Legend of the Magicians

“Gather around children, I’ll tell you a tale that has been passed down for generations!

When I was a young girl, my grandmother told me the legend of a people that lived long, long ago. They had learned much about the world and the natural laws that govern it. This people with an insatiable thirst for knowledge were the first magicians.

Initially, the most they could do were a few parlor tricks. Lighting candles without a flame, lifting small objects with unseen hands, cooling drinks in the height of summer just by touch and many more. However, over several hundred years they secretly developed their grasp of the magical arts.

The kingdoms that surrounded the ancestral lands of the magicians eventually learned of their powers. Everyone from stable boy to king wanted to perform the miraculous feats they’d heard of in whispered rumors. And they were willing to do whatever it took to gain such power.

Thus, the kings of the earth attacked the magicians yet they couldn’t prevail against the overwhelming might of magic. Time and time again, the magicians proved to be relatively invulnerable to most attacks. In response to the attacks, they’re forces advanced and took kingdom after kingdom.

Beaten, the nations of the world turned to the only tool they had left: espionage. A young maiden name Lyla went to the land of magicians at the behest of the kings of the earth. She met, befriended, and seduced a young prince of the magicians named Zamu.

One day, Lyla accused Zamu of not loving her. She wept in his arms and used everything she could think of to pour guilt upon the prince. He was heartbroken and tried to reassure her with jewels, horses, servants, and more gold than she could ever spend in three lifetimes. Yet still she wept.

He finally asked her what would be a sufficient proof of his love. Drawing close she whispered into his ear that she desired to know his people’s weakness. That if he was vulnerable with her then she would know that he truly loved her.

For several days and nights, Prince Zamu wrestled with his beloved’s request. His judgement was clouded by his feelings for Lyla. So, he made his decision. This woman, who he determined would one day become his queen, would be permitted to bear the weight of his people’s weaknesses as well.

After dinner one evening, the two were relaxing by the riverside and enjoying the sunset. Lyla once again asked her prince for the weakness of his people through teary eyes. Zamu whispered the answer into her ear.

Do you know what that weakness was, children? Yes. The magician’s hair. You see, a worker of magic gains all their power from their inner spirit. Hair is the conduit by which that power flows out of a magician. If you cut their hair, you cut off their magic. You make them mortal.

Once she learned the secret, Lyla fled back to the kings of the earth. The magicians’ weakness was spread around and tactics were developed to fight them. The lands that the magicians had taken so easily were reclaimed once again and then the kings of earth made one last push into the homeland of the magicians.

The legend doesn’t tell of what happened in that battle. However, the landscape was forever changed. Zamu, in his wrath and sorrow, ended the conflict at the cost of his own life. The casualties on both sides were enormous.

An uneasy truce was brokered and the magicians were allowed to survive but they lost their homeland. They were to live among the peoples of the earth and use their magic to help the world heal from war and devastation.

600 years have passed and now the magicians are an essential part of our daily lives here in Arlen. They heal our injuries, help us fight off beasts, ensure our crops grow, and more. So, be sure to thank the magician when you see him next, okay?”

One lock of hair.

Two fates intertwined.

Three states in despair.

Four family lines.

Five kings in contention.

Six centuries detention.

Seven storms out of season.

Eight swords of the demon.

Long life and long Locks.