Magi: The Fool

Second Chapter: The Fool

Luke walked alongside Marius as they both trudged a path long forgotten by humankind. They had left the orphanage two days ago, and since then, they have yet stopped to rest. Luke was tired, but, no matter how he trusted Marius, he was afraid to be left behind.

As they walked, Luke contemplated on the things Marius had told him since they first met. The sky had been overcast and eerily dark when he went to bed. He thought, maybe, but he could not remember so clearly, it was a dream after all, that the dark skies and thick, monstrous clouds had been brought over into his dreams. This was where their first meeting occurred, in his dream. He had asked Marius who he was and he had given him his name, so short, and without the surname. “I am Marius.” He had said. And that was how it began. From there, their conversation continued, ending only when Marius faded away. Yes, he had faded away. He did not disappear in a blink of an eye, but he faded. Luke wondered if it, Marius’ slow fading into nothingness, had any significance to Marius’ past. Or probably his future… Then, there was their conversation about the languages. Luke slowly played the scene out again in his mind.

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“Luke.” Marius said, placing down the book in his hands. “Yes?” Luke answered turning to his companion as he, as well, put down his book. They were seated in a secluded corner in the library. It was not a dark corner, neither was it cold. It was merely a lonely place, far too quiet for those who had far better things to do than read. However, it was perfect for those who had nothing better to do but read. “You asked me, some time ago, about the language I spoke of…” Marius trailed off as he eyed Luke. He would not give out any more information. Luke must remember it for himself; having a good memory is necessary for magi and, whether Luke knew it or not, he was to become one. “Oh, yes!” Luke finally said, after a moment of thinking, “The languages… what did you mean by ‘their words’?” Marius smiled. Luke had remembered perfectly. Now, if only he could do it faster. The magus closed the five books he was reading, and turned his chair to face Luke. The child did the same.

“Their language… their words are different from our own.” Marius began, gesturing at the others around them. They did not see his movements for they were all too busy with their own tasks, harried by their own problems, passions, and fears. “We are Magi. We exist in a world far different from this.” Marius rested his right hand on the table as he continued, “And, with that difference, comes the difference in languages.” “But, I can understand them.” Luke said, interrupting him, “And, I can understand you. And, they can understand you.” Marius smiled, glad that Luke had pointed out that detail, no matter how minor. “Right now, I am speaking in their tongue. I am using their language, as you are using their language.” Marius paused to pile the books they were reading into a neat stack. Then, crossing his legs, he continued, “Their words are not originally mine, I only learned them. On the other hand, the words we speak now are your words, and thus, you must learn my language, the words I speak. For, no spell can you cast in the tongue of non-magi.

“First you must learn the language of magi. Then, you must learn its disciplines, and then, you must learn the spells. It must always be in this order. For, without learning the language you will understand neither the disciplines nor the spells. Without learning the disciplines, your spells will not work as you wish them, and may sometimes return to strike you – its caster.” Marius looked wearily at a group of boys in a far corner, and sighed. “And, ofcourse, one must learn the spells. For, without knowing the spells, how can you become a magus?” Luke nodded in agreement, “Indeed… I see…”

Luke looked up at Marius with a look of challenge on his face. Marius smiled; amused that Luke could think to say such. “Will you let me hear your words?” Luke said, not dropping his gaze. “Merely some of them, not all… I wish to hear them. If I am to choose to become a magus, I should know how to speak the words, should I not? I want to know how the words of magi sound.” Marius smiled at him and thought, You do not become a magus, young one. You are born to be one. Those who are non-magi can learn to speak our tongue but they can never cast a single spell… they have not the strength of spirit. “Very well…” So, Marius spoke a tale or two of the past in the magi tongue, and Luke listened, enwrapped more by the sound of the words than the tales. For, he could not understand a single word.

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And then, came that tale two nights ago, when Marius and Luke walked down the secret trail that carved through the heart of Mt. Seria. They were silent at first, but as they trekked on, something about the path seemed to stir the spirits of the past and Marius began to speak…

“Do you have one whom you cherish, Luke? No, forget that I had asked. It was silly of me. You are a mere child; you need not such things as beaus and loves. I did, though, and, how I had cherished her. I loved her more than the love of Cupid and Psyche. I loved her more than Romeo could love Juliet. Oh, how I loved her. And, she, what was I to her you might ask. She loved me as well. That is what she said, and showed, and did, and thought. She loved me.

“However, much like Juliet, her parents did not approve of me. I had no home. She loved that fact; they hated it. I traveled far and wide. She sought adventure; they sought a stable home on concrete soil. I loved her with all my heart and soul and mind. She only needed to feel my love; they needed to see my money. I had none. They didn’t need to see me. They despised me. Yet, still my love and I remained.

“Her parents were determined to keep us apart. They would keep her indoors, never letting her out unless they were there to stand by her. But, I found a way back to my love. I crept in the darkness of night, waiting for her parents to begin their slumber. Then, I would call softly to her and she would answer softly. She would light a tiny lamp and set it by her window. And then, she would throw down a makeshift rope of beddings, blankets and laces, and wait for me to ascend. Oh, how we silently laughed as we embraced in her quarters, quiet in our moment of triumph. We would stay in each other’s arms the whole of the night, sharing a story, or looking at the stars. Sometimes, we would just sit silently, sharing each other’s warmth, listening to the sounds of the night. We made jokes of her father’s snoring. Oh, how he snored! It was so loud one might hear it five miles away. We smiled at our own cleverness, not knowing how foolish we really were.

“Her parents never really slumbered. They kept awake through all the nights that I visited her. They waited quietly, cloaking themselves in the invisibility of silence. Each night I would go to my love, and leave her at dawn. Each night, I would grow complacent and lower my defenses. At the first few nights, I stayed alert and listened to the slightest sounds that came from the house. But, as the days progressed with nothing happening, I grew tired and began to listen only to the voice of my beloved as she spoke, to the sound of the wind as it passed, and to the silence of the night as it grew deeper.

“Finally, on one night, as we sat together on the floor of her room, looking up at the stars with a blanket about us for warmth, they came. They came suddenly and unexpectedly. They came crashing through the door, her father and her three older brothers each with a broad sword in hand, her mother with the holy book, and a congregation of townsmen in tow. ‘Stay away from my daughter you devil!’ Her mother shrieked. ‘I know you!’ One of the older men behind the family cried, ‘I have seen you before!’ ‘Yes, many years ago!’ ‘I was still a child when I first saw you! You’re a ghost!’ ‘A demon that never ages!’ ‘You come to this village year after year! Was it only to wait for her? For the one you will take for yourself?’ ‘The devil!’ ‘Demon!’ ‘Ghost!’ Death, darkness of all ages, demon of the night, nightcrawler, bringer of all fear, and many other names came flooding from their mouths, but none of them made a move towards me and my lover. They seemed to believe that their words could banish me. But, I knew better. I crept into their minds and saw only one thing: Fear.

“My love’s mother and father feared for her safety. Her brothers feared for her and their parents. The townsmen feared for themselves, for their families and for their children. They feared me, the Demon that Never Ages. There was nothing but fear in their hearts, and cold, unforgiving hate in their souls. They feared me, and so they hated me. They hated me, so they must banish me. And, if their words could not do it, they would take up arms and fight. All these I saw as I looked into their minds. I was disheartened. I had done them no harm. Though they did not know, I had protected them from great winds that could have blown away their homes, from fierce floods that could have washed away their loves, from bolts of lightning that could have stricken their children, and from thunders that could have brought deafness to their ears.

“I had shielded them from the wrath of nature. But, in doing so, I had hardened their hearts. They never suffered a loss they could not predict. There was never an accident because of my shield, and so, they knew not how it felt to suddenly lose something. Now, in fear of losing something suddenly for the first time, they learned to hate.

“I looked into the eyes of my beloved, and smiled. There was no hate there, no fear, no want to hurt. All there was in her eyes was love. She saw no demon, no devil, no ghost, but a man. The man she loved. I sighed, and kissed her on the cheek. I whispered into her ear and stood. ‘I will not return. You have my word.’ I told those clustered by the door, but nothing in them changed. Summoning the strength of the magus spirit, I became one with the wind and disappeared from her room. They thought me a ghost, so why not leave as a ghost does?

“A few moments after I left, they began throwing pots and pans and vases and books out through the empty window, shouting curses, screaming at me to never return. They probably thought I was merely staying by the window, floating, invisible, waiting for them to leave. But, I was long gone. By the time they had begun throwing things through the open windows, I was miles away, and heard them only through the wind.

“For four days and three nights, we saw nothing of each other. In that time, I had built myself a cabin in the woods that surrounded the town. I did not hate its people. I understood their fear. They were not accustomed to the unknown.

"On the fourth night, as I sat reading an old book from a past much further back, there came a knock on the door; three taps and then silence. I closed my book, set it aside and stood. I quickly moved towards the door to open it. It was my beloved, I knew. I had asked her to do exactly that, and I knew she would.

“She looked into my eyes when I opened the door, and kissed me on the cheek as she passed by to enter. ‘Only the cheek?’ I teased ‘What of my lips that have grown lonely?’ ‘You kissed me only on the cheek when you left, and so, I greet you in the same.’ She smiled as she sat down. Her smile left me weak in the knees. Her smiles always did that, and she knew it. I wavered a moment, feeling that at any second my weak legs would give way and I would fall, and then, the feeling was gone. I closed the door behind me and walked quickly, but quietly towards her. I planted myself on the arm of the chair where she sat, and swooped down to kiss her. I felt my mouth touch her lush, red lips, and a bolt of electricity rushed to all parts of my being. Sparks went off in my head, and my arms went to grab her shoulders and pull her closer.

“The kiss seemed to last a lifetime, though I am quite sure it was no more than a few seconds. When I pulled away, I seemed to have lost my breath. My breathing was heavy and slow, and so was hers. Her face was flushed, her lips wet, and her eyes were glazed over. She had a dreamy expression on her face.

“That is all I can remember of our first meeting in that cabin. I can assure you, though, that we had many more meetings there; each one beginning with a kiss, neither of us tiring of our greeting. We never grew tired of each other’s company. Whenever I saw her, it was like seeing her for the first time. Each moment I spent with her was new, each sensation was different. Every time we met, I would notice something new as though seeing her in a completely different light. I could tell you exactly how many lashes she had above each eye on every one of our meetings, or how long her hair was, or the colors that reflected off her eyes when light struck them. I could tell you how she spoke, and what she talked about, and how she sat on each occasion. Oh, I could tell all that I had seen on each of our meetings, and a century would not be enough to tell the tale.

“But, then, there came a day when we were not so lucky. She had left home a little too early, so her normal route still had a few people moving about. She turned into an unfamiliar path. It was dark and damp, and a nest for hooligans. This, though, she did not know. As she moved deeper into the darkness of that route, a hand grabbed her midsection from behind and another covered her mouth to muffle her inevitable scream.

“What they did to her was horrible… Why didn’t I help? Keep in mind, young one, that at that moment I was waiting for her by the door of the cabin, unknowing of what had befallen my beloved, thinking of the trivialities of both past and future." Marius sighed and turned his attention to the walls of the cave. The eerie darkness stirred more than just memories; pain and longing creased the magus' brow. Luke could feel the strong feelings emanating from his master and feared asking anything, but still he ventured on and asked: "Then how is it that you know what happened?" Marius looked at him as if seeing his pupil for the first time. He closed his eyes and drew a long, unsteady breath as he thought: Ah, the strength of youth... His answer came slowly, but gathered momentum as he continued to speak: "The ground, the trees, the wind… they all have eyes to see and ears to hear. But, they lack the tongue to speak. Their minds were what I entered in order to find the truth. Yes, they have minds, young one. And, I entered their minds just as I had entered Mistress Miria’s mind on the night I arrived at the orphanage; just as I had entered your mind on the night we first met. But, let us end on this. Allow me to continue on with my tale, of the story of my foolishness. It is near end, and I wish to continue on until we reach it.

“And, so I waited; my mind preoccupied by the beauty of nature. The clouds appeared and disappeared as the daylight vanished and darkness took dominion over the sky. I waited until the dark king was dethroned by the Moon, Luna, Queen of Light. Yet still, my beloved did not come. At first, I thought that maybe she had been unable to escape the watchful eyes of her parents. Then, before my train of thought could take me elsewhere, I heard a whisper. It was faint, and at first, I could not understand it. Then, it came again, and I finally heard. It was her voice, her words, her cry. It was my beloved. I rushed to the town, through its streets, following only her voice. A grim vision had begun to form within my head. I knew it was the vision the ground and the wind brought to me, drawn by the void of my magic. I knew it was true, but I could not believe it. At that moment, judgment of what was real and what was not depended only on finding her whole and not as I had seen in the vision.

“You wish to know the vision? It is grim and not for your mind to hear, young one… Oh, why do you still wish to hear it?! Ha… Very well, I shall tell it to you. But, be knowing of the fact that this vision causes me grief and after I have told it, I wish no more for you to ask of it. I love you as my son and my apprentice, and I wish to equip you for what you will need. And so, I will tell you the vision, though it hurts me, because I will not have you confounded by visions in the future.

“I saw a dark alley. Its darkness so overpowering that none but the wicked and dumb would cross it. The alley itself was dark, a blind spot in my protective spell. It had always been inhabited by darkness. A darkness I could not, at my current level then, dispel. And so, I always tried to steer people clear of that way. But, let us return to the vision, for we have wandered from it.

“As I said, I saw a dark alleyway. In it were three figures hovering over a fourth which was lying on the ground. Ofcourse, all these figures were nothing more than dark shapes; not even silhouettes of their true form, mere formless shadows. Then, the vision began to clear and I was able to distinguish them in a way. The three figures were not hovering. They were merely standing around the fourth figure, their feet planted on the ground. The three who stood were male, I could tell now, as the vision got clearer and clearer. The one lying on the ground was female. I did not see her face. I had no wish to see the face. I wanted not to recognize who it was that lay on the ground.

"The details were coming now. The three men were brothers, hooligans from another town – members of an evil cult. The youngest stood the farthest from the woman, looking amusedly at her. He wore simple clothes with a workman’s pair of boots. On one side of his hip, there swung a sheathed dagger, newly bought – completely unstained, and on the other, a large hammer – its metal head bloody. The second, the middle child, had on only his pants and boots. His chest was bare, showing the close-cropped dark brown hair that grew there. He was stained with blood, but smiling, as though amused by its bright red color. Blood dripped from the tip of the blade which he held with his right hand. The third one, who stood the nearest to the woman, was the eldest of the three. He had on him nothing but the band on his left wrist and the dagger on his right hand. He was dripping with sweat and blood, and his body was caked with dry earth. He had, on his face, a maliciously evil grin that spoke of a vile deed committed in ecstasy.

“I looked to the woman, avoiding her face. She was in extreme pain. Her body was ravaged. Her clothes were torn, tattered… bloody. Clumps of her bloodstained auburn hair had been ripped from their roots and were lying some distance away from her body. Her torso was covered over by vertical and horizontal wounds – deep carvings into the flesh. There were cuts on her arms and legs; strange engravings of insignias from a dead time. There were bruises all over her limp, yet living form. Her fingernails had been forcefully torn off her hands. Her toes had been hammered and crushed, the same with her knees and elbows. Many of the ribs on the right side of her chest were broken. And so, as she desperately gasped for breath, the left side of her chest rose and fell, but the right side remained still.

“I thought that was all; that the vision was all for the inner eyes to see and nothing more. But, then came the sounds – her moaning in pain and agony, their laughter, their cursing, their sounds of amusement. There was the sound of fabric ripping, and the banging of the hammer on solid ground. There were sounds of chopping and slashing. And always, there was my name, whispered by that voice, so familiar, so distant. And then, the sounds died away, and the whole scene, to my bitter dismay, replayed itself. I saw the woman walking down the street. Then, she was running from the men. Then, she was caught. And, she was held. And, she was tormented. All these now, playing gruesomely through my head; the unbearable sounds accompanying each action. All this time I did all I could not to look at the woman’s face, or to blur it from my sight, or to hide it in shadows. I had no wish to know who it was.

“Be it known that the whole vision occurred for only an instant, for when I arrived, it had long ended its tormenting playback in my mind. And, it took me no less than five seconds to reach my destination, for I had the winds to aid me, wrapped around my form like wings of flight.

“I had taken the opposite alley. Thus, when I arrived, I was standing opposite the three men, and infront of me was the ravaged body of the woman. I saw the auburn hair, and my fists instinctively clenched. I saw her body, and my heart was filled with a jumble of emotions: pain, fear, rage, sympathy, sadness, hate. I saw her face, and my mind was numbed. I looked up at the three brothers and saw their eyes widen in fear. I do not know what they saw. All I could see was the red of blood, and their faces, twisted in visions of pain and horror, swimming in it.

“They ran from me, even before I could move a step forward. I meant to give chase, instinctively, unthinkingly. But, I heard her whisper in the wind again and I stopped. I turned about and moved towards her, my beloved. I knelt down and held her limp body in my arms.

“Her face was a mess. One eye was swollen, and could not open. Her nose had been broken, and her lower lip was torn. Her left ear was cut off. She had deep wounds on her cheeks, and three carved marks, that reached her skull, on her forehead.

“I could not help myself. Tears flooded from my eyes, and fell onto her face, cleansing her of the blood. Her good eye fluttered, then opened. She focused on me, and tried her best to smile. But, it was too painful, for her and for me. I held her closer, feeling the soft brush of her silken, auburn hair on my arms, my shoulders… my chest. I bowed my head, and whispered into her ear. ‘Don’t force yourself, my love. You have no need to do so. I am here… I feel your pain. I am here. I will not leave you.’ I felt a slight pressure on my head, and realized that she had lifted her arm, but could not keep it high. It was too painful. I caught her hand before it fell to the ground. I held her hand, and kissed it.

“She looked up at me, and tried to smile once again. In her eyes I saw so much pain, yet so much love. I could not stand it. She motioned me closer, and I did as was told. ‘Marius… I… love… y- ha… ha… I love… I… love… you…’ she whispered as she gasped for breath. Then her whole form went limp. But, it was not from exhaustion and pain. No. This time, it was forever. Her eyes would never open again. She would never sing, or speak, or cry again. She was gone from the world.

“I howled in pain and misery, like a wolf in the night. Tears flowed endlessly from my eyes, much like the waters of the Uldith River – unstoppable, unending. I could not accept it. I did not want to accept it. I knew she was dead, but could not believe it. In my mind, there raged two storms: a hurricane of grief and sorrow and pain for losing the one I held most dear, and a thunderstorm of disbelief, of a want to wake up and realize that it was all a dream; that I had only fallen asleep as I had waited for her by the door, and that she was already inside the cabin, looking amusedly at me.

“I held her close; my face, buried in her silken locks. The tears kept streaming down my face and howls kept escaping from my chest as I rocked back and forth, back and forth. Whispering incessantly into her ear as we rocked, telling her, begging her to open her eyes, to wake up. ‘Don’t leave me… my love, don’t leave me…please… I beg you. Please… open your eyes… please…’

“Ofcourse, she never opened her eyes. She was dead, but my mind would not register it as a fact. The morning came, yet still I held her in my arms, rocking us both as I sang to her a song she loved so. The villagers came. Her parents and her brothers came. They all carried with them swords, and spears, and pitchforks. They stabbed me with a sword in my back, and I howled in pain. They tried to grab her body from me, but I would not let her go.

“‘Release her you monster!’ Her mother had cried. ‘What have you done to her, you demon!?’ He brothers cried. And, all the while, as they cursed me and pulled at her body, they stabbed me. From all directions came swords and spears and pitchforks; blades of all sizes, penetrating into my skin and flesh; spikes piercing my insides. I screamed in pain, but I never let her go, until her father shouted, ‘Let her go, you demon! Haven’t you done enough?! She is dead! You have killed her! Now, give her back so she can be in peace!” I looked at him, tears still streaming down my face. I looked straight into his eyes, and all of them, from the eldest to the youngest, just stopped. Gently, I laid her head on the ground, stood up, and disappeared into the winds.

“As I floated in the sea of air and wind, looking down upon the world, there remained in my mind only hate, and rage, and a want for death. Not my own death, but the death of others. Vengeance for my bleeding heart. Yes, sweet, sweet vengeance. Revenge for a love lost. Revenge for my broken mind. Revenge for my deadened soul. I forgot all about the disciplines of the magi. I forgot all about the restrictions of power. Nothing mattered anymore but revenge.

“I descended back into the earth, killing every creature that strayed into my path. Large or small, man or not, it did not matter. I ravaged every village I passed, until I found them, the three who had killed her; the three who had ravaged my beloved.

“It was on a dark night. They were sitting placidly in their makeshift house, talking of nonsensical things, when I found them. I landed on the ground with a thunderous boom, and with one hand swept away their tent of paper and cloth. They were dumbfounded at first. And then, as realization dawned upon them, their eyes widened in fear and they tried to run. But I made it that the earth swallowed their feet and held them fast. They tried to scream and shout for help, but with only a thought I had ordered their voices to remain in their throats, and so no sound escaped.

“I ordered the winds to bring forth ice and the sky to bring forth lightning. I ordered the earth to call forth the eternal flames, fires so searing hot they could burn the world to ashes in an instant if not contained in magic. I pulled the three fools who dared to kill a part of me close to each other that they stood back to back. They all trembled and cried as I engulfed them in the fire, their bodies burning in the immense heat. But, I sustained them, keeping them alive to feel the pain without dying. Then, using the winds I sent forth ice and frost into their bodies, freezing them in the inside. Still, I sustained them, that they might live to feel the pain that they had made me and my beloved suffer, and so much more. As they writhed in pain and agony, held by the earth in a crushing embrace, I sent unto them bolts of fierce lightning that shook their mortal bodies to the core.

“I continued all these until the sun rose, and I was exhausted and lacked all energy to continue the torment or to sustain them. As I leaned against the wall, under the shade of a tall, wooden house, their three devastated bodies fell to the ground, crumbled into ashes and were lost forever to the winds.

“For many years afterward, I blundered and stumbled through the roads of life. The grief of my loss and the guilt of my deeds weighed down on me like a mountain on my shoulders. A team was sent after me and for a century I remained in solitude on Mt. Makai as punishment for my horrible act..." Marius closed his eyes and did not move for a moment, caught in a deathly embrace of grief and pain. Then, he opened his eyes, looked at his pupil and continued: “Do you see now, my dear young one, how much of a fool I had been then? How easily I fell into the temptation of vengeance? Do you see how disgusting and vile the actions caused by rage and hate are? Do you now see what fools truly are? They are not the thoughtless or the ones without knowledge. They are those with knowledge, but indulge themselves in atrocities like revenge and hate and anger. No matter the reason, revenge is never the answer.

“Hate can blind. Misguided love can blind. All things material in the world can blind. Do not lose yourself within such petty things as I on so many occasions did. I will tell you more of my past as time passes. Let them be lessons learned; experiences you need not have to feel yourself. Listen only to my words and learn the lessons I will teach. Understand them, and live them. Only knowledge can guide, remember that most of all.

“I had the knowledge of my years, far beyond those around me. But, I was blinded by my love. I still do love her, until now. But, I love her only as a memory, as someone who I knew had lived and loved and was true, but can never love again. She is gone, no longer in this sphere, even her spirit has left. She is no more than a memory now to those who can remember her graces and her blunders, her charms and her fears, her loves and her sorrows. She is nothing more than that.”

Marius fell into silence afterward, and his young apprentice dared not intrude on his master’s thoughts. He dared not ask a question, though so many buzzed through his head. He knew that Marius, his master, was done speaking for now, and Luke dared not to challenge his silence.

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It was getting dark. The path was no longer clear, and Marius feared for Luke’s safety. Stopping under a large oak tree, he quietly motioned for the boy to stay closer. In his mind, he cast a spell, protecting with a barrier everything from their own bodies till some four meters away in all directions. Then he whispered to the boy, “Lie down. Rest. Tomorrow holds a harsher journey ahead.” Luke obeyed. He lay down silently, closed his eyes and was soon asleep.

Marius sat down beside Luke while the boy slept. He looked at the full and radiant moon and contemplated. He had been thinking about the old story the whole day… I wonder what so fascinates him… It is a story of a fool who could not control his own min; causing the deaths of many innocents. Haah… After all these years, that memory still haunts me. I was so much of a fool then, blinded by my own trivialities. But, if that had not happened, I would not have opened my eyes to the truth of the world… forgive me… I was too enthralled with my own stupidities to have heard your call quickly enough… I was even fool enough to have used you as a reason for vengeance… forgive me… for not being there… for losing you… for using you…

“Margarette, forgive me…”