The Young Magician

summoned, and they were all reaching for me. Then, there was this one enormous thing that…’

Anthem interrupted him abruptly with a quickly raised hand. ‘Don’t speak of such things, Samuel. It is done and over. I fear that on this occasion, the extent of your exhaustion was so great that it is indeed possible that, for a short time, your very soul was caught beyond the ether-or in some other nether-realm that we do not know.’

‘So what should I do, Grand Master?’ Samuel pleaded. ‘How can I stop it from happening again? I don’t want those things to get me.’

‘Calm now, Samuel. You have only to use your brain,’ and the old man tapped the side of his skull, ‘and you will be safe. What you must do is master yourself and you will have nothing to fear. Only spell when it is necessary and do not tire yourself-especially in the coming weeks while you are recovering. You have great ability, but you must know your own limits. You have the opportunity to become a great magician, Samuel, but you must be responsible. It is sometimes difficult to resist the temptation to use magic, for its touch can feel so beautiful and ever enticing.’ The old man glanced back towards his window and he seemed to be pondering something, for his very speech became softer, as if he was bearing the weight of the world himself. ‘Time is passing. These days I have much responsibility myself-much more than I care for. My life has passed so quickly, and I am getting too old to keep all my old responsibilities.’ Then he looked to Samuel again. ‘I have other matters to attend to, Samuel. Go now and take special care for the rest of the week. You seem fine, but I’m sure you will probably tire easily for a while. However, I will give you just one last piece of advice, Samuel: concentrate on your studies and your time will pass quickly and easily. If you go looking for trouble, my boy, you will surely find it. What could be simpler than that?’

Samuel nodded in agreement and stood to leave. ‘There is just one other thing, Grand Master.’ The old looked man up from his toes, where his gaze had drifted. Samuel asked, ‘Do you know that I am an orphan?’

‘I do, Samuel. That, also, is something I was told when you first arrived.’

‘In my dreams I have learned of something important: something, rather someone, I have been hoping to discover for many years. It is a magician-a man of the Order. His name is Master Ash. He is the man I see standing in my doorway; he is the one who killed my family and taunts me every night. I didn’t realise it before, but now my dreams have made it clear.’

‘Samuel, are you certain? That is a serious statement to make. I hope you know what you are saying?’

‘I do. I can’t tell you exactly how I know for certain, but in my visions I saw him and I know it to be true. I know I’m not supposed to make any more trouble for you in the school, and this is probably the last thing you want to hear, but I just want to let you know, so you understand, that the next time I see Master Ash-I will kill him.’

At that, Samuel strode out the door, leaving Grand Master Anthem rubbing slowly at the wispy white hairs that sprang from his withered old chin.

The next week passed without event and Samuel saw no sign of the evasive Master Ash. However as Samuel entered the Adept dormitory, having finished his early training and towelling the sweat from himself, he found there was a buzz of activity going on. Everyone was gathered around the tables, talking excitedly. He was feeling entirely better and, much to his relief, it seemed the embarrassing events leading up to his collapse were seldom mentioned.

‘What’s happening?’ he asked of Martin.

‘The Grand Master has gone. He’s been removed from his place as principal,’ the chubby fellow replied.

Samuel’s eyes widened. ‘Removed? Why?’

‘A ruling by the Magicians’ Council, so I’ve heard.’

Samuel hurried to find Eric Pot, who was talking with Lan Farlen.

‘Eric, do you know what’s going on?’ Samuel said, interrupting his friend.

‘It seems that Grand Master Anthem has been stripped of his office by the Magicians’ Council.’

‘Does anyone know why?’ Samuel asked.

‘Apparently, for some reason, the Council has grown unhappy with him.’

‘They can’t just remove him! Who did they put in his place?’

‘Master Dividian will take over until they decide whom to appoint to the position.’

‘What does the Grand Master think about that?’ Samuel asked.

‘I don’t know. He stormed from the Council chambers and has not been seen since.’

‘That’s incredible!’ Samuel exclaimed.

‘And there’s more,’ Eric continued. ‘People are talking about a war with the north.’

‘A war?’ Samuel said with disbelief. ‘With whom?’

‘It could only be with Garteny. That’s the only place left the Empire hasn’t conquered.’

‘It’s Lord Jarrod,’ Goodfellow declared, somewhat angrily. It was strange to see the normally calm young man looking so furious. ‘He’s been against the Grand Master all along, and now it seems he’s finally gotten his way.’

‘What can we do about it?’ Samuel asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Goodfellow responded. ‘There will be a meeting tonight. I guess we should wait and see what is really happening before we jump to any conclusions.’

They continued talking and gossip-mongering, but no one could offer any more substantial information than that. They found that classes had been cancelled for the day, and, when evening arrived, every student and Master in the school gathered expectantly in the Great Hall, packed shoulder to shoulder to hear the news.

Master Dividian was there, standing behind the ornate lectern and all the other teachers of the school were seated in the front-most seats. The hall was echoing with all the excited and worried chatter from young and old alike.

‘Quieten down, quieten down,’ Dividian urged gruffly, and slowly the hubbub calmed. ‘You may have heard that Grand Master Anthem has left the School of Magic and, yes, it is indeed true.’ At that, a great deal of chattering sprang up again and it took a certain amount of effort and shouting for Dividian to quieten everyone again. ‘After debating with the Magicians’ Council, he has decided to resign as principal.’ Great cries came up but Dividian continued on, raising his voice to be heard above the ruckus. ‘Classes will resume tomorrow, as usual. We will wait for instructions from the Magicians’ Council instructions as to what to do next. Until then, life will go on as normal. If Grand Master Anthem does not agree to their demands and is not reinstated, a new principal will be chosen. That is all the information I have at this time.’

At that, Dividian stepped away from the lectern and vanished out the small side door, while teacher and student alike began arguing about the consequences and what would happen. Samuel sat in silence, thinking, for he felt that there was much more going on here than had been revealed. He had not failed to notice that as Dividian had scurried away, the wily old man’s face had carried a thin and seldom-used smile.

‘So what do you think?’ Eric asked, throwing a pebble to bounce down from the grassy hilltop. Far below them, the great city lay sprawling within its walls, like a vast patchwork giant sleeping against the seashore.

‘They’re all mad,’ Samuel replied, sitting cross-legged on the grass and scribbling some notes. Further down the hill, a small group of apprentices could be seen dotting the fields, practising their lessons.

‘How can they just rid themselves of the Grand Master after all he’s done?’ Eric then asked, throwing another smooth stone.

‘Politics!’ Samuel spat out with disdain and looked up from his notes. The wind had a chilly bite and it caused the papers in his hand to flap about. For a moment, Samuel was tempted to warm himself with a spell or two. ‘And what’s all this talk of war? We haven’t heard anything about that except rumours.’

Goodfellow shook his head. ‘It’s just a lie. Dividian wanted the Grand Master’s place and now he has it.’

‘I don’t think so,’ Eric noted. ‘Old Dividian is not as bad as he seems. Tensions with Garteny have been uneasy since the Imperial War ended. The Empire’s history of invading and swallowing up all its neighbouring nations has left the Gartens understandably nervous. People are saying that they have been building up their forces along the border. They could be readying to invade. They lost some of their lands in the last war and now maybe they think it’s time to take them back. The Empire would need to resist such an incursion or it could spell trouble and The Emperor wants magicians sent along to help with the effort. The Grand Master is a little biased on the subject, so I can see how his constant bickering with Lord Jarrod could be interpreted.’

‘Biased?’ Samuel asked. ‘What do you mean?’