The War of Spells

by George Mazurek

  And she definitely was not human…

  ~

  The seasons came and left like humans and wizards did. They were populating the place steadily, building first houses near the river, the old town of the future city.

  I watched them, a swarm of beings, who came here in hopes of finding a better place to live. I helped here and there with some spells that cured an ill person or repaired a broken tool, and people kept supplying me with food and water.

  Four seasons left, and then another four.

  The fortress changed into the city. The bridge was raised across the river, the one I had crossed the day the earthquake buried me alive in the sewer.

  The city's population grew rapidly. Now, it was a lively and noisy place inhabited both by humans and wizards.

  “Mister healer…” A girl with blue eyes and two little braids, six or seven years old, approached me cautiously. “This is for you.”

  She passed me a bunch of flowers. “It's from my Mom. Your enchantments and weeds cured her. She even says she feels better now than before.”

  I accepted her gift. “Thank you.”

  “My Mom says you came here from heavens, to bring us help and relief. Is that true?”

  I gave her a smile. “Your mom is a wise woman, but she is wrong in this point. What's your name?”

  “My name's Aika.” Her gaze turned to my left hand. “Is it true you fought against dragons?”

  I nodded. “Yes, it's true.”

  “And was it a dragon that burned your hand?”

  “No. It was my magic. When I released the deadly spell, it was so strong that my hand was burned.”

  “But you killed them all, didn't you?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Then,” she shuffled around me, “Why don't you just go home?”

  I gave it a thought.

  Go home…

  I smiled at her.

  “That's a good idea.”

  I stood up from the stone that served me as a seat for many years. I brushed clouds of dust from my clothes. Oddly, I was sitting on the top of the Wailing Stone all the time!

  “Give my regards to your mom, Aika.”

  “I will,” the girl promised and ran away.

  Some boy approached me, barely older than the girl. His worn out shorts, smudged face, and scabby knees reminded me of my younger self. “Sir, you are leaving?” He asked, concerned. “Who will help us if you are gone?”

  I gave it a thought. I recalled a long row of people standing at the Stone when I had visited Averot'h for the first time.

  Weirdly, the Stone itself was as dead as any other stone. It was not endowed with a grain of magic or any other power.

  Strange...

  I started creating a complex spell, the most complicated enchantment of my life.

  It must hold on for thousands of years...

  “If you are in need,” I told the boy after I finished the spell, “Just come here to the Wailing Stone and pray. Say: 'From the depth of my heart I pray for...', and the rest is up to you. Understood?”

  The boy shook his head in approval.

  “Someday, I will be back.” I said instead of good-bye.

  But it won't be soon...

  ~

  I took a bath in the river. I shaved my beard and cut my hair short. Then I looked into the water. I hardly recognized myself.

  But I was prepared to go.

  I stopped on the meadow where Ilsea once picked me up. The stones were already standing there in a ring, with two stones missing.

  Mouth and my Father...

  I stepped in to the middle of the circle.

  “We have been waiting for you, Syrdan.” Dian greeted me. “We are grateful to you for your help. What was agreed between you and your father holds good. We send you to your world, with one of us following you. The foundation particle of Mag'reb will be destroyed, thus no external force can rule the world again. As for the Elders, we withdraw our powers as well, but we are still here to respond to your eventual call.”

  I nodded in agreement. “I have one last question,” I said. “What do you know about Tree People?”

  The Elder tilted his head to the side. “They say Tree Folk, or Faerie, were brought to earth before humans and wizards, when the whole world was one big forest inhabited only by animals on the land, fish in waters, and birds in the sky. Their lives were linked to specific sorts of trees, especially yews and elders. After their birth they were fed both by mothers' milk and sap from the so-called birth tree, establishing a life long connection to it. Legends say they vanished because their primary forest was either cut down by humans or burnt down by dragons. They were considered practically immortal, unless their birth tree died. I met one of them recently, a young woman, perhaps a half century ago. But I don't remember her name.”

  Thousands of pictures and questions whizzed in my thoughts.

  “That's all right,” I said and turned away. “I do.”

  ~

  The wind ruffled my hair, and the world began spinning around, though my feet were touching the ground firmly. The gust grew stronger, and through my lids I could see the blaze rising from above which exploded a few seconds later.

  I was on my knees at the very same place where my battle with Raveh took place. It seemed like hundreds of years ago.

  But to my surprise a woman was sitting in the grass some fifty steps away, her back turned to me.

  My heart began to gallop. I quickened my pace.

  It's impossible. She can't be waiting here for so long...

  The woman turned over her shoulder. Her brown eyes widened, while her face held a mixture of shock and unexpected joy.

  She stood up slowly, like in a dream, with her hair waving in the wind.

  And then I held her in my arms and smelled her lavender scent, while her body was shaking with relief and weeping.

  “Love, I'm so happy to be back...” I whispered.

  ~

  She raised her eyes, gleaming with tears of happiness, and our lips met in a shy, tentative kiss.

  Elisa pulled away slightly, chuckled and caressed my cheeks with her warm palms. “You have changed,” she observed with raised eyebrows. “Your hair behind the ear is grey...”

  “How did you manage to stay here for so long?” I asked.

  “So long?” She frowned. “You were away for a while, an hour perhaps.” Her eyes scrutinized me closely. “But... You were away longer, am I right? How long have you been away, sweetheart?”

  I paused for a while. “Four years. Maybe five.”

  “Five years?!” she repeated, stunned.

  “I did change,” I went on, “And my hair is the least change of all.”

  She grasped my palms, frowned, and looked down at my left in a gauntlet. When she lifted her gaze again, I could see a question in her eyes, and concern.

  “You don't want to see it...” I whispered.

  “How did it happen?”

  “During a battle with dragons.”

  “There are no dragons, sweetheart.” Her eyes were seriously concerned.

  “No. Not any more.” I replied and took a deep breath. “I have gone through terrible things, Elisa, things that I will never forget.”

  Something in my voice made her eyes fade. “And you had to suffer a lot as well.” she whispered, as a lonely teardrop ran down her cheek. She placed her palms on my chest. “I don't know what happened to you, but one thing I know,” she spoke calmly, holding tears on the edge of her eyes. “Your heart is kind. You would never hurt a human, wizard, or an animal, if not for absolutely necessary reasons. You are a good man, the best I have ever met.”

  I didn't reply.

  She turned away, took a few steps and stopped. The wind played with her silky hair, as her shoulders shook.

  I moved closer.

  “Do you love me?” she sobbed quietly, not turning to me.

  “Yes, I do. I always did and I always will.”

  She shook her he
ad. “Good.”

  “But I'm not the same man as before.”

  She turned to me finally. “Obviously, you are not. Yet, let me love you too. Please...”

  EPILOGUE

  i greeted Kwazzo as well, brushing his rough belly with my healthy hand. He whooped like a kid...

  We prepared for a journey to Averot'h soon. The travel was quiet, though not much comfortable, as Kwazzo had to carry both of us. We crossed the ocean on a ship called Courage, and this time the journey was peaceful. I was allotted a small cabin next to Elisa's. Elisa and I talked now and then, but I was not prepared to share all my thoughts and experiences with her until the third day on the ship.

  We were sitting on a plank bed in my cabin, and she was trying to heal my left arm with sané ointments and delicate enchantments. I didn't feel any better, but I let her do her best. Behind a small round window, white cumulus clouds were sailing the blue sky.

  “You ought to know what I have done and seen,” I said.

  She shot me a curious glance. “Well, go on.”

  I touched her forehead with the tips of my fingers. She went stiff. “Don't worry, just close your eyes for a while.”

  Instantly, she experienced my life after I was sent to the past by Gharib.

  When it was over, I examined her expression, but her face was unreadable.

  She took a deep breath. “Excuse me, I must sort it over,” she whispered and left.

  I didn't see her for two days. When she finally knocked on my door, I opened it up, worried by what she might tell me.

  With pretended calmness I beckoned her to my bed and we both sat down.

  Our eyes locked. “I don't know where to start,” she said. “I must admit I felt hurt at the beginning because of your love for some other woman. But then I realized it was foolish to be jealous of a woman who has been dead for almost two millennia. Now, I even feel some admiration for her, she was really brave and beautiful, no surprise you yielded to temptation.” She gave me a piercing look, “I feel sorry she had to die that way.”

  Her eyes went tender. She moved a little closer to me. “Apart from your love affair, I'm proud of you. You helped a vast amount of people, healing, protecting, and advising them. You became the real founder of Averot'h, not Rotah, because it was you who attracted people to the city. The death of the people who guarded the fortress is not your fault at all. You were betrayed by Er'med, and you shouldn't blame yourself for that. You did your best, risking your life to defeat the dragons.”

  She reached out and squeezed my palms. Her eyes glinted with a single tear. “I still love you.”

  I nodded shortly. “I was afraid you were going to cut my balls off when you learned about Ilsea, and feed them to the sharks.”

  “I guess sharks wouldn't be keen on such delicacy,” she replied, her voice feigned serious.

  I burst into laughter. She followed me a second later.

  Since that day, the wounds in my soul began to heal...

  ~

  After we crossed the Little Sea, we followed the river to the destroyed city. Though we didn't talk much, I was definitely pleased I could travel with her by my side.

  When snow-white walls appeared on the horizon, I realized a tall Mag'reb silhouette was missing in the sky.

  Apparently, Gharib succeeded in its elimination...

  I had mixed feelings, though I knew my father and the Elders were right.

  It had to be done...

  It was a strange feeling anyway, knowing I was the last Warlock in its long history. I hoped the Ball of Life had survived the spires' ending, and was content to live somewhere else.

  Elisa smiled at me and pointed to the northern horizon. “We are almost at home,” she said, blushed and breathing heavily as we climbed a steep section of the path.

  “Yeah,” I replied with a grin. I shielded my eyes from the sun. “What's this?”

  “It's a wizard,” Elisa said, squinting into the light.

  The speck grew rapidly. I could already discern a tephir from a figure on its top.

  I stopped.

  I couldn't believe my eyes!

  “It can't be!” I almost screamed.

  But it was him, with no doubt...

  ~

  The wizard halted in front of us. His long, black coat and red hair were flying in the wind, exposing and covering his face, half ordinary and half burned...

  “You are dead!” I whispered. “I saw how you had changed into sand!”

  Martell screwed his face in a way that sent shivers along my back. “I have been waiting for you,” he said, looking at Elisa. Then his gaze turned to me. He grinned. “It was my true master-spell. Even Beheimon believed I was dead. In any case, I came to the conclusion you are more suitable to finish Ver'del and Ka'tan than me. And you didn't disappoint me, boy.”

  I clenched my fists.

  Martell's stare fell to my feet. But he was not observing my dirty shoes.

  “You served me well, Kwazzo,” he praised my tephir. “You deserve the reward I promised you.”

  What!

  I was so shocked that I forgot to breathe. And to speak...

  “I tried to obey your orders as good as I could, my Lord,” I heard Kwazzo in my head.

  I sucked the air back into my lungs. “Wait! Kwazzo! You followed his orders?”

  “Yes, my Lord. Lord Martell obliged me to take you to Elisa, and to provide you with all my help.”

  “I see,” I calmed down a little. “That was not necessary. I would have gone for Elisa anyway.”

  I gave her a shy smile, but then I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

  “I had no idea about that, love!” she said, raising her empty palms in defense.

  “But you don't seem to be surprised your father is still alive.”

  She winked and blushed. “Kwazzo told me the news just two days ago. I'm sorry I haven't told you... Please, don't be angry with me!”

  I waved my right hand in resignation. “I'm not.”

  The Burned dismounted his tephir, Beheimon, and embraced his daughter. They exchanged a few words, and it seemed they were getting along well again.

  After a while, Martell turned to me.

  “Syrdan, you did well, better than I could have.” He said. “Your decision to eradicate Mag'reb was truly sagacious. Now, all creatures under the sun can be free again, and no alien power will screw with their lives and hopes. The future is only ours, and only we decide what it will be like.”

  I felt the same way, so I nodded.

  “We will build the city again,” Martell continued. “You and me. It will be a better place without the spires.”

  “A better place for wizards as well as for humans. I want to establish the wizards' and humans' quarters as before,” I added and this time it was the Burned who nodded in agreement.

  He reached out his right hand.

  After a brief moment, I squeezed it.

  He deceived me several times in the past. But he also saved my life...

  It would be easier to build a new Averot'h with two of us.

  Elisa imposed a terrible curse on our alliance.

  The wind ruffled our clothes and hair, when we took the oath.

  “I swear,” I said.

  “I swear,” Martell replied and strange colors flashed through his eyes. I remembered the tint from the moment when he told me lies about Elisa...

  You tricky, perfidious bastard! I'll be weary of you!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  I would like to thank several people:

  - DANIEL DRUMMEY, who read the book and spent a lot of time with proofreading. He also helped me with the publishing;

  - BARBORA FRANKOVÁ, a young illustrator, who created the cover;

  - RENÁTA PLOUHAROVÁ, who helped me with proofreading and editing.

  - ERIN McINTYRE, who helped me with proofreading and editing.

  AFTERWORD

  Dear reader, thank you for buying and reading this book. I hope you have enjo
yed it. The presented story is a revised and extended version of the story published (in Czech language) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 2011.

  This book has a sequel, The Shadow of Towers, which takes place twenty years after the new Averot'h was built. The story focuses on Leisha, a daughter of Syr'dan and Elisa, who must find and stop a new evil threat.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  George Mazurek (Jiri Mazurek in Czech) (*1974) is a Czech writer of fantasy and science-fiction. Since 2005, he published 5 books and over 30 short stories in the best Czech and Slovak magazines. Several of his short stories were broadcasted by the Czech national radio (Radiozurnal). He was awarded Karel Čapek prize and other minor prizes. Currently, he is an assistant professor at Silesian University, and he is living near Ostrava with his wife and two little sons.

  BOOKS:

  The Ironwood (2007), nominated for the best fantasy/sci-fi novel by the Czech Academy of Science Fiction and Fantasy,

  The Legend of Rennard (2009),

  The Legend of Garonna (2009), Karel Čapek prize for the best fantasy/sci-fi novel,

  The City of Wizards (2011),

  The Streams of the Ironwood (2012) (electronic version).

  INTERNET PROFILES (in Czech) with George's works and hundreds of reviews:

  http://www.legie.info/autor/2064-jiri-mazurek.

  http://www.databazeknih.cz/autori/jiri-mazurek-3543.

  CONTACT E-MAIL:

  mazurekgeorge@gmail.com.

  Remarks, questions and suggestions are especially welcomed!