12. Story Time

A frog cracked from nearby as the stars twinkled in the creepy night. The seven faces glowed faintly as the fire in the centre blazed.

“Magic”, Zimon said, “is what the world relies on. Had there been no magic, it would have been hard to survive. Legendia, for instance, decades ago was built by my great-great forefather, Gru Leveropsis Zimon. He was a master of magic. He protected the city with in-numerous enchantments. The fortress, castle, treasures... all have been built with combination of labour, materials and enchantments.”

“How exactly?”, Marco questioned.

“You see the treasure was discovered by him alone, while he wandered the lands as a wise traveller. There, he further learned a spell which when casted on any structure would make it impossible to get destroyed unless it is a highly skilled wizard!”, Zimon took a pause before continuing, “But he destroyed the source which revealed the spell.” Zimon shrugged.

“Why?”, Peter asked.

“He may not have fancied on passing down the knowledge to his successors. In fact he wanted himself to remain as the best wizard of all times. With great power comes greed. With greed comes consequences; good and bad.”

Marco looked down as he heard Zimon speaking, “But it’s all his hardwork that has given us strength and protection and has proved us victorious at all times.”

“As far as I’ve heard you are the only wizard in the world that I’ve heard of.”, Marvelo spoke.

Zimon nodded, “Indeed. People used to practise wizardry until they started dying!”

“What?”, Yoyo gasped, “You die when you practise magic?”

“Most of the time... if you are not capable enough”

Fred did not react on anything he heard while Albert shot the next question, “How does anyone know about his or her capacity?”

Zimon shook his head, “It is in one’s confidence, Albert. Everyone can do it, but with the utmost concentration and burning desire. It becomes very tough to concentrate on magic for long ten years. Most importantly, if you don’t cast spells attentively, it backfires on you, which is one of the biggest cause for the deaths.”

“So it took you ten years to become a magician?”, Marco asked.

Zimon laughed, “I’m not a magician! I’m a wizard!”

Everyone looked confused except for Fred.

“Magician is what you are called after the successful first ten years of practise. If you want to specialize into deeper magic, you need to sacrifice more ten years to earn the title of a wizard.”

“Twenty years?”, Peter exclaimed awestruck.

“Indeed.”, Zimon smiled.

“So were there no magicians from Legendia?”, Albert asked.

“There were quite a few, three of whom I have known personally. I was a kid back then when two of them used to visit the castle. They were fine sorcerers from whom my father benefited a lot. The third one I knew was during my first year as an Emperor, who died while practising further wizardry magic.”

“My father...”

All of them turned shockingly to see Fred to be the one who spoke.

“Yes, your father died when he practised to become a wizard. After his death, everyone feared from pursuing wizardry.”, Zimon said calmly.

Peter, for the first time in his life, felt sorry for Fred who did not look up for a long time.

“And that is the reason that you have got extra ordinary capabilities, Fred.”

“Sorry?”, Marco said, confused.

“The children of magicians and wizards usually are naturally gifted with unusual qualities... like Fred’s long sighted vision, far superior than all of us, right?”

Fred nodded, this time no pride visible on his face. He said, “Yes, I can easily target far off things.”

“And you can shoot arrows very quickly, one after another, right?”

Fred nodded silently.

‘That’s a nice advantage of being a magician’, Marco thought but didn’t say it aloud as it wouldn’t seem appropriate in front of Fred.

“What about rest of the world?”, Marvelo asked.

“There are a few... like ...”, Zimon gazed up and closed his eyes to refresh his memory, “... like Thomas Royal of Trivolin, Rhittik Holf of Sooryu... then aha... the mighty James Quissimeo of Xila. These are few famous personalities. There are a few more magicians but no wizard that I know of.”

Marco saw Zimon stealing his eyes at that instant. And something crossed his mind suddenly. But before he could say anything, Peter asked, “What does a magician’s magic limit to? I mean what’s the difference between wizard and a magician?”.

“Wizards can do everything that magicians do. For instance creating fires, conjuring objects from thin air, curing the injured ones and much more. The things magicians can’t do is dueling especially fighting against dark magic and devilry.

“Wizards can read the minds of people, which is considered forbidden as it’s not a moral act but defending the same is what is done only by wizards. So apart from these, magicians are capable enough to perform a variety of magic. And since there was no one like the Dark Lord prior to the last thirty years, the need for a wizard never rose. Thus, people stopped acquiring further powers of a wizard and instead remained as mere magicians, safeguarding their chances of accidents during practise.”

“Who taught you, my lord?”, Yoyo asked.

“There was a one man, a great wizard. He was rewarded greatly for coming to Legendia to teach me magic for twenty years. My father paid him more than any other non king could earn.”, Zimon’s voice lowered his voice to add the thrill to the listeners, “His name was Ronald Sunshiller, who resided in Saberon.”

“I’ve heard of him ofcourse.”, Marvelo exclaimed, “But he was murdered!”

“Yes �" by Elezabor Mighthorn.”, Zimon finished.

There was a pin drop silence.

“Eighteen years ago, the Dark Lord killed my master to get rid of a danger to him.”

Fred spoke for the first time since they talked on his father’s tragedy, “If he can kill your master, eighteen years ago... weren’t you a target then?”.

“He knows the best.”, this was all that Zimon said.

“Anyway my faithful ones... it is getting very late.”, Zimon continued, “So let’s rest for a while before we make a move again.”

Everyone soon dozed off, except for Marco. He slowly and steadily removed his blanket and crawled up to where the king was sleeping. He put his hand on Zimon’s shoulder. With a burst of energy, Zimon leapt on Marco and pointed at him with the staff. “Marco?”

Zimon let him go and sighed, “What in the world are you doing Marco?”

Marco was still on the ground panting, shocked on what just happened. Getting into a sitting position, he massaged his arms and realized how strong this old man is.

No one woke up by the commotion, yet one guard was distracted but when he saw Marco and the king chatting, he ignored.

“What is it?”, Zimon said sleepily.

“You didn’t take my father’s name!”

“What?”

“Back then, when Commander Roy asked you if you know any magicians other than those in Legendia.”, Marco said in a low but tensed voice, “You looked at me and I knew it that very instant.”

Zimon sighed and pulled some stuck leaves from his hair, “Sharp lad you are Marco.”. He looked straight in Marco’s eyes, “Yes, Troswood was a magician.”

Marco felt his heart become lighter.

“And then... there must be something special about me?”, Marco asked curiously.

“Doesn’t your sixth sense give the answer? Your ability to think beyond anyone’s imagination, your plans, your instinctive skills with the sword; have you forgotten that you were never trained swordship?”, Zimon lowered his voice, “You are gifted with an intelligent mind, according to me. I believe you could read many hidden lines and work out many riddles. And that is the answer to why I think you can be a good king. And talking about my and Troswood’s friendship, magicians and wizards do interact frequently with each other. So that’s how we first met in a meeting of wizards and magicians from all around the world.”

Marco felt numb and silent. He felt like he was going to reveal unending secrets throughout his life.

“Now sleep Marco.”, Zimon waved him off.

“Thank you my lord and apologies for disturbing.”

Marco went back and drifted into sleep happily.