Chapter 8 - A night to remember...
That night they all slept soundly, all except for Tom. Again, he awoke in the night to the sound of someone calling his name. As always, he knew the voice but didn’t know who it was. Suddenly, he was very awake, or so he thought. He seemed to be flying at incredibly high speed across the countryside, just about mattress height, he sped across fields, through woods and forests, down narrow paths, through towns and villages, down narrow alleyways, up and over hills, never touching anything and always at a constant height. He was beginning to feel quite sick when he stopped abruptly, very abruptly. Well, he stopped, but his dinner continued its journey a few extra feet and onto the floor in front of a tall, hooded person, a wizard he presumed, but did not know, he also did not know whether a friend or foe.
‘Wand!’ he thought, almost instinctively.
“Tom, Tom, no need for wands," the wizard said in a quiet and calming voice, “I am your friend, not your enemy. I will not harm you because you are very dear to me. I have watched these past days at how you have developed since receiving your wand.”
The stranger’s wand peaked from under his cloak and the sick was all cleared up.
Tom recognised the voice at once, it was the voice that had called him each night since he arrived in Trymyll. Why hadn’t he told the others about his dream voice? He might not be here if he had. Tom was, for the first time, frightened. Very frightened.
Tom felt he could do nothing anyway, he felt most strange, he was there, he knew he was there, in the room, possibly halfway across Trymyll standing before a strange wizard, but at the same time, he knew he wasn’t there and that he was still asleep in his bed. He also knew this was not a dream, but a reality and he knew that he was wide awake and fast asleep all at the same time, in fact, he realised, he understood nothing of what was happening at all.
“I need my ring back,” he said.
“Well, you can’t, it’s my ring, not yours, my dad gave it to me when I was a baby.”
Even as the words left his mouth, he knew. He felt no emotion, no love, no anger, nothing.
“Tom, you no longer need the ring, I gave it to you for your protection, both at home on the other side and as you started your journey here in Trymyll. But now you have your wand, possibly, in the right hands, one of the finest and most powerful wands ever made, you do not need the ring. It must be returned to the High Elders for safekeeping.”
“What do you know about my wand?”
“More than that fool Llewel the Elder knows, that’s for sure. Come sit and I will explain. You will not understand some, most or all of what I am going to say, but I will try to keep it simple.”
There was a pause while Tom sat, the hooded figure sat next to him began his story but did not reveal his face.
“You have worked out who I am, and you are probably wondering where I have been all these years and why I left you and your mum behind.”
“You can say that again!” emotion had returned, “because you’re a complete loser if you want my opinion.”
“No, I had no choice. Did your mum ever speak ill of me or of Jonathan? I’ll answer that for you, no she didn’t, because she knew why I had to go and why Jon had to come with me. What she didn’t know for sure, but probably suspected was that you would have to follow me as well.”
“Why? Why did you leave and take my big brother as well?”
Anger flaring hot again.
“It is difficult to explain. I thought I had a life in Wales, I was the last wizard left in the country. I was the guardian of the mines.”
“No, you weren’t you were just a stupid miner like the rest,” Tom said heatedly.
“No,” he said calmly and quietly, “I was a miner, that is true, though actually, I was safety manager for the mine. But my ‘other’ job was to protect the miners in Wales from things they would not understand or even want to believe. I kept the dwarfs away.”
Tom was tempted to blurt out that he didn’t believe in dwarfs, but his experiences of the last couple of days made him think better of it.
“Some dwarfs have very deep and dark magic, they live way down, deep in the earth, and mostly shun contact with mortal humans. Any they met usually disappeared. As the mines were sunk and new shafts and seams opened, I had to make sure that the new seams went nowhere near where the dwarfs lived. There were many a rich seam of coal, so rich we would still be digging them out today if I hadn’t made them appear as solid impenetrable granite rock.”
“Where’d they go then?”
“Who?”
“The miners who bumped into the dwarfs?”
“That does not matter now. When the last deep mine closed, my task finished. I was summoned back to Trymyll for a greater mission. Magic was slipping away on this side as well. It was not that anyone here stopped believing, everyone believed in magic as I am sure you know. No one knew why it was happening. I was the last of my kind and legend held that my firstborn son would herald a new time of magic and all our lost powers would be restored.”
“So, what went wrong?” Tom interrupted.
Well, Jon came through with me, but nothing, nothing happened, nothing changed, Jon had not the power or skill to do any meaningful magic beyond a few cantrips, minor spells of the sort even some humans could do.”
“Why?” Tom’s anger evaporated, and inquisitiveness took over.
“At first I thought that he cannot be my son.”
A hint of bitterness and sadness hung in his voice.
“What? Never. Mum wouldn’t do nothing like that!” Tom’s anger was up again.
“No, you’re right, she wouldn’t, and she didn’t.”
“Where is Jon now?”
“He’s still with me, he is learning some magic, but he’ll never be a great wizard. But he is my eldest son, and I love him dearly. I discovered sometime later that the mystics had misinterpreted the prophecy. It didn’t have to be my firstborn, it just had to be my son. Which of course is where you come in.”
Tom was silent for a while, “But what can I do? I’m not a wizard or anything, I can’t do magic. It must be a mistake.”
“No, it’s no mistake and you’ve already done magic. I tell you, one day you may be the greatest wizard who ever lived.”
“Tell me about the wand. You said you knew more than even Llewel the whiny Elder did.”
“Ah, the wand. I have studied wands for many years. They tell you that you only get one chance, one wand, one choice. No one ever explains to you before you go and see the Wand Tree, just how important it is. No one ever suggests what you should ask for. It’s an unwritten and rather stupid rule, when you meet the wand tree, you’re on your own. No one knows where the rule came from or even if it’s a real or made-up rule. I now know it’s a made-up rule. The tree knows best and if you don’t ask for a specific wand, the tree will decide for you. It’s all a lie, there are no rules, just stupid folk law. It’s all humbug. Some wizards, not knowing any different have gotten themselves the stupidest wands going and the magical power to match. I know one who has apple wood and a piece of coal. Loved his stomach too much and thought it would be good for making apple pie. Can’t even do that properly, because he can’t control the temperature, they always come out burnt! No, yours is special, because I made it so.”
“How? When I was in the wood I was as confused as anything, and stupid lists came out of my mouth that sounded more like a recipe instead of a simple wand request.”
“I know that because I broke all their stupid made-up rules and told you what to say.”
“Don’t be daft, I was talking gibberish, it was hardly coherent, even took the Wand Tree by surprise.”
“Exactly, the Wand Tree has rarely given a wand like it, three wood types and three precious stones melded as one. Exactly what was needed, exactly what you asked for and exactly what I suggested.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I, with the help of Howel and his mind-bending and highly confusing powers, and by the way, he is actually my dragon, not Llewel’s, we wove the thoughts into your head quite a long time ago and when faced with the Wand Tree, it all came tumbling out.”
“Not his dragon? Why does Llewel the stupid Elder say that Howel is his then?”
“Again, a clever dragon that one, he has some quite amazing and magical powers, after he suggested to Llewel’s little brain that he was, in fact, his dragon, he took him on as his own.”
“What about his actual dragon?”
“He doesn’t have one, he doesn’t like dragons, always scared they’ll eat him for his magic powers. Terrified of them he is, doesn’t trust them and never owned one! Although, dragons are very much like cats. Do you own a cat, or are you owned by the cat and enslaved to it? Do I really own a dragon? Or is it just toying with me?”
They both chuckled at the thought.
“I don’t believe any wizard owns a dragon, it is a partnership of mutual respect and camaraderie, love almost. Yes, it’s almost like love.”
“What about your wand? What’s it made of?”
“My wand is incredibly special also. Despite what you were told, after I had studied wands for some time, I returned to the wand tree and asked it for a new wand. Mine is also oak for strength, wych-hazel for healing and elm for wisdom, so slightly different to yours. My stone is made of diamond, emerald and ruby, exactly as yours is.”
“Do the elders know you have a new wand?”
“No, they didn’t know what my first wand was made of, so they also don’t know what this one is either made of or capable of.”
The was a short hiatus, then Tom said, “I should be getting back; they might look in on me to make sure I’m okay.”
“And if they do, they will see you’re sound asleep in your bed because that is where you are.”
“So, I’m not here at all, this is all like a dream?” Tom asked questioningly.
“No, no, you are here as well, or more exactly, you’re in what is called the neither here nor there, confusing I know, one day you will understand, now, the ring please.”
“But it won’t come off.”
“Yes it will, now give.”
Tom gave up the pretence that the ring was stuck and slid it off his finger and placed it on the table between them, he didn’t want to have direct contact with whoever was in the cloak. He watched and the ring disappeared. He looked down expecting it to be back on his finger, to his surprise, it wasn’t. A feeling of peace overcame him, it was as if he knew the ring was now back where it belonged, with his father, wherever he was. He had a feeling that his father was but also wasn’t there. He was really confused and again did not understand.
“Don’t tell the others about this, they may not understand either.”
Before he could question that last remark or even say goodbye, he felt a jolt as what seemed like an invisible rope attached to his belly button pulled him back along the exact same path he had come by, but in reverse and seconds later he found himself back in his bed, fast asleep just as he always had been.
The next morning, he woke. He looked at his hand, there was no ring. So, he hadn’t dreamt the whole thing after all. He felt sick in his stomach, what would Llewel say when he found out the ring was gone. What would he say, what could he say? He was frightened again.
Tom got up, washed, and dressed and went gingerly out to the main hall where breakfast was being prepared.
They turned to greet him but instead with one voice exclaimed; “What on earth has happened to you? You look dreadful.”
Tom didn’t know quite what to say, he could hardly tell them the truth, he panicked slightly, then said.
“Oh, I was sick in the night, sorry, but it’s all cleared up now.”
Not exactly a lie, but not exactly the truth either. He went and sat down and tried to eat his breakfast, it was difficult because he was also trying to hide his hand so that no one would notice the missing ring. Llewel the Elder was looking at him suspiciously. He knew something was up, and he just stared at Tom with his normal malicious look on his face.
Tom suddenly started, "Oh, forgot something, excuse me,” and disappeared back into his room. What could he do? How was he going to get out of this problem? He sat on his bed and started to cry with fear. That ring was obviously something very special, if they thought he had lost it there would be big trouble, if he told them his dad had taken it back, they wouldn’t believe him as no one could get into the shack without setting off all the alarms. What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? He rocked back and forth, as the phrase just went over and over in his head. Someone said his name, this time he knew it was his dad. It felt and heard as if he were in the room. He looked up and saw the cloaked figure he had met last night standing by his bed.
“How... How did you get in here?” he said slightly timidly.
“I didn’t,” he said, “I’m neither here nor there, just as you weren’t last night. Just listen, don’t talk or they”, he paused and nodded at the door, “may hear you. Take out your wand, take down one of the brass curtain rings and re-imagine it into a facsimile of the ring.”
Tom jumped up, stood on a chair, and took one of the brass rings, put it on his finger, pointed his wand at it and thought hard, picturing the ring of the elders on his finger, slowly at first and then more quickly the curtain ring re-formed, reshaped, and morphed into the ring. He looked up to acknowledge his father’s help, but he was gone. Again...
He then put a few more of the curtain rings in his pocket, just in case. In case of what, he had no idea, it just seemed like a good idea.
Tom jumped up and exited into the main hall, they were all still eating breakfast, he resumed his place at the table and carried on as though nothing had happened, the others also carried on as if he had never left the room. He had a strange feeling inside; he must have been gone for fifteen or twenty minutes and yet all were behaving as if nothing had happened. Very strange that Llewel had not asked in his normal condescending tone where he had been for so long. Very strange indeed.