Curse and Counsel on Kell Island

                Curse and Counsel on Kell Island

The company reached the dock called Jenna where one got a boat to the Island of the Sorceress. As the captain and Sirvan began to row and soon got into a steady rhythm Conn reflected on the events of the last few weeks. First, the news of a sickness and plague that had struck Teddim in the east and that would undoubtedly spread to the rest of the realm. Then the special council of the lords was called and they discovered that the plague was a curse devised by the evil wizard Sentis who hadn’t been heard of in an age. He had been living, it was thought, as a recluse for centuries in the frozen peaks of the High Northern Ridges. But he must have been planning this curse for a long time and when Conn had stolen one of his magic bracelets after being insulted by him it had spurred the wizard into action and he had struck Conn’s homeland first. It was decided by the council that a small company would be sent south to Kell Island to seek the counsel and aid of the sorceress Mariella. She was the only white magician they knew of in a world that had all but forgotten magic. They had had some adventures on the way too including meeting a mysterious hermit called Mellichem who apparently knew Mariella. And that was where they were now; he and his six companions approaching the island, their objective, after five or six weeks travelling through many different lands. He wondered what this woman would have to say and if she could indeed help. Many of the others doubted but Conn would wait and see – maybe the old legends about magic were true.
   
The boat reached the shore of the island after about an hour and luckily they had found one that was big enough to hold the seven of them and their few supplies. It was a dull, overcast afternoon typical of the time of year and especially this part of the world. Noticing a circular dwelling in the distance they wondered if that was where Mariella lived. They gathered their packs and headed up the stony beach to a grassy path leading to the dwelling. There was a chestnut tree to the right of the house and its large leafy branches were swaying in the wind. The building had only one level but it covered a large circular area and could have contained many rooms or chambers.
     
Just then a striking woman came to the door and beckoned to them as if she was expecting them. She was slim and had long dark hair tied in a pony tail going down her back. She wore a dress of royal blue which fluttered in the stiff sea breeze. She looked no more than 30 and they all wondered if this could be Mariella or was it more probably one of her servants if she had any. Captain Fairshields thought that the woman could have been his daughter. They reached the dwelling in ten minutes but were slow to enter and just stood outside the door awkwardly not sure what the proper thing to do then was. Conn just walked up to the wooden door that was half ajar and rapped on it.

‘Yes, yes, do come in all of you, I’ve just made some tea’ a woman’s voice said quickly. They looked at each other surprised and filed in walking to the kitchen which was at the end of the corridor. The same striking woman was seated at the far end of a circular oak table and there were seven mugs of steaming hot cinnamon tea on it. Again they were a bit taken aback until she finally put them at ease and said ‘Please, do sit, we have much to discuss.’ Up close she was quite beautiful with smooth, sallow skin and large almond-shaped brown eyes and a small mouth. The overall effect was of a woman who was just a little exotic and mysterious.

‘You were expecting us?’ asked the Captain, disbelieving.
‘Yes, of course. There was a very destructive vibration in the ether about two moons ago and I knew the Council would seek me out.’
‘You know of the Council meeting too?’ asked the captain surprised and impressed.
‘I know of the Council but not the actual meeting. I presumed the Council would meet to discuss the crisis in Teddim and how to counter Sentis, the cause of all this. My name may have come up.’
‘Yes,
it did’ said the captain, ‘many times.’     
      Mariella just smiled a little. The men around the table were dumbfounded and wondered how she could know so much and also how she had put them all at ease within minutes and made them feel they could trust her and just talk to her like a friend. It was Conn who snapped out of this warm glow first and asked her the most pertinent question, the only question, ’Mariella, you seem to know our predicament – can you help us?’
   
Mariella looked deep into the young man’s eyes and seemed to recognize something for an instant and then it was gone and she brought herself back to the present. Conn also was trying to stay focused rather than enchanted and waited for her to answer. The others too stared at her thinking of their long journey to get to this point and hoping it had been worth it.

‘Yes I can,’ she said, ‘but not directly. I can’t intervene personally but I can tell you what to do. What’s your name, young man?’
‘You mean you don’t know?’ asked Conn.
‘Of course not, that would be silly.’ She laughed and winked almost imperceptibly at him.
‘My name is Conn,’ he said and then returning to the business at hand he said, ‘Now, tell us, how do we counter Sentis?’
‘For a start I’ll need that bracelet you’re wearing under your sleeve.’
‘How did …?’ Conn began and let the question go, exasperated. The others just laughed. Mariella laughed to herself and then regaining some seriousness said, without explaining, ‘That bracelet has an energy signature I can pick up and I can feel or intuit quiet clearly whose it is if I have encountered that wizard or sorcerer before. It’s like sensing different colours or fragrances. In this case it is foul indeed, magic and a practitioner that belong in a sewer.’
‘What must we do?’ asked Conn anxiously, for now putting the mission before his growing attraction to this woman who could make them all laugh in this time of grave peril. She wasn’t just beautiful she was strong and cool-headed, it seemed.

‘I will modify the bracelet and you must return if to him in his fortress on Prostima in the High Northern Ridges. He will not suspect anything until it is too late. You must approach him in a friendly, open way and say ‘Here is your bracelet, wizard. I apologise for taking it. You must verify that it works.’ Remember the last part especially. He will do as you say because, as you know, the wearer of the bracelet is always believed. When he checks it my spell will be activated, his magic will be broken and the curse will be lifted; the lands will be restored.’ There was an audible gasp from the group – could this be true?
     
Conn just then remembered Mellichem and said to Mariella ‘We met an old man on the banks of the Sylph who seemed to know you. And he guessed our mission.’
‘Really?’ Mariella said, ‘what is his name?’
‘He called himself ‘Mellichem’ and he is quite old.’
‘You’re sure he said ‘Mellichem’?’ she asked, suddenly interested.
‘Yes,’ Conn said, ‘it is an unusual name. Do you know him?’
‘Yes, I do,’ she laughed, ‘He was Principal of the Academy of Celestos when I was an instructor there. Of course he knew of your mission, he felt the vibration as I did and worked out the rest. How is dear old Mellichem, did he look well?’
The Captain interjected that he looked old but healthy and still had all his faculties not realizing that this was how many would also describe him.


‘But,’ he asked ‘what was your relationship with Sentis back in the Age of the Fish. Did you know him?’
‘Yes, I knew him, Captain. I was a teacher at Celestos and he was one of my pupils. This was an Age of Magic before the sacking of the Holy City. We still had the Library and Archive that dated back to the mystical Age of the Owl and which had much of the wisdom and lore of the Ancients. When all that was destroyed at the end of the age, magicians lost their home and became wandering vagrants or went into seclusion and voluntary isolation like Mellichem and me and, to an extent, Sentis but he seems to crop up every few centuries with a new evil to inflict on a people. In this Age of the Ox magic is not valued at all and is scarcely believed in. Men now pursue power and material progress and care nothing for even truth and knowledge which go with magic. Only the scholars of Pindar care about such things in this Age…’
‘Yes, indeed,’ said captain Fairshields, ‘the scholars of Pindar are the most learned men in the realm.’ ‘

But,’ continued Mariella, ‘I’m going off the point, you asked if I knew Sentis and I told you he was a pupil. Back then he was young and gifted but also proud and a little perverse which I put down to immaturity. He was quick to mock those students who had little ability or facility with magic. He himself although very proficient and diligent with his own studies was essentially a technical magician and would never have the creativity and intuition needed for sorcery which most of the best wizards aspire to. I think he knew this and became bitter about it. He dropped out at the end of the final year of level five and after he had taken his exams and passed them. He was then a Fire Wizard which takes about twenty years of study but unlike all the others he did not take part in the Wizards’ Tournament at the end of the summer. The prize was the coveted Wizard’s Ring and apprenticeship to a Sorcerer for a year if they so wished or, if they did not wish for further studies and training, they could take a seat on the Wizard’s Council and a post teaching apprentices. That’s what most do…’

And what did Sentis do?’ asked Conn.
‘Well,’ Mariella said, ‘Sentis took a much more dangerous path and decided to go east and pursue esoteric magic which was forbidden by the academy and would have seen him expelled if he was found out but at that stage he didn’t care, he was going his own way. He had also refused a crucial test that any who aspired to Sorcery must take. Before he left he came to me – I had been his mentor for his first five years at the Academy well before he started to go off the rails. He told me of his troubles and how he had always thought of me with great affection and admiration. He said he was older now and more mature and then he implored me to go to Andax with him and maybe discover new paths in magic. I refused point blank and told him to reconsider his plan and that there was still much he could do here. He then flew into a rage and said I would regret spurning him and that he would see me suffer and this Academy become rubble and a bonfire before he was done. He never overpowered me nor could he but he did with a lot of effort and some dastardly luck bring about the destruction of the Academy and then later bring the plague to Pindar and now this curse to Teddim. He must be stopped because he won’t be happy until the whole realm is destroyed.’
The men at the table were amazed at all the history and lore that this woman had known and lived through over two thousand years before they were born.

‘How did Sentis go blind?’ asked Sirvan out of curiosity.
‘He was greedy for power,’ answered Mariella, ‘Every sorcerer has a master’s wand which is very powerful. We don’t leave then hanging around but sometimes we’ll put a decoy in a private place and see if any will try and steal them. This, to us magicians, is very serious and a breach of all the ethics that magicians have learned since their apprenticeship and the penalty is severe. As soon as Sentis touched the wand in my study among my things there was a great flash of heat and light and he was permanently blinded, my last lesson to him and one reason why he hates me.’
‘Do you hate him?’ asked Sirvan.
‘No, I pity him because I knew him as he once was. Now he is lost. But I do hate the suffering he brings to people.’
‘Then you are more enlightened than many I know who do hate him.’

Mariella stared off into the distance and then stood up and said, ‘Please, gentlemen, have something to eat. I must go and find a formula I need for the bracelet. It will disguise my modification.’ Mariella knew the bracelet had to be used one more time to activate her neutralising modification, that is, when he checked it. It would be safe for Conn then. Sentis would undoubtedly do something trivial to amuse himself like get Conn to bark like a dog but this would wear off and Conn would be on his way, Sentis would be neutralised and his curse broken.
     
The company put down a hearty meal in the adjoining room where everything had been laid on. There was a lot of talking and a good atmosphere and they were all more hopeful. Sirvan and the captain enjoyed some tobacco after their meal. Mariella had been gone an hour and then appeared at the door looking vexed. ‘This is most embarrassing. I can’t find the formula I need anywhere. It must be complex – that’s rare.’
     
Then Conn remembered the strange line of symbols Mellichem had given him back at the hut saying, ‘Mariella will know…’ He removed the piece of paper from his tunic and said ‘Will this help?’ and added ‘Mellichem said you would know what to do with it.’ Mariella took the piece of paper and scanned the formula. ‘Of course, she said, two ‘e’ over ‘pi’ squared. You know, I’m still learning from that man. I can make the modification now. By the way I prepared a simple desert for you – ice cream and maple syrup.’ This was unexpected but welcome, their first treat in weeks, and she gave out the bowls helped by Conn and the Captain.
     
As they ate, she asked ‘Do you have any more questions for me?’ Tim and Scott wondered about something basic and eventually Scott asked ‘What’s the difference between magicians and wizards and sorcerers?’
     
Mariella looked at the young soldier and said ‘Good question. All who practice magic are magicians at least those who practice white magic. Those who pursue the dark path are accurately called witches – male and female although they are still sometimes called Black Wizards, etc. But, back to magicians; as I said before there are levels. For the first five years you are an apprentice 3rd class, for the next five you are an apprentice 2nd class and for the final three years of this stage you are an apprentice 1st class. We sometimes refer to them as silver, gold and platinum wands but those are just the metal rings at the top that identify them. In the final year after their exams, the platinums and there’s usually about forty or fifty of them compete for the coveted Diamond wand. The winner, historically, has usually gone onto great achievements and success in the magic arts, some to the highest degree. After apprenticeship many having got a good education then go into normal life and make their way in the world. But if you want, you can go on to the study of higher magic and train to become a wizard – water or fire levels. These levels four and five take a further seven years – four and three respectively – and most people stop there and become members of the Wizard Council, also called the Order of Fire. Some choose teaching or pursue research and other things. A few decide to aim for the last, most elite and the most difficult stage of the magician’s path: Sorcery. But only if they display a perfect score on the Wizard trials and are approved for the arduous discipline required by the School of Sorcery which is also known as the Order of Light.’

‘What is this discipline?’ asked Sirvan, curious and skeptical.
‘At the Sun-level it is the heightening, then consuming or burning of the passions which is extremely painful because for most of us our passions are disordered. Then the candidate endures months of solitude without any guide so that he is forced to confront himself or herself. Then there is the exposure of the suffering self to the Cosmic Energy Field, whereupon after a short time if done right, there is an enlightenment or an awakening. This confers, among other things, the perfect perception of reality as it is, undimmed by the veil of imperfect senses or the interruption of random thought processes. The mind of the newly elevated Sorcerer and reality are in harmony and he or she is now sensitive to any vibration in the Energy field. They can transcend time and space, thought and action are merged and what is willed is done with no consideration for effort. Telepathy is also possible between Sorcerers who are friends and it is at this stage that the definitive choice between white and black magic is made and it is virtually irrevocable. Esoteric magic is dangerous because it doesn’t distinguish between the two – it is ambiguous and amoral. Most don’t apply for sorcery hearing of its high failure rate and its reputation as voluntary self-torture but even those who do not succeed become better wizards for the honest attempt. So, to answer your question, you may think of magicians as all on the white magic path, witches as black magicians, apprentices are just that, wizards are proficient and sorcerers are masters.’

‘Does that mean that you and Mellichem are really the same, being Sorcerers?’ asked Scott
‘No, like the other stages there are levels of Sorcery, two in this case. They are the Moon Sorcerer and the Sun Sorcerer. These are loosely connected to male and female but there are many exceptions. The Sun Sorcerer is the highest and exceedingly rare and is what I just described although Moon Sorcery is rare too but has been achieved by a few women like me. We face the Mirror of Celestos and learn the truth about ourselves and then spend two years studying. The Sun level is the final three years which end in the process described. I know of one female sorcerer who reached the Sun-level and there have been a few male Moon Sorcerers – it’s more your energy, your essential personality, than your gender that’s important. And there you have the seven levels of magic. Is that ok?’
‘Fascinating.’ said Sirvan. The other men indicated their approval by echoing Sirvan’s comment.
‘Thank you,’ said Mariella ‘for awhile I felt I was back in Celestos lecturing and I just noticed that I spoke to you in the present tense as if this was the Age of the Fish – how odd.’
     
She then stood up and said ‘Now, my friends,’ bringing the discussion back to the here and now, ‘there is one thing you should know – the magic energy of the bracelet changes itself over time, you might say it degrades until it is neutral again. Without Sentis’ personal energy signature on the bracelet I can’t counter his magic or break the curse.’
‘How long have we got?’ asked the captain.
‘I would estimate about six weeks, definitely not more than seven.’ She said gravely.
‘We must depart soon so’, said Fairshields, ‘we have little margin for error.’

‘One last thing,’ said Conn ‘why can’t you come with us and defeat him yourself.’
‘One wizard may not kill another. It is one of our most important rules. And two magicians fighting, especially me and him because of our rank could bring great destruction to a place and kill many around us. The most we can do and it is difficult is neutralize his evil, hopefully for good. He has done enough damage.’
‘Why do you have such a rule when black wizards or worse cause so much suffering?’
‘We are a dying race as the Ages wear on. To kill another of our kind is a grave evil. There is always the hope of redemption. But I feel no regret or remorse in this bracelet just naked hate.’
‘Then we must end this now.’ said the Captain.
     
Although Conn, the Captain and the others would have loved to stayed longer and listened to more history and magic lore from this fascinating woman they all knew the mission came first and that time was against them. But, at least they had gotten their solution. They got up to leave.
     
The small band of men walked down the grassy path to the beach with their few things, pushed the boat out and jumped in. Krit and Vinse started to row and they moved smoothly through the calm water reaching Jenna on the mainland before evening set in. They decided to keep going until it got dark. Their mission party now had purpose and urgency and they were more focused and more determined. Hope had been kindled on Kell Island.