know? None of it mattered to Tiberius. He was happy, his future was set, and everything was going well.

  His brother arranged for a spring hunt, just the two of them out for a weekend. They rode just out of town and camped out on a hill, talking about the future. It was good to catch up with his brother's adventures, and it gave him something to talk about besides the engagement. Marcus gave him some hints as to what he could expect in the army.