by Rain Oxford
Blood to blood, blood to stone,
Magic this night stands not alone,
No longer to fear the tyrant’s wrath,
Reborn in the fire of the dragon’s breath,
Wizard to dragon, death cannot take,
Bound in power, this bond I make,
So let it end,
So let it begin.
Dragon magic engulfed me violently, but it flowed out of me and back into the rock as fast as it was filling me, so it only burned me instead of completely overwhelming me. I had no idea how long this went on, only that I couldn’t stand by the time the curse was in place. The last thing I felt before I passed out was Cennuth picking me up gently.
Chapter 12
Within a year, magic changed the world. Kings learned very quickly not to kill the wizards, although there were quite a few more dragons by the time they learned their lessons. Most of the new dragons chose to live their lives peacefully, but some of them terrorized the people who put him to death. Magic became a gift instead of a curse.
When a wizard was changed into a dragon, they somehow knew about the curse, so my name became well-known. For the first time, the world flourished. Inventions in medicine and lifestyle skyrocketed alongside magic. I helped by sharing some very simple things I had seen in my dreams, although that meant going to the kings directly, because they had inventors. Fortunately, as people’s lives got better, more people learned to read and write.
I traveled the worlds for many, many years, gathering knowledge and interfering with others. I loved traveling, but it did get very lonely. I tried to take Vinr until it became too dangerous. Although Caedmon was always kind when I visited him, it was clear to me that he had moved on with his life. Time only moved forward, whether I was ready or not.
I took apprentices sometimes. I opened myself up to another person because I was lonely and wanted to share my knowledge and patience, yet it always ended badly for me. Some of them fell in love, some of them couldn’t handle the magic, and some of them moved on without me.
After years of this, I came to believe there was something holding me back. The more famous I became, the more determined I was to avenge my mother. I tried so many spells, but I didn’t have any link to the wizard responsible. I didn’t even know his name.
I did, however, spread his daughter’s name around whenever I returned to my home world. I was visiting Caedmon one day, sitting inside the cabin and sharing stories, when Vinr stood and growled at the door. I quickly opened the door, completely unafraid of an attack, and glared when I saw Erica Baltezore standing there.
“I heard you were looking for me.” I started to attack, but Caedmon put his hand on my shoulders and I stopped. She smirked confidently. “If you hurt me, you’ll never find out about my father and get your revenge.”
“Why would you tell me?”
“I want you to go after him. If you go after him, it will prove you are no better than me. If you defeat him, it will get him out of my way. If you die, it will get you out of my way.”
After she told me where to find her father, Caedmon advised me not to go. Unfortunately, after all those years, I hadn’t learned wisdom. I thought I could handle any wizard. Against his wishes, I traveled for a month until I reached the wizard’s lair. I was expecting a castle or even a cabin in the woods. Instead, Rijah Baltezore lived in a cave. It wasn’t an ordinary cave, however; the interior walls were covered in crystals.
The “home” was actually quite cozy. It was formed in a mountain overlooking the sea. There was a bed, a bookshelf, a reading chair, and a writing desk stocked with pens, ink, and paper. The wizard was sitting in the chair, reading one of the books when I entered. I didn’t say anything, although I knew he was aware of my presence. After a moment, he set the book aside and looked at me very calmly. “It took you a long time to get here, Merlin.”
“Did you send your daughter to kill my mother?”
“I sent my daughter to kill her only if you refused to join me.”
“She gave my mother the poison before she even told me about you!”
He shrugged. “She had an antidote.”
“I’m going to kill you.”
He rested his chin in his palm. “I doubt that. You are far too young. Someday, you will be useful to me. Until then, I will be waiting.” He stood and approached me.
I focused my magic and yelled, “Drepa!” A flash of burning light leapt forth to strike him like lightning, but to my shock, the wizard was faster.
“Minka,” he said calmly. My magic was doused instantly.
“How did you do that? I learned magic from the dragons themselves.” Although all wizards used words in magic, I was the only one who used the dragon’s language, which made me more powerful.
“As did I.”
“I am still a more powerful wizard. I’ve been to many worlds and learned magic you couldn’t possibly know.”
Baltezore laughed loudly, as if I had said something terribly amusing. “A wizard? Is that what you think you are?”
“Of course I’m a wizard.”
He laughed again. “Did the dragons tell you that you were just a wizard? They lied to you.”
“You’re lying! You don’t even know me.”
“I know much more about you than you think. That is why Cennuth chose to raise you himself; he never wanted you to meet me.”
“He taught me so that I could end the war on magic.”
“And you did such an impressive job. I know you will be of use to me very soon.”
When I started focusing my magic to attack again, he flicked his hand in an upward motion, easily slamming me against the bookshelf with magic. A blue chalice appeared in his other hand, which he held up to my mouth. My magic was suddenly unresponsive. I fought it, but his magic held me still and he pinched my nose until I had to drink it. The liquid was thick, bitter, and made my head spin. I tried to ask him what he was doing. I didn’t get the chance.
* * *
I woke to find that the mouth of the cave had vanished and there was a letter on the desk. The letter was simple and stated that I was now immortal and would be trapped here until he felt I was ready to join him. It didn’t say what he wanted me to join him in doing.
I was confused. Although the dragons could live for thousands of years, they could be killed, so I didn’t understand immortality. Despite the fact that I had magic, I couldn’t use a portal to escape. My magic was fine; it was the cave that trapped me.
There was no food or water. The only light came from a strange glow in the crystals. For the first few days, I was certain I would die of dehydration. However, to my astonishment, the hunger and thirst faded away. Although I lost a little weight, I didn’t look malnourished. To test this curse of immortality, I restricted myself from sleep until I became completely delirious, began hallucinating, and passed out.
The worst discovery was that if I looked into any of the crystals in the walls for too long, I saw something similar to my dreams. This was both addictive and agonizing.
I had no idea when it was day or night. Time just stopped existing. All the books were magic grimoires written by Baltezore, so I read them and practiced the spells alone. I used what I knew about magic to make up new spells. I also made tools to focus my power. The cave was set up perfectly for a wizard, but what I really wanted was some blacksmith tools.
I eventually realized that there was nobody coming for me and that I had to save myself. The solution came in a dream, as so many before it had. I came to the very undeniable realization that I would die in the cave. There was no way out except through death.
Baltezore had several of the most deadly poisons known, which I mixed together. Even after making it, I was hesitant to use it, but eventually, I decided that it was not worth it to be trapped in that cave for another minute. If there was one thing I trusted, it was magic.
I drank the poison and sat down on the bed to wait. The effects were almost immediate. I felt numbness coat m
y esophagus and empty stomach, which soon spread to the rest of my body. My arms and legs began trembling violently and my lungs stopped working. It didn’t hurt very much before my mind started wandering. Everything had a red shade… and then my vision faded altogether.
And then, I woke. My body regained control slowly. I didn’t know how long I had been dead, but the immortality curse was strong. When I opened my eyes, I was still in the cave, but the entrance was open.
* * *
I soon found out that I had been in the cave for hundreds of years. The worlds had changed. Caedmon, Brynjar, Vinr, and even Cennuth were gone. They had been the only four beings left in all the worlds who cared about me and I threw that away for revenge. For the first time in my life, I was completely alone.
All because I wanted revenge.
I vowed to never allow myself to lose sight of what was important again. Instead of constantly fighting to be stronger, I would appreciate what I had. This wasn’t an easy change for me. No matter what world I visited, I never felt like I fit in. I took apprentices and fell in love with women, but none of these relationships lasted. Even when I found a world I was happy with, it never lasted.
Eventually, I came to the realization that there were two places I had ever really been happy. I returned to Cennuth’s cave only to discover the mountain had been populated by strangers. Then I returned to Gmork’s world. Unfortunately, that too was very different. I decided it didn’t matter; it was as good a place as any to settle down.
As some twisted sense of penance, I stopped taking wizard apprentices and instead advised kings in wisdom. This would have been perfect if it weren’t for several war-minded monarchs who repulsed me from the whole idea.
I had accepted the fact that I would never be as happy as I was with Cennuth, and decided it was because that was my childhood, which I let slip through my fingers. I had to move on, because time was never going to wait for me to catch up.
* * *
For many years, Baltezore never bothered me. I didn’t spend much time on my home world, so I didn’t expect to ever see him again. I did, however, have dreams of him. I saw him in magical duels and sometimes just creating potions, and in watching this, I learned from him. He wasn’t concerned with black or white magic; he did whatever he thought would benefit himself.
On my home world, kings eventually started hiring wizards for reasons other than war, like tournaments and entertainment. Since the wizards were free to come and go, I was unconcerned. Then, one night, I had a dream of a man with the most unusual power. He called himself a magician, not a wizard, and he couldn’t do what wizards could. Instead, the only magic he could do was illusion. Even weirder were the magical tools he had.
I dreamed of him working for a king and was amused by the pranks he played on the staff of the castle. He wasn’t causing harm; he was just young, powerful, and wanted to have some fun. After several weeks of seeing this, I started to wonder why I kept dreaming about him. That was when I saw Baltezore visit the magician’s king. He wanted something the king had, and he slaughtered everyone in order to get it.
My dreams often showed me something ahead of the fact, but not always. As a result of what happened to my mother, I hated divination and deeply wanted to ignore the dreams. The reason I didn’t was because I felt like the magician was a friend after having watched him for so long. I also felt a little responsible because Baltezore was my enemy that I failed to defeat.
Thus, I traveled to King Garsul’s kingdom. It was a very happy kingdom, with many celebrations and tournaments. When I arrived, the king was putting on a tournament for wizards to show off. The majority of the kingdom was watching in the stands around the massive arena. I found a spot as close as I could to the king.
There were two doors placed on opposite ends of the field. Above the door on the north end was the king and his two daughters. King Garsul was a middle-aged, fit king with dark brown hair, a scruffy beard, and a blue velvet tunic. Kings had changed a lot since they stopped killing wizards. His daughters were undeniably beautiful.
The king stood to address his people, who fell silent slowly. “Thank you all for coming to see the final day of the tournament. As you all know, this event will determine which of the five remaining wizards will represent our wonderful kingdom. A lot of you are visiting representatives of other kingdoms who are looking to hire a wizard. I assure you that all of the wizards who competed in this tournament are available for hire.”
When the south door opened, the king sat and another man stood to introduce five wizards, who each entered the field when their names were called. Two of the wizards were young, slim twin brothers. Another looked to be older than me, and when he came out, the crowd roared with cheers and applause. The fourth wizard was the magician, Vactarus, and he received even more cheers. The last wizard to come out was a man nearly as large as Caedmon, with more scars and a definite savage air to him. Surprisingly, there were more boos from the crowd than cheers.
“For the final event, the remaining five wizards will compete together.” As he spoke, a massive form flew over the field, partially blocking out the sun and making everyone look up. There were screams of terror from the audience, but I just grinned. The green dragoness I had met so many years previous landed elegantly on the field. She ignored the wizards as the announcer continued. “The rules for this event are simple; don’t die. The wizard who defeats the dragon wins.”
The crowd roared with so much disapproval that the king had to stand and quiet them.
Once he could be heard, the announcer continued. “Don’t fret; the wizards can walk off the field and be safe. We do not want anyone dying, not even the dragon. Now, at the sound of the gong, let the final event begin!” he sat down.
One of the king’s daughters stood to hit the gong that was to the right of the king. I reacted quickly. “Eimi forað,” I said, focusing my magic on what I wanted. A creature made of fire formed right above me, surrounded by an angry cloud of black smoke. When the mass began moving, it was obvious the creature was a dragon, though it was no larger than a person. It flew right over the king and towards the field before dispersing. Once again, the crowd screamed.
The king stood and turned to me just as the guards surrounded him. Audience members near me scrambled to get away.
“Wizard!” the king shouted, addressing me. “This is a peaceful tournament. You have no right to interfere!” He pushed several of his guards out of the way so he could see me.
I stood. “I am not here to interfere,” I said calmly. “I merely want to enter the tournament.”
“It’s the last day!” the announcer exclaimed. “That would be completely unfair.”
I addressed the king instead of the announcer. “I thought you wanted the best wizard. I am Merlin. Surely you have heard of me.” There was a fine line between arrogance and confidence, but although I was acting arrogant, it was just an act. Wizards had an image to maintain, and I had to exceed that in order to get this job.
The king’s face paled. “Everyone has heard of you. You want to work for me?”
“For as long as you need me.” Not forever, just until Baltezore was no longer a threat.
He made a motion with his hand to a set of steps that led under the stands. “Then by all means, please join the other five wizards.”
I walked casually, not in any hurry to get there, and the entire audience was silent. I stepped into the darkness just as the north door slid open. Still in no hurry, I joined the rest of the wizards, who were obviously not happy about the extra competition.
“We have a late contender,” the announcer boasted with fake enthusiasm. “Everyone, please welcome Merlin.” The audience’s cheering was deafening. Traditionally, he would have included my father or where I was from with my name, but I didn’t have a father and no one knew where I was from anymore.
“Are you the same wizard who ended the war on magic?” one of the twin wizards asked me quietly.
“Yes, I am
.”
“That was hundreds of years ago!” the other twin said.
“Yes, it was.”
“Why do you want to work for a king?” Vactarus asked me.
“It interests me.”
The gong rang out and the dragoness roared. Vactarus and I waited back while the other four wizards attacked. The old wizard, Lynal, summoned a creature made of dirt and rocks out of the ground. Meanwhile, the twins created a tornado of fire, which surrounded the dragoness. Hegral, the largest wizard, pulled out his massive sword and waited for the fire tornado to recede.
The tornado went down and, as I expected, the dragoness was completely unaffected. “I wonder if it occurred to them to work together. With as large a kingdom as this one, surely the king could do with more than one wizard,” Vactarus said.
I glanced at the amulet hanging from his neck with two fish circling each other. I knew from my dreams that this amulet allowed him to understand and speak any language. “Then why are you not out there working with one of them?”
“Because I want this job for myself.”
“What world are you from?” I asked.
He looked at me, obviously startled. After a moment, he turned back to watch the dragoness. “It’s called Caldaca.”
“And do they not have wizards there?”
He gaped. “I am a wizard.”
“You have no reason to lie to me. You are a magician. How can you fight a dragon with only illusion magic?”
He swallowed, deeply unsettled that I knew so much about him. “The dragon doesn’t know the difference between illusion and reality. I just have to think of something that will scare him. There are many dragons on my world, so I know what they are afraid of.”
I laughed. During our conversation, the dragoness had breathed fire all over the twins and sent them running off the field. Lynal’s golem was easily crushed by the dragoness, and although it could reform in just a few minutes, it stood no chance of defeating the dragoness.