Master Wizard

by James Eggebeen

  "They're all gone?" Chihon asked.

  "It looks like it." Lorit nodded at her wound. "Is the temple's magic broken?"

  Chihon placed her hand over her heart, where the arrow had penetrated. "I don't feel anything different."

  "I wonder what else the Charm was powering. What else is gone?"

  A look of horror came over Chihon's face. "Rotiaqua." Chihon touched his power as she raised a travel spell.

  "Wait," Du'ala said. Her dragon voice was deep and rich, commanding power just by speaking.

  "What for?" Lorit asked. He, too, wanted to get to Amedon to see about Zhimosom and Rotiaqua.

  "Your friends still live," Du'ala said.

  "How do you know that?" Lorit asked.

  "We have a special connection." Du'ala nodded toward the ruins of the temple. "You have some work to do here before you leave."

  "Here?"

  "Yes. The priests are gone, but there are a few left alive in the temple. You may wish to free them. Then I will carry you back to Amedon."

  Du'ala turned toward the temple ruins, her massive tail almost catching Lorit as she spun around and walked briskly off.

  "We'd better hurry," Chihon said.

  Lorit and Chihon followed Du'ala to the temple ruins. They reached the walls, or what used to be the walls; now it was just a heap of stone jumbled in the grass. It looked as if the temple had been devastated and left to waste for generations. It was hard to believe it had been destroyed only moments earlier. Lorit kicked at one of the stones with his foot. It was buried deep in the ground, and the grass grew tall around it.

  "The temple was infused with the magic of the Charm of the Joiner," Du'ala explained. "When the Charm failed, the temple returned to the state it would have been in had the Charm never existed. These walls were not well built and would have fallen on their own hundreds of summers ago. This is what should have been."

  "What else will we find, I wonder." Lorit scanned the temple ruins ahead. Several people milled about the courtyard that was now a jumble of broken tiles with grass growing between the stones. They wore the white robes of acolytes, servants of the temple who had no magic in their own right.

  When they saw Lorit and his band approach, they fell to the ground, howling. "Please spare us."

  Lorit looked down on the acolytes. They wouldn't be able to do any harm without the priests. "I have no intention of harming anyone if you show me to the dungeons. Do you know where they are?"

  "I do not, sire. Please don't kill me."

  "I said I won't kill you. Do you know anyone who can take me to the dungeons?"

  "Sire, I do. Follow me." A man rose, keeping his head bowed. He turned toward the temple. When Lorit and the man reached the inner court, the man pointed to an older man lying on the ground. "He knows."

  Lorit turned to the first man. "You will harm no wizard. You understand me? If you do, I will find you and I will kill you."

  "No, sire. I will not harm anyone."

  Lorit gave the man a shove. "Go before I do kill you."

  The man on the floor was injured. Lorit knelt down beside him and turned him over. There was a large gash on his head, and he was bleeding profusely. Lorit raised a healing spell and staunched the flow of blood. The man blinked and opened his eyes. When he saw Lorit, he pulled back and folded his arms across his breast as if to protect himself. "Please don't kill me."

  "I'm not going to kill anyone."

  "Please. I haven't done anything." The man cowered.

  "I'm not going to kill anyone unless you refuse to take me to the dungeon!" Lorit grabbed the man by the shoulders and shook him. "Can you do that?"

  "Yes, sire." The man bowed his head, refusing to look Lorit in the eyes.

  Lorit stood and hauled the man to his feet. He turned him toward the interior of the temple and shoved him. "Show me."

  Lorit wondered why everyone was so afraid of him. Had they been conditioned to fear wizards? How did they even know he was a wizard? Lorit heard a snort behind him. He turned to see Du'ala standing tall above the ruins of the temple. Her dragon form was massive indeed. Maybe that was what they were reacting to.

  "Here." The man pointed to a corridor of stone that remained standing. It was ancient, but fabricated of huge stones that had been carved and laid in place by a master craftsman. The corridor was intact and led deep into the rubble of the temple. It turned twice, ending at a strong door made of wood banded together with iron.

  Lorit placed his hand on the door. Inside, several young wizards were huddled together in the corner of the cell. Lorit raised a spell and commanded the door to open. He meant the spell only to swing the door gently open, but the wood exploded in a shower of splinters that turned to sparks and vanished before they hit the floor.

  The boys huddled together, peeking cautiously out when Lorit entered and extended his hand to them. "You're safe now."

  They cowered from his hand. "It's all right. You're safe now," he repeated.

  Lorit knelt down and reached out to the boys. They seemed afraid of him. Why would they be afraid of him? Then he saw his hand. It was glowing with a golden light, as if his bones were on fire.

  "I won't hurt you. I'm here to rescue you. I'm going to take you to Amedon." Lorit shook his extended hand. "Take my hand."

  One of the boys tentatively took Lorit's hand and let Lorit help him up. He seemed reluctant but allowed Lorit to shove him toward the door. The other boys followed suit, seeing that nothing bad had happened to their companion.

  The boys stopped again when they came to the end of the corridor that led to the ruins of the temple and rushed back, colliding with Lorit.

  "What is it?" Lorit asked.

  "Dragon!" one of the boys said.

  "Yes, a dragon. That's Du'ala. She's a mighty dragon and a good friend."

  The boys took a tentative step toward Du'ala, who lowered her head and allowed them to touch her. Du'ala radiated warmth and acceptance at the frightened young wizards. They relaxed visibly and soon forgot their fears. They looked fitfully at Lorit, then back to Du'ala.

  "He won't hurt you," Du'ala assured them.

  Lorit picked his way through the ruins of the temple and back to where Chihon and the rest of the band remained. "It's time to head back to Amedon." He extended his hand to her, but Chihon shook her head.

  "We're flying."

  "Why not travel there by magic?"

  "Because we have boys with us, and the dragons can't travel by magic." One of the boys stood behind Chihon as if using her as a shield from Lorit.

  "Why are they afraid of me?" Lorit asked.

  Chihon looked at him with a smile. She extended her hand and grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling it around so he could see it. It was completely white, not the dark youthful color it had always been.

  "I was waiting to tell you," she said.

  "What?" Lorit grabbed his hair and looked at it. He couldn't believe it. It was white as snow. "What happened?" Lorit demanded.

  "When your power was restored, your hair turned white. You were fine until you killed Sulrad and broke the Charm."

  "Do you think it will change back?"

  "I don't know." Chihon chuckled. "You look like a proper wizard now."

  Lorit pulled his hair back and turned to Du'ala. "Best we were getting on with it, don't you think?"

  Du'ala lowered her head and waited as Lorit and Chihon clambered aboard. Na'anta did the same for the boys as all three of them scrambled aboard her thick neck.

  The flight to Amedon was uneventful. The young wizards were reserved at first but soon grew accustomed to their new freedom and talked Na'anta into playing a game with them that involved diving for the sea waters below and pulling up just before she struck the surface. The sound of their laughter carried across the sky to Lorit and Chihon.

  "They surely recovered quickly," Lorit said.

  "Why not? They're free, they're riding a dragon, and they're headed to Amedon. What else could a young wizard w
ant?"

  "What will we see when we get to Amedon? Du'ala said Zhimosom and Rotiaqua are still alive, but in what condition? With Sulrad dead, are they well, or is their power reduced even further?"

  "We'll just have to wait and see when we get there," Chihon said. "Have a little faith."

  "And what about the council? Will Zhimosom and Rotiaqua still rule the council? What will the council do now that the temple is destroyed?"

  "Do you think that the temple is truly destroyed?" Chihon asked. "All of them? Not just Quineshua?"

  "I hope so. I suppose we'll have to go and see for ourselves."

  "I am sure there will be plenty of time for that," Chihon said. She held on to Lorit a little tighter as Du'ala rose high into the sky.

  Sea gave way to land. Sharp mountains rose out of the plain, scraping the clouds from the sky, as Du'ala drew close to Amedon. She descended while still over the mountains, swooping between the peaks to emerge almost on top of the Wizards' Keep. She flared her wings and settled into the courtyard, depositing Lorit and Chihon on the ground. When her passengers had disembarked, Du'ala folded her wings and sat back, waiting.

  "Thank you for all your help," Lorit said.

  Du'ala bowed her head to Lorit and then Chihon. Each, in their own turn, bowed back to the mighty dragon.

  Du'ala looked past Lorit. "Old friend."

  Lorit turned to see Zhimosom and Rotiaqua heading their way. Zhimosom leaned heavily on his staff. He hobbled along like an old man with Rotiaqua by his side. She was a little steadier on her feet, but she, too, looked her age.

  "Hail and well-met, my old friend." Zhimosom stopped before the dragon.

  Du'ala leaned her head down and looked intently into Zhimosom's eyes. "It is done."

  "It is done. You are free again."

  The dragon snorted. "It took you long enough."

  "Ever the indignant one." Zhimosom smiled.

  Du'ala laughed a deep hearty laugh that sounded just a bit scary coming from a dragon as large and powerful as she was. Lorit wondered at the relationship these two had.

  "Come. The council wishes to meet you." Zhimosom turned and headed toward the keep.

  Du'ala shimmered and quickly transformed into her Arda'um form. She caught up to Zhimosom, grasped his arm, and pulled it tight to her, helping the old wizard along.

  "Come on. We can't miss this." Lorit extended his hand and Chihon grasped it.

  The keep was noisy, as young wizards rushed about, quickly assembling the council chamber for a meeting. They dragged tables into position and fetched the chairs that each wizard favored for these meetings. In short order, the massive room was ready and wizards began settling in.

  Zhimosom and Rotiaqua stood near the end of the table beside Du'ala, leaving their usual places empty as the council members seated themselves. Zhimosom shuffled to the center of the room and faced the table, Du'ala on one side, Rotiaqua on the other.

  When Zhimosom released Du'ala's arm, she stepped back from him to gain space and turned to face the council members once again. She shimmered and transformed back to her Dragon form, filling the massive audience chamber, and settled in, curling her long tail around her legs as she tucked them beneath her. She folded her wings and lowered her head to rest on her forelegs.

  Gasps rose from the assembled wizards, but Zhimosom raised his hand to silence them. The room quieted down and Zhimosom looked from face to face, pausing to make direct eye contact with each member of the council.

  "Today is a great day." Zhimosom was interrupted by shouting and whistling from the assembled crowd. He held up his hand for silence and the noise trailed off.

  "Today, the dragons are free. They have been held under a spell for four hundred summers to keep them safe from Sulrad." He paused and looked around the room. No cheering came this time; there was an expectant silence.

  "Today, Sulrad is no more. The temple is gone and the dragons are free." This time, he had to wait quite a while for the crowd to settle down once more.

  "Today, we..."—Zhimosom looked over at Rotiaqua, grasped her hand, and raised it in the air—"...have completed our mission."

  Rotiaqua bowed deeply as the crowd cheered once more.

  "Today, we pass the torch, as it were. Today, we hand the council over to its new leaders." Zhimosom bowed his head to Lorit and Chihon.

  "Would you please take your seat?" Zhimosom motioned to the two empty chairs at the head of the table.

  Lorit and Chihon walked to the chairs and seated themselves in the spot where they had always seen Zhimosom and Rotiaqua. Lorit didn't know if he was supposed to say anything or wait, so he waited.

  "In addition to this change, I am proposing one more. I say propose, since I am no longer a member, but I hope you will consider this proposal and accept it." Zhimosom bowed to Lorit and Chihon.

  "Since the dragons are no longer at risk, I recommend that you add a seat on the council for them. A representative of their kind would prove invaluable as you decide how to put the lands back together, now that the temple is gone."

  Lorit glanced around the room. Everyone was looking to him.

  "I accept your proposal." Lorit turned to Du'ala. "I would be happy to have you on the council, Du'ala."

  Du'ala shook her head. "Not I. I am old and tired, and just want to go home. But we have one better suited. One that is not going to get homesick so quickly. One who will be perfect for this task."

  Kedrik and the hatchling walked in through the doors. Kedrik looked sheepish, as if he were interrupting something important and might soon face discipline, but the hatchling flew up to Du'ala and curled up on the floor before her.

  Lorit laughed. "That will do nicely."

  The crowd shouted, clapped, and stamped their feet until Lorit thought the keep would collapse from the noise.

  "If there is no other business, I suggest you adjourn the council," Lorit heard Zhimosom's voice in his head.

  Lorit rose and lifted his arms to silence the crowd. He waited until a hush fell over the room. It was nice to see the dragons and wizards united again. He felt like he had finally accomplished something worthy of a master wizard.

  "The council is adjourned."

  The crowd went wild at his remarks and even the council members got up from their chair to join the wizards as they mobbed the dragons, asking questions or just standing back in awe.

  Chapter 46

  It had been several moons since the fall of the temple. Lorit kept meaning to get out and meet with his friends and see how they were faring, but he never seemed to have the time. The council always had urgent matters that needed his immediate attention. One morning, Lorit woke early and went outside to watch the sunrise and found Chihon already there. He stood beside her on the balcony, overlooking the grounds below. The threat that had hung over his head since the magic first came awake in him was gone. What would he do now? How would Chihon react to what he had planned? He hoped she'd agree, but he was worried about how she would respond when he told her.

  Kedrik knocked on the door and entered. He bowed to Lorit and then Chihon. "Queen Ukina requests your presence."

  "When?" Lorit asked.

  "As soon as possible." Kedrik grinned sheepishly.

  Chihon grabbed Lorit's arm. "I'll go with you. I haven't seen her since she was here before the temple fell."

  Lorit gently shook off Chihon's grip. "I'll go alone." He turned to face her and took a deep breath, trying to control his nervousness. "I believe you have plans to make," he said quietly.

  "Plans?"

  Chihon looked confused, and Lorit almost lost his nerve, but he took a deep breath and continued. "I expect to have the wedding when I get back."

  Chihon stepped back from him. "Who's getting married?"

  "We are."

  Chihon put her hands on her hips. "Is that how you ask a lady to marry you?"

  Lorit's guts twisted in him. "I have to run." He gathered his powers and pulled himself across the void to Veldwaite
before Chihon could argue with him. As the room vanished, Lorit thought he heard Chihon call out, "Coward."

  The temple in Veldwaite was in ruins, just as the one in Quineshua had been, only this one didn't look like it had been abandoned centuries ago. It was just a jumbled heap of stone with grass growing between the shattered blocks that had once formed the temple walls.

  A crowd had gathered around the former temple square, where a dais stood festooned with banners. Lorit pushed his way through the crowd until he reached the foot of the stairs leading up to the rough planking of the dais. It reminded Lorit of the gallows that he'd seen on his last visit, except this was much more festive.

  The crowd parted and a coach pulled up. Sir Adane stepped out. He looked out of place without his armor. Today he was dressed in court finery. The crisp jacket and laced silk shirt seemed to suit him, though. He looked regal.

  Sir Adane reached back into the coach and retrieved Queen Ukina, whom he escorted up the stairs. He stood protectively near her as she stepped up to the edge of the dais to address the crowd.

  "My subjects. Today is a glorious day. Today we see before us the end of one era." She gestured to the pile of stones where the temple lay in ruins. Shouts went up from the crowd.

  "Magic has been used against the people for so long that we have developed a culture of distrust, even hatred, for those who practice it." The crowd fell silent. Lorit heard murmurs from some of the folk.

  "No more," Ukina shouted. "What you do not know is that magic has played a large part in protecting you and in defeating the priests and their tyrannical ways."

  This time there was more murmurings and a few cheers from the crowd.