Delver Magic Book III: Balance of Fate

by Jeff Inlo

Chapter 7

  Holli appeared quite at ease standing in Enin’s home. When a large, shaggy-haired mutt romped up to her side, she confidently dropped a hand down to scratch its head.

  “The dogs, they all seem to like you,” Enin smiled.

  “I’ve always liked dogs,” Holli replied. “In some ways, I’ve tried to match what they do. They use their senses in a very positive way and they don’t just rely on one. Even though many use scent heavily, they also watch and listen.”

  “They also have a natural sense of what they like and what they don’t like.” Enin added. “They are happy when they are around things they like, and they are very tense when they are concerned.”

  As if on cue, another two dogs bounded into to the room. They ran up to the elf, gave her a sniff with wagging tails, and then leapt over to Enin to say hello. After he acknowledged them both, they ran over to the large mutt and coaxed him to run out of the room with them.

  “Well, these three seem very happy here.” Holli noted as she watched them gain speed as they turned a corner and ran out of sight.

  “Yes, they are, and it’s funny actually. At first, I hated this house. Too big, too much room for what I needed. It originally belonged to some well-to-do merchant. Of course that was before the magic was released. The merchant took off for one of the coastal towns, Alamatos I think, but I’m not really sure. Anyway, he left when the dark creatures began appearing. There was a lot of that, people abandoning their homes. Well, not much here in Burbon really. Most people stayed put here. Probably because of Sy and the delver. It’s been a blessing that Ryson decided to stay here. We should all probably thank Linda for that. Uhmmm, where was I?”

  “You were telling me how you hated this house,” the elf reminded him.

  “Ah, yes. It’s not really my house, well I guess it is now. Anyway, I used to live on the far side of town and Sy didn’t think that was such a good idea. He wanted me to be closer to the center. I told him it really didn’t matter, that if my assistance was needed the distance was quite immaterial. He said it didn’t have anything to do with my powers, but with the perception of the townspeople. Most of them saw what I did when the dwarves of Dunop attacked us. Sy said that if people were going to feel safe here, they needed to have me just about in the middle of everything. If I stayed in the corner of town, eventually everyone would move to that corner as well. If I came to the center, for the most part, people would stay put. I asked him how the people that lived at the edges of town would feel, and he told me that those folks didn’t mind as much. That’s why they chose to live there in the first place. Made sense to me.”

  “The strategy has its logic,” Holli agreed.

  “Well, it might have been logical, but that doesn’t mean I liked it. As I said, I hated this house at first. Much too much space for my needs. I felt lost here. I complained about that constantly to Sy. I think he got tired of hearing it and it gave him an idea. He told me the town needed a place to keep stray dogs. There weren’t many strays, of course. Dogs have become quite popular these days. Did you know that?”

  “I know that dogs have a strong ability to sense danger and they naturally sense dark creatures.”

  “You are quite right. And people around here realized that darn quickly. If the family dog was happy then the other family members knew they didn’t have to worry about a goblin raid. Thus, not too many strays were left running through town. Still, there were a few and they needed a place to live, so Sy said they would stay here. Every now and then things get a bit crazy with the running around and all, but the house doesn’t seem as big anymore.”

  The three dogs that had left re-entered the room with a fourth four-legged friend. All four ran about the room, excitedly re-inspecting the elf and saying hello once more to the wizard.

  With the dogs leaping at his hands and face, Enin tried valiantly to pet all four at once, but he was short two hands. He looked back at the elf with a large smile. “In fact, sometimes now this house actually feels a bit small.”

  Holli dropped to one knee, putting her head at the dogs’ level. Two of the four noticed this immediately and charged her with haste. They began licking both sides of her face.

  “They welcome you here.” Enin stated. “That’s very important, you know. It’s not good when someone is suspicious of you when they first meet, sort of like how you were suspicious of me when we first met.”

  Holli stood up but kept both hands available for the two dogs. “At the time, I did not know you, nor did I know how talented you are with…”

  “No, no, no, not talented,” Enin stopped her in mid sentence, “gifted. There’s a huge difference. Talent comes from within, and there are many that are quite talented at casting spells. I am not so arrogant that I believe for an instant that my abilities come from within, or that I should receive credit for what I can do. No, my magical abilities are a gift from a greater power. I didn’t earn them, didn’t work long hours to perfect them. They were simply given to me at the outset. I don’t know why, I simply accept it and take no praise for it.”

  “Very well, when I first met you I did not know how gifted you were.” Holli tilted her head expectantly toward the wizard as if to determine if this choice of words was more suitable to his liking. When he nodded happily, she continued. “Magic was new to this world, especially new to humans that had little reference to it in their known history, and you must admit your manner did not, nor does it now, match that of a wizened spell-caster.”

  “I see, so because I did not walk around like a brooding, introspective, aloof human with very little to say, I appeared somewhat dangerous to you.”

  “That is not what I said.” Holli responded in a rather short tone.

  “Now, now, if you can’t take a bit of fun, then how are you and I going to get along, and that will be very important if I agree to what you want.”

  Holli frowned at this, and her tone turned slightly colder. “How do you know what it is I want?”

  Enin immediately held his hands up in front of his chest as if pressing away any hurled accusations. The two dogs at his sides did not sit patiently for this and romped out of the room, followed by the other two.

  Enin’s voice held a very conciliatory note. “Please do not get suspicious of me. I did not read your mind if that’s what you are worried about. I’ve learned that someone’s thoughts are very private, but it goes beyond even that. Over time, I’ve discovered that reading minds is simply not worth the effort. There’s too much chance for error. The mind is the great cabinet of all thoughts, memories, dreams, and whatever else you might have. There are things floating around in there that barely make sense to the person they belong to. Can you imagine how confusing it would be to lift something from someone else’s mind and try to make sense of it? I’m not talking about perception, either. You can perceive if someone is angry or happy or upset. I’m talking about actually trying to read individual thoughts. Perhaps if I could guarantee that I could lift the very thought you are focused on, it might make sense. The problem is that because there are so many stray ideas floating around at any one time, I could pick up just about anything and it wouldn’t necessarily make any sense at all.

  “Let’s just say for argument’s sake that I did try to read your mind just then. What if at that moment you were actually thinking of one of the dogs that was in here, and perhaps it reminded you of one that belonged to your great aunt. If I ended up picking up that stray thought and gave it importance, where would that lead me? Would I think you were here to visit me because I reminded you of your great aunt? Then I really won’t appear like that wizened old spell-caster.”

  “But you do appear to know why I’m here,” Holli persisted, not ready to relinquish her suspicion.

  “I believe I do, yes. I think I know what you want to request of me, but I needed to make it clear that I did not steal your request from your mind before you made it. I had the feeling that’s what you thought, and I don’t think you and I can a
fford to have that kind of mistrust between us.”

  Holli’s glare sharpened even further.

  “I did it again, didn’t I?” Enin sighed exasperatedly. “I’m speaking as if I know what you want before you ask. I know I’m not explaining myself well, but the difficulty is that I do know what you want. I’ve known you would be coming here for some time. In order for me to explain how I know this, I think we need to speak about fate first.”

  Enin looked at Holli and then about the darkened wood walls that made up this room. “Are you comfortable enough inside to have this discussion? I know elves don’t care for the indoors.”

  “It’s not a problem. An elf guard learns to adapt quickly.”

  “Very good, then I will only ask you to please bear with me. Most people say that I ramble on, and at times it will certainly seem that I might be babbling and not addressing your true concern, but what we talk about now is very important.”

  Holli nodded and waited expectantly for the wizard to begin.

  Furrowing his brow, Enin searched for exactly the right way to get his point across. Unable to find a clear opening, he opted for two quick questions.

  “Did you know that we all have a destiny? Did you also know we all have free will?”

  He paused a longer period of time and watched her more carefully. She did not speak. When she appeared to be waiting for further explanation, Enin nodded as if agreeing with her. “Very good, you’re right in your hesitancy. The two questions alone could be debated on and on, but if I say them both together, I seem to contradict myself. To say that one has a destiny and then to say one has free will makes very little sense. They are, at first consideration, mutually exclusive. If there is a destiny for each individual, then there is no way we could exercise free will. Free will means making decisions, choosing between different paths. Destiny means our path is decided for us. How could we decide a path if that path is already set before us? Our decisions would reflect not our own free will, but the will of destiny that is guiding us toward our ultimate fate. Reverse it and the same problem arises. If we exercise complete free will, how in the world could we possibly have a destiny, a grand purpose that we are designed to fulfill? Any decision we make could easily send us in the opposite direction from where we were meant to travel.”

  Folding her hands in front of her, Holli wanted to quickly put the discussion in perspective. “Are you asking me if I believe in choice, or are you asking me if I believe in fate?”

  “I’m asking you if you understand it’s possible to have both. I want to know if you can accept that it’s entirely reasonable to have a destiny and to exercise free will.”

  Answering quickly, Holli simply put her own conditions on the dilemma. “It would all depend on the degree of totality for each. If you are telling me that every single action in this world is completely based on fate, then free will would be near impossible. The reverse would also seem certain—that if every circumstance was completely based on the choices of the inhabitants of this land, then destiny would not be possible. As I understand fate, there would have to be some kind of guiding force necessary to set the stage. An external guiding force would be beyond individual choice.”

  Enin beamed with delight. “Excellent. You understand perfectly.”

  “I’m not sure I understand at all,” Holli exclaimed.

  “Yes, you do. You explained it better than I could. It all comes down to the degree of each. We have choices, absolutely. We can choose how we are going to live our lives, how we will deal with others, and so on, but we all have challenges we must face, obstacles to overcome, and events to handle. Some of these we create for ourselves by our choices, but others we will face regardless of how we live our lives. Just because we are destined to face some occurrence doesn’t mean we can’t choose how we get there. And, just because we can choose several different paths in front of us, doesn’t mean we can avoid the same destiny that waits at the end of each path. That is in essence what you said.”

  “I suppose it is,” replied the elf.

  “I actually have a story I like to tell whenever I try to explain this to people. Do you mind if I tell it now?”

  “Not at all.”

  Rubbing his hands together, Enin began his tale.

  “Imagine there were two men. Each man was destined from the start of his life to be present at an important event where one of the men would die in a struggle. From the moment they were born, each man had choices to make and these choices shaped their lives, but they could not change the ultimate destiny they would eventually face.

  “One man chose a dark and evil path. He became a thief and stole from many. The other chose a respectable path and became a banker. He was trusted by his friends and associates and became very successful. One day the thief attempted to rob the banker’s safe. The banker discovered him and one of them was killed in the struggle.

  “If you are wondering which one died, the answer is that it was the one that was destined to die. If you are asking was it the banker or the thief, the answer is it doesn’t matter. They chose their professions and that was based on free will. Their individual choices made one a banker and the other a thief, but it was destiny that determined which one would die that day.

  “To take it even further, the two men could have both chosen a respectable path. To that end, they might have both become bankers. Eventually, they would become partners and one day one would mistake the other for a thief and the event would still come to pass. Or perhaps, they both would choose the lesser path and become thieves that fell in together. They would rob the bank together, argue over the money, and one would die. You see, they both had absolute free will to choose their own path, but neither could escape the fate of the event. Choice and destiny, both shaping two lives, existing together—do you understand?”

  “Yes, I believe so.”

  Enin nodded and then came to the true point of his story. “Then, understand that it is often within my power to see the destiny of others. I do not know why I have this gift, and I certainly did not ask for it. It is mine, however, whether I like it or not. That is how I know why you are here. I saw your fate the very last time we spoke. You were returning to your camp, but I knew you would not be able to stay, I knew you would be returning here.”

  Holli took long moments to consider this and Enin allowed her the time to do so. When she finally spoke, her tone remained guarded. “Are you telling me that it was my destiny to come here?”

  At this moment, Enin did not shy from revealing even more of what he knew of Holli’s circumstances. “Yes, I’m also saying you were destined to leave your camp. It was your choice how it would happen. Of that I am fairly certain. It is possible you elected to leave on your own, it is possible someone from your camp asked you to go, or it could be some combination of the two, or even something I haven’t even thought of. It really doesn’t matter beyond the fact that I knew you would leave your camp and your position as an elf guard.”

  Upon speaking this statement, Enin began to contemplate new considerations. “Actually, that brings to mind something else that is quite interesting. I’m really not sure if you were destined to be an elf guard, and I really can’t say why. It might be that I can’t see every destiny, or perhaps my abilities are limited to those events that occurred after the release of the magic. I don’t think it has anything to do with past or present or future. I know destinies that are about to happen and some that are well off in the future. I also am quite sure of incidents of fate that occurred in the past. All of these that I can think of, however, are in the recent past, not far in the past. And yet, it seems to me that you were destined to be an elf guard. It makes perfect sense. Even so, I can not say for sure.”

  “But you are sure I was destined to leave my camp?” Holli interrupted in an attempt to bring Enin back to the subject at hand.

  “Yes, of course. You were destined to leave your camp and come to me. I can say that without doubt.”

  “And what i
s my destiny now that I am here?”

  “That, I can’t say.”

  Holli sensed something in the words of the wizard that made her doubt this statement and she pressed the issue. “Can’t or won’t?”

  “Perhaps both,” Enin answered evasively.

  “Now you are talking in riddles and that I do not like.”

  “If I am doing so, you will have to believe that I’m doing it with your best interest in mind.” Enin knew this would not satisfy the elf and he endeavored to explain further. “Think of the story I told you before about the two men. What if I knew these men and their destiny and decided to inform them of it? If the banker knew ahead of time that he would die by the hands of a thief, perhaps that would cause him to alter his actions. Or if the thief realized the action of robbing the bank was dangerous, he might have chosen another target. Giving them this information might actually alter a destiny and change the balance of things. Balance is very important and should not be carelessly disturbed even for the best of intentions. Does that satisfy you?”

  “Only to a degree,” the elf answered. “Why tell me this at all, why tell me of your ability to see people’s destiny unless you would be willing to reveal what you see?”

  “That is simple. As I said before, I know why you are here. I wanted you to know how I knew this so that there would be no tension between us over this issue.”

  “Very well, I can allow that, but it seems to me that if you know why I’m here, then you already know the outcome of this meeting.”

  Here, Enin became stern. “Please never make that assumption. You must never for one moment believe that I know how all things will unfold. You see, that’s where choice plays its part. We have a choice in how to deal with events, even events we are destined to face. We can not avoid our choices, just like we can not avoid our destiny. Since free will is just that, I can’t state with authority how this meeting will end. All you need to understand is that I can see certain events in people’s lives that they are destined to face. That doesn’t mean I know how these events will unfold or conclude.”

  “Then how do we move forward?”

  “Let us forget destiny and now treat this as we should treat all matters, with an honest discussion. I will begin by telling you why I think you are here. You have left your camp and you wish to become my guard. Yes?”

  With a nod, Holli affirmed the wizard’s prediction. “I must admit it is rather unnerving to actually hear this, because I have not spoken it to a single soul, but yes, that is why I’m here.”

  “Fine, we have that out of the way and we can talk of the issue plainly. The truth is I have questions for you and there are things I would ask of you if you were to take on this responsibility. If I don’t like the answers, or if you don’t like my conditions, then it is an arrangement we cannot have.”

  “What questions do you have?”

  Enin furrowed his brow and did his best to place his questions in the best order. “The first one I have is why did you leave your camp?”

  “The camp elders asked me to leave,” Holli responded without emotion, as if the request had nothing to do with her personally at all. “They felt they could not lead effectively with my presence in camp. My role at Sanctum Mountain lifted my standing among the other elves. They feel that this puts me as part of elflore and would create confusion. It was not my place to question them. A guard simply does her duty. They said I must leave, and so I left. They also asked Lief to leave. Did you already know that as well?”

  “That’s hard to answer,” Enin admitted. “I wish to be honest with you, but it’s very difficult to describe what it is I see. It’s not like I see this big image in my mind of you and Lief walking out of your camp. It’s more of an understanding. For Lief, I know that he faces a challenging time ahead.”

  Holli nodded knowingly. “He did not leave under the best of circumstances.”

  “I imagine not,” the wizard agreed. “Let us, however, return to you.” A light hearted smile quickly grasped Enin’s lips as if he thought of a funny story. He laughed as he explained. “You know, that’s actually funny—that I’m the one refocusing the conversation on the topic at hand. It’s normally the other way around. People always tell me that I can go off topic and get distracted. It’s not like I mean to, it just kind of happens. You see, I’m actually amazed at how I see things work. Every thing is interrelated yet at the same time everything seems to be disconnected. One thing that happens doesn’t seem to have anything to do with another, but a few seasons later, the two events come together in one way or the other. It’s like you and me. When we first met, you mistrusted me. Now, you want me to trust you enough to let you be some kind of personal guard for me. It’s not that I don’t trust you, we will get to that later. It’s just that I’m trying to explain how I now see things. That’s why it can seem as if I lose my focus on things. You’ll have to get used to it if you’re going to spend time around me.”

  “Kind of like now,” the elf added with a sly smile of her own.

  “Aha, you got me. Seems like I went off topic right after I tried to get us back on to it. Very good. Yes, let’s get back to you. You left camp because the elders felt you would be too much of a legendary figure and that would interfere with their ability to lead, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Understandable, but what is not so clear is why you would come here?”

  “Because I am a guard, it is more than what I do, it is what I am. I do not wish to change that. My duty is to keep others safe, thus I considered where I might be most useful.”

  “And you thought you would be most useful protecting me?”

  “You are a very powerful wizard and while I do not believe you need protection, having an elf guard with you would be beneficial to both you and those you serve. There are many that might come to you seeking assistance or guidance. There are also the curious that might come to you. Then of course, there are also other wizards that may come here with less than desirable intentions.”

  “Hmmmm, you think I might be called out often by young eager spell casters wishing to prove themselves? They might wish to challenge me to some kind of wizard’s duel. If they can defeat me, they might make a name for themselves? Actually, it’s not like that at all. Many have indeed shown up, but not to challenge me. Most of them just want to learn. Others want to try and examine me from a distance. I can always sense them and any confrontation is always rather minimal. I give them some things to think about and they go on their way. So far, all of them have been satisfied with what I’ve told them.”

  “I doubt there is much I could do better in that regard.” Holli agreed. “If I tried, I would only get in your way, thus I would not even entertain the thought of actually trying to protect you from a conflict with another spell-caster. That, however, is really not my intended purpose. When a stranger comes to town to ask for you there are often bystanders that become curious. I would endeavor to keep such innocents from putting themselves in danger. A guard protects not just a single individual but the camp as a whole.”

  “Well, we do have the militia guard for that. You’ve met Sy. He is in charge of keeping the town safe.”

  “Again, I would not interfere with him as well,” Holli conceded. “He is able and I would only be a distraction to him and his soldiers. But I ask you, are there not times that you are involved in your own matters of magic that you would like to ensure that no one around you mistakenly puts themselves in harm’s way?”

  “Hmmmm…”

  “It is not a matter of me keeping an eye on you. It is a matter of keeping an eye on those that might stumble upon your presence at the wrong time. This is what an elf guard has done for ages. While the magic was encased in Ingar’s sphere, we often directed humans away from our camps without them ever knowing we were there. We kept ourselves safe by keeping others away, and in turn, kept them safe as well.”

  “I understand that,” Enin allowed, “and actually it raises another question.
Rather than come here, why not simply join another elf camp and continue as an elf guard there?”

  Holli shook her head. “I discounted this idea the moment I left my camp. Being an elf guard involves a tremendous amount of trust. There are times an elf guard’s orders will supersede the orders of the elf council. When the safety of the camp or an elder is in question, quick decisions must be made and orders must be followed without debate. If I were to join another camp, my loyalties would always be suspect, and thus, my decisions would always invite questions, invite doubt. That is not acceptable.”

  “Couldn’t they find a position within the elf guard that would give you less authority?”

  “It is possible they could treat me as a trainee, but I doubt I would be able to adjust to that. While I believe I can adjust to most situations, I must understand certain limitations. I have spent countless cycles of the seasons as an elf guard relying on what I have learned, trusting my judgment, developing confidence in my decisions, learning to take control when necessary. Returning to the level of a trainee would require me to ignore what I have ingrained in my being. It would be as if I asked you to cast nothing but the most basic of spells and never trust yourself to truly tap into your magical powers.”

  “So you decided that if you could not guard another elf camp, you would try to find someone else that could benefit from your training.”

  “Exactly.”

  With an accepting wave of the hand, Enin acknowledged the benefits of having Holli as a guard. “I agree there are times I would like to make sure that no one unexpectedly is put in any kind of danger. A set of elf guard eyes watching would indeed be an added benefit. You are indeed well trained and so I doubt I would have to worry about your safety too often. I am concerned about your level of potential interference.”

  “I’m not sure I understand that concern,” Holli responded quickly.

  “You just said your orders can sometimes come ahead of even those on your camp council.”

  “Only when safety is a paramount issue.”

  Here, Enin shook his head. “That wouldn’t do. You would have to understand that my safety is of my concern only and your interpretation of a possible hazard to my well-being must never override my own. As my guard, your priority would be on protecting those around me, keeping me advised of surrounding circumstances, being watchful of hazards I might not see—I can accept all of this—but you must never actively intervene over my objections simply because you feel my own safety is at risk. In essence, I am saying that I would always have the final word, even when you think my safety is in jeopardy. Would you be able to accept that stipulation?”

  “I will adapt to that.”

  “That is good, but I am also going to have to ask something else of you if you are to be my guard. It may not make sense to you, but I have my reasons.”

  Holli became intrigued but remained quiet.

  Enin spoke here with more of a gleam in his eye. “I want to be able to teach you how to use the magic. Now I know you use the magic passively. You use it to increase your awareness of what’s around you, you use it to remain alert to possible dangers. I think you even use it to steady your own inner strength. I must tell you this is all marvelous, but I would ask more of you. I want to be able to teach you how to use the magic more actively. There are certain spells I wish you to learn and after I show them to you, I believe you will agree they will help you in what you view as your duty. If you allow me to tutor you on casting certain spells, then I will allow you to follow me, guard me, until your heart is content.”

  “I am not against casting spells, and I have done this in the past,” Holli admitted. “I simply have not had time to truly shape these skills.”

  “If you are to be my companion, it is something we will both have time to do. To tell you the truth, I’m doing it as much for me as I am for you. If you’re going to be around me, and keeping an eye on me, I think it’s a good idea if we have some common interests. Otherwise, I’m going to start getting a bit nervous knowing that you’re always around keeping tabs on me.”

  “An elf guard remains inconspicuous,” Holli asserted.

  “I’m sure you will be, but it’s better if we actually have some true interaction and I really can’t think of a better way. You’re an elf and you’re more open to the ideas of what magic can accomplish than the people I normally talk to. This will give me a chance to discuss things that I don’t often get a chance to talk about. Such as, did you know dwarves are very resistant to magic?”

  Enin did not wait for an answer. He continued, never giving Holli a chance to speak. “Of course you knew that, you’re an elf. Sorry. Never mind. The thing is if you tell that to someone like Sy, he would say ‘Well then use something else on them.’ But there’s more to it than that. You have to understand magic and how it works. Just because a dwarf is resistant to magic doesn’t mean he is immune to it. These are two different things. Being immune is extremely rare. Being resistant means it’s difficult for a magic caster to hurt you, but it’s not impossible.

  “For example, if a sorceress stupidly sends out magic fire from her fingertips to blast away at a dwarf, the dwarf would just stand there smiling. Of course, there are many ways around that. You don’t send magic fire at the dwarf, you send it at the air surrounding the dwarf. Ignite the air and the dwarf won’t be smiling. That’s not just magic fire any more, that’s real burn-a-dwarf-all-over fire.

  “The problem is that this takes more work to do, more power, more magic and definitely more concentration, but it works where the old magic fire from the finger tips is just a waste of everyone’s time.

  “It’s the same with force blasts, too, you know. You can’t just send out a regular burst of magic force and expect it to work the same on everyone for all occasions. That’s just magical power—very strong against most things, but not against those that can naturally resist it. Instead, if the force is focused on the air which is not resistant to magic, you create a blast of true power that affects even the magically resistant. When you disburse the air, keep blasting it forward and forward, that’s a very powerful force. It’s a tornado that doesn’t spin and if done with enough velocity, it can tear people apart. That’s what I did to the dwarves when they attacked Burbon you know. Hit them with light and a wind driven force blast. They were lucky I took it easy on them, but if I didn’t I guess I would have knocked over every building in town. I don’t think that would have made Sy happy.”

  Enin looked expectantly at Holli.

  “So the idea is to use magic indirectly,” she stated simply.

  “Exactly,” Enin beamed. “This is what I’m talking about. If you are to be my guard, it would help us both immensely if we had a common interest. So, what do you say? Are you willing to learn what I am willing to teach you?”

  “Yes. Are you willing to let me be your guard?”

  “Absolutely.”