The mage had explained to our hero that, through a catalyst, a wizard can manipulate the four major elements, fire, water, earth and wind, by molding them into something useful. The healer had heard this and did not correct the mage. There were many more elements than these four, and the fundamentals of magic involved using the catalyst, whose form represented the complexity of the universe, as a metaphor for the current one wanted to manipulate. He did not correct her as this was dangerous knowledge.
She was confused by the necromancer’s depiction of a soul, which was made of no substance she recognized. Because she was ignorant, she thought this was impossible, though it had clearly been done, and told our hero so, as she had quashed our hero’s dream of becoming a mage as he could not relate to any element. Our hero replied that he did not really need her services for his business any longer. So she resumed her studies.
She consulted her mentor, who oversaw her thesis paper. This same mentor had been glad to be rid of her, seeing that she had no potential but much gold, and only paid her the visit on the promise of more gold. Tantalized by the necromancer’s extensive research, he retreated from his stance that necromancy was a forbidden art, pursued the notes passionately, and incidentally taught his former pupil how to bind his soul into an artifact. Thus this wise man, who denied himself the pleasures of the body for a life of study, became encapsulated in an amulet.
This same necklace was worn by the mage’s husband, who was now endowed with the mentor’s knowledge. More intelligent than he had been before, he understood the notes, aged our hero’s replica, finished several of the necromancer’s own experiments, and began divorce proceedings from his wife, for his newfound knowledge caused him to realize marriage was a chain. He failed to mentioned he had been seeing other, richer women.
Our hero did not think it was in his position to interfere, until he learned the minotaur sought to patent the necromancer’s spells, which he had failed to do in his lifetime, and therefore raise astronomically the price of the spell’s usage. He then thought it best to have the relationship mended. This would be difficult as the minotaur guarded the amulet ardently.
The minotaur was courting a wealthier, smarter woman and had taken her for a carriage ride into the countryside. Our hero arranged for one of the wheels to fall out during the ride. He had hoped the subsequent fall would cause his head to be hit, lowering his intelligence. Instead, his body was impaled on a tree branch, severing any use of his lower body.
With this infirmity, our hero and the mage easily took the amulet away. To cure her husband’s disability, the mage learned a spell, which grafted her husband’s upper body with a cow’s lower body. Her husband then produced fresh, delicious milk for her every day, which compensated partially the temporary grief he caused her. She kept the other lower half for her own amusement.
© 2025 Justin Lee