Flintock met up with Llewellyn and told him what had happened at the council.
Jon and Tom were aghast when their father told them that the Elder had referred to them as Wizards in the council. They, of course, were there but did not realise the significance of the remark at all. Especially Tom who was so young and to a certain extent, naive.
“Yeah, we heard him, but it could just have been a slip of the tongue,” Jon said, “I know I’ve been trying for nearly ten years, but it’s only the last few months that I’ve actually been able to do anything.”
“And I’ve only been here a few months, surely he’s mistaken?” questioned Tom.
“The Elder does not make mistakes; he speaks slowly and carefully considering every word before he says it. Boys, you are fully-fledged, licenced to thrill wizards. However, make no mistake, there is still a lot for you to learn, you never stop learning, and your magic never stops developing. The Elder is obviously in a hurry, normally a gowning ceremony is only held twice a year at the equinox, but yours is tomorrow and each of you must show your prowess before the assembled Council of High Elders, the forty-nine elders, the three-hundred and forty-three senior wizards plus the assembled crowd.” Flintock said.
“How do we do that?” asked Tom.
“That’s for you two to work out, no help from your teacher. That’s the rules!” dad joined in.
“But you always said that the rules were meant to be broken,” Tom replied.
“Not this one,” he laughed, "I’m so proud of you two, my heart could burst with joy.”
“Me too,” said Flintock, “you’ve both done amazingly well these past few months. I’m just as proud as your dad.”
The boys retired to their room to discuss their plan for the morrow.
“Shall we apparate in just as the ceremony is about to begin? Straight onto the stage? In the build up to the ceremony, everyone will be looking out for us and wondering where we are. Let’s keep them guessing,” said Jon.
“No, we shouldn’t be able to apparate inside the city walls. Shall we fly high up above the clouds and streak in at just below the speed of sound,” Tom exaggerated, “over the heads of the crowd and then stop dead on the stage?”
“Decide later, what we must work out is an amazing display of magic that will wow the crowd.”
“I could produce a fire dragon and fly it all around the castle just above their heads," Tom said excitedly.
“And I could vaporise a tree to show my awesome firepower,” added Jon.
“Okay, let’s do it.”
Each of them chatted away excitedly and thought of more difficult and awe-inspiring magic they could do, but in the end, they settled on the two they had thought of first. The fire dragon and the tree.
The next day, a huge stage appeared in the castle grounds just outside the bailey, decked with all the colours of the seven cities, their flags and banners gently wafting in the cool autumn breeze. On the stage were seven daises each draped with the colours of the seven cities and on each podium a throne-like chair, one large one set centre stage for the Elder and three on either side for the six High Elders. Behind them, their seven elders sat on raised platforms so that they could also see the ceremony, and behind them, the forty-nine senior wizards. Even Asmodeus had been invited and he sat proudly at the end of the row with his seven elders behind him. Unlike the other elders, they did not smile a lot, and his forty-nine senior wizards, who were placed behind the elders, didn’t seem to smile at all! The boys were there as well but dressed in their light-absorbing black robes, they were able to mingle unseen by the crowds of people. They couldn’t see their dad or Flintock, but they knew they were there somewhere. They too had adopted the boy’s style of dress, so it was difficult to find them anyway. But they could sense that they were there.
The ceremony was about to begin, they could see the look of consternation on the faces of the High Elders and of their elders. They were concerned because they had no idea where the boys were. It was normal for Acolytes to prepare for the ceremony in advance and to be very visible in the run-up. The only one who seemed unconcerned was the Elder, mainly because no one could see his face. He wasn’t anyway, or in any way, even slightly concerned.
The clerk to the Elder stood, looking nervously around to see if he could see the boys. the Elder signalled to him to get on with it.
“Elder of Elders, High Elders, Elders, Senior Wizards, assembled wizards, mystics and phobls. Today is the gowning ceremony of Jonathan, first son of Llewellyn the Brave and Thomas, second son of Llewellyn the Brave. I present to you the wizards, Thomas, and Jonathan," he made a flourish with his hands, hoping the boys would appear.
With that, the two boys apparated centre stage. This was a shock to both the High Elders and the assembled crowd as apparating should not be possible within the city walls. They then launched vertically upwards until they were two small dots in the sky, then turned vertically downward and shot down at absolute breakneck speed towards the crowd. There were cries of “They’re falling!” “They’re going too fast!” “They won’t be able to stop!” “They’ll crash!” and the crowd became agitated and started to try to get out of the way as they came flying down. Just inches from the crowd, they shot horizontally across their heads, around the castle in opposite directions and heading straight towards each other, and with the crowd gasping for breath, stopped dead, and faced each other in the very place they had left a few moments earlier, stepped down from their staffs and faced the crowd.
Tom then threw his staff into the air, it transformed as it flew and grew into a forty-foot-long fire dragon which then flew all around the castle and city walls, twisting and turning in a spectacular display of aerobatics. It then flew out over the crowd and then straight back towards Tom, it then stopped, hovering in mid-air. Tom looked perplexed. That was not the thought pattern that he had formed in his mind for his flying display. Why was his fire dragon not obeying him now? He waved his hand, at which point the fire dragon should have just disappeared like someone had turned off the gas. But it didn’t, it just hovered for another second, then solidified into a real Golden Dragon right before their eyes.
“Thomas, son of Llewellyn the Brave and Jonathan, son of Llewellyn the Brave,” her voice penetrating into every corner of the city, “I am Máthair, Queen of the Golden Dragons, Queen of all Dragons and Mother of Dragons. I am here to honour you on this your cloaking day. In your bravery, you fought and defeated three Blue Dragons and defeated the poacher Arvel Mordecai while still only acolytes.”
The crowd and many of the assembled elders gasped at this news. Llewel had told a completely different story about how the boys had attacked the Golden Dragon and whelp.
“That Golden Dragon you rescued is my own daughter Morcan, and the whelp my grandson, Bryn. Morcan told you then, that your bravery would not be forgotten and indeed, it will be spoken of for millennia to come. After this ceremony, Thomas, son of Llewellyn you are commanded to attend my royal household in the far mountains of the Dragonlands and there you will receive your reward. You, Thomas, son of Llewellyn the Brave will receive a companion male Golden Dragon called Ren, Ren will teach you and you will teach Ren. Ren is both wise and magical, barely an adult he is just one hundred years of age. He will become a great and powerful dragon and you will become a great and even more powerful wizard. You already hold more power in your wand than many of those assembled here. Use that power wisely and for good, for with great power you also have a great responsibility. So be wise, compassionate, and brave," she then turned slightly to face Jon.
“Jonathan son of Llewellyn will attend the valley of the Red Dragons and there receive a gift from my kinswoman and friend Aelwyd, Queen of the Red Dragons. You will receive a companion called Bevon, a Red Dragon of one and a half centuries. He will teach you and you will teach Him. Red Dragons have great power, are fearless in battle, and are faithful and trustworthy. Treat Bevon with the respect he deserves, and Bevon will return that respect. You are already brave; you have only a little wisdom and lack compassion. Build on those weaknesses and you too will be one of the greatest wizards of the age and will be known as Dragonmaster.”
That brought a gasp from the assembled crowd as well.
With that, Máthair vanished, and Tom’s staff floated down and into his hand. The boys both looked stunned. The High Elders looked astonished; the whole assembly looked surprised; everyone was speechless. The clerk to the Elder however continued as if nothing had happened.
“Jonathan Jones, first son of Llewellyn the Brave, receive your cloak as a wizard. May the Maker go with you, may you become a great and powerful wizard, and may you use your power only for good and never for evil.”
With that, he removed Jon’s acolyte cloak, which was now back to its drab and dirty green colour and placed on his shoulders a rather boring looking grey cloak. As soon as it was placed upon him it changed, flashing through all the colours and hues imaginable to man, but after a few seconds turned into the deep red of an autumn sunset, trimmed in fur and embroidered with dragons. His face turned into a smile that almost outshone the beauty of his wizard’s cloak.
“Thomas Jones, second son of Llewellyn the Brave, receive your cloak as a wizard. May the Maker go with you, may you become a great and powerful wizard, and may you use your power only for good and never for evil.”
He then removed Tom’s acolyte cloak, which Tom had returned to its normal green colour. A drab grey cloak was placed on his shoulders. Then the same happened to Tom’s, it began its transformation, flashed every colour in the rainbow and more, settling finally into a brilliant gold colour, again trimmed in fur but with a single golden dragon emblem centred on the back. His cloak shone as bright as the sun. He looked magnificent.
They both looked splendid, they both looked proud, they looked around for their father, they still could not see him but could sense his presence. A voice spoke to them in their heads.
“You, my sons have made me the proudest father ever to walk the earth.”
Which was a bit odd, as they weren’t on earth now. But they understood the sentiment.
The Elder stood, the High Elders stood, the forty-nine Senior Elders stood; the robing ceremony was over, and they all solemnly paraded off the stage following the Elder back into the castle bailey.
Now it was all at an end. The appearance of the Golden Dragon had rather overshadowed the formal part of the ceremony. Jon didn’t have his chance to vaporise a tree to show his awesome power. But on reflection, he thought it was just as well. He needed to work on his compassion and wisdom and destroying a beautiful tree and any birds or wildlife that resided within it, just to show off, was neither compassionate nor wise.
There then followed an afternoon of celebration, partying, and general enjoyment for all the gathered crowd. There was a hog roast in every corner of the town square, there was ale, lots of ale, wine and mead for the ladies, there were meat pies, fruit pies, cakes, and fancies galore. Dancing and singing, mummers and jugglers, entertainers, clowns, and fools. Such a party had not been seen for many a year. For the council to lay on this much food and fun, these boys must be special, incredibly special.
Jon and Tom, however, attended a slightly more formal and boring affair in the main castle, the food was good, fine wine was served to the grown-ups, but the entertainment was rubbish. Every Elder in the land was there except the Elder of Elders, who never joined in such celebrations, Flintock, Tryg and their dad was there, so that made the whole thing a little more bearable, but hardly fun. All five of them would have preferred to have been outside with all the other wizards and phobls. They were sure that the others were having much more fun than they were.
And yes, they were.