Wizard of Elements

by Calista Lambrechts

  I huffed, not exactly amused, even though may it be the truth.

  “Please, come meet me upstairs in my study room when you’re ready, per say, at least give me a few minutes.”

  The master fled and took to ascending the stairs, most doubtlessly heading for his study.

  Carlaylin marvelled at her hands, quite impressed with herself.

  I hesitated, but gave in to a word of gratitude, dropping my hands to my sides.

  “Um… Thanks,” I thanked tensely.

  Carlaylin looked up at me.

  “For saving my life.”

  She smiled.

  “We can call it square then?”

  “You bet.”

  Carlaylin chuckled to herself.

  “Good. It does explain why I felt so drained afterwards… But there’s just one problem…”

  I frowned, tilting my head. Carlaylin sighed.

  “The Wizard expects me to be the next Wizard of Elements. Who said I wanted to be a wizard in the first place? Sure, the magic’s fun, but the responsibility is another story, totally different. They’re worlds apart. Who said that I will be capable do this? It’s not exactly the first thing on my list.”

  “What would the first be?”

  “I know this sounds ridicules, but... I kind of always wanted to be… a knight. That feeling when you carry a sword in your hand, a shield on your back, fighting for the honour of the king, to be noble, brave and courageous, riding on horses and to have something to fight for. To be something for once in my life…”

  I smiled wearily.

  “It’s not ridicules. You’re already brave and courageous, by far. You’re not too bad with a weapon… Being a wizard, agreeing to the king’s terms, you can be noble. You can fight for Ysellian. You can knock yourself out with the horses and bear a noble crest… You might not have been destined to be a knight, but you’re a magical. And it leads to the same road if you play your cards right.”

  Carlaylin’s grim eyes started to clear as she shot me one last glance.

  “Thanks, Terrowin.”

  I nodded and looked away.

  “What happened?”

  Her question struck me out of the blue. I was caught by surprise. I frowned, reuniting my gaze with hers.

  “What?”

  “The reason you can’t handle a weapon. Without faltering…”

  I felt the need to recoil, to withdraw rom the conversation, almost as though she crossed some sort of line. I admit, I was being stubborn, but it wasn’t a story I was so keen on recalling. Not any time soon, anyways. My frown hardened and my stare turned deadly.

  “It’s not your place to ask.”

  I turned around, intent on making off, but Carlaylin stopped me in my tracks.

  “Hey, you kind of owe me this. I risked my ass for your next breath.”

  Frozen, I heaved a heavy sigh, finally admitting to myself that I had to at least make an effort. After all, I did kind of owe it to her.

  I stared off into the distance, out the window and opened the gates to my mind, allowing the memories to return, though under a secure check. I was reluctant, but surely, I started talking.

  “Like all good stories, it began with the master asking me to prove my loyalty when I wanted to become his apprentice… Only, I wasn’t the only one. I had form a kind of kinship with another hopeful mage, Brendon. He was about my age. We were friends… Good friends. At the time, there was a war that had broken out between sorcerers. Good versus evil, your typical story. Some of the wizards had turned against our creed and defied their kin. I won’t delve into detail. That was when the master suggested, as our trial, we help win the war. I accepted the mission. Brendon was none too hesitant either. He saw it as good enough a challenge. He always loved challenges. It was years ago. Brendon and I almost did everything together. He was like a brother to me. Though, the strength of our amity was tested on the day of the battle…”

  ***

  I was rooted to the spot as I watched a gruesome battle playing out on the red fields just below the sloes. Magicals dashed off, lunging themselves at one another and engaging in fatal combat to finish off one another. The barren wasteland acted as good enough a battlefield, battlegrounds already painted in layers of dark crimson, sprayed across the somewhat lengthy dry grass. Dark clouds hung eerily in the skies. It was on the day of the blood moon, and so a red tinge was casted upon the grassy fields. Some magicals counted solely on their magic, others having a deep faith embedded in the blades they carried. Enchanted objects and weaponry played a massive role.

  I looked down at the silver longsword I held in both my hands, and then to Brendon standing next to me, his gaze focused on the horror of battle and bloodshed down below.

  “Hey, you ready?” Brendon asked, courage and endless valour dancing in his eyes.

  “I guess so.”

  He gave a crooked half-smile.

  “Great! Then just give the word and we’ll attack.”

  I tried to shake that unknown, uneasy feeling that had lingered within me.

  “Okay. Just be safe out there,” I said teasingly with a mischievous smile.

  “I’m always fine. It’s you I’m worried about,” he badgered playfully, trying to return the favour.

  I pointed the edge of my blade at him.

  “Don’t push it.”

  “Ha. I’m just thinking that someone like you shouldn’t be out here. That’s all.” My eyes trailed my sword as I lowered it, frowning.

  “What do you mean someone like me?”

  Brendon shrugged.

  “I don’t know. I mean a wimp such as yourself.”

  I chuckled and rolled my eyes. Brendon’s smile disappeared as knelt down on his one knee and leaned against his sword he stuck into the earth.

  “It’s… a massacre.”

  “War… There can be no peace as long as people keep profiting from it. It’s pointless. There’s nothing but death and heartache. You and me, we can’t change what happened that began all this. We can, on the other hand, make an effort to end it. War doesn’t exist out of countless battles. It’s about that one confrontation that ends it all. We can go in there, fight, die, and nothing will be resolved, making our efforts futile. Or, we can go in there, fight and stop the bloodshed once and for all. It’s all up to you. How you see it. How you handle it. Mind-set. It’s about time we take this seriously and give it the best we got. Not only to prove our loyalty to the Wizard, but to do something much bigger than that.”

  Brendon smiled wearily, looking up at me.

  “You really do make a great commander.”

  I laughed and shook my head. I was no commander, even if he believes so. I looked off into the distance and saw everyone fighting for their lives, all trying to stay alive each step of the way. The wind blew towards me and rustled through my hair. I scraped together all the courage I could find. For but a single moment, I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

  “Still waiting…” Brendon reminded. I faintly nodded and knew that it was time.

  My grip on the sword tightened and I put on my game face.

  “ENHANCE!” I called and sprinted off towards the frontline alongside my companion. We ran straight into the battle and gave it everything we had. We parted, each off on our own mission, but we knew that we had each other’s backs all the way through.

  I came face to face with an armed mage. He struck his sword at me, but I was quick to parry and block it off, finishing with a counter attack. The mage was fast and gained for my head, but I ducked. I slashed at him with my blade and landed an ugly gash to his shoulder, which sent him screaming in pain. I was quick to finish him off.

  I faced many more adversaries, some large, some small. Gender didn’t matter, as both participated, each enemy stronger than the last. Some were more skilled than others. Some were better protected, others more aggressive. I pushed through and managed to be victorious over all whom I faced
, but my luck didn’t go on forever as, by ill-fate, I was caught by surprise as another sorcerer forced his blade into my upper leg. A web of anguish burst through my entire leg and I stumbled back as the sorcerer kicked me off his blade. I fell to the ground, watching as endless streams of blood seeped from the wound. I was having trouble finding my breath.

  If you fall in battle, it’s all over, I thought to myself as I clasped at the wound.

  It’s over.

  I saw the flash of a blade as the sorcerer raised his sword. He brought it down on me, aiming on cutting me down on the spot, but before all could go dark, a flash of lightning darted down from the skies in a roar of thunder and struck the sorcerer down on his tracks.

  I had never been happier to see Brendon as he stood there, the corpse at his feet. Brendon had summoned the spell. It was a powerful one at that. He direly reformed his element: water.

  “You okay?” Brendon asked. I exhaled a breath of relief and nodded. He gave me a hand and helped me to my feet.

  “Thanks.”

  Another few magicals of all kinds closed in on us, some having only recently finished off their share.

  “Go! I got this,” I assured, holding my sword at a ready. My leg pained me with every step I took, but I knew I would manage.

  Brendon nodded and went on to fight the others. I knacked my head.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” I muttered through gritted teeth. I summoned fire and caressed the blade, leaving behind a trail of flames that engulfed it. I had turned my normal silver longsword into a burning silver longsword. I gave the match everything I had and threw myself at them, manoeuvring my way through more than one enemy at the same time. My blade struck with deadly accuracy and my moves were of perfect precision. They didn’t stand a chance.

  After I finished off all who sought to face me, I sensed another wizard standing right behind me. He carried a devious smile, almost sadistic as he held was keen on finishing me off with the very power of air. He was already busily manipulating it with his fingers, though to which end and effect, I did not see or feel. I merely shrugged the idea away.

  He withdrew a potion vial from his belt, popped open the crock and finished it all at one go. I wasn’t set on watching him as he went ahead, nearing each step to my death.

  As the last drop appeared from the vial, he let go and the empty bottle dropped to the grass. I bit down on my teeth and forced my sword into his gut, but the soon as my blade’s edge even so much as touched his skin, he disappeared in a poof of smoke and air and vanished with the wind.

  He was gone, but I still felt a weight pressing at my sword.

  As the veil of deceit evaporated, I met a set of eyes that would leave me with regret for decades to come.

  My heart skipped a beat. My hands trembled. I yanked the sword away and let go of it, leaving it to fall to the grass. Brendon swayed for just a moment before I caught him and lowered him to the ground. A trickle of blood left his mouth as he coughed.

  “Brendon!” I gasped, caught in a shock, studying his face, studying his wound.

  Shuddering, Brendon tried looking at the wound in his chest. I blinked a tear from my eyes. I was a fool. I didn’t know how I couldn’t have seen through the wizard’s mask, his charade, how he kept Brendon trapped behind a fraudulent veil.

  “No no no! This can’t be happening!” I was breathless, feeling as my entire body quivered. Brendon’s face screwed up in eternal pain as he tried gasping for air.

  “How could you?” he spat through gritted teeth, anger flaring within him. I could see the hatred in his eyes. The absolute abhorrence he carried towards me.

  “No, I didn’t mean to. I… I’m sorry… I’m sorry!” I panicked and tried calling for help, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be of much use.

  “Someone, help! Please!” There was no one.

  Brendon coughed up more blood.

  “Happy now? You finally got what you wanted.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don’t play the fool! I saw those notes you wrote.”

  My heart fluttered, pleading to break out of my chest. I was absolutely bewildered, having no idea what he was on about.

  “What notes?!”

  He didn’t answer, but abruptly grabbed my wrist. I saw a blazing red growing at his hands and pain shot through my whole body. I winced, instinctively yanking my arm away from him. I felt weak, by vision threatening to leave me, to leave me unconscious, but I fought it. I kept my strength and waited for my blurred vision to properly adjust.

  “What did you do?” I asked, worry gnawing at me like a hungry rat, my eyebrows knitted into a grave expression.

  “Just something… I learned from… a friend…”

  A single breath escaped Brendon’s lips as his eyes fell close and his head slumped back.

  “Brendon… Brendon!” I panicked, “You can’t leave me!”

  I wasn’t able to bring myself to believe that he was finally gone…

  I shook him at his shoulders and tried to bring him to, but it was too late. He was already gone. Long gone.

  Inconsolable, I slowly stood and looked at the bloodied sword that lay next to him.

  My sword. He died by my hands.

  I couldn’t even bring myself to touch it, let alone even look at it.

  The battle was over and we had won, but at an enormous cost. I picked up Brendon’s lifeless body and took him back to the wizard. I left the battlefield with numerous nasty cuts, bruises and wounds, my apparel weathered and covered in dirt and stains of blood.

  On my way back, the skies darkened, roaring, angry… releasing a downpour of pounding rain that hammered down onto the draught stricken lands. It didn’t help my mood even one bit. It felt as though I just lost everything.

  I reached the tower in a number of hours and knocked on his door.

  The wizard gladly opened it, a smile stretching from ear to ear, still oblivious about what had truly happened.

  “Ha! Did you hear that, boys? We won the war! I can’t believe it! We…” his voice trailed off as his eyes fell down on Brendon. I still had him cradled in my arms.

  My eyes glistened, watery and red.

  His smile faded almost immediately and forlornly he took Brendon from me. I had little choice but to explain what had happened, even if I was so strongly keen on dismissing it, ignoring it, never to be recalled ever again.

  It broke my heart when I tried to explain.

  The worst part came when I had to admit who killed him...

  Later on we had dug a worthy grave outside the tower, at the foot of the mildewed boulders that stacked up against the tower side.

  I stayed outside, enduring the heavy rain almost as though it wasn’t there. I fell to my knees, my legs numb. I stared at his grave in front of me, the rain pooling up in mud streams around me.

  The grief ate away at my heart and I couldn’t bear it. I broke down. It was rare of me to do so, but I never shed another tear ever since then, almost as though I dried my tears completely after the event of his death. Salty tears mixed with the raindrops that ran down my face and dripped to the soaking wet ground.

  After long enough a time, still enveloped by anguish, I dropped my gaze to my wrist. There was a scorch mark that surrounded my wrist. It was a mark that would never again disappear, and only serve as a painful reminder of that very day.

  I stayed outside for longer than any normal human should be capable of, until finally the wizard couldn’t watch it any longer. He came outside. He carefully rested his hand on my shoulder, gesturing that it was time to go inside.

  I did.

  Reluctantly, I nodded faintly, the wizard helping me to my feet. He led me inside. My feet were the only place where my gaze belonged.

  I knew I would never be able to forgive myself.

  I kept on staring out the window, at his grave. My vision blurred. I felt lightheaded. I brought my fingers to the
side of my forehead. I couldn’t understand why. My vision slowly left me, darkening, and my feet left me. I collapsed, unconscious.

  ***

  “… I didn’t know what was wrong with me. The master and I tried to figure that out for months. Years even, but success came only after a long search and we found the answer about two years ago. We didn’t like the outcome.”

  Absentmindedly, I stared at the burn mark on my wrist, still there after all those years. I sighed and dropped my gaze. I didn’t want to talk about the whole calamity in the first place… It was a mistake doing so.

  “Brendon didn’t only leave me cursed, but also unable to wield another weapon…”

  I found myself staring at Brendon’s old windswept grave outside the window.

  I couldn’t even manage a smile. The grave was worn through the years it withstood Ysellian’s weather, dominated by mildew clawing at its gravestone and greenery slowly but surely dominating the soil.

  I know he cursed me, but I still miss him. He was my best friend after all...

  “Terrowin…” Carlaylin sighed in sympathy. “I never should’ve asked you about what happened. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my business and-”

  “Don’t worry about it. You had the right to know.” I turned back and met Carlaylin face to face.

  “Come on.” I started making my way toward the staircase. I remembered that the master wanted to see us.