The Sceptre of Samnos

The University Part 9

     Four hours later he was in the assembly room, committing the newly changed spell to memory. He was still almost euphoric with joy at the realisation that he'd leapt one more hurdle, that he was one step closer to his goal. He was still rejoicing when Elmias entered the room, searching for him among the scattering of other apprentices and then threading his way between the seats in his direction. Thomas wasn't too surprised. Senior wizards had a way of keeping track of the progress being made by their apprentices, and it saved him the trouble of tracking him down.

     "I understand you're ready to demonstrate your new spell." Thomas nodded. "Do you have the material component?"

     "No, but I can make one in a couple of days."

     "That won't be necessary," said the wizard, producing two linked wooden rings from a pocket of his robes. The finish was smooth, polished and perfect, the grain of the wood brought out by a light veneer of varnish. It didn't have to be that perfect, a much rougher version that could be whittled out of a chunk of pine in less than an hour would have done as well, but if a wizard had the time it was a matter of pride to achieve the highest possible quality and if several weeks or months went by between one casting of the spell and the next he might keep shaving and polishing it in his spare time until it became a work of art. In extreme cases, the wizard might grow so proud of his creation that he'd become reluctant to use it, not wanting to cause its destruction. "I expect you're anxious to get this over and done with as soon as possible, so just this once you can have one from the stores. In future, you'll have to carve your own, though. I notice from your end of year report that wood carving is the one area in your otherwise excellent record where your teachers have noticed some weakness. Nothing that'll fail you, but definitely an area that merits greater concentration and effort. Do you understand?"

     "Yes master," said Thomas, suddenly feeling downcast.

     Elmias chuckled. "Cheer up, lad. Your woodcarving's better than mine was at your age. You should have seen my first dormouse! Looked more like a guard dog!" Thomas grinned, cheering again. "Good. Well, let's see it then. Where do you want to cast it?"

     "I thought in the common room, master."

     "Okay. Let's go then."

     About twenty other apprentices had passed their final test the day before, becoming fully fledged wizards, and they had thrown a party to celebrate. The remains of the occasion still lay all over the place. Empty glasses, plates of half eaten food and cushions scattered on the floor. Chairs and tables lay overturned and piled up on top of each other, and the floor was covered by ribbons, confetti and bits of food. The culprits had abandoned it, obviously having no intention of clearing up after themselves. "I thought I'd have a go at this, master," said Thomas.

     "Very good," said Elmias. "Off you go then."

     Thomas held the linked wooden rings in one hand, stretched the other out in front of him and spoke the magic words that were sitting at the front of his mind like hunting dogs, impatient to be let off the leash. "Exxastulon Tibar Restarantin Tu Dinak!" The wood dissolved and vanished, and a faintly shimmering, barely visible form took shape in front of him.

     "Clear up this mess!" commanded Thomas, and the form conjured up by the spell obeyed. As he watched in delight and astonishment, the invisible servant picked up all the plates and glasses, cleaned all the food off into the rubbish bin, and piled them up in the adjoining kitchen. It then neatly rearranged all the tables and chairs and cleared all the rubbish up off the floor. It moved as if it was an invisible person with two hands, since that was how Thomas was imagining it. One of his teachers, the previous year, had explained that an experienced wizard could override that bias and allow it to move more than two objects at a time, but Thomas was more than happy with how it was performing, and to judge from the smile on Elmias’s face, the elder wizard was as well.

     When it had finished, the spells duration had not expired and the servant became faintly visible again as a transparent shimmering mass, awaiting its next instructions, so Thomas commanded it to do the washing up. It had not quite finished when the spell duration finally expired and it faded away, dropping a cup onto the tiled floor, where it broke. The spell had lasted just over an hour, just slightly longer than it would have taken him to carve the crudest possible wooden rings for himself, so at this stage in his development it would almost have been quicker and easier for him to have done the work himself, but as he grew in ability he would learn to sustain the spell for longer and longer lengths of time, increasing the rewards of his initial effort.

     Thomas glowed with exhilaration as he looked at the transformed common room. Elmias laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a congratulatory squeeze. "Well done, young wizard. See you on graduation day." Then he turned and left without more ado, as if nothing more important had happened here than that he'd cleaned the room with his own hands. Thomas hardly noticed, though. Young wizard, he thought in a daze. He called me a young wizard! I've passed! I've passed! He ran out of the common room, found the celebration party still going on in the gardens of meditation, and joined in.