“Then how come he used magic during the attack?” Max protested. “That contradicts everything you just told us!”

“It is a mystery indeed,” Solomon said, puffing on his pipe. “Merglan is the most powerful sorcerer this world has ever seen. In bringing Thargon back into this world, he must’ve figured out a way to transfer some of his abilities to Thargon. Since you have survived Thargon’s attack, it’s safe to assume he doesn’t possess the same skills as his master. If he had, none of you would be here today,” Solomon said, raising his bushy eyebrows for dramatic effect.

“I didn’t want to believe it until I heard it from someone else,” Ivan said. “We would all be much better off if he had somehow found a dragon evil enough to give him the gift.”

“If Merglan has figured out how to give magic to anyone he desires, he could easily and swiftly destroy anyone or anything that opposes him,” Solomon said gravely.

For the next hour, Ivan and Solomon debated what this could mean for the fate of humanity.

“At any rate, that is how one acquires the gift of magic,” Solomon said finally, turning his attention back to Max and Anders, who had been playing with Ulgna and Rufus, the two lizards, while Ivan and Solomon quarreled.

“Come on, playtime is over. Let’s continue the history lesson,” Solomon said. “Where were we before I went off on that tangent?”

“You were about to tell us about Merglan,” Anders said, gently setting Ulgna down and watching her scamper off across the floor.

“Ah yes, that’s right. The tale of Merglan and how he came to power has been told many ways and in different forms, but the one that I will tell you is the one that is the most accurate.

“Merglan grew up in Kingston, the royal city of Southland. At the time, this was where the king of both Westland and Southland ruled. King Koufen was an honest and just man who ruled both human nations fairly. It was a time of peace and prosperity among all five civilized nations. Without any of the distractions of war, King Koufen was able to spend his time dabbling in other areas. He was particularly fascinated with science and philosophy. The king did not believe in magic, because, as Anders said, dragons hadn’t been seen since they destroyed the old kingdom’s capital at Highborn Bay. No human had been gifted with magic for hundreds of years. King Koufen thought all things caused by magic could be explained with science.

“Merglan’s father was Koufen’s alchemist. As a boy, Merglan spent his childhood in the King’s castle. For better or worse, Koufen had a son around the same age as Merglan. His name was William. Merglan and William were the best of friends. They played together every day and became very competitive with each other at an early age.

“King Koufen made sure his son had lessons in morality and knew when the boys’ little competitions were getting too extreme. Merglan’s father, however, was too obsessed with perfecting his work and did not pay close attention to his son. So the son developed a dark and twisted sense of right and wrong, focused on winning. After all, the only praise he received was from his friend, the prince, when Merglan bested him at one of their games.

“One day, Merglan came up with a game to see who could catch the most cats around the castle before lunch. When William returned, he found his friend with a bag full of strangled cats. He was horrified and told Merglan that what he’d done was not okay. Merglan was a clever child and acted remorseful in response to his friend’s dramatic reaction. He lied, promising the prince he would never do such a thing again and said he misunderstood the rules of the game. William was innocent and naïve to such a trickster, so he believed Merglan and promised not to tell his father.

“By the time the two were young men, Prince William had made Merglan a squire of sorts. Merglan helped the prince in all things, his favorite duty being William’s training to be a leader during times of war. It was during these years that Merglan developed experience in battle strategy and the art of war. Merglan was also being groomed by his father to become William’s alchemist when King Koufen stepped down and gave William the throne. Certain aspects of the ancient art drew Merglan’s curiosity, like creating a potion that would grant those who took it eternal life, or crystals that could house the spirits of the dead, among other things. Merglan felt alchemy wasn’t his true calling and wanted to be a soldier most of all. Death and killing were all the young man truly cared for.

“One day, the prince came back from traveling with a young girl who he desperately wanted to marry. William began ignoring Merglan, preferring to spend his time with the young lady. Having no time to strategize for a war that did not exist, Merglan grew very jealous of the girl. He made several attempts to get rid of her, but was unsuccessful. Each time he tried, either William would get in the way and ruin his timing or he was unable to find the prince’s fiancé.

“Fed up with the situation, Merglan left the castle without any explanation of his destination. We now know he went north to find the dragons. Some say he ventured to Nagano, east of the Everlight Kingdom, while others say he went all the way to Northland, a place from which no one had ever returned. No one knows exactly how it happened, but one day he came back to the kingdom with malice in his heart and an unquenchable thirst for power. He killed King Koufen and then went after William and his new wife. The two of them escaped and Merglan couldn’t find them. Using his new power, he began conquering as much of Kartania as he could.

“The free races of the five nations banded together, forming alliances among elves, humans, dwarfs, and several dragons. They fought against Merglan for many years. The war was dubbed The War of the Magicians. Merglan never relented in his search for Prince William and his wife. After their initial flight, whispers of their survival were told throughout the kingdoms. Despite the rumors no one knows what happened to the prince and his wife. Some say they went into hiding and bore a child, or perhaps Merglan killed them shortly after fleeing Kingston. Others say they disappeared into Northland and were never seen again. Many believe the last to be what drove him to altogether disappear. Suddenly he vanished and released his grip on the world, bringing the long war to an abrupt end. There are those who believe he’s still wandering the vast wilderness of Northland in search of them.” Solomon raised his eyebrows and looked down into his empty mug. “My cup has gone dry,” he muttered and got up to refill it.

“That was the war you and my uncle fought in,” Anders said to Ivan.

Ivan was still standing with his arms crossed and leaning against a wall. He shifted and cleared his throat, saying, “Yes. Those were dark times. Your uncle was brave and helped bring a halt to Merglan’s forces.”

“Wait. What do you mean Merglan just disappeared?” Max asked.

Solomon rejoined the conversation, “I believe he went mad and sent himself into a deep exile after realizing he’d killed his only friend in the world.”

“I too, have a theory about what happened to him,” Ivan said. “It is my opinion that Merglan has once again become obsessed with power and world domination. That’s why he’s suddenly made his presence known. He has found his passion and needs to quench his thirst for it.”

“Well, you would probably know more about it than I,” Solomon said. “I was just guessing. I wasn’t in the War of the Magicians like you were.”

“So,” Ivan said. “Do you have any idea of where he is now? Where Thargon is heading?”

“There is a place far to the east of here that has begun to draw some inquiries from the elves. Perhaps he has taken up residence in one of the abandoned castles along the Eastland coast,” Solomon said.

“I explored parts of Eastland when we first heard of his disappearance. I remember searching several abandoned castles along the coast of the Marauder Sea. Wherever he is, we know he has a small army, perhaps a larger one. But with the entire force of the Rollo Islanders at our side, we should be able to defeat any force he has managed to muster, as long as we act quickly.” Ivan straightened his body and thanked Solomon for his counsel. “Come on boys, we need to be getting on our way,” he said.

“Take care and don’t hesitate to come back anytime,” Solomon said as he escorted them out of his tree house.

Anders followed Ivan and Max out the door. Solomon grabbed him by the arm as he passed. Anders looked at the old man, surprised to see his eyes were rolled backward into his head.

Anders was about to call to Max and Ivan for help when Solomon said, “The journey ahead is a dangerous path. Do not follow its every turn, for there is an evil that hunts behind you, but do not stray too far from the path. If you get lost, you will never come back. Follow your heart and your truth will be revealed.”

When he was done speaking, his eyes came back to their normal position and he seemed confused as to why he was gripping Anders by the arm. Releasing his grip, he patted the young man on the shoulder and said, “Take care then.”

Anders pulled away, giving him a strange look and ran to catch up to the others, unsure if he should tell them what had just happened.

Chapter 8

The War of The Magicians

Max had led Ivan and Anders nearly half way back to the inn when Anders finally decided he should mention Solomon’s cryptic trance and what he’d said to Anders just before leaving the tree house.

“Something strange happened between Solomon and me right as we were leaving,” he said to his two companions.

At that, Ivan stopped in his tracks. “What exactly do you mean by strange?”

Looking perplexed, Anders said, “I mean what he did was very odd. As I was walking out the door, he grabbed my arm. When I turned to see what he wanted, his eyes had rolled back into his head and he looked as though he was in some kind of trance or something.”

Ivan stepped closer to Anders and earnestly asked, “Did he say anything to you?”

“Yes,” Anders replied, concerned at Ivan’s serious reaction. “He said something about the path ahead being a dangerous one. That there was an evil hunting me, so that I shouldn’t follow every turn because it will find me but not to stray too far from the path or I’ll never find it again. Or something like that… What do you think it means?”

Ivan pondered this warning for a moment, then answered, “I have no doubt the evil he is referring to is Merglan. It would be wise for you to try to remember every word of the message and heed its warning.”

“What do you mean ‘the message?’” Anders asked. “He was just having an episode and talking nonsense, right?”

“I’m afraid not,” Ivan said lowering his brow. “Solomon’s body was being used to transmit a message to you. Whoever sent it must be trying to warn you. It’s not to be taken lightly or ignored.”

“Should I be worried? Who would want to send me a message like that?” Anders asked, shaking his head in confusion.

“Don’t dwell on who sent it too much; I doubt it came from someone or something that meant you harm,” Ivan said, dismissing Anders’ concern.

“How do you know that?” Max interjected.

“Why would someone who wanted to do Anders harm go out of his, her or its way to warn him about it?” Ivan responded rhetorically.

“I guess that makes sense,” Max said, looking skyward and coming to terms with what Ivan said after giving it a second’s thought.

“He said something else just before the message or whatever it was ended,” Anders said. “He said, ‘Follow your heart and your truth will be revealed.’ That doesn’t sound much like a threat; more like advice, I guess.”

“That’s pretty vague,” Max said mulling over the words.

Ivan started walking again. “Keep the message fresh in your mind. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We need to get back and see what progress Red and the others have made. We have spent too much time talking.”