Dawn of Dusk

Marshal sat at the end of the work table and took copious notes. He knew that if he didn’t get the information at this time he may never get another chance. He was listening to his master Koripak explain how to summon the spirit to help complete a magical task.

Just last week, Marshal had forgotten to write down the amounts of certain materials needed for a casting. Koripak was furious but he didn’t say anything except to ask Marshal to perform the casting that he had shown him. Even though he was able to complete the spell effectively, Koripak told him that he had to pay more attention, and write more carefully in his spell book or Grimoire. If he didn’t he would not have any spells to cast and he would never earn his “Ak” the suffix that wizards and sorcerers put on their names to identify them as such.

More than anything else, Marshal wanted to be a Magician. It would be nice to go on and become a Court Magician (officially called a sorcerer) because of the opulent palace life. Most wizards live a solitary life and while a life of hermitage and celibacy did make a wizard more able to focus on his or her magic, it was not required to live alone to be a wizard. Marshal was glad of that because as much as he wanted to be a magician, he wanted a few other pleasures out of life too.

His friend Mentel was a palace guard in Karron the Capital of Karrondor. He had written Marshal and told him that if he became a magician, that he would introduce him to Thorak, the Kings sorcerer. If he could convince Thorak to give him advanced training, he would have it made.

Koripak told him that it was not good to get all magical training from one wizard or sorcerer. To truly learn how to manipulate magic, one had to do more than read spells from a spell book.

Koripak told Marshal that he could not help him get a position with Thorak. The two of them, years ago, had been rivals for the attention of a young king named Lamercal for the position of court magician and rivals for the affections of a young woman as well. Koripak had won the heart of the young girl, and Thorak had earned the position as court sorcerer. Both men were unhappy at their loss and each resented the other even after all these years.

Koripak had the woman of his dreams, Salzar. She was content to live in more modest conditions, but Koripak wanted the best for the woman he loved. She had died from a spring attack of marauding Trolls while Koripak was helping a farmer by using his magic to help raise vegetables and grains. When he arrived home, his laboratory was untouched, as was his house. They had been warded and no one or no thing could have done anything to them. His wife would have been safe as well had she stayed inside. She had panicked and tried to run away, and in so doing, abandoned the safest place she could be, for the most dangerous place she could find. He found her, strangled and her neck broken.

Thorak enjoyed the position that he had earned in the palace, but he had lost the woman he loved. He knew he would never love another woman like he had loved Salzar. He had always suspected that she had chosen Koripak because he had been chosen by the king. She told him that she loved them both, but she had decided to marry Koripak, and needed him to understand and make it easy for them. The one night she had spent with him before she married Koripak was more of a curse than a blessing, for he would always know what he was missing.

He had done as she asked and left her alone, but, he knew that he could never love anyone like he had loved her, and still did love her even today. He blamed Koripak openly for her death and a wizard’s duel almost ensued. Only the king had been able to stop the contest and he had refused to allow the two men to as much as talk to each other in twenty-five years.

Koripak had told none of this to Marshal, but, he loved Marshal as a son. When the time was right, if Marshal was insistent on studying from Thorak, Koripak would tell him to never tell anyone, who gave him, his initial training. He would be able to get away with that as most new magicians were instructed to keep their training secret.

Koripak had the power to bring his deceased wife back to life. He considered it for a long time. If he had, she would never progress; she would remain as she had been the day she died. Never learning more or changing with the world. She had been too alive in life to do that to her in death. He had called fire instead to burn her remains and as she had burned, Thorak arrived and began to blame him. The problem was that Koripak agreed with Thorak. He felt that it had been his fault that she had died. If he had made her understand the warding, she would have stayed inside and it would have protected her from harm.

Very soon now, Marshal would be ready to apply to the Magicians guild as an accepted apprentice. Then his name would change and he could move on to more advanced studies. Advanced studies were spells that could kill or have other control over life. For good reason these spells were controlled. It wouldn’t do for anyone to be casting fireball spells or healing spells whenever the felt the urge. A Wizard or sorcerer had to be in complete control of his or her emotions. Koripak knew that both he and Thorak probably would have been stripped of their power if both had not been so prominent figures in the Magicians Guild when they quarreled years ago.

“Clear your mind. I am going to administer a test similar to the type that the guild offers for accepted apprenticeship. If you do well, I will allow you to apply for membership at the first of next month.”

Marshal and Koripak went outside. Marshal looked over at Koripak. He was already into his wizard’s trance. He could tell from the glazed eyes and expressionless face.

Marshal was already vulnerable to attack by magic. These attacks would not be lethal but, they could be pretty uncomfortable. He relaxed and began slipping into his trance when he was attacked by hundreds of bees. He felt his concentration slipping from him but he fought for it and managed to deflect the bees with a cloud of smoke created some honey oozing from a tree over near Koripak. As the bees neared Koripak, they disappeared.

Marshal tried to create an attack of his own using weather. A storm cloud gathered and lightning struck Koripak. Koripak was ready and sent the lightning bolt flying toward Marshal. Marshal lifted the magical scepter he had completed recently, and caught the bolt of lightning and held it. He now had a bolt he could use at his need. Koripak called down three more bolts of his own and Marshal captured them into his scepter like the first.

Marshal called down a fierce wind and hail to attack Koripak and received satisfaction that his attack, not being expected, caused some irritation to his instructor. Next, he turned the ground under Koripak soft. Koripak sank until his hands were almost into the mud. As he began to harden the ground, he felt himself rising into the air.

He was caught, if he tried to strike at his teacher again, he would be dropped. Not far enough to kill him but far enough to hurt him. He was still close enough to the ground that he couldn’t save himself with another spell before he would hit the ground if dropped.

“This is great,” Marshal thought gloomily, “I lasted all of twenty or thirty seconds in a wizards duel,” then to Koripak he said, “I concede, you win.”

“You did well,” Koripak said, “I didn’t expect you to last this long. I certainly didn’t expect you to successfully attack me. Let’s evaluate your mistakes. In your evaluation of them, you will do better in your accepted apprenticeship trial later this month.”

“You mean I passed the test?”

“Not hardly, but you did hold up better than I expected you to for the first time.” He waved a hand and Marshal’s bee stings vanished.

Marshal removed the bruises from the hail off of Koripak, with a similar gesture and said, “Why did you send the lightning bolts at me? They were of sufficient strength to kill me. My poor attack on you, would have singed you good, no more.”

“It is time you understand that there is a risk in taking the step you plan to make. If you get involved in a wizards duel as a full member except in wartime, it will be to the death. Even if you win, you will be stripped of your power. True, few duels take place anymore, but, they sometimes do happen. The test administered by the membership committee must have at least one and no more than four lethal attacks on you.

Make no mistake Marshal, membership into the guild is more than just a social club. Only half of the applicants succeed in obtaining membership. Of the half that fail their test, forty percent die, thirty percent have their magical ability burned out of them, twenty five percent are vegetables, and five percent wish they had died.

If I had told you that there would be a potentially lethal attack, you would have gone totally defensive, which would have guaranteed your failure. You lost the contest, but you passed the test. Do not expect to win a contest with a Grand Wizard or Master Sorcerer yet; it simply will not happen for some time.

Do not ever identify me as your instructor. If one of your testers dislikes me, you may have to defend your life more times. It is not unusual for an applicant to keep the source of his or her knowledge a secret. Once you have Accepted apprenticeship, you will have to formally register as an apprentice to a Grand Wizard or Master Sorcerer. I will not accept you, so don’t bother asking. I do not teach the advanced arts. I only use them when I absolutely have to protect my life or the lives of helpless individuals. If your friend can get Thorak to help you, you will be set for life for he truly is one of the best.

He should be your first choice, Merliak, second, and Fessmak would be my next recommendation. Remember; never reveal me as your instructor. It is important that no one ever know. I have a few enemies, and they would delight in humiliating me through one of my students, especially one as gifted as you.”

“I don’t understand, you didn’t tell me that you were going to try to kill me, but now that I know that others will, I’m supposed to feel better?”

“Feel better? No! Now that you have successfully defended yourself, however, you know that you can. Most of defense is instinctive; it is either within you or it isn’t. You now know that you can successfully defend yourself from an attack by a Grand Wizard. Not just any attack, but an attack meant to kill.”

I, I guess you’re right. It didn’t bother me when it happened, but afterward, I was shaken up.”

“Good then you aren’t a fool either.

“Look Marshal, I never told you this before, but, I took you in when you were very young. I decided to train you, because I could see the magic develop within you. You have even more potential than Thorak or me. I delayed teaching you until three years ago because I wanted to make sure you really wanted to make magic your whole life. At one time, Thorak and I both sought the seat in Lamercal’s palace. I should have gotten it, but, I didn’t keep my mind focused in the magic. I spent too much of my energy perusing a young lady. I got her but lost the seat to Thorak. I have not done badly for myself as you can see, and I had her. Given a choice of the position with Lamercal or marrying her I would have chosen her every time. Two years with her were worth a lifetime at the palace. We will be getting a new king in the next few years. Law requires that within Two years a new court sorcerer must be chosen by him.

If you apply yourself, and if the King doesn’t die too soon, you could be that sorcerer. I think that your potential is as great as any as I have ever seen. What you do with it is up to you.”

“Thank-you Koripak, I’ll do my best to measure up to your confidence.”

“Don’t try to live up to my expectations, find your abilities, and live up to them.”