The Dark Enchanter

A Letter

Letter from Magus Robbia Veritus Praxus
Magus of the Council of Wizards
To
Dema Primus, Healer
Castle Thoth

My Dearest Dema,

It was wonderful to see you last spring after so many months of separation. I have been so incredibly busy here in Wiccinas, so many tasks, so many unplanned responsibilities, but of course the main one is the charge I've been given by Arisha to find suitable candidates to fill the Council after the grievous murders committed by those dreadful Deev.

That particular chore, for want of a better description, has been going fairly well. Two of the four open seats have been tentatively filled by candidates I've located with the help of Maguses Vattus and Pellus. A good deal of the work was research and genealogies, neither of which I do particularly well.

When Arisha first mentioned this charge to me, I thought it would be a task of months and now it has become years. I am thankful that the peace in our lands has made the necessity of a full council one of protocol rather than need. While the spells we can cast are slightly limited by our lack of a full council, it is only the highest of spells that are negatively affected and (thank Targas) these have been unnecessary and uncalled for during these past few joyous years. None the less, I intend to redouble my efforts so that the council will be full and we may all sleep soundly and secure.

The candidates we have chosen are of course only that, candidates, at least until they are blessed by Arisha, which will be as a full group of four. After that they will officially be apprentices and be trained to assume their posts as Maguses of the High Council.

An area of contentious resentment is Arisha's direction that the new wizards be beasts rather than men. This instruction is causing friction amongst some of the older, more conservative members of the council and rather than loosing their displeasure toward the Golden Spider, it seems to aggregate towards me. Vattus tells me to ignore what he calls 'the insecurities of threatened old men' and along with Pellus, provides support and calm in these sometimes stormy seas.

After the first two candidates, an otter named Ogorth and a vixen named Fremli,  were selected, the process stalled and I have been having a dreadfully difficult time locating any other beasts who meet all the requirements laid out by the council.

Vattus suggests I take a short vacation away from Aolas to collect my thoughts and refresh my spirit. I accepted his suggestion with great joy and relief and am planning a trip in a few weeks after my other administrative responsibilities are fulfilled.

What I'm trying to say is that I will be visiting my friends throughout Arishamal. My first stop will be in Gleneden to try and convince Egbert and Thoris to join me in spending some time in Thoth with you, Chumley, Belinda and those little devils, the Bilgespike twins.

I've promised Egbert and Thoris that I would take them to meet Arisha on Sapphire Mountain. I find it amusing that neither of them has gone on their own since Arisha has lifted the ban on moles. I think Wilbur is presently quartered on the mountain with a small troop of mole-workers and guards. I hope so, as I believe our Spider would be quite taken by him.

Getting back to Egbert and Thoris' reluctance to visit on their own, I realize it is quite awe-inspiring to be in Arisha's presence and their attitude is completely understandable. What is probably more amazing than their shyness is that I now visit her with as much ease as if she were a beloved aunt rather than the guardian of our lands.

Expect me (hopefully us) sometime around the spring equinox. I will be arriving by coach and will try to send word prior to my arrival. I am so looking forward to seeing you all.

With deepest affection,
Robbi