Wizard's Education (Book 2) (50 page)

Test of Wisdom

The dungeon surrounding Lorit disappeared and a court room took its place. Lorit stood before the judge, a wizened old man in a dark coat and tall square hat. Lorit felt a weight on his arms and looked down. Heavy iron manacles linked by a rusty chain bound him to the table before him. He glanced down to see his legs were similarly bound to the floor.

Behind him, a crowd of onlookers eagerly awaited the spectacle.

"Why am I here?" Lorit demanded.

"You are here to be judged. That is what we do in a courtroom. Please speak only when you are asked a question, and when you are asked a question, answer that question and only that question."

"What is this?" Lorit struggled against the chains. "What am I on trial for?"

"You have been instructed to speak only when spoken to. Did you understand that instruction?" the judge leaned over the bench above Lorit. "Did you understand?"

"Yes, but ..." Lorit started to speak. A guard stepped up and jabbed him in the gut with the butt of his spear. Lorit cried out in pain and doubled over.

"Very good," the judge said. "It's important that you understand. If you did not understand, you would not have been punished for failure to comply. Do you understand this?"

"Yes," Lorit managed to squeeze out between painful breaths.

"You may be seated for this portion of the trial." The judge nodded to Lorit.

Lorit glanced behind him. A chair had been placed behind, close enough that he could sit. The chains allowed him to place his hands on the table in front of him, but he could reach no closer to his own body than the edge of the table.

He sat down heavily and tested the chains on his legs. They were solid and limited his movements more so than the ones on his hands.

Lorit peered up at the judge. He started to speak, but the guard stepped up with his spear ready to administer his punishment for breaking court protocol. He quickly stopped.

"I see that you can learn from experience; that is good." The judge sat back. His seat was tall and decorated with symbols of power and depictions of mythical creatures.

"You are on trial for the murder of three priests of Ran in Veldwaite. The complaint states that you used magic to kill all three Priests and to destroy the Temple. Is that true?"

"They were trying to kill me," Lorit argued. The guard raised his spear.

"Is the statement true?" the judge demanded.

"It is, but ..." Lorit was stopped once again by the spear heading his way.

"It is true. You did kill them?" the judge asked.

"Yes, I did." Lorit was angry with the whole process. It didn't look like they were going to let him make an argument on his behalf. He gathered power into himself, preparing for a magical assault on his chains.

The judge shook his head. "Here I thought we were making progress." He leaned forward again. "Are you getting ready to kill
me
?"

Lorit stopped and thought about his answer. Was he going to kill the judge? He really wanted to get free, and find Zhimosom. After that, he wanted to find and kill the Priest who had interfered with both Chihon and Zhimosom.

"No, I want to kill he Priest that trapped Chihon and whomever is holding Zhimosom."

"So you admit to having killed before and harboring a desire to kill again. It seems to me you
are
a murderer, a cold blooded killer, who with all due forethought and malice did kill three innocent priests, and plan to continue to seek out and kill Priests wherever you may find them. Is that correct?"

Lorit wanted to shout out that they were the ones who started it, that he was only trying to stay alive. He was only punishing them for their actions, but was he? Was he dispensing a just punishment or was he seeking revenge for his own personal reasons?

"That is correct," Lorit finally answered.

"Let me paint a picture for you." The judge waved his hand before his bench and a cloud formed. It flattened out and an image appeared in the mist. Lorit squinted to get a better look at it as it solidified. "If you continue on in this vein, this is what you'll bring."

The image showed Lorit and Chihon standing before the gates of the Wizards' Keep in Amedon. The gates were scorched and gouged deeply, their lower edge was burned, and they hung slightly askew. Lorit looked older, with gray hair and a long beard. Chihon, too, looked older. She had gray hair and was stooped over, leaning on her staff.

"War," the judge said. "Over a hundred years of war. If you don't change your course, this is what you will bring upon this land. War between Wizards and the Temple that goes on for a hundred years. This is the cost of your decision."

The judge waved his hand and the image vanished. He looked up at Lorit. "Is this the future you want? Or can you envision another?"

"I ... I don't know," Lorit said. He certainly didn't want to bring war to the land.

"Throw him back in his cell and let him think on this. The court will reconvene tomorrow." The judge banged his gavel on the desk and stood up.

Everyone in the courtroom quickly stood as the judge departed. The guard hoisted Lorit into a standing position and unshackled him. They led him off to his cell.

When Chihon's world settled down, she found herself in the market with her Grandma'am. She looked around, but no one else was there, just the two of them.

"What have you gotten yourself into, young lady?" Grandma'am asked.

"How did I get here?" Chihon looked around. The market was empty in the middle of a cloudless sunny afternoon. It should have been crowded with people, pushing and shoving their way.

"An odd little man told me you had a choice to make," Grandma'am said.

"What man?" Chihon asked. Who had come to her Grandma'am, and what did Grandma'am have to do with the trials?

"A small golden man came to my cart and told me that you had a choice to make and I was supposed to propose the alternatives to you. He was most insistent that you had to choose on your own, but that I was to be the one to present the choices.

"After he said that, he vanished and I found myself here alone with you." She looked around the market at the empty stalls and clear streets. "Sure is lonely, isn't it?"

"What choice do I need to make?" Chihon asked. She recalled the little golden man, but how her Grandma'am got involved was a mystery to her.

"He stated it thus:" Grandma'am held up her hand extending one finger.

"Will you blindly follow Lorit in his quest, including his choice to make war on the Temple in spite of the great cost?"

She held up a second finger. "Will you oppose Lorit if he makes war on the Temple? Will you stay with him and work to keep him from this path?"

She held up a third finger. "Will you leave Lorit if you cannot stop him?"

"I don't understand." Chihon looked at her Grandma'am for a hint. "Are those the choices I have to make? Is there no other path?"

"I do not know." Grandma'am lowered her hand, placing it in her apron pocket.

"What do these choices mean? What war? What is Lorit going to do?"

"I don't know any more than you do, dear. Maybe you have to decide about staying with Lorit, even when he does something you disagree with. You can fight him in the hope of changing his mind, or leave him."

"I don't think I can leave him. We're paired. Zhimosom and Rotiaqua said we're bound together by our magic for life. If one of us dies, then the other will, too. We cannot separate - even if I wanted to."

"Would you, if you could? If Lorit started this war, would you leave him? Or would you stay with him and try to dissuade him? Or would you let him have his way?"

"People do what they want to do. I cannot change his mind if it is set."

"What if it is not made up yet? Can you persuade him? Would you try to dissuade him from taking action that will result in a war?"

"I can try. I have already. When he tried to take the magic of the Priest, I fought against him, pulling my magic back from him. It almost cost him his life."

"Could you do it again?" Grandma'am sat on the stool behind her cart. "Would you do it again?"

Chihon wrestled with the idea. She had been with Lorit for a full summer now. They had been through a lot. She didn't want to be separated. She liked the idea of the paring and looked forward to spending more time with Lorit.

She imagined her future alone, without Lorit, and it felt empty. She considered the possibility of leaving him if he chose poorly. It was not the thought of spending her life alone that she feared the most; it was Lorit being alone and without her counsel.

"I would stay. I would influence him. I have already. I will again."

"Are you sure?" Grandma'am asked.

"I'm sure. Lorit needs my help and I won't abandon him just because he chooses unwisely."

The market was suddenly flooded with the sights, sounds, and smells she remembered. There were people crowding around her to get past. Chihon stepped closer to the cart. She put her hand out to steady herself but it closed on air.

Lorit spent the night in a cell, much like the one he had escaped by relaxing his magic. He tried the same strategy, and then magic, but accomplished nothing.

Why had the judge spoken to him as he had? Why should he not punish those who systematically sought out and killed young Wizards, or turned them to a life of abuse? He needed advice and explanations. He reached out to Chihon, but her power was blocked. He could not contact her when he needed her advice the most; she was hidden from him once again.

He sat back, restless. He needed to talk it out. He reached out to Rotiaqua. She was weak and distant, but she was there, in Zhimosom's study.

"I need someone to talk to," Lorit said, as she appeared out of the gathering mist.

"Where are you?" Rotiaqua leaned forward, looking at his surroundings. "Are you in a cell?"

"I am. I think it's part of the trial. The judge has asked me if I admitted to killing the Priests and if I was planning to kill again. He wants to know if I intend to go after Sulrad and the Temple. I don't know what to say."

"What do
you
want to do?"

"I can take on the Temple and avenge those that have been killed or turned by them." He took a deep breath, thinking it over. "Or I can leave them alone, to continue what they've always done."

"Are those the only options available to you?" Rotiaqua sat back as if waiting for his answer. Lorit thought she was looking even more frail than the last time he had seen her, if that was even possible.

"I'm not sure." Lorit had not considered anything else. He was just reacting to what the Temple did. He had no plan beyond finding Zhimosom and taking revenge on the Temple.

"Have you considered ..." There was a terrible buzzing and Rotiaqua's image blurred beyond recognition.

"What happened?" Lorit asked. He wondered if someone was interfering with his conversation.

"What do you mean?"

"You faded there, I couldn't hear what you said." Lorit peered at Rotiaqua's image. It was as clear as before and the noise was gone.

"I just asked if you had considered ..." The buzzing noise sounded again and her image fuzzed just as it had before.

"You faded again." Lorit was certain now that his conversation was being monitored and interfered with.

"I'm afraid someone doesn't want you to receive advice beyond what I've already given you. You might just consider that there are other alternatives open to you, alternatives that do not follow either course of action you described to me. Think on those alternatives. Maybe that is what they want of you."

"The judge said that if I fought the Temple it would mean war, for a hundred years. A war that would impoverish the land and kill untold numbers of people. How is that possible?"

"I can't say. These trials are about expressing your character. You must choose a path and defend your choice." She sat back and looked at him intently. "You know why there are so few Wizards in Amedon, don't you?"

"No, we didn't get that far in the history."

Suddenly, the connection was gone and Lorit found himself all alone in his cell once more.

They came for him in the morning. He hadn't slept. He had made his decision and was determined to defend it. They shackled him to the table and, once more, Lorit stood before the judge.

"You stand accused of murder of the Priests in Veldwaite. The court can see that you acted out of self defense, although you could have avoided it. The fact that the Priest sought you out and attacked you provides a reasonable threat, to which you responded.

"What we need to determine today is your course of action in the future. Are you committed to measure out your vengeance on the Temple for its actions?"

Lorit took a deep breath. He looked around the room, wishing Chihon were there. He was committed. He looked at the judge.

"I see that there are other alternatives. I do not believe that the Temple should be allowed to continue this course of action, but I also see that starting a war would result in more deaths than letting things continue the way they are."

"Do you accept that leaving things the way they are would be less destructive than the alternative you sought?"

"I do."

"In the future, what will you do about the situation?" The judge leaned forward, awaiting his response.

"I do not accept the necessity of the Temple capturing and killing young Wizards, but I understand that war is not the answer. I will continue to seek a way to stop the Temple without fomenting a war that would be worse than the current state of affairs."

"And so you shall." The judge stood up and banged his gavel on the desk.

"You may release the prisoner," he said and turned to leave.

"What?" Lorit shouted. "Is that all? What have you decided?"

The judge turned back to Lorit. "You are free to go. You have passed the test of wisdom. You have shown that you understand that not all decisions are clear-cut right or wrong. By accepting an alternative course of action from your chosen path, you showed that you have a deep understanding of the human condition. You realize that there are alternatives in every situation and that none of them is ideal.