Spellcaster series #5: The Sage

Past and Future Tense

TRISTAN

When Elton was able to stabilise her with the last shred of energy left inside, I felt relief wash over me and eventually drowning me, like I had been at sea for too long. My mind was a whirlpool. I could not sleep. In fact, sleep was the farthest thing in my mind and the least desired.

The catastrophe left half of Worldly realm in the Void, the other half clinging onto dear life. Synto had torn the realms asunder and wrought such destruction that none had ever seen for a thousand years. The only one I knew who had witnessed it was Lord Voltaire during his mortal life.

After Synto was extracted from Heidi, it was sent to the Void by Vicky who took it inside her. She then disappeared into the Void where she returned the Leader of djinns from whence it came. Afterwards, she and Brian returned to the Underworld with their Vampires to rebuild it. Elton, Wynona and I fixed the Academy in the Magic realm and I returned to Plainsview soon after to check on my daughter and mother.

While Heidi was healing in the hospital in Orchidville, I kept myself busy with aiding the human leaders of both towns. Plainsview was not as affected so it was an easier fix. Orchidville, on the other hand, needed as much aid as it could get. We removed a lot of debris and rebuilt houses for the survivors to stay in temporarily. Many were gravely injured and eventually saved but some did not survive their wounds in time.

Two days after the event, I decided to build a house for my family in Orchidville. This thought came to me as I pondered on the history of the quiet town while I aided in its rebuilding. Then I thought of the Lucky Orphans and how Heidi had always had an attachment to it. My mother was supportive of my suggestion when I proposed the idea of moving back to Orchidville, a little nearer to the orphanage.

"I'm sure Heidi would love that," she told me as we stood on a piece of land that I had bought many years ago, before I even met Heidi.

"Mum," I said I looked around us with Ada clutched onto me, "I want to thank you for looking after Ada while Heidi and I were gone."

"No need to thank me, Tristan. Looking after her is what I do as a grandmother. Besides, I'd rather keep myself busy than dwell in grief."

I turned to her, whose green eyes bore on me. She then pulled out her wedding ring that my father gave her some forty years ago.

"Give this to your wife, would you?"

I frowned. "This is yours, mother. Heidi already has a wedding band!"

"Which you gave with genuine love, I'm sure. But it is still without a proper diamond," she insisted.

"If you hadn't noticed, she cares not for shiny things on her person, as is her wont."

My mother would not back down. She held the ring up to my face and waited for me to receive it. I did, eventually, which satisfied her greatly.

"It's a family heirloom," she added, turning away towards the empty land. "It used to be your grandmother's before she passed away and passed down to your father to give it to me."

The lush greenery around us hugged the land we stood on like a scenic embrace.

"I'm going to rebuild the orphanage," I told her as we began to head to Wynona's mansion, where she and Ada would stay for the next few nights until our new home was built. With the help of Spellcasters, I might complete it by the time Heidi was set to go home. I hoped.

"That's wonderful!" My mother chimed. "Heidi would love that very well. Is that why you're doing it?"

"Partly."

I felt Ada breathe into my neck as she fell asleep. We walked down a stony path that led to a pair of iron gates where the entrance of the plot of land would be.

"Sam Locke mentioned something about the philosophies of the Sages. He was right about one thing—they are dated. Grandpa William had set a standard that divided more humans than uniting them. Before his death, I recalled that the Academy barely permitted entry for those that could not afford to pay for the fees."

"Oh yes," my mother nodded her head. "Back then it was a privilege."

"Many rules that were written by the Sages of old marginalised those that lived in poverty, or simply of little to no social standing. I think about Heidi's first impression of the Sages, as well as Dora, the other orphan who was purposefully misled by Dean Ryans. They live in a system that sets a bar so high whereas opportunities were handed to the likes of me on a silver platter. There is great irony in the name of the orphanage."

We exited the plot of land and headed back into town. My mother listened, very intently, and did not utter a word. If she agreed with my thoughts, she did not show it. She had always been a fantastic and patient listener all my life. Being the only child, she and I had always been close—and this was precisely the reason why. She gave me the space to think and express my opinions without judgment or opposing advice unless necessary.

"My son," she finally spoke after much thought, "I did not raise you to doubt the acceptance of your birth right. Your heart has always been in the right place. You act like your father and grandfather because you were trained by them. But your intentions are clear and honest—like theirs always were—and being born with a silver spoon in your mouth should not guilt you. The successes of your forefathers are why you are given such power, so you should use your conscience and privilege to make this realm a better place."

"You always have the wisest words," I couldn't hide my smile. "And you have just given me an idea."