~o0o~
C.K. once again had an opportunity to gain esteem in the sight of the Queen. In the year since his first banquet, he kept busy trying to identify a new plague that only affected Wizards. They slowly sickened and lost first their vitality and then their ability to utilize Magic. The plague seemed to strike at random, and while some succumbed quickly, others fell gradually while a lucky few remained untouched. The most horrifying aspect, at least in the eyes of the Wizards, was the finality of death at the terminal stage.
When wizards Transferred from their home realm through Magic fruits, they acquired corporeal bodies based in large part on their own self-image. Death had never been a factor, either accidental or forced, but eventually the bodies did wear out, at which time they faded back to their own realm. Victims of the plague, however, truly died. In a Realm wherein time was non-linear, they enjoyed a form of immortality in a past and future that remained undifferentiated. With neither beginning nor end, not only did their personality die, but also the very memory of their existence within the Magic Realm faded since once their existence came to an end, they never had existed at all.
C.K. sent word for the Queen to bring her court and any two afflicted Wizards to the Magic farm of his youth. They arrived and found Peter straddled atop one of the strange Magic/Essence hybrid machines C.K. invented. C.K. directed the two stricken Wizards to lie in the cradle of the machine and activated the device. It hummed, sparked, and crackled with blinding energies that bathed them in purple light. After a minute, he ordered Peter to deactivate and helped the duo to their feet.
"So, how are you feeling?"
"It's…it's as if I was an empty vessel that has been refilled!” said the first.
The second smiled and disappeared, then reappeared a moment later and hugged his friend in celebration.
"And my Magic is back!"
The Queen smiled in approval and asked, "And you both feel fully restored?"
They nodded vigorously, turned to C.K., and honored him as they dropped to one knee and bowed their heads.
"Then you may both return to your lives, and of course spread the word among the stricken. As for you, C.K., it is not fitting for any Wizard to bow down before a mere human. Come kneel before me!"
She stood up from her throne of live writhing serpents and Called a sword of flame to her hand. C.K. walked calmly and with more confidence than most in his situation might and followed her bidding.
“In as much as you have journeyed to our home realm and returned as like one of us, I declare your status as that of Wizard. Furthermore, in light of your diligence, ingenuity, and service I foresee many of high station wishing also to bend their knee before you. Therefore, invoking my privilege as Queen, I raise you to the office of Knight Errant. For the sake of propriety, and because it pleases me, I dub you Crimson Knight!"
She brought the flaming blade gently down upon each shoulder, which felt incongruently cold against his flesh. She Returned the sword from whence it came, and clapped her hands together. A rain of dark-crimson rose petals appeared above C.K.'s head and melded into a stunning cloak.
"Arise, Sir Crimson Knight!"
The witnesses clapped politely if unenthusiastically, except for Peter. His more enthusiastic approval may have been tied to his hopes of a cure, but they also had developed something of a friendship. The Duchess of Fire seemed genuinely pleased for her attendant when she heard the news, but it also removed a slight embarrassment that her Attendant had been a mere human. C.K. rose to his feet and seemed to grow in stature, not in response to his elevation as those looking on assumed, but from the knowledge that he was about to change history.
"Your Majesty, a great injustice has come to my attention. One which you may correct, in fact, one which I insist you correct!"
The Queen's visage soured while many in the court murmured depredations at the impertinence.
"And what is this great injustice, which forces you to overstep bounds of propriety with this insistence?"
"Why, the fact that Wizards are interlopers upon this human realm, and yet have the gall to present themselves as rulers and masters. As a first step to addressing this inequality, and as an opportunity for wizards to integrate into my plan for human manifest destiny, I suggest you accept my proposal for marriage. Then all Wizards, including yourself, may pledge your subservience and loyalty to me as your King!"
There were several moments of absolute silence. The Queens face remained neutral as she closed her eyes in thought. Finally, she laughed, a harsh, sarcastic sound composed of both amusement and menace.
"First, dear boy, you should know our ancient stricture, which states that Wizards shall not marry, nor be given in marriage, lest they bring ruin to all creation. The main question, though, is what in your demented little mind makes you believe I will respond in any other way than to have you tortured and destroyed?"
"Let me suggest self-preservation. I have been, let us say, less than honest about the plague. You see; it was I who poisoned your banquet delicacies with powered Essence. That cure you saw today was simply me removing that Essence. I am in a position not only to banish all Wizards from my realm, but also to inflict upon them a true death unless I intervene. I ask a second time, do you accept my proposal?"
"This is ridiculous! I now have over a million of my subjects in this Realm, and can bring over millions more, ironically through the very fruit your family has been tending for generations. You are merely one deluded young man, in whom I misplaced my trust and my charity. We are now sad, and will bypass any deserved torture and simply put you out of your poor deluded misery."
C.K. turned a moment to Peter, who still sat on the complex machine he had used to remove the Essence from the two wizards. C.K. made a slashing gesture across his throat. Peter turned a dial and pushed a lever, and every magic fruit on the farm exploded and withered to their roots.
"Oops. If you insist upon war, I'm afraid reinforcements will not be available. Now, for the third and last time, do you accept my proposal?"
In answer, the Queen stood up in a rage as power visibly gathered between her palms and she prepared to annihilate the insignificant and impertinent insect she so recently honored. Wizard heraldry was based upon the power a Wizard could Call, and the Queen was Queen by virtue of her frightening capabilities. C.K. remained unbowed and drew a Magic/Essence hybrid weapon from beneath his robes. He levelled tapered tube the length of his forearm that was encircled with a decreasing series of glowing rings. He Invoked its ignition and a brilliant ray of energy spouted out the opening.
The Duchess of Fire was closest to her sister the Queen and jumped in front of the beam. The weapon was based on both Essence and Magic so was in part subject to the rules of Magic, including C.K.'s oath of fealty as her attendant. It was also created for the sole purpose of destruction, so was caught in a paradoxical quandary. Whatever level of self-awareness and intelligence that resided within the Magic element decided on a compromise. The Duchess disappeared left no trace of her in any of the three realms, which technically honored C.K.’s vow against her harm.
A filtered shard of the beam hit the Queen and residual Essence wrestled against her gathered magic. The Essence, though weakened, won the battle and the Power between her hands to ash. The process continued into her hands, followed up her arms, and seeped into her body. Instead of ash, her skin turned to coal. Cracks appeared along her joints and flexible muscles that revealed glowing red embers beneath.
She screamed, and the rest of the Wizards jumped into action and prepared to attack C.K, physically and Magically. He made a motion and transported himself and Peter to an underground redoubt he built beneath Sparks Lake. He had hoped the Queen would capitulate, but had not expected it. He was now at war with one million Wizards, a war that would devastate the world.
~o0o~
Waerlogus looked out upon the field of his fallen comrades and wept. An iron rod, two meters long by thirty centimeters thick, impaled the dus
t on the surface of the moon. Attached to the rod, four chains made of tiny silver links spread out at ninety-degree angles. At precise two-meter intervals, each chain ended in a collar that wrapped tightly around a Wizard’s neck and stapled them to the ground. Both ankles of each spread-eagle Wizard were similarly bound and staked. The pattern repeated across the plain and branched to include thousands of Wizards laid out in a living Mandela.
They retained enough Magic to manifest individual protection against lack of food, water, warmth, and air, but at great expense to their reserves, much like a starving man cannibalizes his own muscles. As the moon rotated three times daily, each gathered a weak trickle of power as their side of the moon skimmed the Magic-laden atmosphere high above the earth. They needed all their effort to keep from burning to cinders as the moving horizon of fire and superheated gas passed over them. The remainder of the time they lay exhausted and on the brink of death, so never gathering enough power for escape.
They discussed possibilities and a formed plan, desperate though it was. Every lunar perigee a wizard would sacrifice his own life and sent a burst of his remaining power to Waerlogus. Not everyone could agree to this at first. Slowly but inexorably, those that did not watched as their fellow prisoners gave their remaining Magic to Waerlogus and left nothing but a burnt shadow that stained the ground. They perhaps gained peace, but certainly ended their suffering.
A thousand times over Waerlogus grieved as one more precious friend gave their feeble remaining Magic to enrich his. As he lay finally alone, he still could not break the Essence-enhanced chains and fell into total despair as he gazed at the swirling stormy atmosphere of the planet moving above.
~o0o~
Waerlogus assumed the next rotation would be his last since there was no one left to sacrifice for him. He could not remember his beginning, but he knew he had guided and educated his fellow Wizards since they all first appeared in the Magic Realm. He had been the first to discover the way to the human realm, and had hoped at the time it would relieve the pressures of their closed energy system.
Like all Wizards, he at first saw humans as little more than animals, barely able to use their minuscule imagination for Magic. Given the ferocity with which the Crimson King had waged and won the war, he realized how mistaken he was. Their innate capacity to utilize Magic was les than a Wizard, but they also were able to utilize the Essence which was pure anathema to Wizards.
Waerlogus calmed his thoughts and closed his eyes, ready to release the last of his Magic into the chains. He figured a few minutes of airless strangulation were better than a slow fiery death. He gathered the last of his Magic and pushed it along his arms and into the metal. The remainder of his Magic seemed reluctant to leave, so he steeled his resolve and pushed his will harder. It was almost as if something was constricting his wrists and prevented the Power to move. He opened his eyes and let out a startled unwizardly yelp.
The giant eyes he first saw resolved into an inverted face barely an inch from his own. The Duchess of Fire leaned over him and encircled his wrists with her hands which prevented his death. When she saw he was no longer trying to throw away his life, she changed her grip to his shackles and spoke a Command that made them disintegrate into dust. She helped him stand and simply said, "Come."
~o0o~
Waerlogus could feel her hand within his but otherwise was in complete darkness and total silence.
“Dare I ask to where we Came? And by the way, thank you for rescuing me!"
"This is where I found myself after C.K.’s treachery waylaid me. I needed a long time to learn how to navigate, and even longer to figure where in the world, or more correctly out of it, I was. If you look straight ahead, you can just make out a small pinprick of light. I assumed it was a case of ocular phosphines until I grew bored enough to investigate."
"I'll have to take your word for it; your eyes are much younger than mine."
"Let's go closer and see if you recognize anything."
Once he could perceive it, the dot of light grew larger and clearer. He assumed they drew nearer, although there were no sensations to prove which perspective was correct. The light source stopped growing, or perhaps they stopped moving, when the object was just large enough to fit inside his peripheral vision. He saw a shape made of three overlaying globes that coexisted within the same space. Somehow, due to where, and maybe what, he was, he had no problem differentiating the three elements.
"Something about all this seems familiar, but I can't quite figure what it is."
"I understand. I'm going to take you on a quick tour. You will be perfectly safe, but it will be extremely disorienting. We’ll be traveling, not just in space but also in time, back to the beginning. Okay, let's do it!"
In one sense, the globes were like layers of an onion, one inside the other. Suddenly, the inner and outer layer contracted to join the center sphere which expanded and joined into a unified world. It seemed composed of colorful gasses or liquids that swirled in constant motion. The patterns were a breathtaking sight as they formed and combined, only to fray at the edges and once again devolve into chaos.
They took a moment to appreciate the beauty of the sight before the Duchess spoke and broke the spell.
"This is the beginning. If anything lay beyond, I haven't found a way to access it. Now, let's advance a bit."
All movement sped to a blur, and then bits and pieces slowed. Stable areas appeared and slowly migrated to others of like kind until they grouped into recognizable earth, sea, and sky. A line of green appeared along the shorelines and spread to all the shallow parts of the sea and up into the rivers.
"I have rewound this moment countless times, and as far as I can tell plant life simply appears. The same happens with the upcoming animals. One moment there were none, and the next they were everywhere.
The expanding greenways moved with a blur, and time slowed once again as they moved closer to see countless herds of varied animals. Then, in tiny groups, humans appeared. The Wizards swooped in close enough to see they were actually proto-humans, a bit more brutish, a bit hairier, but near fully human.
They flew up again while the planet went through cataclysmic changes that included the rise and fall of two ice ages. Cities grew around ports and deltas, followed by railways that shot across the major land masses. Villages became cities and a select few into metropolises. Rather than the former blockish squares and rectangles, architecture favored arches, sweeps, and curves. The Duchess once again slowed time and they headed for one of the many parks dotted throughout the largest city.
We're going to go in closer, but remember we aren't really here. I think you will find the next part interesting, and likely a little disturbing."
The Duchess next flew them towards an immense rainforest and into its heart then stopped above a large clearing. They settled on the ground and looked around. At first, Waerlogus saw nothing of particular note, but as his eyes adjusted to the layers of plant life, he noticed tiny three-inch high…Wizardlings. They were, for the most part, caricatures of Wizards, with misshapen features and either elongated or foreshortened limbs, but recognizably Wizards.
They easily could fall into the categories of fairies and elves and gnomes and a great variety of other so-called mythological little people. There was, however, nothing magical or precious about them. They lived and loved and fought in and among roots and mildewed rotten logs. Their naked bodies were filthy, scratched and scabbed, and their eyes were dull and barely intelligent. The Duchess could see that they deeply shook Waerlogus.
"Okay, enough of this. Although the next part isn't any easier."
She swept them up and over towards the center of the city to a large domed building of some importance. They floated through the concrete, another reminder that this was but a memory of the universe and a particular feature of traveling back through time. They stopped inside a polished and gleaming laboratory full of equipment and scurrying modern humans. Many of the contrivances were set ins
ide or over see-through tanks that held various amounts of wizardlings.
The proto-wizards were somewhat taller and physiologically more standardized in shape and features than their wild counterparts. Although they were nude, they were clean and well groomed. The Duchess lead Waerlogus to a walled-off section of the laboratory, to a tank full of female wizardlings that jumped and screamed against the glass in an attempt to catch the attention of the human workers.
A technician chose one and picked her up with padded tongs and placed her in a smaller tank that had a larger male. The human placed a small tool against his fingertip and drew a single drop of blood and fed it to the ecstatic female. Waerlogus looked to the Duchess and raised an eyebrow in question.
“I spent a lot of time here to understand the details. The humans are experimenting with genetics to increase the size and intelligence of the species. Their ultimate goal is to create a class of slaves, and once successful they will purge the wild population. In an attempt to control their creations, reproduction depends on the females to ingest a small amount of human blood for each pregnancy or they remain sterile.”
“I don’t want to accept any of this, yet it makes sense.”
“Keep your shock under control, because there is one last secret that I am afraid might be too much for you to handle and remain sane. I only take the chance because I know your strength, and the continuation of our kind is at stake.”
Once again the two Wizards floated out of the building and forward in time. Large open parks were scattered around the city now, one of which they landed in. The scurrying wizardlings there had gained stature in the intervening age, some to nearly two feet tall. They also became much more attractive, with a combination of delicacy of features and orthodox limbs. The visitors never saw the wizardlings engage in strife among themselves but watched them lead peaceful familial lives in their clean and quaint woodland village.
Waerlogus couldn't help but smile as he noticed many of the faces were slightly smaller versions of friends he knew and loved. The two followed the social activities for hours, but it didn't take long for their smiles to turn to frowns. The little folk had become the labor class of this world as the humans focused on technology.