The next few days were more or less taken up as the first day had been, riding Zoe, visiting places and meeting new people. There was talk of his acceptance ceremony, which was to take place to coincide with the next full moon in five days time but that was all he knew. No place, or time, except, he deduced that if it was to be full moon it would be in the evening or, seeing as this was witch and wizard territory, midnight seemed more appropriate!!
Zia felt he was settling in very well and had decided not to go home the first week for a day but to go home for two days the following week. That would give him time to think and plan on the things he wanted to do. Flowers for his mother was first on the list. She must have been so worried and upset and he wanted to try and tell her how sorry he was. The fact that he thought it was a storm in a teacup, so to speak, didn’t alter the fact that he had done wrong and disobeyed his father’s orders. Also he was so looking forward to one of his favourite breakfasts of fried mushrooms with fried eggs and crispy fried home made bread. His mouth watered at the very thought.
A lot of his spare time was taken up day dreaming. While he was working he tried to concentrate on remembering names, places, procedures and rules and there were a great many of each, every day he was introduced to more. Zoe was very helpful and Nip and he made a game of testing what he had remembered. Nip had been brought up knowing each and every part of this world and thought it very funny when Zia got something totally wrong - the wrong name, the wrong delivery, the wrong time!
“Not long now to the ceremony,” Nip commented. “I can’t wait. It’s not often that this happens as new people aren’t often admitted. You are in for some super surprises and then we can get back to normal. Oh! I am so excited!!”
“What do you mean, by ‘back to normal’? I thought all this was normal… for you. I have a feeling that I may not like what is about to happen. Can’t you tell me? Just a hint? Surely you can tell me something, now that you have me wondering? I wish you’d kept quiet. I thought I was just going to be sworn to secrecy and told I was now one of the community, given something to sign, in bats blood or whatever and that would be that. Now I am thinking all sorts of things and none are very pleasant. Come on Nip, just a clue…….please,” moaned Zia, feeling genuinely concerned now.
“Nope. Can’t be done. Not even a word. You will find out soon enough.” Nip grinned and ran out of Calder’s cave. He was enjoying this.
Zia settled down to sleep and hoped he didn’t dream anything too frightening. As it happened he slept very soundly and awoke refreshed, to get ready for another day at the Station with the Teams.
He was pleased with how different each day was and enjoyed working and being with the Zoedledoodles. They were good fun and friendly. Today was to be spent learning how to put the harness on the teams and hitching them to the wagons. This was very hard work for him, being so small and having to carry everything up the steps to put onto each one of the Team. He thought it would have been a better idea if the Leaders were bigger and stronger so that the work was easier but no one seemed to think of that…except him. Maybe once you had been doing the work for ten years it would get easier! He hoped so. Ten years of hard labour. Uuggggg!!
The day of the ceremony was dawning and the whole feel of the place was different. Everyone seemed happy and pleased. Just because Zia was about to be accepted? That seemed a bit too much.
He asked Zoe when they were at their mid day meal break,
“How come every one seems to be so pleased about this ‘Thing’ that is happening today or is it tonight? I still haven’t been told. Surely I will have to know soon. I have tried to be patient and not ask… for days I’ve kept away from the subject but it’s happening today and I am still in the dark.”
“You have been very good about it and I can now tell you that at eleven o’clock tonight we will all gather by the pool, under the stars and the full moon. Everyone will be there, including The Others and once it is all over it will be a great relief to us all. You will understand more after the ceremony. Don’t worry we will all be supporting you and tomorrow will be quite a day. Come on now, back to work.”
Zoe stood and stretched before walking to the steps so Zia could climb into the saddle.
She announced, “We have to go to the post office. Apparently there is an important letter to deliver at once and as all of the Team is busy we will have to take it. We’ll keep busy and the time will pass quickly. Oh! I am getting very excited!”
Zoe was echoing Nips words but Zia was not getting excited…..just worried. As the day went on the worry turned to fear, accompanied by large fluttery butterflies in his stomach. By the end of the shift he had worn himself out, rushing to do everything. He had cleaned two wagons after he returned with Zoe from delivering the ‘important’ letter. The wagons gleamed but he felt deflated.
Calder collected him, as usual, and Nip was waiting for him in the cave, as usual but ‘usual’ as he knew it, was about to be a thing of the past!!
They had a lovely supper of sausages, beans and chips then gooseberry tart with custard for afters and strawberry milk shake. Everything seemed normal. Zia was surprised how hungry he was but the meals were so good that he always enjoyed them. He was feeling rather tired and the thought of still being awake at midnight, and then working again tomorrow made him feel exhausted.
“I think I will try and have a nap, Nip,” They both laughed at this, “I am never going to stay awake tonight otherwise. I’m so tired.” Zia said sleepily to his friend. “Will you wake me at about ten o’clock, please. I’m told Calda and Talik are taking me to the pool. Are you coming with us?”
“Sure am. Wouldn’t miss it for the world and I asked if I could travel with you in the carriage. I thought you might like some company. Zoe has been called in to work as the Teams will have to pull wagons and carriages full of dignitaries. This is a really grand ceremony! Once everyone is there the Teams will join us. You try and rest and I’ll see you later.”
Nip left and Zia curled up on his little bed, he didn’t think he would really sleep but a rest would do him good. Three hours later Nip was shaking him and calling for him to “Wake UP!” he was shocked.
“What’s the matter?….Oh, I remember. Is it ten o’clock already?”
Nip jumped up on the bed and sat, arms and legs crossed, at the bottom, facing Zia,
“It is!” he smiled, “and you have to get ready. Come on. Wash and change, I have a new outfit for you to wear. Grace sent it for you.”
The outfit was a surprise to say the least. Very shiny black trousers with gold stars and moons all over them and gathered at the ankle. At the waist they were tied with a gold sash. Then there was a white silken baggy shirt, with gold swirls and squiggles covering every part. Zia was pleased he had his warm under clothes on as this looked scratchy. The waistcoat was black with gold stripes and black leather buttons. But it was the hat and the shoes that made him gasp. The hat was huge for him, black with a wide brim, gold feathers, a tall crown covered in what looked like precious stones and to top it all, two long trailing silk ribbons in deep red that went around the crown and down his back. The shoes were like nothing he could have imagined. They were gold, shiny patent leather, with square toes. The heels were black and had gold moons and stars around them, like the trousers.
The laces were red and long and went around his ankles and lower legs in a criss cross fashion. To top it all off was the cloak! It was black velvet lined in red silk, with signs and marks down the sides and a huge rainbow right up the back and over his shoulders. A REAL rainbow that moved with him! Nip said he must wear it open so as not to hide the rest of his splendid outfit. Once dressed he stood in front of the mirror and stared at the result.
“This is just a bit too much, don’t you think? I feel really silly dressed up like this. It must have cost a fortune,” he said turning to look at Nip.
“You are the guest of honour and Grace wants to show The Others that she rates you very highly.
Once you are a member of the community you will be treated like anyone else and the past, although not forgotten will never be mentioned, unless you break the rules but I think you have enough sense not to do that, intentionally anyway. Come on its time to go. I expect the carriage will be waiting and so will Calda and Talik. You look splendid. Truly you do,” Nip said nodding and smiling his approval.
The carriage ride was not eventful and very little was said. Zia felt very self-conscious and didn’t know where to look. He clasped his hands in his lap and tried to look over the side of the carriage but he wasn’t really tall enough and could only see the walls going by. The carriage halted outside the recreation area. They all got out and went in to observe a stunning site. A noisy party atmosphere, with all the wizards and witches dressed in their finery, mostly black and silver but it was easy to tell they were in their best garments. The Others were not dressed in anything fancy at all. They looked stiff, dark, sombre and VERY tall!
The Teams had not all arrived yet, although Zia did recognize some of his friends in the hall. He looked around for Zoe but couldn’t see her and was very disappointed, she always made him feel more confident and right now he needed all the reassurance she could offer him.
There was a table at one end of the area with chairs along one side. Apart from that everyone would have to stand, Zia assumed.
It was quite noisy. Everyone was talking and gathered in groups. There was no lighting, just the stars and the full moon. It all reflected in the pool and looked rather spooky with shadows all around. It was light enough to see quite clearly but Zoe was still nowhere to be seen.
The hierarchy of witches, wizards and The Others were now gathered around the table and Talik was standing in front. At a nod from Grace he held up his hands and asked for quiet, he didn’t shout but even so his voice could be heard above the chatting crowd.
“Silence please, the ceremony is about to begin.”
There was a pause while everyone turned to face the table and settled themselves to pay attention to those now sitting before them. There were nine, three from each section of the community.
Calder floated beside Zia, to one side of the table, a little away from Grace and then to his relief,
Zoe was now stood on the other side of him. He felt better at once, more at ease, as though she could help him through this. He could also see Nip, still smiling, standing with several other Mine Minders on the right hand side of the crowd. Now, all the Zoedledoodle’s were there and Zia relaxed just a little, as if he had been joined by his family……..His family, why couldn’t his mother and father be there?
Grace stood and spoke, “We all know why we are here. This is a very serious but joyous occasion. It has been decided by the Joint Council to allow Zia to become a member of our community. It has been a very long time since this honour has been bestowed on an outsider, the last being Pog, over two hundred years ago. That is why there has been so much deliberation between us all.” Grace was leaning on her stick, with the other hand supporting her on the table. “I want to state that we, the witches” she nodded at two other witches sitting on either side of her,
“feel that although this started out as a very regrettable and troublesome episode it has been resolved, to the benefit of all. I will now hand you over to Lord Tupol who is to speak on behalf of The Others. Lord Tupol.”
Very tall and stern, The Other stood and threw back his hood to reveal a pale green head, quite without hair, small ears, the blackest eyes possible with no eye brows or lashes and lips that were thick and blue. He spoke in a gruff voice, not at all like any Zia had ever heard before.
“This acceptance has been achieved only by lengthy negotiation and bargaining. It should not have been necessary at all BUT maybe, only maybe, we could all benefit from it. We, The Others, are satisfied that the best and fairest agreements have been made and will welcome Zia into our domain as a trainee one day a week .….to start with.” He nodded curtly and sat down, not bothering to introduce the wizard speaker.
Talik, however, who had taken his place at the table stood and proudly announced,
“Grand Wizard Soltagin, will now speak for the wizards.”
Soltagin was indeed an impressive figure. He was just as Zia had imagined a wizard should be.
Tall and straight with long grey hair and a very long moustache that came down well below his chin. His robes were grand and in rich deep reds, blues, greens and gold and his hat, pointed, was at least eighteen inches tall. When he spoke his voice had an even more silky smoothness than the other wizards and commanded full attention. What a wizard he was. Zia was more taken aback by him than by the shocking appearance of Lord Tupol. Beside him sat the equally impressive Master Wizard Faldarek.
“I would like to say that we, the wizards, are most grateful to Grace for all the hard work and sacrifice she has put in to bring about this amicable agreement and solution to what was, potentially, a very difficult problem. Thank you also to The Others for being prepared to come to terms on the outcome. Now we will proceed with the Acceptance Ceremony. Zia will you step forward to the front of the table and face us please?” he said looking at Zia.
Zia looked at Zoe and than at Calder. They walked with him to a spot quite a way from the front of the table, so that by looking up he could see everyone sitting there. He felt very small. Then he was left alone as Zoe and Calder went back to their places. What was to happen now? He wished he had some idea of what to expect but it was too late for that now, it was all about to happen. Grace, Soltagin and Lord Tupol stood and addressed the small figure in front of them.
Grace spoke first, “Do you, Zia, agree that you were wrong to enter, deliberately, the Dark Cave and by so doing, broke the ruling that this place is forbidden to all outsiders and that you were fully aware of this ruling?”
Zia was now shaking, and found it hard to answer, only a quick and rather quiet,
“Yes, Grace. That is true,” was all he could think to say.
Was he going to sign his freedom away, right here and now?
Lord Tupol was next to confront him, “Are you prepared to apprentice yourself to this community in order that you might serve it in the best way possible, to pay for your mistakes and disobedience, for at least the next ten years?”
What could he say to that. His Father had said he should do it and what would happen to him if he said no? Zoe had said everything would be all right and Nip had made him feel as though he had won first prize in a big raffle when he was told he was to be accepted into the community. He was in this mess by not taking the advice of his father so maybe the best thing he could do was to agree.
“Yes, Lord Tupol. I agree to it all……. Errr… Thank you, sir.”
Now, only Soltagin stood there in all his glory. Grace and Lord Tupol had sat down as Zia had answered them.
“Zia, you have been well accepted by all those who have met you here and your work has been reported as very satisfactory. You will be expected to continue to try your hardest at all times, to keep secret all that you may learn or be told while you are here. This is the most, THE MOST, important part of your acceptance and will be the hardest. When you go home to your family you must not hint, say, suggest or indicate as to anything that goes on within this community. Nothing.
Is that very clear? You do understand how serious it would be for us, you and ALL the Little Folk in this area if you should break your vow? They would all have to be imprisoned and that we do not want to do. The work and life, secrets and magic that are within this community cannot be allowed to pass outside. Is that very clear to you? Do you agree to what I have asked and told you?”
This was so big, so overwhelming that Zia was not sure how he could make such a promise.
What if he did disclose something, anything and didn’t even realise he’d done it? What a price his family and friends would have to pay.
“I want to say ‘yes’. I would say ‘yes’ but I am afraid that if I slip up, make a mistake, the consequences would be unthinkable. How can I risk my family and friends being imprisoned. I’m afraid that I wont be able to meet your demands,” Zia answered.
“You’ll be tutored and there’s magic help that will make it impossible to break the rules accidentally. I promise you that if you want to keep your word then you will.” Soltagin assured him.
Zia didn’t know what this meant but Zoe and Calda were smiling and as he looked over his shoulder he could see Nip with the biggest grin spread all over his face.
“Very well, if you will help me then I promise to do my best to uphold all that you have asked of me.”
He thought that what he had just said sounded rather pompous but hoped it was right for this occasion.
“Then you accept all condition, and this community is pleased to accept you, Apprentice Zia,” announced Grace and with a wave of her hands everyone cheered. It all seemed a bit theatrical to Zia, more than a bit over the top, so to speak but if this was that way it was done he had to go along with it. He couldn’t see why it mattered so much that he was to join them.
Grace continued, “Now we will proceed. Calda will you kindly bring the chalice and bowl?”
Calda unlocked a large wooden box and removed the items Grace had asked for and placed them on the table in front of her. The witch took two small bottles from a pocket in her robe and poured a measured amount into the bowl. She then passed it along the table to Lord Tupol and he did the same. Then the bowl went to Grand Wizard Soltagin who did exactly as the other two had done, returning the bowl to Talik who took it back to Grace.
“Calda please bring me my ceremonial wan,” Grace instructed.
Again Calda brought the item from the box and laid it on the table in front of Grace. She held her hand above the wand and it floated up for her to grasp. She spoke in mumbling voice to it and slowly stirred the contents of the bowl, mumbling the whole time. It sounded like some sort of poem but Zia couldn’t understand a word. The crowd was silent, not a sound anywhere.
As before, the bowl was passed along the table to Lord Tupol and he produced his own wand and stirred, five times one way and five times the other, finishing with a grumbling mumble and as he did so his eyes lit up to a fiery purple. He looked terrifying but as soon as he pushed the bowl to Soltagin they went back to their normal just frightening look.
Soltagin was handed his wand by one of the other wizards assisting him at the table. He took it with a real flourish and waved it three times above his head, then twice at full arms length across the bowl, followed by one stroke up and one stroke down, plunging it into the bowl. At the same time he blew into the bowl with a loud whooosh of breath. He stirred carefully anti clockwise for several seconds. The challis was passed to him and the contents of the bowl were poured into it. He swirled it around and around.
As he was doing this a cloud of blue smoke started to rise from the challis. It kept billowing and spreading over the whole crowd until nothing and nobody could be seen. The three principals then stood, not that any one could see them, and put the tips of their wands together and proclaimed “Highsocoldrie Extemporea”. They were seated again by the time the smoke cleared. Zia was again lost for words. This was the most sensational thing he could ever have imagined. There were no LITTLE Mine Minders, no LITTLE Leaders and no LITTLE Zia. Everyone was more or less the same height. Each one had grown by over a metre. All their clothes had grown to fit them. The Zoedledoodles had not changed at all. So Zia was now much bigger than they were and he knew there would be no more riding on Zoe!! The witches, wizards and The Others had not altered so did not seem quite as frightening now that Zia didn’t have to look up quite so high to see their faces. It was so…so…so different.
Grace was sitting with her hands clasped in front of her on the table. The wand was retrieved by Calda, along with the challis and the bowl and placed back in the box. Whatever was in them had gone and they were as clean and unmarked as before the magic had taken place. Calda locked the box and it was taken away immediately by Talik and a witch who had been sitting beside Grace.
“We will now bestow you with your beginners powers, Zia. These are very basic and you will have to learn to use them carefully. Powers are not the same as magic. Powers are given to you like….like a talent, for you to make use of but not to abuse. Calda will be there to help and advise you. Any problems at all, go to him. Now, come and stand closer to the table in front of me,” beckoned Grace.
Zia hadn’t spoken a word and didn’t think he would be able to. This was all very bewildering and he wasn’t at all sure he wasn’t dreaming. Would he wake up and find none of this had happened? He took a couple of steps forward and everything went very quiet again. Grace took her broom in her left hand and held it out towards Zia. She mumbled again and closed her eyes, took off her hat and placed it on the table, then she banged her right fist down on top of it, squashing it flat. It popped up again as if nothing had happened. She placed it back on her head, opened her eyes and said,
“Use these powers wisely.” That was all, she looked at him with a blank expression on her face, shook her head, blinked her eyes a couple of times and told him to stand in front of Lord Tupol.
Lord Tupol leaned forward, very close to Zia’s face and said,
“Repeat after me, Higgle haggle switch and bubble, help me out when I’m in trouble; fuddle muddle, puddle, boo, I’ll do only what I’m supposed to do.”
Zia did as he was bid and wondered what all this was going to accomplish. Nothing at the moment as far as he could tell. Lord Tupol pulled back and pointed along the table to Soltagin.
Wondering what was going to happen now Zia stood before the soft spoken wizard. Soltagin placed his hands on Zia’s shoulders and Zia did feel as though a very heavy weight had been put on him.
However, when the hands were removed Zia felt as though he could float. He felt so light but only for a moment and then he felt normal again, well as normal as his newly gained height and all this attention would allow him to feel.
“Go back to Calda now,” said Soltagin quietly, silkily and so smoothly that Zia stared at him in amazement for a moment, then nodded and went back to the wizard waiting for him.
Grace stood and addressing everybody announced,
“That is the conclusion of the ceremony but we have a display of The Northern Lights especially arranged for our delight and appreciation. Also in the pool we have a display by the Water Nymphs which will be quite spectacular, I am told and music will be supplied by the Forest Wood Wind Quartet, who were winners in this years Witch Winners Competition. Refreshments to suit all are also available and tomorrow is proclaimed a holiday for everybody, so enjoy yourselves.”
This was greeted by a great cheer and Zoe and Nip were there with Zia and Calda before he could turn around.
It was a very surprising night of celebration and things were not at all as they would seem.
The Northern Lights actually came down and were among everyone, shining over and in the pool. Giving such colours and radiance. Dancing and shimmering, flashing and moving all around.
The Water Nymphs swam and dived, flew and hovered in and around the water, never seeming to get wet, with the lights on them, changing colour the whole time. There must have been two hundred of them. It was spectacular indeed.
However, it was the music that was the biggest surprise. Zia had expected a musical group to play but it really was the four forest winds that blew and whistled, making soft, loud, whooshings and whistling sounds that made such pretty and dramatic music as you could wish to hear.
It blended perfectly with the lights, the nymphs and the moonlight. It was just magical. And the food wasn’t bad either. An endless supply of anything and everything anyone could wish for.
Served magically on air borne plates and platters that hovered in mid air and came to you at the beckoning of a finger.
What a night. It was several hours later that the weary crowd made their way back to their various homes or beds to rest and think about all that had happened, none more so than Zia. He would have a job to get his head around all of this, [if it wasn’t a dream].
He was taken to his new, very own cave, by his friends and could see that everything was now altered, It had been furnished to fit him as he was now. He knew he was bigger than before but because everything had been made to grow with him nothing seemed any different, except that Zoe was now smaller than he was.
Zia was tired and wanted to sleep but was so full of thoughts about what had happened and how it would be tomorrow that it was at least five minutes before he dozed off.
The next morning was full of shocks. He ate his breakfast, Nip arrived and was full of plans for the day,
“First we can go to the pool and see what it’s like in the daylight without the lights and Nymphs.
It was a good night wasn’t it, Zia? I really had a good time/ I have never seen anything like that and I have seen a lot in my time here. Its so much better now that we are a bit bigger. When you came in uninvited, the day you arrived, you automatically turned off the Equalization mode. So where I would have been this size once I entered the cave, I had to stay small and I am only small when I am outside. The Equalization mode is a brilliant idea because if ever we are invaded by unwanted guests they automatically lose one and a quarter metres of height or length as soon as they enter the dark Cave, unless they are already less than half a metre high ... or long, as in the case of dogs, snakes, in fact anything or anyone that isn’t invited”
“What about the Wizards, Witches, The Others and the Zoedledoodles? They don’t change at all?” asked Zia, managing to get a word in when Nip stopped to take a deep breath.
“Well, they are different. They have magic and we only have powers. So magical things that they have put in place won’t affect them. Its like they are immune to their own spells. It’s something that they have all had a hand in setting.”
Zia nodded but didn’t get a chance to ask another question before Nip went on,
“That’s not to say that, for instance, the witches couldn’t put a spell on The Others but it would normally only be to help in a situation or strengthen a spell they needed to perform. If one of them broke a rule or threatened in any way then there are some really cracking spells they can perform.”
“Can they all perform the same magic; even Zoe and the other Zoedledoodles” questioned Zia.
“All the Wizards, Witches and The Others can perform magic, make and cast spells but some have more powerful magic than others. Those that were around the table during the ceremony last night are the most powerful. Zoe isn’t magical in the same way but has been given strong powers.
That’s why they were there. They all had a say in the outcome of what was to happen to you.”
“But Zoe said she couldn’t tell me anything about what was happening when I asked her a few days ago,” Said Zia, “Was she lying to me?”
“Not at all. I expect she didn’t know what was happening. Anyway whatever she might have known would have been secret. I think what happens with any big decision is that all those empowered to do so, put forward their ideas, suggestions and reports and then they each read what the others say and make a decision, maybe only hours before they act on what is decided,” Nip replied. Smiling he added, “Come on we can talk on the way.”
They both enjoyed a super day; they explored the gardens, tried all the games and equipment in the recreation centre and had a long swim in the pool.
The next day it was work as usual and Zia woke early, still expecting to wake up from this amazing dream. After washing and eating breakfast he found it funny that he didn’t need Calda to carry him and was able to take himself down the steps to the Station and Zoe.
It had not been a dream, none of it, but now he could harness the Zoedledoodles with no trouble, everything was easier. He was stronger, of course and there were other things as well. He sort of knew what to do, as though the next action he had to take was in his mind waiting to be acted on.
He didn’t get things wrong, go to the wrong place, say the wrong things or forget names.
Zia felt very happy with himself. Although he was working hard and was busy all day, he didn’t feel tired. He finished the day just as he had started it, full of energy and ready for anything. Which was just as well, for although his work shift was finished he found Nip had other things planned for him. They enjoyed a meal together in Zia’s cave and talked and talked about yesterday and the ceremony. They went over all that had happened this day and the new powers Zia had. Nip was a little quiet about the ‘powers’ but Zia didn’t notice as he thought that he had found all his powers already. He was better at his work, didn’t make silly mistakes, always knew what to do and didn’t have to keep waiting for instructions, and best of all he enjoyed the work and wasn’t tired. He was in for a big surprise. He didn’t know the half of it yet!
The next day, after another long and busy shift he found Calda waiting for him at the The Station.
He was talking to Pog and summoned Zia over to them.
“Is something wrong?” Zia asked, a little concerned.
“No, not at all,” replied Pog “We both thought it would be a good idea if you were to spend some time with Calda so that he can explain your powers to you. Its a big responsibility and you might be pleased to have them all explained properly.”
“Oh, I thought that the things I had noticed in the last couple of days, like getting everything right and not finding the work hard or tiring were my powers,” Zia said in surprise.
Calda spoke calmly in his silky voice, “There is a great deal, even with beginners powers, that you will need help with. Its not easy to control them. Some times its quite terrifying when you first find a new power. If you are not busy this evening I would suggest that you come to my cave after supper and we will make a start. In three days you are to go to the Lowest Level for the first time and it will be better if you have learnt a little about your new abilities. I think you will be quite surprised. Shall we say seven o’clock this evening?”
“I’ll be there. You have me worried now. I’m looking forward to it though!” laughed Zia.
But not about going to the Lowest Level though, he thought.