God's Warlock

or The Magus Plenipotentiary

“Utter one more word against me and I shall put hands on you, Adom!” said Bomani to the warlock. “Don’t fail to recall that you receive your power from the gods, I inherited mine from my ancestors who won them in battle with a great fiery serpent! You are permitted to use magic, I am magical.”

“We do not choose as captain of a ship the most highly born of those aboard” Adom retorted with his chin raised in smug defiance.

“But poke not the fire with a sword, young Adom” Chisisi the sorcerer interjected.

Adom sprung to his feet from the bronze-footed wooden stool he was sitting on, igniting two cobalt flames, one in each palm. Eyes blazing amethyst he shouted, “I will scorch the heart out of you, sorcerer! We’ll see what use your precious secrets are when you’re reduced to a smoldering ashen pile!”

 “Calm yourself, Adom” came a voice from the front entrance of the per-nu[1] where the three men had been instructed to wait furtively. “Before the battle of the clenched hand, comes the battle of the mind, and in your haste, you’re sure to lose both—especially if your quarrel is with a mage and a sorcerer.” The voice belonged to a gaunt, bearded man in a green cloak making his way past the table of day laborers toward his three similarly clad associates.

“Ah yes, the wizard is here, we may proceed at last. How decent of you to finally join us, Akil,” said Chisisi the sorcerer with more than a tinge of venom.

“Wizards are never late, O secretive one, you know the old sayings. And Adom is correct, Bomani, it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be” the wizened man said hanging his pointed hat on the remaining hook jutting out of the wall above their circular Acacia table.

“It matters not, I suppose” Bomani grumbled. “If you are not the lead camel, the view never changes.”

“Ah, too true. And yet, I surmise that none of us shall be lead camel after that atrocity which took place this afternoon in front of the king” Akil lamented.

“I still cannot fathom what took place” Chisisi said. “What happened to them? Do you know what abominable feats I had to perform to imbue my staff with magic?!”

“Mine has been in my family since—”

“—Since your ancestor smote the dragon, Bomani, we’re well aware” Adom interjected, hoping to obviate another of Bomani’s well-worn tales of his lineal magi.

“Yes, we’ve all lost a staff today and surely they’re each irreplaceable for their own reasons and in their own way” Akil said seeking to mollify Chisisi.

“Right, they are irreplaceable! So, the question facing us then, is how shall we retrieve them?” Chisisi said, visibly distraught.

“Retrieve them?! You saw what happened, correct? They’re gone—eaten!” Adom exclaimed. “There is no getting them back.”

“I’m afraid the warlock is right for once, Chisisi. They are gone” Bomani reluctantly stated, as matter of fact as he could muster.

“The truth is, we are lucky to have our lives. Whatever power stands behind this Aharon and this Moshe is greater than anything I’ve ever experienced.” Akil said with a glassy look in his eyes.

“Malison your staff, Chisisi, malison you and this whole lower Nile valley. My spirits won’t even talk to me after Aharon’s staff-serpent ate mine.” Adom the warlock screeched.  

Bomani leaned forward and taking the base out of his voice whispered, “That Aharon, whatever he was—sorcerer or wizard, mage or warlock, or what have you—it’s clear he wasn’t the source of the power. Surely even non-adepts like you three had sensed that the true authority came from the silent one: Moshe.”

“No, no, Bomani. The men said they were speaking to the king on behalf of an ‘Elohe Haibrim’. It seems their power must be derived power. Moshe, if he is the leader, is a warlock of some stripe who receives his power from some other worldly being. He’s a plenipotentiary.” Akil the wizard exclaimed in a breathy and revelatory tone.

Adom caught the attention of the slave girl and raised his hand, erecting four fingers to indicate that he and his companions required four waters immediately.

“What makes you think the potentate is ‘other worldly’, old man? Did you read it in one of your books?” Chisisi blurted dripping with skepticism.

“Think it through, dear sorcerer, not every question requires a blood ritual to answer. Nor do we need to consult my library but merely the light of reason. Between us, we are a magus, a warlock, a sorcerer, and a wizard. We are empowered to use earthly magic. Aharon threw down his staff and it turned into a snake. When we called on our vast array of magical powers to mimic Aharon’s trick, his staff-snake devoured our staff-snakes one by one and then it turned back into his staff—leaving us staff-less. Therefore, if we represent all earthly magic between us four, and his magic is far superior to ours, then the source of his power must not be from this world.”

Just as Akil had finished his derivation, the slave girl arrived with four bronze water chalices. Grabbing the one closest to him, Adom said “I care not what the king says or what he’ll do to me, I’m leaving the valley before anything else happens. I cannot endure another display of otherworldly power.”

Adom took a gulp from his chalice and immediately spit the contents onto the table and his three cohorts. “Hexoria! That slave girl filled our cups with blood!”  

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[1] “The first recorded bar was in ancient Egypt, where it was used as a place for people to socialize and gamble. This bar was called the “per-nu” which means “house of drunkenness.” The early Greeks also had bars, which were called “skene.” These bars were often frequented by philosophers and poets.” https://perkcoffeecompany.com/the-evolution-of-bars/#:~:text=The%20first%20recorded%20bar%20was,frequented%20by%20philosophers%20and%20poets.