The Last Wizard of Eneri Clare (39 page)

“It is a pleasure to meet you formally at last, young mage. We owe you a great debt of gratitude for your vigilance and swift action on the day of young Darian’s coronation. I was present, and saw you put yourself in great peril in order to save the king, the Lady Regent, and all of us from Lord Drogue’s treachery. Were it not for your courage, I’m sure we would be assembled here today to discuss very different matters indeed.”

That was gracious of Maygrew
, Rel thought,
the kind of thing I would expect of him
. Tvrdik blushed and smiled his disarming crooked smile. “Xaarus is committed to young Darian’s eventual succession. And to Jorelial Rey as his chosen regent. Part of my task here is to help protect them from danger, but I am young and still learning. Perhaps, next time, I will find a less painful way to accomplish that goal.”

A chuckle circulated throughout the group. It was difficult not to like this earnest, self-effacing young man. That was part of what Jorelial Rey was counting on.

Maygrew went on, “I trust then, that you are well? Recovered from your recent ordeal?”

“On the mend, sir, on the mend and well enough. And that, largely due to the tireless ministrations of my friends at Theriole, and the capable staff of physicians you employ here.”
And that
, Rel thought,
is gracious
of Tv
rdik
.

One of the other lords interjected from his seat, “Are you well, enough, Sir Mage, to give us a little sample of your magical skills? It’s been a long time since we were treated to any wizardry here.” There were exclamations of agreement all around. Tvrdik had expected this, and reached first for the simplest demonstration. Snow began falling in the chamber – first a few flakes, then clumps, then a veritable blizzard. Every face in the room was turned upward as the cold flakes fell on eyelashes and lips. Several men and women rose to brush off their expensive outfits. A dusting began to accumulate on the parquet floor. Then, in an instant, it was all gone. No trace remained, no moisture in anyone’s hair or clothing. Another voice rang out, goading, “Nice trick, but is that
all
you can do?” Now that was annoying, and downright rude. In a flash, a giant bear stood upright where the wizard had been. Easily topping seven feet, it snaked its great head back and forth, and batted the air with its huge paws which sported sharp, curved claws the size of carving knives. The bear shambled out into the midst of the assembly and roared, its giant teeth a bit too close to one hapless minister for comfort. The terrified man shrank back, hands thrown in front of his face. And then, the bear vanished, and Tvrdik stood there, rearranging his robes and adjusting his glasses.

“Sorry about that. I may have gotten a little carried away.” Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Bargarelle fanning Verger, who had turned green and slumped against him, drawing his breath in gasps. Tvrdik was torn between sympathy, and an inexplicable urge to giggle at the ridiculous spectacle. He turned his attention elsewhere. He would apologize later to their friends.

Lord Maygrew acted again as spokesman for the group, “I think we get your point, mage. You have some skill with illusion. But how will this avail us against Lord Drogue, should he launch a serious attack?”

“Illusion can be a powerful deterrent, if it is convincing and unexpected,” he glanced back at Verger, and at the unfortunate lord at whom he had roared, still trembling and white in his seat. “It is possible to turn an attacker’s own fears, his weaknesses, or his lusts against him to trip him up without spilling a drop of blood, or putting our own citizenry in mortal danger. But, illusion is not the only weapon at our disposal. Wizards also study to have access to powerful universal energy forces. They must be used judiciously because they can affect the very fabric of the Universe. They can heal or destroy, depending on intention. Human qualities like faith, love, determination, and truth, can also prove powerful forces in holding back evil, which is inherently flawed because it cannot hold community, but turns on itself.”

Boone had been growing restless, and now he had heard enough. He sprang to his feet, “Wizard, you do not lack for pretty words, and high-minded ideas, but what can they
do
to protect us? It has been my task for decades to look after the security of this realm, and I have kept the peace by maintaining a strong, dependable force of good men, devoted to their country’s protection. They are fearless, skilled in all manner of weaponry and strategy. They are well-trained and responsive to command. And any one of them would give his life to defend his king or his homeland from usurpers.
There
, sir, is your deterrent. Anyone foolish enough to move against us knows he is up against a daunting warrior band, and if he does not hold his own life cheaply, he will think twice. The courage of our warriors has been celebrated in story and song for centuries. They took this land, secured it in the first times, and have kept it safe for generations. Why, now, if there is an imminent, credible threat, would we throw away what has always worked for us, in favor of some other ridiculous, untried remedy?” His words were passionate, and they posed an honest question that needed answering, as it would be on every man’s mind.

Tvrdik thought a moment, and spoke in quiet, measured tones. They had to lean in and focus to hear him. “I thank you, Minister Boone, for your very important question, and for the excellence of your forces in keeping us safe and peaceful thus far. They are indeed worthy of respect and honor. But there are two important reasons why Xaarus and I are advocating a different path. One is philosophical, and the other practical. I will give you the philosophical first. The reality is that war of any kind is never as straightforward as we like to imagine it. If war comes now, we will not have started it. We will only be responding to a threat, defending our peaceful way of life, as we have every right to do. But violence has a way of overflowing its borders. Wherever there is war, there is loss and destruction. Young men die, or are maimed, unable to care for themselves and their families. Old folks go without support in their last years, widows and orphans abound. Crops are burned, fertile lands ruined, and herds slaughtered, buildings and property destroyed, water fouled. Poverty and disease follow close behind. Cultural treasures and historic landmarks are decimated or destroyed, and the impulse for creativity and study is buried under the harsh struggle for survival in a ruined landscape. Even if the day is won, and peace is regained, endless resources must be poured into rebuilding and re-establishing a renewed economy. Fear and suspicion become a way of life; neighbor competes with neighbor for scarce resources, and those who are perceived as different, in any way, are reviled unfairly. It has always been so. War has no winners. But Xaarus, from the future, has seen that unless someone here and now breaks the cycle and stands up for something different, more and more irrevocable damage will be done. There will be shorter and shorter periods of recovery between conflicts, and everything I just described will become a miserable way of life instead of just a temporary slump. This is what we will bequeath to our descendants, unthinkable and unbearable. We may still have the power to turn the tide in a more positive direction. Left to our children to address, it may be too late.”

Tvrdik’s remarks were met with an uncomfortable silence. He could tell they were somehow struggling to reconcile the truths they could not deny in his words with their reverence for military might. Boone was scowling. Tvrdik went on.

“The second reason I recommend an alternate response is, as I said, practical. It is that Xaarus has seen our future in the matrix of potential time lines, from the other side, and we do not triumph. That is, adopting traditional methods of defense, in pitched battle, army to army, we cannot win.”

Boone exploded, “That is ridiculous. There is no way he could know that. We are talking about the Royal Guard here, and an upstart border lord.”

“It is no reflection on the worthiness, preparedness, or courage of your troops, Minister Boone. Lord Drogue is an unscrupulous and ambitious adversary. He will find ways to raise a substantial force, and follow no rules of civility or fairness. He is even a student of dark sorcery, as near as I can tell, and would not hesitate to use it, if he thought it would work to his advantage. I am talking about destructive forces that I have been trained carefully to steer clear of. I can combat them to some extent, but I am not yet certain how much he knows. As for Xaarus’ reports, I cannot tell why our best efforts are fated to fail us, but I do know that Drogue’s ascendancy, and his ugly tyrannical rule are a large factor in hastening the downward spiral into endless violence and despair which I have already described. It is so in almost every timeline that Xaarus examined. Simply put, we lose.”

“Couldn’t we use Xaarus’ advance knowledge of the future to change it in our favor? To, say, help us to surprise Drogue, or escape some plotted ambush?” This came from one of Maygrew’s friends seated near him.

“A fair question, but I do not believe any of that would change the bigger picture, or the inevitable outcome. In trying to trace back the timelines, it appears that Xaarus cannot see the fine details so much as the larger trends – not enough to really help us move by move. In any timeline he followed through, he could not find for us a military triumph. Men like Drogue only lust after personal power, and thrive on chaos and destruction. It is second nature to him. We cannot beat him on his own terms. Instead we must keep him off balance with the values we know and embrace – those that are second nature to us.”

“I have never heard such a load of rubbish in my life,” cried Boone. “This is madness. What does any of it mean?”

Tvrdik was quick to counter, “Gentlemen, we have an unprecedented luxury. If you were about to engage in a great enterprise that you knew would be costly in both lives and resources, but you had advance knowledge that you would nevertheless fail, would you not pause to reconsider the wisdom of your undertaking? Would you not do your best to re-allocate those resources and lives so that they would not be wasted in a futile effort? To do otherwise would be foolhardy.”

“And if we do nothing against Drogue, we also fail, and we lose the kingdom. At least if we fight, history will not say that we stood idly by and allowed the usurper to take what he wanted unchallenged.” Boone was purple. Tvrdik kept his voice calm and steady.

“What we are proposing is in no way inaction, nor helpless surrender. What I am asking you to do is to take the same courage and discipline and skill in which you and your men excel, and add it to the special talents and creative intelligence of everyone in this room to come up with new and fresh ways of frustrating Drogue in his attempt to steal the crown. Ways that, if possible, do not revolve around who has the bigger fist or the most brutal attitude. Ways in which we certainly have the potential to win the day and drive him clear out of the kingdom. Surely, if we believe in the virtues of intelligence, creativity, truth, unity, and the power of right, we must believe they are strong enough virtues to win the day without being backed up by swords…” He paused here for the response he knew would not come. They were confused and conflicted. He did not blame them, and actually counted it a good beginning to at least shake the certainty in some minds that he was dead wrong or insane. He swallowed and went on.

“I have promised to dedicate every ounce of magical skill and knowledge I possess to protecting this kingdom and helping it find a tenable road to victory. And though we do not have Xaarus here with us in the flesh, we will have the benefit of his wise counsel, his hindsight from the future, and his creative thought to help us.”

Minister Alanquist, without moving a muscle, weighed in for the first time, “You keep claiming to speak to Xaarus. But there is no proof you have any contact whatever with him. You say you are in touch, and it is he who has sent you on this fool’s mission. But how do we know that any of that is true? For all we know, you could be some madman, leading us to our doom. I see no Xaarus, nor hear any directives from him. Can you prove to us that you are, in fact, Xaarus’ messenger?”

There were many shouts from the floor in agreement with this sentiment. Tvrdik exchanged a meaningful look with Jorelial Rey. They both knew what was coming next. Someone called out, “If Xaarus came to recruit and train you for a time, why can we not use magic to fetch him back here and help us sort out this mess?”

“I wish I knew how to do that, believe me. Time travel is an extremely delicate matter that no one has yet properly managed. Xaarus, for all his experience and brilliance, and his long study on the subject, botched his first try at it and got himself trapped. My knowledge of the subject at this time is so much less than his that there is no hope of my finding a way to retrieve him any time soon. Xaarus wanted to alert us to the dangers he saw, but knew the best he could manage would be a brief sojourn out of his cage. He judged the time would best be spent preparing a surrogate who could be with you in the flesh, and join forces with you for the long-term. It took every ounce of strength he had to accomplish that goal – to that I can attest. He will not be able to make that trip again in the foreseeable future. But what we do have is a sort of communication link between us over the centuries through which he can advise and guide us. It has already proved invaluable.”

During this explanation, Lord Maygrew seemed to be conversing privately with three or four other lords who were leaning in to him and whispering with great agitation. Now, he raised a hand to silence them, and again put himself forward as spokesman.

“Mage, could you summon Xaarus now, here, before the assembled Cabinet?”

“I can. He even predicted that you might ask me to do so, and stands ready on the other side. I must warn you that you will not be able to see or hear him, but you may question him and learn his responses through me.”

One of the lords became agitated again, “How can we trust that? It is still just taking his word for it.”