The Phantom Man

II - The Wizard

15th Century – Germania

On the top of a mountain, a man on shabby clothes was sleeping inside a cave. He wore a grey tunic, and his long face was even more prolonged by a grey goatee. The cave where he lived in seclusion was wide, and in its bottom, there was only enough room for his straw bed and some baskets. In the center, he had set a table made of dry cut tree, and a cauldron where he prepared his potions. Juan Otts had been King Albert Honnusberg's chief wizard during the German Empire era, until the day the Inquisition began and he was cast out of the castle and banished forever.

The old man, depressed by guilt, had lost his family: Gertrude, his wife, and their two kids, Heidi and Jordan to the Inquisition. He thought of them day and night, always feeling the spear of sorrow nailing into his heart. In his memory, their cry of death repeated endlessly, when they were mercilessly thrown into a fire while Juan was taken away inside a prison-wagon, holding its bars and shackled to the ground. He could feel on his face the warmth of the fire and the embers blown by the wind while cries echoed inside his head.

Juan remembered when he was ambushed and bravely fought with his sword and magic to defend himself from the soldiers. He heard their Spanish commander, Lorenzo Garcia, mounted on his horse, shouting as he pointed towards the horizon.

"Look, wizard of the demon, what we have captured... Your family is such an easy prey."

As soon as Juan had thrown a swirling wind that smashed many soldiers against a rocky wall, and thrust his sword through an inquisitor that was getting near him, he halted prostrated at the overwhelming sight. How could it be possible? He had sent his wife away with clear instructions to protect their children. They should have remained hidden in the mountains. Nevertheless, fate showed its cruel face and someone revealed his beloved ones' whereabouts in exchange for a handful of gold coins.

Juan was paralyzed like a statue, with tears in his eyes as he saw his beloved ones shackled and imprisoned, holding the bars as the wagon moved towards him. Near them, soldiers had thirst for bloodshed, and their swords were ready to finish off those fading lives.

"Please, I beg you. Kill me now, but spare these innocent lives. They have done nothing against you. I shall serve you for the rest of my life, if you will."

"Surrender now, Juan, and we shall not do them any harm. Knee yourself before us and let the soldiers shackle you up," Lorenzo ordered, for he was aware of the wizard's power.

Frozen by the view of the scared eyes of his wife and children surrounded by swords and arrows, he allowed himself to be imprisoned. He could smell the scent of death getting closer and kissing his face, his mouth experiencing the metallic taste of blood. Juan was chained and masked, so that only his eyes could see. In the uncovered wood in the south of Germania, near to the village where Juan used to live, one could hear the tinkle of the hammer on the anvil, fastening the gears that would bury any attempt of reaction. With legs and arms chained, he had to restrain himself, for the risk of reacting was too high. What price could the lives of his beloved ones have? Maybe the biggest price, and that was his own life.

He gave in ignoring that within a few hours he would face his curse. In his mind, guilt would weigh again amidst other thoughts. Why hadn't he run away with his family? Maybe he could have had them saved instead of fighting for the cause that he believed in so much.

Lorenzo, the Grand Inquisitor who had come from Spain in a mission to arrest the most famous wizard, exulted in his victory.

"Easier than I thought. Juan, The Wizard, is now subdued. But first, he will watch his family burn in the flames, and they'll know that you are nothing but a serpent that must be defeated by the Inquisition."