The Useful and the Obsolete
Adeon stood near his new master, joy evident in his smile. He would be trained as a magician and been told he could be a great someday. Adeon smiled, standing next to the man that would train him. The man smiled down on Adeon with as much warmth as the sun gazing upon the daisies at dawn.
Grateful, almost to a fault, Adeon said, “Thank you for training me. I promise I’ll work hard. I’ll do all I can.”
“I don’t doubt you will. You have an innate ability, the same as all wizards. It has always been there, you just have to cultivate it.”
Adeon’s smile faltered. “I wasn’t sure. This is the first time someone has believed in me. People, though they didn’t say it, gave me the impression that I couldn’t amount to much because of, well,” here he gestured to his milky eyes, even lighter than his pale skin, the evidence of his blindness.
“Don’t worry. You are a magician. You can’t help but amount to something. Someday, you will control immense power.”
“Will I be able to help them? That is what a wizard does? No one has ever thought that I could help myself, much less help others. I want to be able to help my village. I want to be useful to them.”
Adeon’s smile returned, though not quite as strong as before.
“Please, sir, my mum is sick. Do you know anyone that can help?”
“I’m sorry, only a wizard can cure her.”
Abigail nodded at the man sitting by the bar, tears streaming down her freckled face. She had almost given up hope. Now, she just continued because of the small hope that her mother could be cured. Blacked hands, feet, arms. Plague. Why did it have to be her mother that fell sick? She was the last one left in Abigail’s life. Everyone else had either died or had left her. Abigail didn’t know what she would do without her mother.
Abigail continued to trudge on, rolling her mother along in the cart meant to be pulled by horses. Mabey she would find a wizard enclave or a village with people that knew where a wizard was. Hoping against hope, Abigail walked off.
The old man who had answered Abigail sat with his friend, a pang of regret clear on his face. “Do you think she will be able to save her mum?”
The reply came shortly “No, the plague always sets on fast. The mom will be dead within the week. The daughter too, if she isn’t careful.”
“She’s brave and determined for a little fifteen-year-old.”
“I’d say that too, except she’s twelve.”
“Grit. I like that in people, especially the young. I do hope she finds a wizard.”
They both sat, drinking, staring at the young girl as her red curls bounced behind her.
Adeon stood in his room, waving his hands. Just a few simple hand gestures and he could alter the world. Adeon practiced his magic. He made sure to keep up his daily practice regiment. But, suddenly he stopped, turned around, and waited.
“Yes, master?”
“Good. If you keep practicing in your magic, you will be able to sense all the people near you, not just me.”
Adeon smiled. It had been two years to get to this point. Now he would learn to help people. He would learn to be useful. He knew that it would be worth it when he was able to reenter the world and help everyone.
Abigail sat on her dirt-covered porch. It had been over three years since her mother had died. At first, she felt guilty. To help with her guilt, she started to blame the wizards. Why couldn’t they have helped? Why did they have to hide? Her mother could have been saved if the wizards had denied helping the people. With time, Abigail’s guilt subsided. What did not subside was her anger at the wizards.
Abigail took a sip from her cup of tea and stared out at her home. Desert. It was a desert. But, the grime of the setting in no way diminished the beauty within the people. People. Better than wizards. Abigail looked at her now empty cup of tea, downcast. The thought of wizards made her angry.
As she looked around her, Abigail noticed soot and ash mixed with the grime. ‘Old Trystan,’ Abigail thought absentmindedly ‘He must be working again.’ She looked up at the strange, metal, twisting building that was Trystan’s forge. Black smoke rose from it. Abigail rushed to the building. This wasn’t the first time something caught fire in the forge, nor would it the last, but Abigail ran to help all the same. After all, you can’t single-handedly turn a small town into one of the greatest sectors of metallurgy without a few explosions.
She reached the building and opened up the door, releasing thick plumes of black smoke. Coughing and wheezing, she entered, trying to find old Trystan and persuade him to get out. Abigail knew he would be unwilling to abandon whatever project he was working on. But, as she reached Trystan who was working on a project, wearing goggles to protect against the black smoke clinging to his black skin, he paused. She looked, not at Trystan, but his project.
Light. Not candlelight. But, light entombed in glass. Magic. Yet, Trystan was no wizard. That had been proven time and time again. Trystan had made his own magic. Light.
Soon the wizards would be obsolete
Adeon stood in the tower. His tower. His master had died, and so he was the new warden. He was the new wizard. From the very top, he stared down. Most people would have seen the huts, the villages, and the markets. Not Adeon. Instead, he saw the people, the animals, the plan, the flora, and fauna. He saw life.
These were all people he could help. He toiled and worked so that one day he would be able to descend from the tower to help everyone. Everyone would be pleased. He smiled in anticipated pleasure. His fifteen long years of hard work, dedication, and practice, all of it would be worth it. He could help people. He would be useful.
Bang! Abigail hit the heated metal with her mallet. She worked. As she molded the metal, she molded her future. She. Bang! Was. Bang! Self- Bang! Sufficient. Bang! Stupid, old, irrelevant, wizards. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Adeon descended through his tower. He had spent the time using magic to enhance his appearance. He had taken care to spritz wear on his face and to magically comb and brush his hair. Due to his blindness, and due to the fact that no one saw him, he rarely made a bother about how he looked. This time, however, he would be making his first impression upon the mortals in the valley surrounding his tower. One never got a chance to make a first impression, so, through a combination of time, magic, and water Adeon worked to make himself look great.
He walked quickly down the stairs of his tower, steps lengthening into long strides. He was ready. Soon he reached the big iron doors. He would be able to go outside and help people! He opened the doors with a grunt. Unknown to him sunshine began pouring in. As Adeon stepped out and began to walk around what he knew to be the surrounding village, he noticed that most of its inhabitants stood still, presumably staring at him.
“Hello,” Adeon spoke confidently
Silence.
“Hello?” This time Adeon spoke more tentatively.
More silence.
The people around Adeon left and went back to what Adeon assumed to be their houses.
Confused, Adeon walked around the village. He was a wizard and was powerful. He had worked long years so that he could be useful to them. It was his job, his duty. It was how he would earn his keep?
Adeon wandered around, worry growing. Eventually, he reached a little girl who would speak to him.
“Where were you?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Where were you?” the girl seemed close to tears. “Our village is old. The rain hasn’t come. Our crops are failing. People have started to leave. We used to be a great village, a small city, even, if you remember. Eventually, we fell into decline. Now we are just a small village. We are still proud of who we were, who we are, but we could still be as great as we once were. Where were you? You could have helped us.”
Adeon was taken aback, but he put on a smile and said, “I was practicing. I can’t help you guys if I can’t do magic. Also, I love this village. It’s my home. It’s beautiful.”
“It’s been over 15 years. You said that you would help us when you joined the wizard. We waited, but you forgot about us. Everyone hates you now. No one trusts you. You say that you love this village. But, if you truly loved the village you would have saved it. I don’t trust you.”
“Well, I’m here now. I can help.”
“I don’t think you understand. No one will let you help. Everyone hates you. People don’t want you.”
Abigail walked through the dirty, slimy streets of The City. She needed to get to The Forge with her chunk of metal. It had been quite a long time since Trystan had discovered electric light. The time since had been spent growing the small desert town. Except, it wasn’t a town anymore. Many more people had immigrated to it after the town became a hub of industry. The building that most exemplified the change from dusty desert town to oasis metropolis was The Forge, as it was the building that had been given the most time and attention. It was tall, towering over the surrounding town. Looking at it one could never be sure if they had seen the full extent. Smoke poured from pipes at the top, obscuring its height.
At the large base, there was a small tunnel with tracks leading from it. A tiny steam train could be seen chugging along from it. It was small, a proof of concept more than anything else. It was made of the same twisting metal. Yet, if one paid attention, one could see the wires that ran along the building, then out into the town. This was the basis of the small telegraph system.
Abigail entered through the large, open, wrought iron doors. Walking through one of the many underground paths, she soon came to the room which contained Old Trystan, still tinkering on small devices.
“I have extra materials.”
Trystan turned to Abigail, his protege. “Good, this combined with the other metal that we have hammered out should allow us to begin construction on our next train. We may be able to expand the tracks passed out of The City. Maybe we should expand our telegraph system at the same time, though.”
“This will be great! Soon we will be able to help anyone. This will start a new era. Industry, technology, work, all of this will bring new jobs. We can bring in so many people. The wizards are obsolete. We can make a new world. It will be ours,”
“Err, yes.” Almost regretfully, Trystan pointed at a map on the wall “If we need to expand, then maybe we should expand here first.”
“But, there’s a wizard there.”
“It will be fine. Besides, it’s the logical first step. It’s close and it used to be at the forefront of technology. Even though that was a while ago, It won’t be too much of a change for them.” His face hardened slightly “Unlike the big change for us.” he muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. I was just saying that I’ve heard that the wizard hardly ever shows his face.”
“Of course he doesn’t,” said Abigail through gritted teeth, thinking back to her mother and how she died. “Any way, I guess you’re right. That village will be a perfect place to start. From there we can expand our knowledge and create technology that will prove that the common people are better than wizards I’ll ever be.”
It was raining in his village. Adeon welcomed the cool downpour, almost as if was washing away his mistakes. His calling of the rain had taken some time but, considering that it didn’t take a lot of effort, it was the least that he could do for the village. It would help the plants grow, at least he could be useful to them.
Adeon whistled sadly as he walked, looking around at the lonely village. He passed a small, dying garden. He paused, remembering how the little girl was talking about how the gardens were all dying. Then he stooped down to the ground and placed his hands on the dirt. Adeon’s hands started to glow, pulsing with magical energy. The leeks growing in the garden shriveled and grew taller, more full. The garden began to heal.
“Hey, get away from there.”
Aeon turned away from the garden and towards the speaker. “Am I doing something wrong?”
“Yes.” The woman hit Adeon with a cane that he hadn’t been able to perceive. “I don’t want you to meddle with my plants. We can’t trust you. All that time while you were alone in your tower, we’ve starved. Yet you come to us now. You are a strange wizard, mmm? You’re going to change or village, contort it. What else would you do?”
“No! I won’t change it. I’m proud of this village, my village. I just want to make it so that the plants aren’t all dying and so that the buildings aren’t all falling over. I just want to help you guys in the way that you want.”
“Mmmmm suspicious,” she muttered, more to herself than to Adeon.
“I’m sorry. Can I please make amends? I can be useful to all of you.” Crack! The cane once again hit Adeon. “Hey! Stop that. I can’t see it.”
“I thought that you were some special wizard.” The women jeered. “Wasn’t that why you spent so much time away from us and up in the tower so that you could become more powerful?”
Tears welling up, Adeon turned and walked away.
Abigail stood in a large white room under The Forge. Large bins of herbs sat propped against the wall. Upon metal counters lay small dishes with…. something growing within. This was her improved healing house. Now no one would die from the plague like her mother. It wasn’t open yet, no one was allowed inside. But, it was in progress. Soon she could help people. The wizards were becoming irrelevant. Soon, even their healing abilities would become obsolete.
Abigail walked over to the small dish and peered down at bacteria growing within it. It was a strange experiment that she and Old Trystan had started. Some mold they had found appeared to have beneficial properties. Learning this, Abigail and Trystan had tried to grow and recreate it.
As Abigail peered at and tested the samples, Trystan entered the room. “How are the samples? Are they growing correctly?”
“Yes,” Abigail said slowly. “according to my observations, it should have similar properties.”
“Are you sure? You know that we can’t test it if we aren’t sure. It could have some negative side effects.”
“Of course, we won’t test it yet. Hopefully, we won’t need to use it. This can be the last result if someone gets sick.”
Trystan stood straighter as if reassured. “Right, of course. Science for science’s sake isn’t the goal. Is It?” He laughed nervously.
“Of course not. I would never twist your inventions, our inventions in that way. The goal has been to help people, as well as boost industry and the economy. Making the wizards obsolete is just a handy byproduct. I would never go so far as to risk an innocent to prove my point.”
“Yes, of course,” said Trystan quickly.
“Anyway, I’ve thought about what you said. You’re right. The village with the cowardly wizard is a cold place to expand towards. Those people do need our help. I can’t let my loathing of wizards get in the way of that.”
“That’s good,” said Trystan.
“Yes. It is. We should begin work on the trains and the telegraph system. It is time for us to expand. We will progress. This is our time.” Abigail slammed her hand on the table, then slowly turned and exited the room, leaving Old Trystan looking flustered.
Adeon walked aimlessly. There wasn’t anything else left to do. Everyone in the town hated him. There was no way he could be useful to them. Adeon supposed that he could leave and find a new village to help, but Adeon just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had abandoned them. He had to rectify his mistakes. But, he couldn’t. They wouldn’t let him help. They wouldn’t give him a second chance. For a second, Adeon had wondered whether he deserved a second chance. He soon shook it off. He had needed to train so that he could get more powerful so that he could help him. His intentions had been good. Even more important than that, he was a wizard. This meant that he was more important.
But, how could he be useful? If he couldn’t help them, his training had been a waste. If even now after all he went through, he was still not enough….
“Oh, there you are, Mr. Wizard.” The little girl that Adeon had crossed paths with earlier, still with crossed arms, walked up to him. “I was looking for you.”
Her words, still harsh, grated against his ears like sandpaper on wood. He could tell that the girl was still angry at him.
“Why?” Adeon asked carefully. The fact that she was looking for him at all was nice. She was the first villager to talk to him, and now she talked to him a second time? He wanted to tread lightly.
“The villagers are talking about some city. I don’t know what it’s called. But, they’re looking to expand this way. The villagers are all excited by this, as they think The City can help them. Apparently,” here she sounded annoyed “Apparently, they have some type of power. They call it technology. Everyone thinks that the people from The City can help them. You know, unlike you.” She said the last part with just a hint of reproach.
“Thank you for telling me.”
The girl turned to leave. “Don’t mention it.” She grumbled.
“Wait,” Adeon called. The little girl stopped without turning. “I just wanted to thank you for telling me. And, well, it appears as if I have forgotten to ask for your name. What is it?”
“It’s Brynn, and, you’re welcome.” Brynn stormed off, leaving Adeon if he had made a misstep.
Abigail stood at the train’s exit tunnel, looking on at the endless tracks. On, and on, and on it went. It amazed Abigail, that even though she had expanded her knowledge here, in her home city, she had yet to expand outside of it. There was a whole lot of nothing, an emptiness. It made her feel small, insignificant. Despite her science, progress, and innovation, it was still a small blotch near the edges of the map.
She would need to work harder. A wizard could put a city on the map in a little under a year. What chance did she have if her city, The City, wasn’t on the map after a decade of innovation? But, things were changing. Production was growing exponentially. Soon, she would be able to rival even the grandest of wizards.
Trystan caught Abigail’s introspection and interrupted it with heavy coughing.
“Vast, isn’t it.” He said simply.
“I guess.” Abigail shook her head. “But, we’ll conquer it. We will move through the emptiness. The world is changing.”
“Yes. I guess it is. But, before we go to change the world before we continue, pause. Breathe. Remember my first invention? It was light. You thought that it was magic.” Trystan wheezed. “It filled you with wonder. That was why I made it. It was beautiful. That’s why I made it. I wanted to create something fun, something interesting, something that would make people laugh. You were the one that gave everything a use.”
“Yes. But, isn’t that important? We were able to help people.”
“You mean that you were able to help people. My technology seems to have sailed away from me with you at the helm. You made everything useful, but it wasn’t completely altruistic. Instead, you did this more than in part to spite the wizards. You know this. Yes, you help people, but I worry about what will happen when helping people conflicts with your drive to show up the wizards. You could choose your ego over helping people. It already has, in some respects. Our city, what you call The City, is one hundred times more productive. But, there are still poor people, there is still crime. You may have helped some people, yes, but you don’t spread joy.”
With a sigh, she said, “I promise that I won’t choo-”
“Shhh. look. The sun is setting. Isn’t it pretty? Be calm, feel the wonder. This is beautiful in and of itself. Doesn’t that alone make it useful? It’s pretty even without improvements.”
The villagers were all meeting. They had all gathered in a central building to discuss The City. Adeon would have known more had he been invited. As it was, he was standing outside of the building, craning his neck to catch what they were saying. Adeon could see the people that were in the building, not its walls. This all meant that he could not enter the inner sanctum where everyone else sat in discussion.
“I’m just trying to make amends. Why can’t they see that? They should recognize this.” Adeon grumbled.
“This city could be our chance.” Adeon paused in his revelry. He could hear them talking. “I’ve heard that The City has used its newfangled technology to achieve prosperity. They can help us regain our former glory.”
“It could replace our wizard. He’s useless anyway. It could be even better than our wizard.”
“Aye. I’ve heard tales of all the people that have been helped. They can supposedly heal people who are even on the verge of death. They can transport people dozens of miles in just over a day. They can mass produce books and writings. They have machines that can take people over the water. It is all so impressive.”
Adeon was disgruntled. He had worked hard and practiced and was capable of great magic. He could easily do any of the things they could do. He could even change the weather and grown plants, things he knew that no mortal could do. He also knew that he could heal even those at death’s door. He was far more useful than any city.
“It is impressive. They also keep everyone well fed. I’ve heard that they have a hundred gardens, producing so much food that they have to throw some away. They do all of this simultaneously. Gardens, medicine, transport, building, they do all of it at the same time. We can improve our existing village. We wouldn’t even need to change it all that much, just incorporate some of the technology into our houses. The rest of it could be on the outside. Our village does not need to be altered.”
Adeon stood in silence. Even with all of his power, he was just one man. He could not help everyone, and certainly not all at once. Unable to reconcile this, he walked off, away from the meeting place.
Abigail stood once again at the exit of the train tunnel. The train tracks were almost finished, and so, they had tamed the wilds. Soon, they would be able to reach the next village. It was amazing, all that they had done, all that she had done. They were conquering the wilds. Soon, when they reached the village, she would conquer her first wizard, figuratively of course.
Abigail’s confidence grew. She was powerful and would continue to be powerful. She smiled and thought back to the rumors that people told of her city and her accomplishments. Most of them were true. Even the ones that weren’t true were still things that she would achieve one day. In any case, each rummer bolstered her ego.
The sun started to rise. It was beautiful. But, all too quickly she began to think about how the sun was rising in her great city. Its power would never end. Like the sun, it would be unraveled. Neither man nor wizard would topple it.
“Are you ok?”
Adeon didn’t turn around despite his surprise.
The concern in Brynn’s voice increased. “Adeon? Adeon? What’s wrong. Did something happen?”
Silence.
Brynn’s tone changed to anger. “Don’t be sullen. Whatever you think has happened can’t be that bad. Stop thinking just about yourself.”
Adeon moved slightly, fidgeting. Finally, he spoke in a pained, strained voice, a voice that contained the anguish of someone who has seen their life’s work crumble around him. His face looked bleak and his mouth contorted as he said ”Don’t you know? They’re replacing me. The great city that they keep talking about is coming. They will not give me another chance. I’m being shoved to the side even though I gave up years of my life to become a wizard. Now, it’s as if I’m obsolete.”
“Then leave. If you hate what is happening, then why don’t you leave. If you want to be useful find a place to be useful. Some places don’t hate wizards. There are other places. You could be useful there.”
“Don’t you think that I’ve thought about this myself? I have. But, I gave up years of my life to help these people, and I will help them, City or no City.”
“Stop being high and mighty. This village doesn’t need you, so what? You’re not the greatest person ever. You aren’t the only one who can be useful here, you need to realize that. But,” here her voice softened. “You also need to remember that you aren’t responsible for everything. Your worth isn’t tied to what you do for this village. You can still prove yourself in other places, in other ways. I know that you can and will redeem yourself. You’ve redeemed yourself to me. If you just continue trying to help people, you can prove yourself to the world.”
Adeon turned to her, tears noticeable on his pale face. “No, I’ll stay here. I have to. You need to understand.”
“You’re the one that needs to try and understand. You are only as obsolete as you feel. I’m not obsolete even though I’m not a wizard. Spend time with me. Be with people. Being a wizard isn’t the only thing in life.” Abigail held out her hand.
Begrudgingly, Adeon took it, smiling slightly.
Abigail sat on the train. It is time, her work was coming to fruition. She was going to another village. She could expand the village, improve it, and grant it stability. With the help of the people, she could create new forms of technology. She beamed at Trystan.
Trystan didn’t return her smile. Instead, he stared out the window, coughing.
“Are you okay?”
“Of course,” Trystan wheezed “people don’t call me old Trystan for nothing.”
Abigail still eyed Trystan warily. But she soon went back to contemplating how great she could make the world. But, again she noticed Trystan staring out the window, silent, unmoving.
“What’s wrong? Is there something on your mind?”
Trystan looked flustered. “N-no, of course not.”
Abigail stared Trystan down, prompting him to finish.
“Well, I’ve talked about how you’ve sort of commandeered my science. I haven’t thought about how this makes me feel until now. I was the one who created the lightbulb. You encouraged me to make more and more of them, increasing my output. You wanted to build a technological titan. I didn’t. You need to expand, in part, it’s to spite the wizards. I’ve been thinking about this. Is all of this necessary?”
“Of course-”
“Wait, let me finish. You changed our city, my city so much. Progress for the sake of progress isn’t always the best. Our village isn’t the same village it once was. No longer is it a nice place to look at while you drink tea from your front stoop. It is just all so different. You have changed it, and I don’t necessarily like it. All I want is to tinker and make some wonderful devices. I can’t do that anymore. You made me make trains and telegraphs. I did those things for you. But, I don’t think I can do that anymore. When you reach the village, I’m going to leave you. I’m going to make a new life for myself.”
“Trystan.” Abigail pleaded.
“I’ve decided. You can work on your grand mechanical creations, your towering achievements that will be seen from a mile off. I will be able to work on my tinkering, alone. I will focus on making people smile. Just make sure not to change the village too much.”
Trystan got up from his seat on the train and left. Abigail, mouth agape, was left alone. Her excitement had all but evaporated. She hadn’t paid much attention to Trystan. He was right, he had started all of this. He had deserved more. Abigail sat in her seat, tears streaming down her face.
Abigail would make it up to him. She would build him a great workshop. This brought Abigails back into her revelries. She thought once again of everything she would do, of all the things she would create. She thought all about how she would improve the village, forgetting about Trystan’s last remark.
Adeon sat, head in his hands. The tracks had reached the village. The strange new telegraph that could send messages through wire had also appeared. It was almost as if his being obsolete had been confirmed. He wasn’t needed.
Brynn walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s all right. Remember what I’ve said ‘your worth isn’t measured by what you do for this village.’ as long as you are helping people, you will never be obsolete.”
“Yeah, but who needs me? I’m a relic of the past. All that matters is The City.”
“You’re a wizard. You trained for years to gain unfathomable power. There will always be people that need you. Besides, normal people, mortals like me, seem to get along pretty well even without magical powers. You can still be useful.”
Adeon smiled a bit. “Go on, tell me how I can be useful.” he turned his ear. Brynn was telling him what he wanted to hear.
“Well, you’re powerful already. But, it would still be useful if you could use some of the technology.”
“So you’re saying,” Adeon said slowly, “you’re saying that I should go to The City.”
“You might find yourself there. You might find yourself when you don’t always have to be an atoning wizard.”
The train had reached the end of the tracks. Abigail was ready, she would be able to help a new village. She jumped out of the train and found, much to her pleasure, a crowd of adoring villagers. She waved to them, reveling in their praise.
“What are you going to do?” One of the villagers asked eagerly. “What amazing technologies will you use to change our lives?”
She looked around at the village. It was old, rusty, falling apart. But, that was ok. It would make it even easier for her when she rebuilt it into a bigger and stronger city. It would be greater than anything the wizards could ever have done.
“We can start by tearing down some of the old buildings. In their place, we can build these tall, metal spires that I’ve envisioned. This village will become a grand city.”
Abigail walked on, not noticing the startled looks on the villagers’ faces. It was time to prove that she was better than any old wizard.
Adeon stood by the train with Brynn, worried. “You think that I can prove myself?”
“Yeah, I believe in you.”
“Well, so long, for now, I’ll hope that I see you again soon.”
Brynn helped Adeon climb up into the train, which had been turned around. Feeling anxious and worried, Adeon decided to sit next to someone. He spied an old man, sitting alone and gazing out the window. “Is this seat taken?”
The man turned around. “No, no it’s not.”
Adeon sat down tentatively. The man smiled at him saying “Hello, I’m Trystan.”
“Adeon.” Adeon shook Trystan’s outstretched hand.
“You’re the wizard!”
“Yes.” Pause. “Is that a problem?”
“Of course it isn’t. But, if you don’t mind my asking, why are you going to The City? I thought that wizards usually had a village that they presided over.”
“Well, yes. But, my training took many years to complete. It wasn’t there for them, and they made do without me. They no longer want my help. There, I’m obsolete.”
Trystan could see the tears in Adeons eyes.
“You’re worried about the changing world.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for all of it. I’ve always had a purpose. Now, its as if I’m obsolete”
Trystan coughed and hacked.
“Are you okay?” Adeon asked.
“I’m fine. I don’t know if you will find what you’re looking for in The City, but I think it will help you find perspective.”
Silence.
“Will you help me, while we are in The City? I’m struggling and I think I might need a friend to be there with me.” Adeon asked.
Abigail stood in the village, staring at some of the old run-down houses, almost seeing towers and spires reaching up from them. She scribbled on a piece of parchment, sketching out her ideas for the village’s grand future. It too would be improved and transformed, just like The City.
She turned and walked to the far west of the village where another forge was being constructed. This forge would be used to create a new City. It would be where all of the new technology was created. She stared at the large skeleton that would soon be the forge. It was filled with twisted metal and hardened earth. Cruel, crystal rods stuck up from the dirt around the building. It was breathtaking.
A nervous villager tentatively walked up to Abigail. Abigail turned. “Yes, what is it?” she said pleasantly.
“Well, we are worried about the future of the village.”
Abigail laughed. “Don’t worry. Your village will become like The City. It will be improved. It will grow.”
“Right, but we are worried about how the change will impact the village. We do not want our village to be changed in totality.”
Abigail spoke, calm and reassuring “It’s ok, don’t worry. What’s your name?”
“Brynn.”
“Well, Brynn, change is inevitable. We must accept it. If we change along with the world we will grow stronger. It will be stronger and more beautiful.”
Brynn looked at the odd building that had been labeled ‘The Forge.’ Not meeting Abigail’s eye they said “Errr, yes. I guess you’re right.”
“It’s ok. Your village will still be your home. It will just be improved. It will be bigger and better than anything besides The City. And you trust The City, right? That’s why you chose us over your wizard. Everything will be fine.”
Brynn gazed off into the distance, almost regretful. Abigail didn’t notice the pang of longing that flashed across Brynn’s face. After all, Abigail was too busy checking on the construction of The Forge. It would be the genesis of all the changes in the small little village.
The train had reached its destination. It had gone full circle and had now reached its home, The City. Adeon got off, stumbling slightly. He tripped and soon he was sprawled on the dirt.
“Are you okay?” called Trystan.
“I’m fine,” grumbled Adeon.
Adeon slowly rose to his feet, dusting himself off. He was now able to focus his full attention on The City. It was so different from the village. Though Adeon needed to get away from it, he still loved his home. But, Adeon now realized why it was The City and not just a city. He could see the inner sparks of hundreds of people, more than 10 times the population of his humble village. Smells filled the air. The smoke from factories, the smell of hundreds of unwashed people. Hundreds of people who were all being useful in their own way.
But, Adeons senses were soon overwhelmed by the noises, the noise of clamoring people, of harmers against steel, water dripping from above, of people fighting, of rumbling machinery. It wasn’t necessarily pleasant, but it was wonderful, it was useful in its own right, and Adeon relished it.
“You okay?” Trystan asked again, worried by Adeons silence.
“Yes, yes, I am,” he said, Joy evident in his smile. The City. How beautiful, how wonderful. It was brilliant. “Show me around.”
Abigail stared in dismay at the village. The houses were still dilapidated and the buildings that she was trying to construct were still not finished. Nothing was going according to plan. It was almost as if the villagers were fighting her as she worked.
The entire village was an eyesore. Brown, rotting wood reeked, unsightly grey stone was peppered everywhere, mud squelched under her feet. ‘Eugh’ Abigail thought. She couldn’t believe how dirty and grimy the village was. It was the place where people would drink tea on their front stoops and say hello to their neighbors. It was no place for a new city.
Adeon had spent two months in the City. Two glorious months. Almost every second that Adeon had spent in The City was wonderful. He didn’t have to worry about ‘redeeming’ himself anymore. Instead, he could be useful by existing as he was. He was letting go of his pent up worries and regrets. It was freeing to no longer have his identity be tied to a single factor. He was useful, not just because he was a wizard, but because he was a person. He could be whoever he wanted in the grand City, the home of a thousand people.
He was happy because he could simply be near people and help them and make them smile. So many people had lost homes or jobs, it was a pleasure just to give them some food or to tell them a story. Each day he had made at least one person happy. He felt more useful than he ever had before. The fact that he was blind didn’t hamper his newfound usefulness. The people in The City didn’t care.
“You like it here.” Adon could tell from the way he spoke that Trystan was smiling.
“Yes, I do.” Said Adeon, grinning just as broadly.
Trystan spoke, pausing to cough “You understand yourself, huh. You aren’t worried about being obsolete.”
“Yeah. I’ve learned a bit about the technology in The City. I’m able to be useful. I don’t think anyone could be truly obsolete here. There is just so much of everything. Everyone can find a way to be useful,” Adeon smiled. “But, I don’t know. Even though this place is amazing,” Adeon ran his hand across the metal. “I think I might need to go back to the village, maybe I can restart there. Mabey, they’ll let me back.”
“I’m proud of you.” Trystan keeled over, coughing.
“Trystan, are you ok?”
“I, I don’t know. Let me rest. Be here for me. I,” Cough. “I’m sorry for keeping you here.”
Adeon got Trystan to the hospital under The Forge before sending a telegraph to Brynn, explaining why he would be late.
Abigail’s two months had gone poorly. The village was still disgusting and unsightly. The people had acted even more hostile, eventually getting into outright shouting matches. She winced at the memory of one particularly bad encounter with Brynn.
“Why are you twisting our village.”
“I’m helping you guys. I’m building a new city for you. It will be the rock on which you base your return to glory.”
“We don’t want your glory. It just seems as if it’s trying to prove a point, not help people.”
“My glory is industry. It helps us expand. It helps us grow.”
“Expansion for expansion’s sake isn’t good. We are happy in our little village without your need for expansion.”
“Happy. Ha!” Abigail let loose some crazed laughter. “Even a shoddy wizard could build something greater than this in a year. You will never over through them if you act like this.”
“We don’t care. Unlike you, we don’t feel the need to topple every wizard we think we see.”
“You guys hate your wizard.”
“Not as much as we hate you. At least he didn’t try to uproot our way of life. Besides, I personally find him and his company quite enjoyable.”
The memory pained her. Saddened, she walked around by one of the telegraphs. She read the message in it. She hurried and got on the train, headed back towards the city.
Adeon sat in the cold white room. He was worried about Trystan. But, he didn’t want to try anything without express permission from him. He didn’t want to lose another friend. But, if things were bleak, if Trystan was sick, Adeon would heal him. He would not let Trytan die.
Suddenly. A girl burst into the room. Adeon gave a small jump from surprise. “What are you doing here?”
The girl ignored Adeon instead, running over to Trystan and checking his vitals. This seemed to worry her, she moved more rapidly. She rushed over to some strange creatures with dark, dusty sparks. “Don’t touch those.”
The girl turned. “I’m Abigail. Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Who?”
Abigail sighed, “I don’t have time for this. I’m the one who created The City.”
“Still, don’t touch those…. Things.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
Abigail turned towards Trystan. In a burst of magic, Abigail was turned backward. She cursed.
“I knew a wizard would try to undermine us.” Abigail tried to collect the things that she had been carrying.
“Don’t use them. They are contaminated.”
“He has the plague. I have to help him or else he will die. Just like my mother.”
“I’ll heal him.”
Abigail moved her body to block Trystan “I can’t trust you. The wizards don’t care about people.”
Adeon’s face hardened. “He needs me.”
Abigail stared hard at Trystan’s dying body, She should have seen it earlier. If she had, the wizard wouldn’t need to be there. But, she looked more closely. He had always been there for her. Even when she had been going against his wishes, he had been there. He was now sick because of his work and because of The City. Abigail’s hands shook as she stepped aside.
“You can heal him.”
Adeon healed Trystan, it was the first thing that he had done that was truly helpful and would be well received. It was the first time that he had been able to be truly useful as a wizard and help someone. But, Adeon didn’t feel obligated to raise Abigail’s opinion of him. He didn’t need to be useful to her. He was useful to Trystan, and that was all that was important.
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