The Last Mage

"King Naom."

"Yes."

"Ever think if the future?"

"Of course, it’s my job to think of the kingdom’s future..."

"Not just the kingdom, but mankind’s."

"A deep question."

"But a good one."

"Agreed," Naom moved to the old wooden desk and stared at the open book. "I hope you haven’t called me down here to speak about mankind’s future. There are witches to worry about these days in Liam."

"Witches are just aged and ugly women who know how to make smoke and fire."

"If you say so. After all, you’re the only one in the kingdom who would. Thank you for clearing that up," the King closed the book, looking at the red binding on it. "What have you done?"

"Done?"

"To this book, Nilrem." The mage crossed to his desk.

"I have altered it slightly."

"Slightly?"

"For the benefit of mankind, of course. And possibly every other species on Earth."

The king grabbed the man by the shirt collar and some of the white hair hanging from his chin. He had a slight look of fear in his eyes, he had attacked a mage, but he knew him well enough that he wouldn’t do anything. "Why are the words crossed out? What have you done to it?"

"I've made sure that generations from now mankind will be stronger than the ones before it."

"You’ve changed the book on magic, haven‘t you?"

"I am the only person left in the world who knows how to perform it now."

"I’ll have you killed for this. And your apprentice will help me undo your work."

"I have no apprentice. He left a few days ago, probably out of the country by now."

"Why?"

"Because he knows that this is for the good. Beside the fact, he no longer knows any magic."

The King lost his grip of the shirt and hair and stared at the book on the desk. "How could he forget?" King Naom looked up and a smile was on the mage’s face.

"There are ways to make men forget what they have learned."

"You bastard," the King swiped the book off the desk with his hand, banging it against the wall. The two guards came rushing in, crossbows ready to fire.

"What happened?" The sentinel to the left asked.

"Kill him," the King returned, his gaze fixed on the man he was condemning.

"You’re forgetting that if you kill me there is no way for magic to return. I alone know its secrets. Kill me and magic will disappear under your orders."

"What’s he talking about, your majesty?" The guard to the right asked.

"Silence. What did you do this for Nilrem? The country will fall without magic. Terror will sweep our plains. Enemies will trample over our armies as if we are nothing but lowly peasants with pitchforks!"

"They won’t if Liam learns how to survive without it. That‘s why I did this," Nilrem picked the book off the floor, holding it in his right hand. "The people of Liam have become weak. They depend too much on magic, and it is better if it is forgotten. I was hoping to lie to you about the book, disappear, and let you try to perform the spells. Hopefully someday you would have figured out that it wouldn‘t work, and become dependant on something other than magic. If you didn’t, then Liam deserved, and stills deserves to fall."