“Shkadaur,” I called out my parallel in the magical world. “A minute.”

We were already walking away from the dimensional hole, coming back to our loved and dreaded city of Al Patreck, when I decided to finally speak. I needed to do something before this opportunity passed away.

He turned around and looked at me with those unreadable alien eyes of his.

“What?” he replied, and I would’ve found it offensive if I didn’t know any better.

“It’s about someone I know. Hear me out before you give me an answer.”

He kept looking, saying nothing. I thought he was taking my words more literally than I intended him to.

“Her name is Reira Tangler,” when I said his name his head moved only slightly. He must have recognized the name, I thought. “She’s the daughter of a friend of mine. She has an aptitude for magic, and I wanted to ask if you were willing to teach her. To make her a Hadtherad under your mastery.”

Shakdaur turned red.

“You… honor me,” he said. “I didn’t was expecting this. I am not master, Avarez.”

“She’ll be your first student, I understand. I know it will be tough knowing she will be your first. I think I can trust you, and that’s important, because her parents need to know they can trust you.”

“It’s not normal for a human to ask a radera about this,” he explained.

“I think this would be the first,” I answered.

“I heard of wizard friends giving information of radera with the ability.”

It made me wonder just how well Shkadaur was taking this situation. I found it interesting that he didn’t find the situation strange at all. Maybe I had misjudged Shakadaur, or even hadtherad as a whole.

“Of course,” I continued. “But this is the first case of a human being offered the tutelage of Hadtheradry.”

“Human?”

“You know who Reira is, don’t you?”

“I never heard of this person.”

“I thought you recognized her name.”

“I recognized that your friend was a radera because of her surname.”

“She,” I started, and I realized the miscommunication was about to lead to an awkward situation. “She’s adopted. She’s a human adopted into a radera family.”

Shkadaur did not say a word, he only looked.

“I asked the Cabal to allow her in under my tutelage. They refused. I suggested her to be taken in by someone else. They refused that as well. The Cabal, the Wizards, don’t want her. All because of me.

“I realize this is not at all orthodox, but she was raised by a radera family ever since she was a baby. She’s almost an adult, now. In a way, you could say she is culturally a radera. Why not embody another part of who she is, not by the randomness of the body she was born with, but by who she grew up to be?”

Shkadaur did not waver in his deep stare. I could not read him at all.

“A human, yes?” that was all his answer was for the time being.

* * *

“This is going to set a hard record to remove,” I said.

“Much like most the murders the Cabal commits whenever you don’t like someone,” said Avarez, a wizard in charge of the safety and control of the region of Al Patreck, as its 42nd official.

Edwhite Avarez was a man of conviction. He knew what he liked and disliked, and openly admitted to them. Sometimes, he had the intelligence to keep his mouth shut and let the elders have their moment, without questioning their decisions and philosophy. To be fair, most wizards wore their hearts and worldviews on their sleeves, but while most tend to have an indoctrinated fake respect for the Round Table of Wizards and its Council, he didn’t. Avarez was known for being disrespectful, especially in front of tolerant Wizards like me.

“No,” I responded. “I don’t mean Padrict. I mean Orlan.”

“Another warlock which we let go without capturing?” He asked, and while his question was meant as a critique, he also was asking another implied question genuinely.

“We?”

“Me,” he said, holding the full weight of his self-inflicted guilt. “I could not think of a solution. We all would’ve died. Besides, he had not really broken any of the Laws.”

“He is a rogue wizard. One which we had been looking for a while.”

Avarez’s face was also an honest one. Usually, wizards learn to not show any emotions, however, ever since I met the young student that was the Wild Edwhite, he had a hard time hiding what he felt when he was comfortable. I took his comfort as a sign of trust. I really liked feeling trusted and admired by the younger generations. I would not ever want to leave the name of Ravan tainted. I want my name to be remembered as the most trustworthy, powerful, and friendliest Arch Wizard to ever walk these halls.

“You didn’t know,” I explained. “It is as expected. Only a few of the Senior Wizards know. I’m sure Wizard Yand-Una should be aware of this. You would, most definitely, if you were a Senior.

“Orlan was known as a genius conjurator. But an accident left him all alone with his vengeance. He was sure someone was at fault.”

“I heard of the story,” he said, and remained quiet for a few moments. “What happened to him?”

“Anger. Sadness.”

“Revenge.”

I nodded.

“He is dangerous,” he began. “He’ll do anything for his daughter. Anything! And he is powerful. He has an army of robot-golems with AI. I don’t think the Cabal, knowing he’s out there, possibly putting mortals in danger, is going to make him stop or be more careful. I think he already tried, then decided this was going to be the moment to take a chance. Now, that we’re aware, he’s not going to be careful anymore.”

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“This will set a terrible precedence,” I reasoned, again. “And with the upcoming war with the vampirids, this only makes things more difficult. We won’t have the resources to police these matters. All warlocks and witches may be able to start acting more openly.”

“You think Orlan is a warlock?”

“Not yet. Otherwise, we would have settled on a warrant as we discussed him. But his rogue status and concerning objectives make it hard for us to rate this situation. Politically speaking, we may have to wave off several offending wizards for their rogue status or even remove their pending warrants. All wizards on probation have already been reassessed and accepted back.”

“So, that’s what it was. A political move.”

I did not need to see or hear Avarez to see how he was offended. I knew the moment before I recited those words, what his response would be. But he needed to know, and what better moment to explain than now?

“And here I thought that maybe the Cabal was making progress.”

“We are.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed. “In the wrong direction.”

“It’s not as easy as you think, Avarez.”

“You can say that however much you want, S.A.W. Ravan. But excuses will always be excuses.”

He was not wrong. But I could not let him think that our decisions were made lightly.

“Then you may enlighten me with a better solution.” I crossed my arms.

Avarez crossed his arms too.

“That’s not my job, is it? You make the tough decisions. I fix ships and keep an eye on the city, and occasionally protest on those decisions.”

“We’re not a democracy, Edwhite.”

I saw that twitching smirk on his face. I knew he liked that I was coming down to his level, to speak as more close friends, than as two ranks on military.

“No. And that’s why I speak up.”

“You think we’d be better as one?”

“I think your time is over. How many centuries, Master? We need to move on. Your generation is growing too far apart from mortals. The older you get, the less heavy the mantle of responsibility feels. I have felt it in normal life, I cannot imagine what it is like for you.”

Not wrong, again. But, just like before, I could not let him take our experience lightly.

“And yet, we’re the ones that are respected and feared by the supernatural. We’re the ones who have dealt most with them and who can take on their powers on more equal footing. Are you thinking you can enter in dialogue with the High Fay and leave as a winner?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Then you need us where we stand, young one.”

“And yet you need us where we’re not.”

I shook my head. “You think we have not tried this already.”

“Discussed? I think so. But have you actually tried this?”

“Yes.”

Avarez did not say more to answer me. Instead, he turned around and paced a few times before turning quickly on his heel and opening his mouth.

“There’s something I have been meaning to say.”

“You can tell me anything.”

And then he spoke words that I did not believe would come out of anyone. On Avarez? It seemed more fitting that they did. He was a friend of radera, and had a friend who was an alchemist. If it had come from someone, it had to come from him.

I ran to grab his shoulders.

“This is dangerous!”

“I know! That’s why I am telling you this. You’re the only one I trust.”

“You have put me in danger, too!”

“Is it that bad?”

“A human hadtherad… Do you understand what it will mean for the Cabal to lose a member to the Order? It means we’re bleeding people!”

“You’re the ones that denied her!”

“Because we’re on the brink of war!”

I finally slumped to my seat. Avarez had just asked a Knight to take on a human apprentice and they had accepted. The consequences of this would be disastrous. When the war is over, Avarez will be put on trial once again and, this time, he might not be so lucky. I, now as an associate, will not be of help to him.

“You may have sealed your fate, Edwhite. And mine, for that matter.”

“Well, I am glad to know I am not to blame for this.” He smirked.

That smile was contagious.

“This will get both sides closer. One day we may see radera walking down these halls. Learning of the rich history of humans, of Wizardry, like they have never done before. They are out there, Master. People who would want to join us. Our ranks will become stronger. And, so, will theirs. We will become closer and stronger, like the vampirids and Faery never will. It is our ace!

“The vampirids may be starting a war, jointly, but they have been bickering and getting in each other’s way. They have fought over territory for the past three centuries. Not us. And soon, never will ever again.”

I thought of the vampiric war and what it would entail. More things were coming. Considering the last widespread supernatural war and its consequences for civilization on Earth, I knew things would not be different once the war began. The war is not going to be just for us, wizards. Changes like the ones proposed by Avarez may be a sign of changes already happening in the world.

We had already tried his approach of younger minds, as assistants of the Council, and things did not end well. But we quickly learned of all the good it would’ve done for us. However, as it is for old wizards like us, we never admitted that the insight and foresight of the young was always something to consider. This time, it was Avarez giving me a glimpse of a future that may come.

No. A future that was already here.

It may be a good idea to consider many of the things proposed before and today as new changes for the Cabal and, especially, the Round Table and Council. Not a democracy, but to put slightly aside the gerontocracy we are so proud of. Kingdoms were not always absolutists, some were constitutional.

I shook my inner head and I saw the future that welcomed us. It was both dark and bright; either just as blinding for opposite reasons.

“I’ll support this,” I finally answered. “You have a new job, now, Edwhite.”

I saw him recoil in those widened eyes. He was not happy to know I had just piled up more responsibilities.

“Find us wizards.” And I winked, hoping he knew what I meant.

His opening mouth, quickly morphing into a heartful smile, made me think I was right to believe in this young man.

Surely, the future was bright.

----------------------------------------

It had led up to this moment. Ever since he became a torviela champion and an escort to a mortal. The bonds he began creating, especially with the Knight Hadtherad — Al Shkadaur — my Master, Edwhite Samiel Avarez, created the conditions for what would become a revolution. Only S.A.W. Ravan Plattan could see what was about to happen. But for me, I was simply excited to see my future change.

“A wizard?!” I remembered exclaiming.

“Not yet,” my Master had said — well, he was not yet my Master at the time. “But you will be eventually. However, first, you must study Hadtheradry. I have a friend who will teach you. His name is Reykhetay’a Shkadaur, he will be your Master.

“Remember, the proper way to address him is Hedal Shkadaur.”

“Hedal means Master, then,” I incorrectly deduced.

“No. It’s a bit different, but you got the idea.”

“So, when will I start?”

“Next week, hopefully. Shkadaur will try to convince his… Council, to accept a human into the ranks.”

“You still don’t know if I’ll be accepted.”

“We’re not sure. But something tells me that if SAW Ravan is interested in my idea, then for them it will be simpler to start. We’re the ones losing prospective wizards, they, on the other hand, will be snatching them off the opposing team. How will they ever say, no?”

“Maybe because it’ll give you an excuse to accept radera into the wizard ranks?”

Only now can I laugh at the face he made when I explained the problem in their logic. I was much smarter than even I gave myself credit for. It was a bit dangerous. Still, the plan went through, and I managed to begin my tutelage with my Hedal.

I was not yet prepared for what was to come. Especially at the time when we had decided to start a new wave of thought in the magical academies. The question was no longer: “Would we accept alien life to study our ways?” but “How will we teach them our ways?” Soon, they questioned whether we would learn, or if the ways came by instinct. And eventually, they soon regretted the timing of their decision.

How could we expose them at such a time?

Although no one ever regretted it aloud until many years later, when it was clear all new generations were slightly askew.

I used to be angry. When I realized the problems they had put us through, I cursed at my Master and Hedal. Even after all that had happened, after all he went through. Even after the ending.

Now? Now, I am thankful. It prepared me for worse times. It’s how I became who I am today. My story never started with me. The meaning of our city, and how it all started, was all due to him, it was never about me or anyone else. Usually, he’s a name left as a footnote in our history books, but, for those that knew him, he was the headline. The name for a whole saga of storybooks. Yet, the story continued even after his passing, and the people who surround him made more impactful decisions. All this, even though his contributions were the ones that led to those decisions.

But those will be stories for other times.