Final - Niamh Cassidy
This is a drama. The story is about a
herbologist, a patronizing theologian, and a conjurer. It takes place on
our world in a new magical age. A conflict between those who use magic
and those who don't plays an important role.
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Once upon a time, a long time from now, magic started to come back into the world. For longer than anyone could remember, magic had been gone, reduced to legends and stories around the fire. One day, quite suddenly, a man who called himself a conjurer discovered that he could work real magic, instead of merely pretending to produce coins from nowhere or make scarves change color. One moment he was practicing his tricks, and the next he found that he truly had turned a green square of cloth into a red square of cloth, much to his surprise.
This did not happen every time he practiced the trick, nor could did it happen every time he tried to make it happen, but it was still a strange and alarming thing. Finally he decided to seek the advice of someone wiser than he was about such matters. But who? There were no experts in magic, not true magic, not anymore.
Finally he sought out a young woman who was wise in the ways of the earth and nature, a woman who made mixtures of herbs to heal the sick, and told her his story. She listened quietly, watched in fascination (though not surprise) as he performed his trick, then nodded. "You were right. This is the first sign of magic returning to the world. It was torn away long ago, but the earth has been trying to heal itself ever since, and now it is beginning to succeed. We must help it."
The conjurer had no idea what the herbalist meant by this and was a little afraid. But she said that they must find a way to convince the duke that magic was returning, so that they might find others to help. They traveled to the castle and got an audience with the duke.
But his main advisor, an old woman wise in the religious writings of the world, was suspicious of this so-called magic, and even before the conjuror and the herbalist arrived, she was already convincing the duke not to trust them. "It is a transparent ploy, my liege, to turn you to the ways of evil. You must see that. The ancient books tell us that is why magic was banished, because it corrupted humankind."
So the duke, though he listened because he had promised that he would, listened with a hard heart. And the conjuror, realizing this, became so nervous that he could not manage to perform his trick, and the theologian, who wanted the duke to listen only to her, rejoiced to see it. The conjuror tried and tried, but could not change the color of even the smallest part of the cloth.
The duke was about to have them thrown out when the herbalist, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly stepped forward. "My liege, let me show you the truth." And with that, she closed her eyes and turned into a hawk, which flew around the room.
The theologian still raved and protested, but the duke would no longer listen. The guards and other nobles watched in astonishment as the hawk landed on the floor and again became a young woman, and they all began to talk excitedly as they realized that these strange visitors were right, that magic had truly returned to the world.
The duke called the herbalist and the conjuror over to his throne and spoke to them quietly for a time, as the excitement continued among the crowd. The theologian grew more and more angry, until finally she shrieked out that they were trying to poison the duke, to corrupt his mind, and that they must be stopped at once. But the guards were unsure, and hesitated. And when the duke ordered that the theologian be confined to her room, she realized that she had lost.
She glared at the duke, then, even more viciously, at the herbalist. "Enjoy your victory while you can, for when magic returns to this world, it shall have only one master, and that shall be me." With that, she transformed into a snake, which vanished through a tiny crack before anyone could do anything to stop her.
Later, the herbalist and the conjuror joined the duke's court and they all had many more adventures together as magic slowly reformed; but those are all tales for another day.
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Once upon a time, a long time from now, magic started to come back into the world. For longer than anyone could remember, magic had been gone, reduced to legends and stories around the fire. One day, quite suddenly, a man who called himself a conjurer discovered that he could work real magic, instead of merely pretending to produce coins from nowhere or make scarves change color. One moment he was practicing his tricks, and the next he found that he truly had turned a green square of cloth into a red square of cloth, much to his surprise.
This did not happen every time he practiced the trick, nor could did it happen every time he tried to make it happen, but it was still a strange and alarming thing. Finally he decided to seek the advice of someone wiser than he was about such matters. But who? There were no experts in magic, not true magic, not anymore.
Finally he sought out a young woman who was wise in the ways of the earth and nature, a woman who made mixtures of herbs to heal the sick, and told her his story. She listened quietly, watched in fascination (though not surprise) as he performed his trick, then nodded. "You were right. This is the first sign of magic returning to the world. It was torn away long ago, but the earth has been trying to heal itself ever since, and now it is beginning to succeed. We must help it."
The conjurer had no idea what the herbalist meant by this and was a little afraid. But she said that they must find a way to convince the duke that magic was returning, so that they might find others to help. They traveled to the castle and got an audience with the duke.
But his main advisor, an old woman wise in the religious writings of the world, was suspicious of this so-called magic, and even before the conjuror and the herbalist arrived, she was already convincing the duke not to trust them. "It is a transparent ploy, my liege, to turn you to the ways of evil. You must see that. The ancient books tell us that is why magic was banished, because it corrupted humankind."
So the duke, though he listened because he had promised that he would, listened with a hard heart. And the conjuror, realizing this, became so nervous that he could not manage to perform his trick, and the theologian, who wanted the duke to listen only to her, rejoiced to see it. The conjuror tried and tried, but could not change the color of even the smallest part of the cloth.
The duke was about to have them thrown out when the herbalist, who had been quiet for some time, suddenly stepped forward. "My liege, let me show you the truth." And with that, she closed her eyes and turned into a hawk, which flew around the room.
The theologian still raved and protested, but the duke would no longer listen. The guards and other nobles watched in astonishment as the hawk landed on the floor and again became a young woman, and they all began to talk excitedly as they realized that these strange visitors were right, that magic had truly returned to the world.
The duke called the herbalist and the conjuror over to his throne and spoke to them quietly for a time, as the excitement continued among the crowd. The theologian grew more and more angry, until finally she shrieked out that they were trying to poison the duke, to corrupt his mind, and that they must be stopped at once. But the guards were unsure, and hesitated. And when the duke ordered that the theologian be confined to her room, she realized that she had lost.
She glared at the duke, then, even more viciously, at the herbalist. "Enjoy your victory while you can, for when magic returns to this world, it shall have only one master, and that shall be me." With that, she transformed into a snake, which vanished through a tiny crack before anyone could do anything to stop her.
Later, the herbalist and the conjuror joined the duke's court and they all had many more adventures together as magic slowly reformed; but those are all tales for another day.