Birth of a Wizard

by MJ Schutte

  ‘He listens to you,’ Peter stammered.

  ‘Oh, yes, you haven’t met Mischief yet,’ Brighton remembered.

  ‘Mischief?’ Peter gasped.

  ‘Yes, that’s his name. He is my friend and has been a constant companion and protector on our travels,’ Brighton explained.

  ‘That panther saved our lives numerous times,’ Brac quipped.

  Peter looked from face to face, his mouth hanging open. Finally, when he got his voice back, he said, ‘Nicky will not like having such a dangerous animal living on our front porch.’

  ‘When I was living with Carmen in Avarya, she said the same thing. She got used to him and Velvet, Mischief’s mother and they even became friends,’ Brighton laughed.

  ‘Feed him pieces of dried meat and he will take on an army for you,’ Brac commented.

  Peter shook his head and said, ‘You never seize to amaze me.’

  ‘You should hear what the elves are saying about him,’ Brac replied.

  Brighton urgently shook his head, but Brac ignored him and told Peter about Erostagnos and that some elves now believe Brighton is this great wizard.

  The days passed quickly. Brighton, Lilian, Clarissa, Brac and Adri went back to Mendin. When they got to the farm, they could not believe their eyes. It looked like the beginnings of a small town. Houses were being built everywhere, with numerous camps for animals and hundreds of people working in the fields. One of the supervisors, William, spotted Brighton and rushed over.

  ‘What happened here?’ Brighton asked in amazement.

  ‘People just keep coming. It seems everybody wants to be part of the new trading outpost,’ William answered.

  ‘The what?’ Brighton gasped.

  ‘Queen Ashley spread the word of the farm calling it “the new trading outpost near the western border”. She is coming here in a few days to see how things are going,’ William said.

  Brighton looked out over the development and gave a low whistle.

  ‘If it grows any more, we will have to come up with a name for this place,’ he whispered.

  ‘Some people have already made suggestions. I think part of the reason Queen Ashley is coming here is to listen to these suggestions and make a decision on it. It is certainly not big enough to be called a town yet, but it does have the look and feel of a small village,’ William responded.

  ‘Perhaps we should go and look for a quiet spot deep in the mountain to build a cottage,’ Brac commented.

  ‘That sounds like a good idea, Brac,’ Brighton agreed.

  They set off back towards the mountain in search of their new home.

  More days passed and soon it was almost eight years since Thomas died.

  Clarissa had grown into a beautiful young girl. She reminded Brighton of Lilian at that age.

  Queen Ashley relocated to the western trading town, or Weston, as it became known. A small, yet beautiful palace was built for her on the outskirts of Weston where she and Prince Gary lived.

  For the first few years, Brighton, Lilian and Clarissa shared a cottage deep in the mountains with Brac and Adri, but after Brighton accepted the job of “Head of the Royal Advisors”, they moved to the palace.

  Brac and Adri decided to stay in their mountain home even though Queen Ashley practically begged them to also move to the palace.

  Peter, Brac and Brighton’s little trading partnership flourished. Peter became a well-known and respected man in Fenton and in Weston. He made frequent trips to Weston for meetings with Brighton and Brac about the direction in which he wanted to take the partnership. Mostly these meetings ended in both Brighton and Brac simply telling Peter to do as he sees fit.

  Scores of other people also travelled between Fenton and Weston and even to other towns to promote their own trading ventures.

  News from Erostan was that Jaclyn vanished after her fight with Brighton. Rumours of “Brighton the great wizard” kept reaching their ears.

  A school was opened in Weston and other Mendin towns to teach young and old how to read and write.

  Mischief was a regular visitor, strolling in and out of the place as if he owned it. His favourite spot was the kitchen. Much speculation went on about this but the cook maintained that he had nothing to do with it.

  One day, a letter arrived for Brighton. He, Lilian, Ashley and Clarissa were sitting on a balcony in the palace, enjoying the cool afternoon breeze. Brighton opened the letter and, after reading it carefully, started laughing.

  ‘What is so funny, Pappa?’ Clarissa enquired.

  ‘I have been made “Honorary leader of all three the elf clans”. They still think I am a reincarnation of Erostagnos,’ Brighton smiled at his daughter.

  ‘That’s a great honour, Pappa,’ Clarissa said proudly.

  ‘Yes, I suppose it is,’ Brighton sighed.

  Clarissa gave him a light kiss on the cheek and said, ‘After all, you are the greatest wizard that ever lived.’

  She loved teasing her father about his unwanted reputation. As soon as she said it, she started running, knowing that Brighton was going to chase her.

  Brighton did not disappoint, he jumped up and ran after his daughter.

  ‘No running in the palace!’ Lilian shouted after them, but to no avail.

  ‘Sometimes I think he is still a child,’ she sighed.

  Ashley knew that Lilian loved Brighton for this. He was a great father to Clarissa and a much-needed male influence on Prince Gary.

  Adri and Brac came walking down the road. As they got closer, guards swung the big gates open to allow them access. As per Queen Ashley’s orders, they had unrestricted access to the palace. Lilian waved at them from the balcony.

  ‘Where is Brighton?’ Brac called up to her.

  ‘Chasing Clarissa through the palace,’ she called back down.

  Brac and Adri entered the palace, but only Adri made her way to the balcony. Without having to ask, Lilian knew that Brac and most likely prince Gary, had joined in the chasing game.

  Adri greeted Lilian and Ashley, but did not sit down. She looked like she was ready to explode with excitement.

  ‘How are you?’ Ashley asked.

  ‘I’m pregnant!’ Adri blurted out.

  ‘That’s great news!’ Lilian exclaimed as she jumped up and hugged Adri.

  Ashley also got up and gave Adri a tight hug.

  ‘Will you consider coming to live here now,’ she prodded.

  Adri shook her head.

  ‘You know how my husband feels about that. We are very happy in our little cottage,’ she smiled at the queen.

  ‘Yes, I know,’ the queen smiled back.

  ‘What about you? When are we going to have another little prince running around here?’ Adri teased.

  Ashley blushed a little and shook her head.

  ‘I need to find a husband first,’ she replied.

  ‘I’ve seen how you and Donic look at each other,’ Lilian said slyly.

  ‘Lilian! That’s completely inappropriate! He is the general of the Mendin army and I am queen!’ Ashley gasped.

  ‘I’m just telling you what I observe,’ Lilian said innocently.

  She knew that Ashley secretly loved Donic for a long time and according to Brighton, Donic’s feelings were the same for Ashley.

  Desperate to change the subject, Ashley said, ‘What about you and Brighton. When are you having another child?’

  Lilian pulled up her shoulder and said, ‘I’m just not falling pregnant. I don’t know why.’

  The rest of the afternoon was spent making small talk and sharing gossip. Brighton, Brac and the two children ran onto the balcony. Everybody except Brighton was tired from running through the palace.

  ‘Playing this game against a wizard is not fair,’ Brac commented.

  ‘Don’t start with that nonsense again. That’s how the game began in the first place,’ Brighton replied with a smile.

  In all the excitement, nobody noticed that Nicky had arrived at the palace.


  Donic came onto the balcony and said, ‘My Queen, you have a visitor.’

  ‘Who is it, Donic?’ Ashley enquired.

  ‘Nicky Henly of Fenton,’ Donic responded.

  ‘Bring her up here please,’ Ashley replied.

  ‘That’s a nice surprise. I haven’t seen Nicky in a long time,’ Lilian smiled.

  Donic escorted a ragged looking Nicky onto the balcony.

  ‘Nicky, what’s wrong?’ Ashley exclaimed as she shot out of her chair.

  She helped the older woman to sit down and poured her some water. Nicky took the cup, but did not drink.

  ‘There is war in the three kingdoms. A great army came from the unknown land to the west. Erostan has fallen and the Northern tribes have been pushed deep into the mountains. It’s only a matter of time before the Mountain Kingdom will fall and then it will be Mendin’s turn,’ she said with tears in her eyes.

  Everybody was speechless so Nicky continued.

  ‘It is rumoured that this army is led by a powerful sorceress.’

  ‘Jaclyn,’ Brighton growled.

  ‘Perhaps. It has not been confirmed yet. What we do know is that it is an elf army bigger than anything we’ve ever seen,’ Nicky replied.

  ‘Elves?’ Brighton gasped.

  ‘Yes, elves,’ Nicky nodded.

  ‘But why would the elves do this? Just this morning I received a letter from them making me their “Honorary leader of all three clans”,’ Brighton frowned.

  ‘It’s not the elves from Erostan. We think it might be the old Tylia clan. Jaclyn must have found them and organised them into an army,’ Nicky replied.

  ‘It could be. I can imagine how much hate the old Tylia clan must feel towards the other elves after being driven from their homes,’ Brighton speculated.

  ‘Even after all these years?’ Ashley frowned.

  ‘Elves never forget,’ Brighton replied.

  ‘Is there anything else you can tell us?’ Ashley asked worriedly.

  Nicky shook her head and said, ‘Peter left days ago to find out more, but he never returned. I decided to bring the news to you so that you can prepare your defences.’

  ‘Thank you, Nicky,’ Ashley said softly.

  She motioned for Donic to come closer.

  ‘Send riders to Fenton. Find out everything you can about this elf army and how far they have progressed.’

  Donic bowed deeply and rushed off.

  ‘Brighton, we have work to do. Call a meeting with our military leaders as soon as possible. Also tell them that I want the entire army to come to Weston immediately.’ Ashley said.

  Brighton nodded, also rushing off.

  ‘Nicky, let me show you to a room where you can rest,’ Lilian offered.

  Slowly Nicky got up.

  ‘A lot of people are saying that Brighton is our only hope,’ she said with tears in her eyes.

  Chapter 12

  INFORMATION STARTED TO trickle in as riders returned from the Mountain Kingdom. Almost all the reports confirmed that it was in fact Jaclyn leading the old Tylia clan. The main hall in the palace was turned into a military command centre. Ashley, Brighton and fifteen other advisors, including Donic, were sitting at a large table listening to the reports.

  Brighton asked every rider whether he had seen Peter, but the answers all came back negative.

  As the last of the messengers left, one of Ashley’s advisors said heatedly, ‘We should mount an offensive against these elves immediately!’

  Brighton shook his head and said, ‘No, our army is only twenty thousand strong and have no battle experience. They will be crushed in less than a day.’

  ‘We will have surprise on our side,’ the man argued.

  Brighton continued shaking his head.

  ‘I’ve seen elves fight. Believe me, it will be a massacre.’

  Another man stood up and said, ‘Perhaps we should negotiate a truce with them. We could surrender in return for our lives.’

  ‘No, Brighton should offer himself in return for our safety. He is the one who brought this upon us in the first place!’ someone else shouted.

  Shouts of ‘Agreed’ echoed through the hall.

  Ashley held up her hand for silence.

  ‘Who votes that Brighton should hand himself over to the enemy?’ she asked.

  One by one, the hands went up. Only Ashley, Brighton and Donic did not vote in favour of the idea.

  ‘All of you, get out!’ Ashley snapped.

  ‘But my Queen…’ one of the advisors began.

  Donic quickly cut him off.

  ‘Do as our Queen commands!’ he screamed at the man.

  As the last man left the hall, Ashley rubbed her temples and said, ‘They were giving me a headache. It’s up to the three of us now to plan our next move.’

  ‘Don’t you think we might need them later,’ Brighton asked.

  ‘Of all the people in my army, Donic has trained the hardest and you are the only man with a chance against this Jaclyn person,’ Ashley answered.

  ‘I’m not worried about Jaclyn. The next time I see her, I will not spare her life. It is the army of elves that worries me. As powerful as I am, I can not take on that many elves,’ Brighton replied.

  ‘We can set up our defence in the narrowest part of the pass. Even if they outnumber us five to one, it will be difficult to get past,’ Donic suggested.

  ‘Yes, that sounds like the best option. Send riders to Fenton again. They must spread the word that everybody is welcome this side of the mountain. We will try to hold the pass open for as long as possible,’ Ashley replied.

  Donic turned to Brighton and said, ‘Why don’t you simply erect an energy barrier in the pass. Nothing will be able to get through that.’

  ‘It takes an enormous amount of energy to do that. I could but I would not be able to sustain it for very long,’ Brighton answered.

  ‘Simply kill all the elves with your magic,’ Ashley suggested.

  Brighton shook his head and said, ‘That would be too much energy for me to handle.’

  ‘But I thought you could simply direct their energy into the ground?’ Ashley frowned.

  ‘True, but it still puts a big strain on my body. I would probably die if I attempted it. Our only hope is a well thought out defence. Remember that they have someone on their side that has the same talent as me. I don’t know how powerful she has become in the past eight years, so we should expect that she would be able to counter everything I do. My first concern is to protect our troops from her and I’m guessing she has the same thoughts,’ Brighton said.

  Construction on a wide wall started in the narrowest part of the pass. It was less than half a days ride from Weston. Brighton and Donic stayed at the construction site permanently to supervise the building. On either side of the wall, the mountain went up hundreds of paces. From side to side, the pass was less than fifty paces wide.

  The wall was actually two separate walls built roughly four paces apart. The space between was filled with rocks and ground and a wooden walkway was placed on top. A single, large gate was built into the wall to allow people still streaming in from the Mountain Kingdom to enter Mendin.

  By the time the wall was finished, Jaclyn’s army had almost reached Fenton. Brighton and Donic decided that their riders should be pulled back permanently. It was clear that Jaclyn had her sights set on Mendin, now that the Mountain kingdom was all but under her control.

  The elf army did not bother plundering the towns and cities. As soon as a town was conquered, they moved on, taking only what they needed to continue their conquest. Because of this, many towns simply surrendered to them making their passage through the Mountain Kingdom very easy.

  Standing on top of the wall, Brighton said to Donic, ‘Tomorrow morning I’m riding out to talk to Jaclyn.’

  ‘What would be the point?’ Donic asked.

  ‘Perhaps we can come to an agreement. Our hate for each other has nothing to do with the good people of Mendin. This is a fight
between her and me,’ Brighton answered.

  ‘You know that is not true. The old Tylia clan has probably been planning this invasion for many years. They will not stop until every threat against them has been eliminated and we represent that threat. This simply suits Jaclyn’s own personal feud with you and that is why she joined forces with them,’ Donic argued.

  ‘Still, I must try. If there is any chance I can avoid bloodshed, it is worth the risk,’ Brighton answered.

  ‘Then I will go with you,’ Donic declared.

  ‘No, stay with Ashley. You need to protect her and besides, I know how you feel about her,’ Brighton smiled at him.

  Brighton cocked his head sideways.

  ‘Do you hear hooves?’ he said as he called his sense forth.

  A single rider was coming up the path at breakneck speed. As he got closer, he started shouting ‘Call General Donic, call the General.’

  ‘Here I am, soldier,’ Donic called out to the man.

  The rider reined the horse in so hard it almost lost its footing.

  ‘General, there is a large column of elves coming this way,’ the soldier shouted from below.

  ‘How many?’ Donic called down.

  ‘Perhaps ten thousand, maybe more,’ the man called, panic making his voice high pitched.

  ‘Get inside, close the gate!’ Donic’s voice boomed.

  Brighton cast his sense wide.

  ‘He is correct. There must be at least ten thousand. At the pace they are moving, they will be here before nightfall,’ Brighton confirmed.

  Donic turned to a nearby soldier.

  ‘Get everyone ready. I want at least three squads of archers on this wall immediately with the rest on high alert. Lancers, swordsmen and cavalry just inside the gate in case they break through. GO!’

  Soldier scrambled to obey Donic’s orders.

  ‘You know, we all might die here tonight. Perhaps it’s time you go tell Ashley how you feel,’ Brighton suggested.

  Donic shot Brighton a look that could crush rocks and walked away.

  ‘You owe it to yourself and to her,’ Brighton called after him.