Path of the Magi (Tales of Tiberius)

by Stuart, Richard J

  Dallen turned and helped Singh in putting out fires, and seeing to other wounded. Tiberius carried Marybeth home and let her mother put her to bed. He then went to try and help the militia with damage control, but they sent him home.

  He walked home and viewed the damage. It could have been worse. The fires were contained, and only a few people had been killed in the initial attack. Smoke was all about the town, however. Buildings which he’d known all his life were charred ruins. Worst of all was the thought that the dragon would come back someday. How long did Dallen have to live anyway? A week? a month? Years? He staggered in his own doorway. Thank God their home had not been touched. His mother met him at the door with a hug. She gave him some tea and sent him to bed.

  ∴

  Early the next morning, Tiberius was at the home of Michael Okubo. He was just up himself and greeted him at the door.

  Michael greeted him with astonishment. “I heard what happened. Should you be up?”

  “Could I talk to you?” he asked.

  “Yes, of course, come and sit down.”

  Michael led him into his back yard. Tiberius was shaken, but he was thinking now. A night’s sleep had brought some color back to his face.

  “Mr. Okubo, you’re the best fighter I know. If I work my tail off for another ten years, I doubt if I’d be as good as you. Let me ask you something. Could you kill that creature?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t, did I?”

  “You were at the edge of town. It wasn’t looking for you. I know you didn’t kill it. I know it wouldn’t be easy. But could you do it?” Tiberius asked.

  He thought carefully. “Yes. It’s possible I think. The right arrow, the right bow. A bit of luck. But it wouldn’t be easy. There are specialists in the army. Heavy crossbow teams. It can be done, but it won’t be easy. I wouldn’t like to try it. Under ideal conditions, one chance in twenty. Conditions are rarely ideal. In a duel, one chance in a thousand.”

  There was a moments silence before Michael continued. “I think I know what you are asking. You have to fight that creature one day and you’re wondering if it can be done. If you became the best knight you could be, could you kill it? I think the answer is yes. It’s possible. But it’s not likely you’d win. Not likely at all. Basically, you would be relying totally on God for a miracle. It’s not the worst plan in the world, but … well, I’ve always relied on God to guide my actions but never to take action for me. Experience teaches us he tends to be on the side of the heavy battalions.”

  “Dad says that too,” Tiberius said.

  “It isn’t a big secret that Dallen thinks you’d make a good magus, Tiberius,” Michael said. “This is a job for a magus. You can be a great knight, Tiberius, a great soldier. But if you’re going to go hunting for a dragon, I would try the path of the magi, if I could. There are many creatures of darkness in the world, Tiberius. Vampires, demons, witches, other things that have no name. The magi here have learned to fight them. It’s an honorable path, if not a safe one.”

  “There are no safe paths ahead of me,” Tiberius said. “And not everyone thinks the path of the magi is honorable.”

  “I know something about that,” Michael said. “Tiberius, I know you well enough to know that you can keep a secret. Will you keep one for me?”

  Tiberius glanced at Michael and nodded.

  Michael then continued. “For generations my family have been ninjas. That’s like an assassins guild. We use stealth, poison, whatever it takes, to defeat our enemies. Our methods are not always considered honorable. But we work in the cause of God and country, defending civilization and our loved ones from our enemies. If we do not always play fair it’s because our enemies certainly do not play fair, and it will not be good for anyone if they win.”

  “But does the end really justify the means?”

  “Always we must make choices, sometimes difficult choices. I’ve murdered good men, Tiberius. Brave soldiers fighting only to defend their country. I snuck up behind them and slit their throats. May God have mercy upon me for doing so. The men I killed were men with sweethearts and wives. But the country they were defending was run by an unspeakable monster who was slaughtering innocent women and children by the millions in ways too horrible for me to speak of. I did what I had to do to stop that monster and he was stopped, though the cost was very high. I think you should do what you need to do to stop this monster."

  “What if we are wrong and God does not approve of our methods?” Tiberius asked.

  “We have then the refuge of any sinner in falling upon God’s mercy, for all of us are sinners. Till then I sleep well at night, knowing that I have made the best moral choices I could have under difficult circumstances. I don’t know if God approves of Dallen’s methods or not. But I can see how Dallen would shape the world and I can see how the dragon would shape it, and I know of no sensible Christian who would prefer the dragon’s view.”

  Michael stopped, walked over to the bench, and picked up an arrow. “Your brother brought this to me. It’s the arrow you fired at the dragon. He says you made a good shot, but see how the tip is bent. No question but that the dragon is protected by magic.” He handed the arrow to Tiberius. “If I were going after that dragon myself, the first thing I would do is go to Dallen and ask him what counter-charm I could put on that arrow so it would pierce the dragon’s magic and actually hurt him. But as long as you are going to Dallen for advice and help, you may as well take all of it. Against the dragon, you will need it.”

  ∴

  Tiberius, at Mr. Okubo’ urging, decided to try to work off a little steam exercising against some of Mr. Okubo’s tackle dummies. He spent the morning striking his staff against the straw dummies.

  Julian Fuller came up to where Tiberius was training intently with his quarterstaff. For a moment, Fuller just stood and watched admiringly. Old Okubo had taught him well. Ti was pretty good with that thing now and getting better every day.

  Ti briefly acknowledged his father’s presence with a nod, then went back to training.

  “You’re working hard,” the father said at last.

  “I’ve got a lot to get ready for,” Tiberius replied.

  “Yes, as to that,” the senior said. “You know son, no one talks to a dragon and comes away unaffected. You shouldn’t let it get to you, though.”

  Tiberius stopped and gave a hard look at his father. “Shouldn’t I? That creature is pure evil. It also thinks I can kill him. I mean to.”

  “By any means necessary?” his father asked. “Don’t forget son, magic is a sin.”

  “So is killing. But the first laws are love God and love thy neighbor. How can I say that I love my neighbors? How can I say I love you, Marybeth, or anyone I care about, if I just sit by and do nothing when I have the potential to keep them safe from that creature and dozens more like it.”

  “There are other ways. You can get into the military academy. Learn the lance and the bow. You saw how that creature ran from a company of well armed dragon slayers.”

  “And who makes the arrows for them? Mr. Okubo’s the best fletcher in town. I fired one of his arrows at the dragon and it did nothing. Dallen’s arts help make crossbows that will hurt that dragon. Even so, the dragon mostly ran from Dallen. And me. I saw how it reacted to my name, just my name, Father. It knows me. It’s not the only one. You’ve seen how the elves point and whisper about me. Now I know why. They think I can be something more than just a knight, something a dragon would be afraid of. Seems to me that I can be just another knight or I can be a force for real good in the universe. You are the one who taught me never to be just a face in the crowd when I can be a leader.”

  Julian shook his head. “No, that can’t be the way. Son, magic is too dangerous. I’ve seen what it can do. We can’t bring it into the house,” he pleaded. “I know Dallen means well, but his magic, well, it can’t always be controlled. I don’t like to talk about the old days, but maybe I should have told you more. One time Dallen nearly kill
ed your mother because one of his spells went bad.”

  Tiberius was in no mood to listen. “Mother’s alive, isn’t she?”

  “Well, yes, but...”

  “And the witches are dead?”

  “It isn’t as simple as that,” Julian said.

  “Isn’t it?” Tiberius shot back angrily. “You know, I don’t care about anything else right now. Didn’t you hear it? Everyone else in town did. It’s going to come back and kill me, you, Mom, Marybeth, Pastor Adams, the Okubos, and everyone else in this town. Right now the only thing stopping it is Dallen. Dallen won’t be here forever. I’ve got to be ready when he comes back.”

  “No!” Julian shouted back. “Magic is too dangerous! It nearly killed her once; I won’t have it in the house.”

  “Then I’ll stay away,” Tiberius replied firmly. There was a moment’s silence as the two strong willed men stared at one another. After a moment, Tiberius took a softer tone. “I’ll have to anyway. It will take years of intense study to get this right. It isn’t an easy program; I know that.” There was another long pause. “Better not to be too close to me anyway. That dragon may not wait for a fair fight. Everyone is safer if I go with Dallen.”

  Julian looked at his son with compassion. He didn’t have any more logic to argue against his son. At one level what he was proposing made sense, but he couldn’t escape the sense of dread in his heart. “Son, do you know what you are saying?” he asked. “Do you really know what you are doing?”

  “I understand that I’ve got a job to do. I understand that it’s a very dangerous job and to do it I’m going to have to distance myself from my family, everything I’ve ever known and loved. Yes, Father, I understand that. I also understand that nothing I love will be here if I don’t act to save them. Father, I know exactly what I am doing. This is the only way I can see that I have a realistic chance of stopping that dragon.”

  “Marybeth won’t like this, you know,” Julian said.

  “I know,” Tiberius answered grimly. “Neither of us planned for this. To keep the dragon from killing her, I’m going to become something she’s never wanted any part of. What would you have of me, Father? What would a real friend do for her? What she wants, or what’s really going to help her? You’re the one who taught me about honor.”

  Julian shook his head. “Exercise is probably the best thing for you right now. Get your mind off of it. Come back to the house when you’re done and sleep on it. No need to make snap decisions.”

  Tiberius spoke to his fathers receding steps. “I’ll think on it, Father. But I doubt if I’ll come to any other conclusion. It’s too obvious what I have to do.”

  A couple of days later, after Marybeth had time to recover, Tiberius came by. A worried looking mother led him into the parlor where Marybeth was waiting for him.

  She still looked shaken, but she asked after him. “Are you alright, Ti? That was very brave of you.”

  “I’m alright, Marybeth. You don’t have to worry,” he said.

  “I am worried, Ti. I’m worried sick. They say that dragon has it in for you somehow. That he’s going to come back some day,” Marybeth said.

  “Yes. He is. One day when we least expect it, that dragon will return. He will come back to kill everyone in this town. Everyone and everything I’ve ever loved or cared for. He’ll burn them, smash them, destroy them any way he can, and he will laugh as he does it. Only he’s not going to get the chance,” Tiberius said firmly.

  “What do you mean?” Marybeth asked.

  “I mean I’m going to kill that dragon, Marybeth. I won’t let him hurt you.”

  “Ti, you can’t! It can’t be done,” Marybeth pleaded. “It’s only in stories that one man takes on a dragon. A great dragon like that one fights armies! He has terrible demonic powers. You try and get on a horse and charge a spear at him and he’ll freeze your blood. You’ll never have a chance.”

  “I know I’d never have a chance. Not as an engineer. Not even as a knight.”

  “But what then?” she asked with growing horror.

  “There is a way, Marybeth. I can fight him with magic. I can unleash the same primal forces of the universe against him, only for good instead of evil,” Tiberius said quietly.

  “Tiberius, you’re talking crazy,” Marybeth said.

  “No. I’m not. Dallen’s been after me for months to start the training. He thinks I can do it. The elves are expecting me to do this. Evidently the dragon does too.”

  “I don’t understand,” Marybeth said, looking pale.

  “Don’t you? Why are you shaking so? You know what everyone knows now. That dragon ran. He ran from my name. He was afraid of me. Afraid of what I could become. I can become more dangerous than a dragon, Marybeth. I have to become more dangerous than a dragon. It’s the only way I can keep you and your children safe.”

  Marybeth got up and threw her arms around him crying. “Tiberius, no. You don’t have to do this! We can run away. Someplace where that dragon can never find us. Somewhere where we can raise a quiet family.”

  Marybeth could tell Tiberius had been deeply affected by the dragon. He was iron now, immune to her tears.

  “I’m sorry, Marybeth,” he said quietly but firmly. “That isn’t for me. I wish it was. But wherever I go that dragon will hunt me down. Or maybe he’ll just kill my old friends and this town. He could slaughter them one by one, torturing them till I came to him.”

  “Why would he do that? What have you ever done to him?” Marybeth asked.

  “He’s evil. He doesn’t need a reason beyond that. I have to be ready to face him.” Tiberius took her hands in his. “I’m upsetting you and you still need rest. Look, Marybeth, I know this isn’t what either of us wanted. But I have to do this for your safety and the safety of everyone I know and love. It means that from now on I’m going to constantly be walking into danger. I’m not going to be able to get a job with the engineers. I’m going to be with the Rangers. Not just with, them but leading them. I’ll be walking into more dangers than any of them.”

  His answer was silence.

  “Marybeth, I know you don’t like this. I’m not the man I was when you accepted me. I won’t blame you if you don’t want to follow me into this. Most of all, I want you to be happy. I still love you and care for you. That’s why I’m doing this.”

  “How can you protect me by dragging me into all sorts of horrible dangers?” she asked.

  “The danger is going to come to me, one way or the other. Every knight needs a lady at his side. I still hope that will be you. If not … well, I understand. I think you should rest and think about it. I wouldn’t have brought this up so soon. But I’m going to talk to Dallen now, and I didn’t want you to hear this second hand. I don’t think there is a moment to waste. That dragon could come back at any time.”

  Marybeth just nodded. She was fighting back tears. Her mother came and it was time for Tiberius to go.

  Tiberius walked up to Dallen’s estate. He asked Mr. Eumaios if he could have a word with Mr. Dallen, and was shortly shown in. Dallen sat behind his desk.

  “Mr. Dallen, sir, you said once you could teach me to be a magus. I wonder if the offer might still be open.”

  He fixed his eyes on Tiberius. “It is. But not if you’re doing this out of revenge or fear.”

  “I can’t tell you I’m not scared. I can’t tell you I don’t have a grudge against that dragon. But it isn’t the reason I’m doing this. Until I saw that dragon, I didn’t think it was wise to be playing around with magic. Now that I’ve seen what we’re really up against, I understand the need. Someone needs to do this. It’s not something anyone can do, and it seems that I’m needed. This is the way I can best serve God and country, sir.”

  “I think that you’re right,” Dallen said. “You’re more than welcome here.”

  “Thank you, sir. I haven’t very much money, but I’m sure we can make some arrangement concerning the tuition.”

  Dallen just smiled. “I don’
t need your money, Tiberius, I need your attention. Being a magus has been a lucrative arrangement for me over the years. I’m just pleased to be able to pass on my gifts to able students.”

  “Yes, sir. I may need a place to stay as well. I don’t think it would be wise to engage in this course of study under my father’s roof.”

  “I quite understand. I have plenty of guest rooms. I’d be pleased if you would avail yourself of one of them. Mr. Eumaios cooks an excellent breakfast as well. Why don’t you go and collect your things and we’ll get you settled in here. Then we can continue your education.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Walking towards his home, he saw Marybeth’s father waiting for him. Tiberius greeted him.

  He didn’t seem to want to talk to him, but he did. “Marybeth … well you know she’s a fragile thing, Tiberius. She … well she wanted … ” He held out the ring and gave it back to Tiberius.

  “I’m her friend and I know her well, sir. I knew what her answer would be. Give her my love for me, will you?”

  “I’ll do that,” he said, almost running off.

  Tiberius went down to the creek. He sat thinking and looking out over the waters. Had he done the right thing? To the best of his knowledge he had. Yet he still felt like he’d been kicked in the stomach.

  He sat looking at the water for a while. After a time, little Maci came by.

  “What’s wrong, brother?” she asked.

  “Marybeth’s called off the engagement,” he said.

  “She’s not going to marry you?” Maci asked. She was only three years old and the concept seemed difficult for her. She sat down next to him, though. She could see he was hurt and upset.

  “No, she isn’t. She doesn’t want to be around me when I go fighting dragons,” he said.