The Wizard

Chapter 9 part 1

"Thought is our dignity. Therefore, let us try to think well, for that is where the principle of morality lies."

Blaise Pascal.

The Citadel is the most beautiful city I have ever seen, built in the middle of a huge set of crystal clear waterfalls at various levels that draw endless rainbows by the rays of the sun on the slope of a gigantic green mountain range. The buildings are of various types of crystal, erected by the force of magic about two millennia ago. It is a planet with almost ninety percent water and always tropical and mild climate, a true paradise. It is the seat of the wizards, our world since most of the druids left Earth with the persecutions, especially those of the Church and the Roman Empire. It was a planet devoid of intelligent life, small and pleasant, containing only one city.

Our Universe is shaped by planes, thirteen planes along the dimensions, as if each one were a small universe of the Universe. The lower the number of the plane, the denser and more primitive the matter, becoming increasingly subtle and energetic as we climb them. Earth is part of the third plane, while the Citadel, in the Crystal World, is in the thirteenth. By an interesting coincidence, whenever we jump from one plane to another, we will find a world similar to ours in atmosphere and composition, but we, first-level wizards, can walk between the planes and also in space. If I wish, for example, I can go to Mars.

Speaking of levels, wizards are divided into ten levels or degrees, with the tenth being the weakest and the first being the strongest. Only wizards and sorceresses of the first level can cross planes and only a few, very few, can use their powers without the aid of objects such as a staff, amulet or wand, for example, which help in concentrating the beams of thought and subatomic energies. These are known as superior wizards. There are others who can even do a few things without the objects, but they are also a minority and none above the fourth degree is capable, at least until today.

For wizards of other levels to be able to travel between worlds, they use the planar capsules that are made of special crystals, such as rubies or diamonds, among others. Such objects are impregnated with energy capable of opening portals and their charge is up to the students of the last years and level one.

When I was two years old, my parents, who as I said were of the fourth level, sent me to the Citadel in order to receive the best possible education and so it was.

My powers grew in sight and I had a lot of ease to learn almost anything I wanted. In a short time, I discovered that I could do much more than the other wizards of my age, even the much older ones. We wizards are left-handed and can only use our powers with our left hand, but I was an exception that scared everyone because I could use both hands with equal dexterity and strength.

When they discovered this and noticed that at six years old I already had as much or more strength than an adult wizard of the first level, I began to be educated to be a Guardian of Security and War. The guardians are the most powerful of the wizards in their area and, in addition, some are the leaders, like ministers in a normal government.

The Guardian of Security is a wizard specialized in the art of war, but the centuries of peace did not contribute much to perfect this art. I became a great warrior very fast and could not be defeated by anyone, not even by all the other guardians together, but I was too young to be one of the owners of the red cape.

My Guardian of the Apprentices, who has a silver cape on the outside and wine on the inside, thought that my powers were so great that I should receive the learning for the largest possible amount of knowledge. Because of that, I had to work three times harder than my companions, but I liked to be the best, to be superior. I know that in a way this was a little pride, but I liked it very much.