The Cave Man 

Despite the persecution of the Wizards, the People still used some of their creations. When Sage received an infinity scroll on the Feast of the Wane, he was beyond ecstatic. At fourteen, his father presumed that the boy was old enough to handle such responsibility. His mother quietly disapproved. Such an object was technically banned, but most educators had them and Sage's father thought it would keep the boy out of trouble.

The Feast of the Wane signified the shortening of days. Slowly but perceptibly, the village descended into darkness. Sage spent those dark afternoons by the window in his room, writing on his infinity scroll. He often found himself writing detailed descriptions of his favourite places around the village, like Hadrin's Bakery, Meyhew's Flowers, and the park where he and his best friend, Renata, would meet every morning. He wrote the history of himself, his parents and Renata.

One dark afternoon, Sage noticed a small light outside of his window. It emitted from near the peak of Mt. Elation, the ominous mountain that overlooked the village. Through the darkness, the glow was vivid. He broke from his writing and stared at the light, curious as to what it could be. When his father came into his room to wish him goodnight, Sage pointed to the light. The older man, with his upright carriage, dark beard, and full head of hair, looked out the window. Sage saw on his father's face a curious look, one blended with knowledge and fear.

Renata confirmed that she had seen it too. What surprised Sage was Renata's parents' explanation of the light. The possibility of a Wizard being this close to the village filled him with wonder, but it also explained his father's curious look.

"I wonder if they're going to chase him away," Sage mused to Renata.

"My dad says that it's better not to worry about it. That the Wizard will move on in a couple of days. Better than stirring up problems in the town, he says."

Sage's curiosity bested him that night at dinner when he asked his parents about the light and the rumour that it was a Wizard. There was one of those silent moments where both his parents wanted to say something, but they looked at each other to see who would answer first.

"Renata's father always expects the worst," his father said, that curious look returning to his face. "It's probably nomads passing by."

The nights went on and the light on Mt. Elation persisted. During the day, Sage and Renata would look up to where the light was but would see only a small dark spot near the mountain's peak. They could not remember if that was new or if that had always been there.

At night, they would sit on the ridge wall where the village ended and the forested valley began. They would sit and look up at the light, trying to see something that would confirm their suspicions.

Whenever they asked the adults, nobody seemed to want to discuss the light. Everyone saw it each night, but nobody wanted to confront its existence. They were all too busy with their normal lives and, it seemed, nobody wanted the problem of having to deal with a Wizard this close to town. Nobody wanted to get the High Council involved. Besides, nobody would even admit that they thought it really was a Wizard up there, save for Renata's father who was known for his radical theories.

"Do you think he gets hungry?" Renata asked Sage one evening as they listened to the crickets and looked at the lonely illumination from their spot on the ridge wall.

"I don't know. What do Wizards eat?"

"We could bring him something."

"Are you crazy? We can't go up there!"

"Why not?" asked Renata. "We'll take him some bread from Hadrin's. Besides, it's probably not even a Wizard. It's nomads, like your dad said. We can go see them then we can tell everyone and we can all stop worrying."

"What if it is nomads? They're dangerous just like Wizards."

"I'm going tomorrow, with or without you," Renata said steadfastly, as she hopped off the wall and headed home.

He intercepted her and tried to convince her to not go, but she brushed past him, her bag of bread in hand and the slim hours of daylight ahead of her. He followed her, complaining the whole way, over the ridge wall and down through the valley.

By the time the young teens reached the cave's plateau, the sky had darkened and the cave was alight with its fiery glow. Up close, it was incredibly bright, but Sage couldn't see anything within. Outside the cave were some small bushes, dry dirt, rocks, but little else. Still, the glow had a drawing power. Something compelled him to walk forward.

"Wait," yelped Renata. "We shouldn't have come here. Let's go back."

Sage turned and looked at her, "But this was your idea!"

"I know and I regret it. Let's go."

"Don't you want to see... the Wizard?" he whispered.

A voice boomed from within the cave, “Who goes there?”

The sound shook Renata to her core. She dropped the bread in the dirt, turned and disappeared down Mt. Elation. Sage rushed to the plateau's edge, shouting the girl's name, but it was no use. He only saw her back as she quickly maneuvered down toward the valley.

Sage picked up the bread and felt a presence behind him. A large, daunting presence.

"Who are you?" asked a deep, even, inquisitive voice.

Fearing that he was already dead, Sage slowly turned and faced the enigma.

What he saw was not exactly what he expected. The very old man was tall, but time had bent his spine. He wore the long robes expected of a Wizard, but his frame underneath was obviously gaunt. His beard reached his clavicle, but it was patchy on his sallow cheeks, and the hair colours mixed between white and ash. His head was completely bald. Against his expectations, the first feeling Sage had was empathy.

Trying his best not to stumble over his words, the boy began: "I'm Sage. I'm from the village."

He spoke unsteadily, pointing down to the glowing light of his community, "We— I noticed the light from down there and thought to bring you something."

He extended the offering.

The thin, bearded figure was skeptical at first, but seeing the offering decided to look at what it was. He gently took the bag and looked in. His eyes went wide at the sight and he brought the loaf to his nose and took a big whiff. His exhale was one of deep satisfaction.

"Delectable," he said.

Slowly, Sage continued, "Are you a Wizard?"

The figure's expression quickly swapped pleasure for disdain. "Watch your words! I am a man. Nothing more than a man and the possibilities that come with that. Who told you that I was a Wizard?"

"It's all anyone is talking about."

The old man didn't respond. Instead, he looked desirously at the loaf, as if almost lost in a dream.

After a long, silent moment, he responded, "Thank you for the gift. Please, join me."

He turned and disappeared into the bright cave.

Sage felt an impossible blend of desire and fear. The glow pulled him, but his mind shouted at him to run. Although he wanted badly to know more, he bent to his own will. Pressed by fear, he turned and retreated back to the village.

He was out of breath when he finally arrived home and tip-toed back to his room. He silently closed the door behind him, but still, a few minutes later, his mother poked her head in. She asked where he had been and he lied, but she saw through it as mothers always do. She looked at the light out his window then sat on the edge of his bed.

"I know you're curious," she started, "but there's a reason they ran all the Wizards out. They're dangerous."

"He didn't look dangerous," he whispered, revealling where he really had been.

His mother let his words sink in. “It's not about what he looks like. It's about what he's capable of."

Despite his mother's warning, he couldn't stop thinking of the Wizard. His imagination ran wild with the structure of the old man's face. It seemed to hold so much history, so many stories. Sage, ever the curious young man, needed to know more.

Over the next few weeks, he would sneak away often, with a loaf of bread and his infinity scroll, and visit the Wizard. He gained the courage to enter the cave, where a neat little camp was set up, with a small fire that glowed much brighter than one would expect from the size of the flame.

The Wizard didn't seem to mind his company. When the boy first pulled out his infinity scroll, the Wizard laughed. He was shocked that such a device would be used by one of the People, the same group that had persecuted his many friends. Sage asked about those friends and, over many nights, the Wizard told him their stories. How they lived. How they died. He learned that a Wizard never dies from natural causes.

In the village, Sage spent more time in his room, isolating himself to read over the many stories contained within his infinity scroll. He saw Renata less and less, and when he did tell her that he was still going to visit the Wizard, she seemed distant, almost offended, that he continued to visit with that banished cretin.

The day before the Feast of the Wax, Sage was helping his father gather vegetables from the garden when clouds quickly formed in the sky. The day went from bright to grey and just as fast to dark. The man and the boy stopped their activity and looked up. Sage noticed that, despite it still being day, he could see the Wizard's light, but now it burned a deep red. A deafening crack echoed through the air.

His father ushered Sage inside, but the boy had no intention of staying indoors. Hail started to pelt the village. Lighting flashed through the icy downpour. Sage tucked his infinity scroll into his tunic and leaped out of his bedroom window.

Wind pushed the tree branches to one side. Lightning struck the roof of a neighbouring house, causing a fire. The percussion of thunder shuttered through Sage's body. He ran as fast as he could, over the ridge wall and down through the valley.

When he arrived at the cave, he found the Wizard in an unfamiliar and terrifying state. The elder stood at the cave's mouth, arms down and his palms facing out toward the world. His eyes were rolled back in his head and he recited an odd incantation. Sage understood the words but their order made no sense to him. The boy tried to talk to the Wizard but there was no getting through. Taking shelter in the opening of the cave, Sage sat and listened to the rambling old man. In the blood-red light, he pulled out his infinity scroll and started to write, copying down everything that the Wizard said. The storm raged on, ravishing Mt. Elation, the valley and the village.

Sage regretted not bringing bread, because the Wizard continued his monologue for two straight days. Unmoved, unchanged, while the storm raged the entire time. Sage worked through his cramping hand and his hunger, trying his best to get every word down.

He didn't see the fire approaching them. Rather, he heard the mob when they were already close, voices of anger and the stomping of feet. Sage tucked away his infinity scroll as the mob arrived at the cave's plateau.

"What is he doing?" shouted Meyhew the flower merchant. He was accompanied by the majority of the village.

"Make him stop," barked Hadrin to Sage, as if the boy had any control.

"I don't know how," retorted Sage.

"He's destroying the whole village!"

"No, he's not. He's just speaking to the wind!"

"Dumb boy. Who do you think is controlling this storm?"

Sage hadn't thought of it like that.

"I've had enough," muttered Renata's father, as he grabbed a rock and threw it at the Wizard, hitting him on the shoulder. The impact made the Wizard stumble, but his endless words continued and the thunder and lighting continued to clap and flash in the sky.

The mob's anger grew and more people started to throw things at the Wizard. Sage tried to stop them but his father appeared and grabbed the boy, taking him out of harm's way.

The mob descended on the Wizard, who never came out of his trance and never stopped speaking. They threw rocks at him, clubbed him with their torches and finally lit his cloak on fire.

Sage watched in horror as the old man burned to death.

As the Wizard passed, the storm subsided. The skies began to clear and order was restored. Sage sobbed as he walked with his father back to the village.

The reconstruction of the village took months. The days of storm caused a lot of destruction, but within that destruction came rebirth. The soil became more fertile from the rubbish that covered the ground. Families made a lot of overdue renovations. The sense of community had never been stronger in the village.

However, many of the villagers still held a wary eye on Sage. Nobody treated him the same, as they wondered what he was doing with the Wizard on that horrible night.

It took some weeks, but it finally came, the knock on the door. Sage's father answered and was greeted by Renata, her father, Hadrin and some of the other villagers. They looked very serious.

"We came to talk with your boy," said Renata's father.

"You can speak with me," responded Sage's father.

"My daughter told us you gave him an infinity scroll. You know those are illegal outside of the university."

He took a moment to carefully select his next words. "It was for his education and to keep him busy. It's harmless."

Sage listened from within the home. He was terrified.

"The boy must either hand over the infinity scroll..."

Sage took the scroll in his hand.

"Or he must leave the village forever. We cannot have him here!"

Sage looked at his father and his father turned and looked back at his son.

This was not what Sage wanted. This was not what he expected. His ignorance and curiosity had led him to unworldly knowledge, unimaginable control. To give up this knowledge was safety, to maintain it was to venture through the unknown.

His father knew like his son knew.

"You will not touch my boy."

The leaders of the mob rushed Sage's father and the man fought them off with all his might. Sage, scroll in hand, ran through the home and out the back. There were more angry People waiting for him there in the garden. He went back in and to his room. He looked in to his infinity scroll and felt a new dimension of fear. He had seen the power of these spells but he knew not how to yield it. Reciting these magical words at random could cause unforeseen consequences. Through the door, he heard the screaming of his mother and the shouts of his father. Seeing little other choice, he began to incant.

As the words exited his mouth, the sky darkened. He heard the People shriek outside, saying that the dark days had returned again. He continued to recite and a sword of lightning shot down from the sky, erupting in the middle of the mob. Screams of terror once again echoed through the village as People scrambled back to their homes.

Sage stopped reciting and the flash storm ended nearly as quick as it began. Sage's father came through the door and looked at the boy. The boy held the infinity scroll close to his chest. He stared back at his patriarch.

Sage left through the window. He jumped over the ridge wall and went down into the valley. Rather than climb Mt. Elation, he continued down the valley as he began his unexpected destiny.