Wizards' Exile

by Colin R Parsons

  ‘Wow.’ Red looked on in awe.

  ‘That is an awesome feat of engineering and craftsmanship,’ Rhidian said, and walked right up to the edge of the jetty and touched it, as if it was an old friend.

  ‘It is a sight to behold,’ Caleb responded.

  ‘What’s it doing here?’ Alba asked as he gazed at the sheer size.

  ‘I’ve no idea,’ Rhidian said, shaking his head.

  The whole vessel was the size of a sports field. It had a central building, riddled with different rooms on two floors. There were no zeppelin-like balloons aloft the vessel. All the lift they needed was placed neatly underneath, just like on the supply ship.

  ‘I’m still trying to figure out how it got in here. It’s a sealed cavern in the mountain,’ Rhidian said with a puzzled look.

  ‘That’s an illusion. Probably to stop anyone snooping from above,’ Alba said.

  ‘What? The same as the rocks hiding the entrance?’ Rhidian assumed and Alba nodded. ‘So it must have been brought here by a wizard.’

  ‘Do you think that Obsidian took it from Valusha and owns it now?’ Red asked.

  ‘Yes, he does,’ came a voice from behind them.

  They all turned to come face-to-face with the figure of an old man. He was tall and slim. His eyes were the deepest blue and were perfectly framed inside round spectacles. His skin was weathered and filled with deep lines. Under his nose was a thick grey moustache, which seemed to have a life of its own. Under his bottom lip, another small patch of grey in a triangular shape. Obsidian also had a great mop of sweeping, white hair, exactly the same colour as the ‘tache and soul patch. He wore ordinary everyday clothes – a plain blue shirt and a pair of tan, corduroy trousers ending in brown boots.

  All four of them stood, almost glued to the spot. This was the person they’d travelled all this way to find. It was a breath-taking moment. For once, no one knew what to say. It had taken so long to find this great leader and at times they thought they’d never make it. Rhidian, of the entire group, decided to say something.

  ‘A-are you really Obsidian?’ Rhidian stammered, his bottom lip trembling.

  ‘I am. And who might you be? And what are you doing here?’ came the wizard’s sharp reply.

  ‘I’m really glad to meet you, sir.’ Rhidian replied meekly. ‘I’m an engineer and I fix and build stuff on Valusha. Well, I did.’

  ‘We’ve come to find you,’ Caleb cut in, a little annoyed with the lukewarm reception they were getting.

  ‘Yes, a long way too,’ Alba uttered.

  ‘And we lost a good friend along the way,’ Red added, the sadness still in his voice.

  ‘Nonsense,’ Obsidian snapped back.

  ‘What do you mean nonsense? You don’t know anything,’ Rhidian responded; he felt really annoyed. He was beginning not to like this person, but changed his mind in an instant.

  ‘Because I’m here.’ The familiar voice of Rebus reverberated around them. Everyone took their focus from Obsidian and looked towards the other end of the platform, from which, out of the shadows came their companion; he looked good. The air seemed charged with electricity as they all surged towards the wizard and surrounded him. There were hugs and smiles, hoots and cheers.

  ‘How did you ever survive that river?’ Alba asked totally in disbelief.

  ‘That was all down to Obsidian. If he hadn’t found me, then it would have been a totally different story,’ Rebus said gratefully. ‘I’ve told him everything by the way.’

  ‘Yes, and by the sounds of it we’ve a massive task ahead,’ Obsidian said with a serious refrain.

  ‘So, you’ll go back?’ Alba interjected.

  ‘Yes, old friend, I will,’ Obsidian responded and hugged the old wizard. ‘I’ve been away far too long,’ he said as he broke away from the embrace.

  ‘I wondered if you’d remembered me, master,’ Alba gushed.

  ‘How could I forget you, Alba?’ He smiled.

  ‘If you don’t mind me asking, Obsidian, how did you escape?’ Rhidian asked.

  ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ the ancient wizard answered, and gestured towards the ship. ‘I took it. Well, originally it was mine to begin with.’

  ‘Wow, that was sneaky, to steal that from under the nose of the mighty Jenta-Lor,’ Red chuckled.

  ‘Well it wasn’t easy, but I managed to get it to fly, and used my magic when I got far enough away from Valusha.’ When he said it, he dropped back in thought to his beloved city, just for a moment. He then blinked his eyes and shook off the old memory. ‘Let’s get some food, drink and rest. We’ve a lot to catch up on,’ he said to Alba and Rebus. ‘Once we’ve done that, I’ve something to show all of you later,’ he continued, and winked. ‘Come, follow me, there is much to see.’

  The wizard turned and walked away from the jetty. The others didn’t waste any time and followed their master from the docking bay and up yet another flight of steps.

  Obsidian had created a vast mansion inside the rock formation of the mountain. It appeared as a grand palace. As they followed, each tried to take in the amazing splendour of their surroundings. Obsidian wasn’t one for small measures. There was marble everywhere and high glossy pillars.

  ‘Come, come, don’t dawdle,’ the old wizard’s voice echoed from further in. And everyone did as they were asked.

  Chapter 28

  The Arrival

  After their meal, Obsidian led them to another vast room. This one resembled a museum. It had large circular pillars, which reached up to a high ceiling, and a wide, glossy marble floor. The marble floor had deep gouges and a network of claw marks. They all looked, but no one mentioned it (not wanting to appear awkward).

  At the farthest end of the hall was a huge open window, as high as it was wide, and a bright light emitted from beyond that. The blinding white light engulfed the whole of the inside of the room. Not only that, but the air was filled with an almost ear-splitting rush of water. This room was cooler too, because air wafted in from outside.

  ‘What is that?’ Rebus asked in a raised voice, wincing as he said it.

  ‘That, my friend, is a waterfall,’ Obsidian revealed.

  ‘So, that leads to the outside of the mountain?’ Rhidian said.

  ‘Yes,’ Obsidian responded. ‘It’s the waterfall that keeps this place hidden.’

  ‘Ingenious,’ Alba said with a grin.

  ‘Have you thought of sealing it off?’ Caleb joined in the conversation. ‘Just to cut down on the noise,’ Caleb added, his eyes creased.

  ‘There’s a reason why I haven’t,’ Obsidian added.

  ‘And what’s that?’ Rebus pressed, but as he said it, there was a sound that came from the other side of the waterfall. The sound cut through the rush of heavy water. The intermittent, deep rich sound of thulump-thulump-thulump. Added to that, as the pumping got closer and closer, a searing shriek ripped through the air. The high-pitched squeal got louder. Obsidian stood calmly by as everyone else braced themselves. In a swift moment, the curtain of white water was breached and in swooped a DRAGON! None had ever seen the likes of it before, and their first instinct was to get right out of there. Obsidian saw their terror.

  ‘Don’t be afraid, he’s a friend,’ the master wizard spoke calmly.

  The colossal creature landed on the glassy, marble floor and skidded a few metres, tearing new lines, before it came to a stop in front of Obsidian. Now the grooves in the marble made more sense.

  ‘Everyone, I’d like you to meet Shard,’ the wizard announced. At first, no one knew quite what to say; they just gawped at him. Even Red was lost for words.

  Shard was at least six metres high, maybe even taller. The colour tone of his skin was an inky-blue, which made the creature look majestic. The wings, now safely folded away, could open to a twelve-metre wingspan. His head had a long, narrow snout and above that – two translucent blue eyes. On top of its forehead, a pair of antennae, which probably helped its balance as it glided through the air. Further down Shard
’s armour-plated body were its hind legs. These two tree-trunks could easily power the beast into flight on the shortest of lift-offs. Below them, it had long talons at the end of its feet. It appeared beautiful, but so powerful it could probably tear a human in half in a split-second and even a wizard come to that.

  Something really strange happened in the next instant. Red tentatively walked towards the giant beast. Obsidian looked bemused by the youngster, but said nothing. Caleb, Alba and Rhidian had seen him do this previously with the guards and said nothing to hinder the teenager. Red walked right up to the dragon and put out his hand to touch its scales. Another really weird thing took place. The dragon calmly dropped its head and allowed Red to stroke its nose. Obsidian witnessed this and didn’t know how to react. Rebus was bewildered but strangely happy.

  ‘What are you doing, boy?’ Obsidian asked.

  ‘I-I don’t know, but it feels natural,’ Red admitted. He felt calm and unafraid – exactly as he’d experienced earlier. He didn’t know why.

  ‘This is very significant. Shard has never lowered his head to anyone.’ Obsidian gasped and then a thought filled the wizard’s mind. He announced with great grandeur, ‘You are a wizard.’

  ‘W-what? No, that’s impossible,’ Rhidian reacted. ‘How can that be? He’s just a boy.’

  ‘It’s perfectly true, Rhidian. Red is a wizard,’ Rebus revealed.

  ‘I knew he was a wizard,’ Caleb said, his eyes flashed with excitement.

  ‘Me too,’ Alba agreed. ‘Well, I had an inkling. The way in which he dealt with those guards.’

  ‘I knew you knew something,’ Rhidian retorted.

  ‘I wondered how you all got past those,’ Obsidian queried.

  ‘B-but, I don’t think I’m a wizard,’ Red protested. He didn’t understand any of this.

  ‘This is a lot to take in, Red, and I totally understand your confusion. I know nothing about wizards and their powers, but you do seem to have something special,’ Rhidian explained as best as he could.

  Red suddenly broke away from the dragon and ran out of the room. Rhidian was about to go after him when Rebus spoke up.

  ‘Let him go, Rhidian. It’s a lot for the boy to understand.’ Rebus nodded towards Rhidian, who nodded back in compliance.

  ‘This changes everything,’ Caleb announced. ‘We have a dragon now. Can Shard belch fire?’

  ‘Uh oh, I don’t know, Caleb. I must go and talk to the boy,’ Obsidian insisted, and left the room in search of Red.

  ‘This is all very confusing.’ Rhidian sighed and looked into Rebus’ eyes. ‘I’m really happy you’re alive, old friend.’

  ‘Me, too,’ Rebus said with a smile.

  ‘I think we’d all better go back to the hall to mull this over. What do you all say?’ Alba asked.

  ‘Yeah, I’m with you,’ Rhidian agreed.

  ‘Me too,’ Rebus said.

  ‘Yep, let’s go,’ Caleb added.

  ‘What about… you know, the elephant in the room?’ Rhidian said, with a nod of the head.

  ‘He’s not an elephant, Rhidian, he’s a…’ But before Caleb could mock any further, Rhidian looked at him and laughed.

  ‘Come on, you lot. Let Shard alone for now,’ Rebus chuckled.

  ‘Elephant, indeed,’ Alba mused.

  Obsidian found Red in the corridor and walked over to the confused lad. He sat next to him on a smooth plinth.

  ‘Look, I know this must be hard for you to understand,’ Obsidian said sympathetically. ‘I was born into it and I still find it weird.’

  ‘Really?’ Red finally responded.

  ‘Oh yes, it was a learning curve all right.’

  ‘I have been getting strange feelings for a while, but I tried to stop thinking about it,’ Red admitted.

  ‘Firstly, you have to try to understand them, and then let them embrace your heart – I can teach you,’ Obsidian encouraged.

  ‘Would you?’ Red gushed. He felt he could relay his feelings more freely to the ancient wizard.

  ‘Of course. Us wizards have to stick together. It won’t all come easily, but you will eventually learn how to read and understand your powers,’ he said, and that made Red feel a lot less scared. ‘Come on, let’s join the others. We’ve a lot to discuss.’

  Chapter 29

  The Flight

  It was the early hours and Red couldn’t sleep. He got out of bed and got dressed. He made his way down the cold stone steps to the Great Hall. The room was lit by flaming torches, which lined the outside of the room. The soft glow and crackle of the flame spat a whisper in the dark corners.

  Red leaned up against the door and gave it a little nudge. The door opened but nothing stirred and all he could hear was the loud hiss of flowing water. Breathing hard, the boy gingerly made his way inside. His eyes took some time to adjust to the yellow flames, until he made out a large black silhouette to one side of the vast cavern.

  Shard didn’t give any clue as to being spied on. Red stood… and didn’t move for some time. He gazed in overwhelming awe at the beauty and sheer size of the dragon. In this light, the scales appeared the deepest shade of blue, almost black. Red could see the belly rise and fall as the beast took shallow breaths. He wanted to touch him again, to feel the power and the warmth. The young wizard ran his tongue along his lips and swallowed – his mouth was still dry from sleep. It was so weird; he’d never really thought about dragons before and here he was with an urge to be with him. He felt as though he was a chunk of iron being pulled towards a huge magnet.

  He walked closer; the ground vibrated underfoot at Shard’s breathing. This gave Red’s stomach an excited tingle. Red’s eyes were completely adjusted to the light and he could see the whole outline of the beast. He got bolder and stretched out to touch the dragon’s belly. He had to make sure not to step on the giant’s huge talons. Shard’s left eye suddenly flickered open and Red, in mid-stretch, gasped and pulled back.

  Shard lifted his head and stared directly at the boy. Red froze to the spot.

  ‘I-I didn’t me-an any h-arm,’ he trembled, but the dragon did nothing… only kept his eye trained on him; all the time his breathing stayed shallow. The dragon opened his mouth and Red opened his too, to shout for help, but a garbled, high-pitched squeaked hissed out.

  ‘Don’t worry, little one, I won’t hurt you,’ the dragon spoke, in a deep, soothing tone. Red almost choked.

  ‘Y-you can sp-eak?’ Red struggled to get the words to work. ‘Th-at’s amazing.’ The boy’s legs suddenly felt like jelly and he didn’t know how to react.

  ‘Of course, don’t all dragons?’ Shard answered flippantly.

  ‘I don’t know. You’re the first one I’ve ever seen… never mind spoken to,’ Red admitted, and still looked totally shell-shocked.

  ‘I’m going to get up. You’d better step back,’ the dragon warned. ‘I’m stiff after being asleep in the same position for so long. I need to flex my wings. Would you like to come for a ride?’ Shard asked. Red opened his mouth to speak again, but this time nothing came out. ‘Is that a no?’ Shard demanded, seeming a little hurt.

  ‘No…err, I mean, yes, err, of course I would love to come for a ride with you,’ Red stumbled. ‘I’ve never ridden a dragon before.’ Red’s eyes were wide and his mouth was even wider.

  ‘That’s no problem,’ Shard said, and climbed up onto all fours; the sound of his claws gave a piercing screech against the smooth granite floor. Red craned his neck to take in the whole sight. The beast was spectacular. Shard made his way to the rush of the water. He stepped up onto the wide opening and unfurled his wings. He had his back to the boy so he slowly turned his head towards Red. He then lowered his left wing, making a kind of slope onto his back. ‘Well, are you coming or not?’ the dragon insisted.

  ‘Coming… definitely coming with you,’ Red answered quickly. He scuttled along the floor until he was close to the tip of the dragon’s wing. He gingerly stepped up and, as lightly as he could, walked to the animal’s
shoulder. Underfoot felt solid and awkward, like an uneven stone path. Red expected it to be all soft and feathery, like a bird’s.

  ‘Don’t worry about hurting me, young man. I’m pretty rugged.’

  ‘It’s Red. My name is Red,’ Red repeated.

  ‘Okay, Red, great to meet you,’ Shard conveyed the greeting. ‘You can get comfortable on my neck. Grab a firm grip of my scales and we can take flight.’ Red was beside himself with excitement and fear. He settled astride the dragon’s neck and grabbed hold of two protruding scales. He held on so tight that his knuckles whitened. ‘Ready?’ Shard asked.

  ‘Yep,’ Red answered reluctantly, but it was too late to worry now. Shard set his wings in position and began a gallop towards the icy white of the waterfall. As they approached the deafening curtain of water, Red clenched his eyes shut. He almost lost grip when he felt the ice-cold rush of water on his body. But it soon turned to cold wind and the canter to a glide. He opened his eyes… he was flying! The water dripped from his sodden hair and rolled down his face and chin. The boy blinked his eyes to release the excess.

  ‘You all right, Red?’ Shard called out, but as Red was about to answer, the dragon dropped down the side of the cliff-face, at an alarming angle – the speed was immense. Red’s mouth was filled with freezing cold air, which stabbed the back of his throat like a dagger. He held on with the tightest grip he could. The sun was coming up on the horizon and illuminated their descent. All Red could hear was the rush of wind and the ocean, which was closing in. He tried again to call out, but it was futile.

  Shard picked up speed and headed straight for the body of water. As he got within ten metres, he lifted his head and swooped parallel to the surface of the sea, but Red had closed his eyes again long before then. The boy could feel lift again and when he did finally reopen his eyes could see the golden horizon melt into view. It was an amazing vista.