The Accidental sorcerer

'My sultan, unburden your heart. Purge yourself of this sin that we might take undistracted action against New Ottosland's dishonourable, oath-breaking king.'

Zazoor nodded, suddenly looking no older than Nerim. Looking shamefaced and sorrowful. 'As you say, Shugat. As a young student I was foolish and intemperate. I made a wager with Lional and I lost. On my knees 1 begged him not to demand the forfeit. He insisted. Said only a man without honour would welch on a bet. So I told him what he wanted to know. I–I gave him what I should not have possessed.' Zazoor closed his eyes. 'The smallest shard of andaleya!

Shugat flinched. He had not been expecting that. 'You took one of the Gods' Tears to school with you?'

'Yes,' whispered Zazoor. 'When I returned for my second year. I was so unhappy there, Shugat. Lional made my life a misery. I wanted a piece of home to give me comfort.'

Zazoor, Zazoor. 'That was not well done, my sultan.'

'No. It was not.' Zazoor stared out of a window, remembering, i begged Lional never to show the andaleya to anyone or repeat what, honour-bound, I had revealed of the Three. He agreed. And to my surprise he kept his word. I had forgotten it ever happened… or not permitted myself to remember.' Still stricken, Zazoor bowed his head. 'Shugat, I am shamed. Unworthy'

He patted Zazoor's arm. 'And yet the gods saw fit to make you Sultan.'

'You are right,' Zazoor said slowly. 'They did. They have a task for me to complete.' His clenched fist drummed his bent knee.'If I could but fathom Lional's intentions! There is more to this business than treaties and tariffs, Shugat. Some greater treachery stirs the sands. In my dreams I feel a breeze that promises to become a mighty storm, strong enough to drown us all in a river of blood.'

'As ever, Zazoor, your heart is open to hear the gods' whispers,' he said. 'This is a true dream. It is clear to me now that Lional desires you to marry his sister so he might gain access to all the andaleya in our desert. To his infidel eyes it is a treasure to be exploited. He does not believe the Three even exist.'

Zazoor closed his eyes and lowered his forehead to his knee.'So it is war. After centuries of peace. War, because one child disliked another. Nursed his hurts, fed them and watered them, cosseted them until he grew to manhood and they to hatred. War, Shugat, for no other reason than a warped man's greed for wealth and revenge.' He sprang to his feet and began pacing the blue-and-green carpets. The heels of his red leather boots thumped softly, like the beating of distant drums. 'New Ottosland has no army. With but a tenth of my warriors could I grind their green fields to dust. Is Lional mad?'

Shugat nodded. 'Yes, my sultan. Mad as a scorpion, or a man boiled too long in the sun. But he does not think it will come to war. You know he sees us as little more than superstitious tent dwellers grubbing in the sand. Nerim's gullibility easily convinced him that we think our gods are on his side.'

Zazoor turned, his eyes ablaze. 'And what of you, Shugat? What did you do to show Lional his error? To show him that the Three are our gods and do not truck with outsiders?' He hesitated.'Nothing,' he said at last.

Zazoor spread his arms wide in entreaty.' Why? I sent you to New Ottosland as I would have sent myself. Why did you not act?'Then he lowered his arms and took a step back, the fire in his eyes doused with shock.'You believed him?'

'I — ' Shugat took a firmer hold of his staff. In his forehead he felt the heat as a small pulse of white fire beat deep in the heart of the andaleya. i was unsure,' he admitted.'At first. When I called upon the gods to strike Lional down and they did not, I thought — it seemed — ' He rapped the staff into the carpets. 'When I asked them for guidance they did not reply. I do not question the gods, Zazoor! Silence answers as loudly as a shout!'

Sudden anger spent, Zazoor stepped close, placed a hand on each of his shoulders and rested their foreheads together, i understand,' he whispered. 'Forgive me for doubting you.'

For the briefest moment Shugat cradled his hand to the back of Zazoor's neck; then he smacked the side of the sultan's head in remonstration. 'You're forgiven,' he growled. 'But do not do it again.'

Like a child in the schoolroom Zazoor dropped cross-legged to the carpeted floor and stared up at him, his face once more calm and composed, all shame wiped away.'The gods are not with Lional.' His smile was fierce.'No. They are not.' 'They have told you this, Shugat?'

'They have.' He raised his staff. 'My words are the words of the Three, of Grimthak and Lalchak and Vorsluk, Holy of Holies, greatest of all gods,' he said, his voice taking on the singsong cadence of holy pronouncement. 'Hear their words and obey or perish in Grimthak's flame, by Lalchak's teeth andVorsluk's talons.'

Zazoor pressed his face to the floor. 'What is their will, Holy Shugat? I will hear it and obey'

'You will ride to New Ottosland at the head of an army' he intoned. His eyes were rolled in their sockets, now, till only a yellow-white crescent remained, and the stone in his forehead blazed like the sun. 'A large army?'

He felt his crescented eyes flicker. 'Fifty men from each village one day's ride from the palace.'

'As soon as the sun sets I shall send the proclamation to each village leader on the swiftest camels,' Zazoor promised. 'And after that, Shugat?'

Slowly Shugat lowered his staff, blinking. His vision returned to normal and the andaleya's incandescence faded. Frowning, he stared at a fading shaft of sunlight then at last stirred and looked down at the sultan. 'After that you wait, Zazoor.' Zazoor sat up. 'For what?'

'For the whisper in your heart. It will tell you what to do.'

Zazoor nodded. Then he said, hesitantly, 'Forgive me, Shugat, but does it not seem to you, as it seems to me, that the gods' pronouncements have of late been more cryptic than once they were?'

Leaning forward, he patted Zazoor's cheek. 'When we are children our parents tell us precisely what we must and must not do, for our understanding is circumscribed and our knowledge of the world incomplete. But when we are grown they nod and say, "We have taught you well. Go now into the world and remember what you learned at our table.'"

'Indeed,' said Zazoor, and laughed. 'You are wise, Shugat, and patient beyond understanding. In the name of the Three I praise you thrice.'

Shugat nodded, acknowledging, but did not reply. His thoughts again were snared in the sunlight, and the memory of a man who yet disturbed him. A touch on his knee; he looked at Zazoor.

'Shugat? What is it? What have you not told me?'

'There was another man in the audience with Lional,' he said slowly. Then he pulled a face.'I say man, but youth is more truthful. A fingerful of years older than Nerim, no more.'

'Ah! The wizard. Nerim said. What of him? Lional has had many wizards since he came to the throne, each gone more swiftly than the one before. Nerim says it's whispered in the palace that Lional lacks the loving touch. Doubtless this one will disappear as quickly as the rest.'

'He is not like the other wizards,' said Shugat. 'From afar I read them and remained at peace. But this one? Power like a bud yet to blossom curls within his breast, and all around him a roiling of darkness.'

Seeing his discomfort, Zazoor rose smoothly from the carpeted floor, his eyes chilled to cold purpose once more.'He is evil?'

'No…' he said, after deep thought. 'Not evil. And yet evil surrounds him…'

Zazoor's frown was suspicious, it sounds most strange. What must I do with this wizard when I find him? Kill him? You say he is not evil but there is fear and doubt in your eyes, Shugat! I see it, plain as a bird in the sky. What is to be done with Lional's enchanter?'

Shugat sighed, i am sorry, Zazoor. On this matter the gods stay silent. I have asked them, for this Gerald Dunwoody fills me with foreboding, but all they will tell me is: wait!

'Then at least tell me this, for I trust in your judgement,' said Zazoor. 'Do you think him a danger to Kallarap?'