The Wizard

by Whiskey Flowers

  “What do you mean given away?” the older Wizard said angrily. “Do you have any idea how much that costs?”

  “No,” Devin replied truthfully.

  “You both know that the reason I left in a hurry was to get as much information out of my former Squire as I could,” Gerald said. “It would go against my code if I left the order and then started betraying secrets of another. It wouldn't be right. While I was a Knight, I felt it prudent to learn all we could about Wizards and magic. The crystals are with Master Kaytee under careful study.”

  “And what did you find out?” Tasha asked.

  “That different crystals are for different magic,” Gerald replied. “That the crystals themselves hold the magic power, not the Wizard. It explains why Wizards prefer to fight without using magic, it is mostly a last resort.”

  “And this is the man you wish to bring into your home Tasha?” the older Wizard said.

  “He was doing what he thought was right,” Tasha replied. “What else did you learn?”

  “That different magic takes a different toll on the body,” Gerald said. “Other than that, not much.”

  “Were any others able to use magic?” the older Wizard asked.

  “That would be telling,” Gerald replied. “The only things I would tell, I already did. The Wizards are seen as untrustworthy, you should have ended some of your number joining the Savians before you did. It also does not look well that you all hurriedly went after my apprentice when you had known Wizards were fighting for Sapia and did nothing.”

  “Are you accusing us of…” the older Wizard said and furrowed his brow. “It looks exactly that way.”

  “Which is likely to make the Wizards fall further in the eyes of the King,” Gerald replied. “He likes having his Knights. We are decent at stopping things in the Kingdom, our size and gear make a lot of would be criminals think twice about committing a crime. The best part of it is that we belonged to the King, whereas the Wizards do not.”

  “We can take a Knight apart,” the older Wizard scoffed.

  “That you could, in a fair fight,” Gerald admitted. “But I am often wearing armor much thicker than your little swords could break through. Add my shield and my axe into it, things get interesting. I was able to hold off two Wizards and force one of them to use his magic to defeat me.”

  “You held off two Wizards?” Tasha asked.

  “I did,” Gerald replied. “My Squire is the best with a bow I have seen. It was dark and they did not know he was there until one of them were wounded.”

  “Archers,” the older Wizard said and spat.

  “Archers are the only way to fight a Wizard,” Gerald replied. “Maybe throwing knives, but arrows definitely. Straight on I have seen a Wizard snatch an arrow out of the sky, catch them unaware and they are like everyone else. Second rule to being a Knight, do not let your size, skill or armor substitute for awareness.”

  “You have a point, Knight,” the older Wizard said. “It does not look well on us that we hurriedly snatched your Squire because he had magic. I was in no hurry to put down our people who joined the Sapians. Some of my number would have been killed and I was not in a hurry to help your Kingdom because of the disrespect we receive whenever we are in your Kingdom. I did write the Grey Fortress and let them know. It wouldn't have been my place to bring them in anyway, but it was still something I was content with.”

  “You admitted that Dontrell?” Tasha asked.

  “We are Wizards,” the older Wizard said. “We don't lie and we are supposed to use logic. The war is still going, who knows if we will get another chance at it. Tasha you need to bring your Acolyte to the Grey Fortress and await further orders. The council will be interested in hearing this story and seeing what your Initiate can do.

  CHAPTER 9

  Devin could see the Grey Fortress as they rode up, at least the walls to it. It was an odd place, it was built on a very steep hill and had sizable walls. Once Devin was through those walls there was a sheer drop and he had to take a ramp which spanned the interior of the wall in order to be flat enough that carriages wouldn't be out of control. The Fortress itself was on ground that looked level with the ground outside before the steep climb uphill. Devin was happy the others were not here or they probably would have made fun of him.

  The older Wizard Dontrell decided to take all of the Initiates except Devin and bring them back to war. He didn't like the way his inaction made the Wizards look and wanted to change things. Tasha had a home in the town of Cephil, a small place where almost everyone was a Wizard or dedicated to serving them. Tasha’s home was simple, it was one bedroom and since she planned on living with Gerald, Devin figured it was big enough. They had only stayed there long enough to get Gerald settled in and then left. Tasha was insistent that they leave immediately to meet someone.

  “It is bigger than the Citadel,” Devin said amazed.

  “The Grey Fortress is where the best fighters are trained,” Tasha said. “You are bound to be a subject that everyone wants to learn. You can do magic which should be almost impossible. Your body is not trained for it, you feel pain when you should feel none.”

  “Why not?” Devin asked.

  “You have an oath to complete before I can tell you more,” Tasha said. “The secrets of our order is not for outsiders to learn.”

  “Why did Master Dontrell not want you to get married?” Devin asked.

  “A long story, but I will tell it,” Tasha replied. “The train up to cast magic is hard, your body has to be, uh, prepared for it. Part of the preparation leaves you sterile, I cannot have children and neither could Dontrell. This is especially true of male Wizards, I cannot fathom how you are able to cast and still procreate.”

  “How do you know I can?” Devin asked.

  “We will talk about it when we get inside,” Tasha replied. “We have a healer that will need to look at you to confirm my suspicions.”

  Devin followed Tasha inside of the walls of the Grey Fortress. There were children about but they didn't act like children. These children had sticks and were being instructed on how to use them. They were in a formation and gave strikes as a Wizard called out blows. Devin rode passed them into the Grey Fortress itself. The Fortress was large enough to accomodate horses and Tasha rode hers inside. Devin followed her to an indoor stable and climbed off his mount when she did. Younger kids hurriedly grabbed the animals and Tasha led him through the massive structure. Devin was sure the building was at least a thousand paces across as he followed her, Tasha knew exactly where she was going and led him to a room.

  “Sit down,” Tasha said as she pointed to a chair.

  Devin sat down as Tasha disappeared. Devin thought he was in some kind of healing room, there were bottles of liquids and herbs and things all around. The only thing he found odd was that there were no cots. Just ten stone slabs that Devin guessed was where people were operated on. The acolytes probably hurt themselves a lot and needed a lot of medical attention. Devin was getting restless and thought he was there for an hour before Tasha returned. She had three women with her, all of them were old.

  “This is Fox,” Tasha said and gestured towards Devin. “He can cast magic but has never been through the fortress.”

  “The Knights have found a way?” an old woman with graying blonde hair asked. “This could change our entire way of life.”

  “I do not think they have Senior Ashley,” Tasha said. “My Acolyte was new to their order and surprised everyone by casting magic. It hurts him to do so but he can.”

  “And you are sure he never went through here?” Ashley asked.

  “I am positive,” Tasha said. “He got into a fight and was able to best one of our Acolytes.”

  “Impossible,” the woman who looked to be the eldest said. “It must have been a lucky punch.”

  “He was able to land a hit on me and Darnell,” Tasha said.

  “Where were you taught?” Ashley said as she walked towards Devin.

 
“My Da taught me how to throw down,” Devin said proudly.

  “Your Da?” the last old woman said surprised. “What do you mean your Da? You shouldn't have a father.”

  “I do and he taught me to brawl,” Devin replied.

  “He is crude when fighting,” Tasha said. “But he can get the job done. He has also helped kill more than one of our renegade Wizards with his bow.”

  “Archers,” Ashley said and screwed up her face. “I want to see your Acolyte cast magic for myself before I come to a conclusion.”

  Fox I want you to cast your fire spell,” Tasha said. “It will not damage anything inside of this room. Use this to cast it.”

  Devin took a small magestone from Tasha and took a breath. He hated the burn that was sure to come. Devin let it play in his hand and could feel that it felt like fire but that the fire was weak. Devin could also feel a little emptiness and quickly surmised that this magestone only had a small amount of fire inside. Devin held the magestone out and did his chant, the pain shot through his arm as the fire leapt from his outstretched hand and into a wall. Devin dropped the magestone and grabbed his arm. It felt like fire had gone through his veins.

  “This should not be possible,” Ashley said. “That was fire but he is feeling the pain. Those not ready would not be able to cast at all.”

  “And I do not believe he is sterile,” Tasha said. “Whatever technique that was used is different than ours.”

  “It is worse,” the oldest of the women said. “He cannot even focus while casting the pain is so much.”

  “But he is a boy and he can cast,” Tasha said. “While everything is intact.”

  “Bring in our best healer to look him over,” Ashley said. “Once we know for sure, then we can move forward.”

  The next hour had to be the strangest and most embarrassing thing that Devin had ever been through. A man came in, he was the junior healer but told Devin that the alternative was Wizard Meredith. Devin had to get naked in front of this man while he was checked out. The man looked into his rear, checked his stones and made him do different stretches. The man had a few instruments, some hurt like the burning iron while some tickled his arm like the feather. Wizard Cameron looked amazed at Devin’s results. The man freaked Devin out a bit as he paid too much attention to Devin’s stones but something about him made Devin think it was purely for medical purposes. When they were finished, it even got more embarrassing. Wizard Tasha along with Senior Wizard Ashley, and the other two who he found out was named Senior Wizard Carly and the oldest who was Grand Wizard Charlotte came in to talk about his stones.

  “And did you feel them to make sure they were there?” Grand Wizard Charlotte asked.

  “Yes, they were there,” Cameron said.

  “I think I should check for myself,” Grand Wizard Charlotte.

  “This is making me very uncomfortable,” Devin said. “Can we talk about something other than stones and whether they are there.”

  “Fox,” Tasha began. “Maybe it is time you find out more but I am not sure of your status as of yet.”

  “My status?” Devin asked.

  “All Wizards belong to the Grey Fortress, at least they are supposed to,” Tasha said. “It is rare that anyone voluntarily leaves our order. Most people are kicked out during our final test. It is always tough but necessary. Most of these boys go on to be elite guards somewhere to survive. Maybe you have seen some of them and maybe you haven't.”

  “What does that have to do with my body?” Devin asked.

  “During training, we are constantly fed and treated with certain potions,” Tasha said. “It has to be rubbed all over the body. For some reason, it painfully interacts with a hormone men produce in greater amounts than women. That is the reason that most Wizards are women, many men do not want to go along with a known remedy to stop this pain.”

  “What remedy?” Devin asked.

  “Having your stones taken out,” Cameron said. “A very tough decision to make but practical. In a fight that is a weak point that any enemy would go after. It limits the production of the hormone tremendously and allows movement onto the next level.”

  “But it is your stones mate!” Devin said horrified. “What happens when you want to have babies?”

  “Wizards cannot feel anything down there anyway,” Cameron replied. “And although the attention can be flattering for the ego, sex is something many do not care about either way. The biggest reason is that all men who have tried to keep them, just could not cast spells.”

  “Not at all?” Devin asked.

  “Not at all,” Cameron said. “They are tremendous fighters, you would be amazed how hard it is to keep some muscle on your body with no stones. They do not have to worry about that. They are faster and stronger.”

  “They are meaner and likely easily swayed by anything in a dress,” Ashley said. “They are not a good fit and never will be.”

  “What will happen with my acolyte?” Tasha asked.

  “He is not a Wizard,” Grand Wizard Charlotte said. “He has not signed any agreements and if he leaves he will end up like most of the others who have left.”

  “It is not so ominous Fox,” Tasha said. “Exposure to filled magestone has a positive effect on us. It makes our minds sharper, our reflexes better and it staves off any internal sickness. A Wizard who has left the order would eventually run out of magestone, at least what gives it its abilities. There is also nothing for them to do. Sure they may get riches but then what? We do not taste food the way you do, our palette has been extremely muted compared to yours. Men do not enjoy secrets of the flesh and none of us can have children. It is a fleeting feeling of freedom. There is no where those that left can refill their magestones, it is one of the few types of happiness that many can enjoy. We do not need to hunt anyone down, they just cease being a Wizard.”

  “Oh,” Devin replied.

  “I will leave it up to your Acolyte,” Grand Wizard Charlotte said. “He can leave if he wants, however he will be followed and so will this father of his until I can determine if there are others out there trying to make Wizards. I would not be surprised if those that didn't want to move on to the next phase have tried doing just that.”

  “Well Fox?” Tasha asked.

  “I want to stay,” Devin replied. “If I get to keep my stones. If not then I will happily leave.”

  “Then it is settled,” Ashley said. “You need to place your Acolyte. I think he is too big to start off with younger ones, he would most likely hurt one of them. I do not think he is up to task to train with the others his age. I think the name Fox suits him for now. I want you to stay his Wizard for at least a few more weeks until I can get a better handle on his abilities.”

  Devin watched them leave and was excited he had made the cut. At the same time, he couldn't imagine being someone like Cameron. Giving the boys a good scratch was one of the simple things in life. Just to feel them in the hand and check they were still there was comforting. These poor bastards would never know the feeling, Devin thought. Devin was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice that Tasha had remained behind and was looking at him oddly.

  “What is going on up there, Fox?” Tasha asked.

  “I just couldn't imagine going through life without any stones,” Devin replied. “There has to be a way to cast magic and still keep them.”

  “No,” Tasha replied. “Which is going to be the reason you will become famous here. It is also going to give your opponents a weak spot they can target during training.”

  “But no stones and no feeling,” Devin replied. “I haven't had the pleasure but I want to lay with a woman eventually. I know that is too much information and my Da would tan my hide for saying such a thing to a lady but it is the truth. I am not sure why you even wanted to be with Knight Gerald if you can't feel anything.”

  “I forget I am dealing with the average young man,” Tasha said and giggled a bit. “The male Wizards can lay with a woman if they desired. It take
s a longer amount of time to get ready but it can happen. And the women here do in fact have partners even if it is not advertised. Nothing happens to us down there and we can never get pregnant or sick. It only affects the men. I want to marry Gerald because I love and lust for him, even with his injuries. In fact I think it is even more so now. I doubt he will find many willing partners and would have no reason to stray. Many female Wizards here do not have families because we cannot have children. We also make enough coin to care for ourselves and are horrible keeping house. Every human craves relationships so we normally have many going in many towns, just nothing as intimate as I have with Gerald.

  “You don't want children?” Devin asked. “My Da says all women want children and they will trap you into having them.”

  “Of course I want children and so do the others,” Tasha said. “Adopting is harder than you may think. All unwanted children are given to us from all over the kingdom to turn into something other than a drain on the economy. I could easily pick from them but then who would watch over this child? Finding a reliable husband is harder than you may think. They want women to bear their children and hardly any of them want to just stay home and keep house. Those that do want to stay home are often lazy and not worth the time. All women I know would never deal with it. Gerald has already made his fortune and will find his peace in doing something rewarding to do when I am not there. He is also not opposed to raising a child that is not his.”

  “So if you are a man, you basically get the raw end of it,” Devin said. “And if you are a woman then you are good as gold.”

  “A lot of men feel that way in the beginning,” Tasha said. “And there may be a little jealousy but eventually they find their way.”

  “So what now?” Devin asked.

  “Well we have spells to learn but maybe they can come later,” Tasha said. “I think I should get you better trained in your fighting. You have strength and can really put your body weight behind your blows. The punch you gave me would have crippled a lesser foe and the fight would have been over at that point. You are a decent brawler but we get by on more than just strength. Wearing heavy armor is difficult for us, most of us are women and our men lack the muscles the knights do. Our style of fighting is different but maybe we can combine the two. What you learn from me is to never be practiced or spoken of in front of outsiders and that includes Gerald. We have a lot of work to do so we might as well start now.