bend him to our will to trouble us no more. Only with one such as he working for our good fortune rather than against it could we ensure that our peril was gone. Directed by his human master to turn his attention elsewhere, he would bring his minions home and look to other worlds to satisfy his lust for conquest. And even though the barriers subsequently might fall again, he would be bound to prevent any free transfer.'
'But a demon prince, one more powerful than Balthazar,' Alodar protested. 'Has any wizard ever tried to undertake such a task?'
'No, such a conjuring has never been attempted,' Handar replied. 'And for two compelling reasons. The first is the flame; the prince can be summoned only by the burning of a metal extracted and purified from many substances which are nearly its twin. From no common earth does it come. And as far as I know, only one quantity of sufficient size has been refined by the most painstaking alchemist's art.'
'Then where is it now?' Alodar asked. 'Back in your spire?'
'No.' Handar smiled. 'Much nearer than that. Here, Alodar, let me see the sorcerer's eye.'
Alodar reached into his pouch and handed the wizard the nearly forgotten orb. His eyes widened with surprise as Handar suddenly snatched it away and hurled it to the ground. The sphere hit a rock with a crash and shattered into a myriad of tiny jagged pieces. The eye was gone and Handar stooped and picked up a single crystal of shining metal hidden in its interior.
For a moment Alodar was silent, studying first the remains of the sphere he had struggled so hard to obtain and then the gleaming beauty Handar held between thumb and forefinger. 'But if you knew that it was there all along, why wait until now to bring it forth? When I awakened you at the tower, why did you not summon the demon prince at once and be done with it?'
'As I have said,' Handar continued, 'No such conjuring has ever been attempted. I am among the best of my craft, but Balthazar is the limit of what I can hope to master. For one such as the demon prince, no mortal wizard would have the strength to impress his domination upon him.'
'Then what is this hope of which you speak?' Grengor asked. 'If none can subdue this mighty demon, then we are left with nothing but to struggle with blade and shield.'
'No wizard, I said,' Handar replied. 'One armed only with the powers of my craft, no matter how skillful, would have no chance to succeed. Therefore we consulted with masters of the other arts, an event most unheard of. But thaumaturge, alchemist, magician, sorcerer?they all agreed that none of their arts singly applied could fare any better than mine. The one to confront the demon prince would need proficiencies far greater, far more encompassing than any of those in a single craft. He would need to be an archimage, the master of all the arts.'
'But even if such a wonder existed,' Grengor persisted, 'would even he be enough?'
'I do not know,' Handar said. 'But by logic, there is nothing more potent that a mortal could try. We know that knowledge of one of the arts is insufficient. But yet this one spark of hope is there. Even though each art would fail by itself, perhaps, if used together by someone versed in them all, the effect of the whole might be greater than the sum of the parts.'
Handar stuffed the crystal into a pocket and then touched his fingertips together and rested his thumbs on his chest. 'And so we, the great wizards, made our plan on this premise. We began by building Iron Fist, the fortress of the far west. Great effort was spent in raising its long, smooth walls. Much thought was given to the design of its passageways and mighty keep. Many demons were pressed into the labor of its construction. When the trigger was complete, we set them upon themselves until they all were destroyed.'
'The trigger?' Feston interrupted. 'I was at the fall of Iron Fist but saw nothing of what you speak.'
'The trigger was the castle itself,' Handar said. 'After we had finished the other tasks of our plan we went to sleep in the tower to the north. And so long as the interaction with demonkind was random, we would slumber on. Awakening?my awakening?was not to come until precipitated by the desires of the demon prince for our world. When the prince finally directed his attention to us, his first act would be to attack our tower. He could not penetrate our protective shield so he acted instead to ensure that no mortal would awaken us either.
'And after the passage of time had sealed us away from other men with taboo and superstition, his interest then naturally focused on the structure for which we had lavished so much care, the mighty fortress built by the wizards he was unable to reach. He could not but think that some great secret of our craft lay somewhere hidden within its protective walls. And so, after isolating us in the north, he directed the sack of Iron Fist to learn what we must have hidden there. That attack started the sequence of events that resulted in my awakening and the culmination of our defense as well.'
'None could fathom why Bandor chose to raze the castle rather than fortify it for his own.' Feston nodded his head. 'But you speak of a man of great skill to lead the defense. Ask and you will hear of my prowess in that fall, how I saved the queen from a dire fate and became suitor for her hand.'
'Ah, skill in arms. Most commendable,' Handar said. 'But was it by that skill that you made your escape with the treasures that were hidden there?'
'Why no, it was not so,' Aeriel interjected before Feston could speak again. 'It was Alodar who solved the riddle of the column and the well. It was he who found the passage that let us reach the cool air of the hills 'beyond.'
'Most clever for you to solve the riddle, Alodar.' Handar smiled. 'But then, cunning is the mark of the master thaumaturge.'
He patted his fingertips together and then put his hands behind his back. Like a lecturer before a group of apprentices, he slowly circled the fire with his chin bent down to his chest. 'But there was more buried in Iron Fist than just a means of escape. As we returned from my tower, Alodar told me that he carried away a scrap of paper with a single formula, most arcane. A formula that was used to probe the secrets of the Fumus Mountains.'
'And not by the novice alone,' Basil interrupted. 'My minion Rendrac pitted his great bulk against the heat of those furnaces. He brought forth a treasure the likes of which man has not hitherto seen. It was pledged to the queen to provide the means by which she might finance her struggles.' He drew his dagger and waved it about. 'And for my great generosity I am her suitor as much as any nobleborn.'
'I have heard of Rendrac's fate,' Handar continued. 'With ointment applied thickly, he braved the mountains, only to die a suffocating death in the end. And with no ointment, the treasure could not be reached. Only by pushing onward against great pain could one hope to return with both orbs of magic and his life. But then, perseverance is the touchstone of the master alchemist.'
'It may have been wizardry which placed the spheres in the mountains,' Duncan said. 'But it was my magic which completed the sphere of protection, proof against man and demon alike. What greater gift could one give a queen in exchange for marriage vows.'
'Yes, magic and wizardry mixed,' Handar admitted. 'A source of heat, lasting forever, to keep the lava bubbling in its basin of solid rock. And the two incomplete spheres placed by a fire demon in the bowels of the mountain. Two spheres, not one, and subtly different. When completed by tradition the results are the same. With a different ritual performed with precision, however, one becomes instead a sorcerer's eye.' Handar shrugged. 'But then, precision is the essence of the master magician. It was the eye that led Alodar to me and completed the chain for which Iron Fist was the trigger.'
'Kelric showed great bravery in unlocking its power,' Grengor said. 'Even though he died with the badge of a suitor, he knew that he willed his own death by attempting to use it.'
'Great courage indeed.' Handar nodded. 'But which was greater? Who among you submitted to look into the eye when it opened? It is one thing to resign yourself to death but quite another to accept an uncertain fate which may be even worse. But then, bravery is the heart of the master sorcerer. And through it all, who ran the entire gauntlet of tests, refusing to succumb to the events which threatened to dominate him?'
Handar stopped and turned to face Alodar. 'But then, strength of will is the quintessence of the master wizard. Yes, our plan encompassed more than the mechanism for our awakening. They included as well the means by which we would find and test the one who possessed the inherent capabilities to master all the arts. The lid of my coffin was not pushed aside by a random messenger. It was done by the one whom we sought.'
Alodar blinked. For a moment, he was speechless. 'I have faced these trials as you say,' he said at last. 'But I do not know of what you speak. I sought only the hand of the queen.'
'Yes, my lad,' Handar replied. 'Most certainly you moved forward from endeavor to endeavor with some other goal in mind. But the first quest is but the shadow of the second. It is for more than a single kingdom that you are
