The Flying Sorcerers

The blue sun was at one side of the sky; the red sun was at the other. The world was bathed in red and blue light; shadows stretched in two directions. We waited in the meadow below the heights. All was still.

This would be the first meeting of the two magicians — would they be able to live up to their truce?

Purple, fat and paunchy, was already waddling up the slope, escorted by Gortik and his advisors. He was a bright figure in his suit of strange cloth. He paused and squinted up the hill.

I looked too. Shoogar was stumping imperiously toward us, magnificent in his shortness.

Shoogar caught sight of Purple then, and stopped. The two of them surveyed each other, one up the hill, one down. For a moment, all was still and silent. I held my breath and prayed.

And then Shoogar took a step forward, another. Purple did likewise. I exhaled loudly in relief; the two magicians carefully closed the remaining distance. They ended up facing each other, one standing to either side of me; Gortik was standing opposite my position, also between the two magicians. As Speakers for our villages, we had thought it best to place ourselves so. If the magicians should attack each other, we would be there to stop them (I hoped). If we couldn’t stop them. … Well, I would be in no position to worry about it.

Shoogar and Purple eyed each other warily, Shoogar looking Purple up and down. Purple only looking down.

“The oath,” I prompted.

“Him first,” they both said, pointing in unison.

“Both together!” Gortik and I cried.

Reluctantly, Shoogar and Purple reached out and took each other’s right hand; then they joined left hands too. Now neither could reach his spellcasting equipment without first letting go, which would allow the other to reach for his. They glared at each other across their linked arms.

I looked at Gortik and nodded. He nodded back. Simultaneously, we each turned to our respective wizard and snipped off a lock of his hair, two fingernail clippings, and took a droplet of blood and a nasal dropping.

While the two magicians watched, we mixed these ingredients together in a bowl between them, then separated the result into two equal portions which we put into spell bags, one for Shoogar one for Purple.

“Here. Now neither will be able to cast a spell on the other without also affecting himself. Any harm that befalls one will befall the other, so it will be for the benefit of both to watch out for each other’s welfare.”

They continued to scowl.

“Repeat after me,” I said, “in unison, so that your oaths will be taken as one: “I (state your full name, including the secret syllables) do solemnly swear …”

“Do solemnly swear …”

“To love, honor and cherish …”

“To love, honor and cherish …”

“My brother magician as myself.”

“My brother magician as myself.”

I turned to Shoogar. “Do you, Shoogar, agree to uphold the terms of this oath?” His eyes were fierce.

After a moment, I repeated, “Do you, Shoogar, agree to uphold the terms of this oath?”

He muttered something.

“Louder.” I kicked him.

“I do!” he snapped.

Gortik leaned forward then and slid a leather-and-hair ring around the third finger of Shoogar’s left hand.

I turned to Purple. “Do you, Purple, agree to uphold the terms of this oath?”

He grumbled, “I do.”

“Fine.” I slipped a ring around his finger. “As long as either of you is on this island, that ring will remind you of your duty as a magician, and your duty to your brother magician. See that you use it well. Now, by the authority vested in me as Speaker for the upper village, and by the authority which each of you has seen fit to grant me by your presence here, and also by the authority which Gortik has given me in allowing me to perform this ceremony, I now pronounce the two of you magicians united in trust!”

Simultaneously, they let go of each others hands, and leapt apart, glaring angrily. I closed my eyes and waited. There were no explosions, no hissing fireballs.

I opened my eyes.

They were still standing there, looking at each other.

“An auspicious sign,” murmured Gortik. “They haven’t tried to kill each other.”

“Mm,” I said.

Purple drew himself up and took a step forward, hand outstretched. “My seeing pieces?” he asked.

Shoogar slowly lifted them from around his neck. Reluctantly, he handed them over.

Purple took them reverently, carefully. Hands trembling, he wiped them with a soft cloth and placed them across his face. He squinted around at us, “Lant, Shoogar, Gortik — it’s good to see you. I mean, really see you!” He stepped impulsively forward and clasped Shoogar’s right hand. “Shoogar, thank you, thank you, for taking such care of my seeing pieces!” He was smiling — He actually meant it!

Shoogar was caught by surprise. He muttered, “You’re welcome,” without even realizing he had. “Now we can build a flying machine?”

“Yes,” laughed Purple, “now we can build a flying ma-chine!”

Gortik and I looked at each other. It was a start. If only they didn’t kill each other trying.