Mindless; Chapter One

    “Imagine,” Horace’s master said, “that you were in a tight fix. Say--say that you were engaged in battle with two skilled Gorgons. What would you do?”
    Horace shrugged. “I dunno.” He stared gloomily at his mug of Ginger Tea, yearning for the end of the hour-long lesson.
    “Come now, Horace, you can think of something.”
    Horace ignored the remark.
    “If you’re unwilling,” his master said impatiently, “there are other exceptional scorers that would appreciate the teaching I can offer.” He sounded hurt. “Perhaps we should take you to the office. We can get your apprenticeship revoked.”
    “Master,” Horace sighed, “why can’t I do real magic? It’s been three weeks, and, well...I expected something more...more...I dunno.” He subsided back into silence. Pestering his master was useless, he knew that, but he kept hoping for more than scenarios.
    “I understand your impatience,” his master said, still tapping one foot impatiently, “but you must learn the basics before you can learn spells.”
    Horace glared at the dark band of spice rising from his tea bag. He knew where this discussion was going. It was going the same place it did everyday Horace failed to excite some enthusiasm.
    “It’s like this; imagine you’re going to play chess. You have to learn the rules before you play the game!”
    “But,” Horace countered, “the best way to learn the game well is to play it.”
    “True, but you need the basics first.”
    “And I’ve been learning the same basics for three weeks!”
    His master, Mr. Dickens, contemplated his young, apparently bright student with a bit of distaste. “Fine,” he said finally. “We’ll do it your way.”
    Horace jumped up, accidentally hitting his cup of tea in the process. Dark liquid poured across the smooth, metal surface of the table.
    “Once you’ve cleaned that up, follow me. We’re going out to the pasture.”
    Horace could barely contain his new found excitement. He scurried over to a basket of rags, and then back to the table before he realized he’d forgotten to grab a rag. He rolled his eyes and ran back to the basket. Once he’d managed to get a rag, he re-erected the mug and wiped up his mess. Now out to the pasture!
    The pasture consisted of several acres of sagging, brown-grey hills, scrubby plants that were supposed to be trees, and some unhappy cows. Mr. Dickens made an awful rancher but an excellent wizard. Wizards, however, dragged in a meager living except in times of war when nations realized that wizards were actually useful. Hence Mr. Dickens's attempt at ranching.
    Mr. Dickens was examining one of the cows now, a look of deep frustration on his face. “Stupid cows,” he muttered as Horace got close enough to hear. “Can’t get ‘em to live for more than...” His muttering turned into a murmur that Horace could no longer understand.
    “Mr.Dickens?”
    “Yes, yes, just a minute, Horace.”
    “Okay.” Horace waited for a few moments, shivering in the frosty silence. After several minutes had gone by, he cleared his throat. “Sir?”
    “Alright, Horace, I’m ready. Sit down.” Horace quickly sat down.
    “Since you know how to teach better than I do, what would you like to learn?”
    “Sir?”
    “You’re obviously the better teacher. You tell me what you’d like to learn.”
    Horace knew better than to take the opportunity. It was a trap, of course, an excuse for Mr. Dickens to be angry with him. If his suggestion--assuming he gave one--didn’t turn out well, he’d go back to the same dreary lesson everyday. On the other hand, not giving a suggestion might incite further scorn from his master.
    “You know magic, sir,” he said. “Everything is your decision.”
    “Then why are we out here?”
    “Because I suggested it, and you decided to take my advice. That’s why, sir.” Horace tried not to sound smug, but he worried his master had heard a hint of it in what he’d said. Mr. Dickens was staring down at him with cold, hard eyes. Finally, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
    “You win. We’ll discuss your career first, though. You know there are several different types of wizards, right?”
    “Yes sir. Would you like me to list them?”
    “No, no, there’s no need to show off. Just tell me a few that you’re interested in.”
    Horace thought for a few moments. “I would like to do detective work, sir.”
    “I see. Well, as you know, I’m not trained at all in detective work, but they use the same core. I will teach you this core, and I will give you the books that will help you expand in your chosen direction. Fair enough?”
    ‘Yes, sir.”
    “You know what happens during wars?”
    “Battles, sir.”
    Horace’s master laughed. “Yes, there are battles, but that’s not what I’m talking about. Whatever you’re magical profession, if a war starts, you are immediately drafted.”
    “Why?” Horace asked. “That doesn’t seem fair.”
    “It has nothing to do with fairness. We live in a small nation, my boy, and that means we’re the only hope our nation’s got in a war. Our nation is best for having the greatest variety of good magicians, and that’s why we do it. Purely strategic.”
    “Oh. So who does the duties that we normally do while we’re gone?”
    “You are sharp, Horace! Well, usually lower magicians who don’t quite meet the standards we do, but sometimes the position is filled by highly skilled amagi.”
    “Amagi?”
    “Don’t you know Latin yet? ‘A’ means without, ‘magi’ means worker of magic.”
    “So...normal people?”
    “Yes, but enough of that. If this was a story, readers would think we were spouting information for their benefit instead of our own. We don’t have time for nonsense like that, do we?”
    “No, sir.”
    “Let’s get our first lesson learned. It’s a bit of a history lesson...”
    Horace groaned and prepared himself for a long period of boredom.
    “This story starts at the turn of the 20th Century,” Mr. Dickens said. “It was during a time of great angst, especially in Egypt which, by the way, used to be the center of the world. You see, Britain had pretty much claimed Egypt as their own little place. This made Egyptians mad, so they decided to start a rebellion through Civil Disobedience.”
    Horace yawned.
    “Don’t worry,” Mr. Dickens said, “this story gets really exciting. It gets harder and harder to please you young people.”
    “Whatever,” Horace said. “You were saying?”
    “Oh yes. Well, the leader of the rebellion caused a lot of fear in the British, so they banished him. That was a stupid mistake on their part, if you ask me.” He cleared his throat. “Anyways, the people got mad, and the rebellion got violent. Egyptians started learning magic from British traitors (many of whom were secretly executed). Things got bad, and the British gave up. The world was starting to say, ‘Hey, you haven’t got a right to take over other countries.’ Well, there were British wizards and army people that weren’t so happy with this arrangement. So they stayed.
    “The greatest wizard ever known stayed, and the greatest rebel ever known, half British, half Egyptian, meddled with each others business, and the pure British wizard lost his mind. The rebel kid (yes, he was a kid) was never seen again.
    “Legend has it that the wizard’s mind is still out there. He searched for it the rest of his life, but could never manage it. He never cast another spell, and the Brits were forced to leave. The End.”
    “But what does that have to do with me?” Horace asked, feeling befuddled.
    “Well, if the mind is still out there, whoever finds it can bind with it. They’ll then become the greatest magician alive. It’s said that they will also gain immortality.”
    “Why immortality?”
    “The kid who was never seen again, he came back to life every time he was killed. He was immortal.”
    Horace’s face flushed red with more than cold. Excitement, anxiety, and ambition were all contributing factors. He had to hurry with his studies, he decided. If he did, he might find the mind before others did. And then--
    “Remember, Horace,” Mr. Dickens said, “many have tried to find his mind and failed. The wizard himself did.”
    Horace nodded. “Yes, sir.” Inside, however, he had very different ideas. These ideas got him in near fatal trouble the next day.