The Wizard's Apprentice (A Parable)

Once there was a boy who craved something he didn’t have, but he didn’t know what it was. He was without family or home, so he spent his days searching for food and questioning strangers, always hoping to find someone who knew what he searched for. But no one ever had the answers he needed.

One day, a stranger came through the village. His hair was long and white, and his eyes old, but his walk was light and confident.

The boy approached him, curious but cautious. The man smiled at him and offered him a piece of fruit. The boy, liking the way the man’s eyes crinkled at the corners, accepted the food with shy thanks. It was the most delicious fruit he had ever tasted.

The man watched the child eat, then said, “I’m seeking an apprentice. I don’t suppose you know of any children who might be willing to travel with an old wizard?” He added knowingly, “I need someone who is willing to ask lots of questions.”

The boy’s eyes grew very wide. This was just what he had been looking for. He nodded vigorously, mouth still full of fruit and juice dripping down his chin. “Oh, yef, fir!” He swallowed with an audible gulp. “Me!”

The man nodded. “I was hoping you’d say that. I’ve an eye for good apprentices,” he winked.

The child followed him back to the inn and the wizard drew him a bath. The water must have been bespelled, for the years of caked-on dirt slid off of his skin as if of its own volition and it seemed none the murkier for its cleansing.

When hunger pangs finally drove him from the tub, he found a delightfully fluffy towel and a soft new robe waiting for him. The robe was too big, though, and the wizard chuckled as he watched the boy carrying the hem so as not to trip.

“Let me fix that for you.” He breathed a sound that was almost a word and the robe fit itself to the boy obediently. The wizard nodded. “Better.” Then he addressed his new ward. “Have you a name?”

The boy’s eyebrows crinkled together as he thought. “I’ve been called many things, but I don’t remember anyone ever giving me a name I could keep.”

“Hm.” He gave the boy another piece of fruit to quiet the boy’s rumbling stomach and thought while he ate. When the boy had finished, the wizard nodded to himself.

“You shall be called Josiah.”

“Josiah.” The boy tested the name several times before giving the wizard a shy smile. “I like it very much, sir.”

The man returned his smile. “Good. I’m glad.”

~ ~ ~

The next day the two set out for the wizard’s home, he on his pure white charger and Josiah on a pony the wizard had procured for him.

Along the way, the boy peppered his new guardian with questions, all of which were patiently answered. And when the questions finally ran dry, the wizard started offering information: answers to questions Josiah had not even known to ask. He devoured the knowledge as hungrily as he devoured the wizard’s never-ending supply of magic fruit.

When they arrived at the wizard’s home, deep in the forest, Josiah watched in awe as the wizard held out his hand and a staff, white as snow with a clear stone shining from the top, shaped itself out of the air and into his grip. He then touched his horse, which transformed into a white eagle that launched itself, shrieking, into the sky. He then turned attention to Josiah’s pony, which changed into something small and furry that scampered into the underbrush.

Josiah turned to the wizard, who seemed to be waiting to see his reaction. “Sir,” the question was not much more than a whisper, “will you teach me to do that?”

The wizard laughed. “Study hard and learn well and you will be able to do that, and greater,” he promised.

“Oh, yes! I will, sir!”

The wizard’s home was an enormous tree, on which grew the delicious fruit that had become Josiah’s sole source of nourishment. The wizard led him up a spiral staircase to a level where the branches had grown together to create a series of rooms which had views looking out in all directions.

The wizard gestured to the circle of rooms. “Which one would you like?”

Josiah gaped at him. “I get to choose?”

The wizard nodded and chuckled as the boy raced off to inspect each one. All of them had a bed, shelves, and a desk and stool, but the similarities ended there.

One room was filled with blossoms and overlooked a garden. It was filled with a rich perfume which made Josiah’s head ache.

Another room opened to a view of a distant volcano. Its branches were streaked with red and the boy found it to be uncomfortably warm.

There was a room whose branches were full of birds and another that seemed to house a multitude of furry creatures. Josiah had the distinct impression that one of them had been his pony.

One room was dim and the dark branches seemed to be engraved with glowing green symbols. They made the boy uneasy and he moved on quickly.

Finally he came to a room filled with a cool, blue-green light. The branches above were festooned with shells, some hanging together to clink pleasantly in the breeze. The walls had grown into the suggestion of fish, which echoed the flashing denizens in the lake shallows below.

The wizard came and stood beside him. “Have you made a decision?”

“Yes, sir. I’d like this one.”

The wizard smiled. “It’s yours, then, for as long as you’re here.” As the boy wandered around, inspecting every inch, he continued, he continued, “There is no schedule here. When you’re hungry, you may eat of the tree’s fruit until you are satisfied. When you’re tired, you may sleep until you’re rested. All I ask is that you learn something new every day.”

Suddenly Josiah realized just how far he’d come in such a short amount of time. From wandering the streets to having his own bed. From begging for food to having all he wanted within easy reach. From orphan to apprentice. From unwanted to loved. The enormity of is washed over him like a tidal wave.

He turned, tears streaming down his face, and ran to the wizard, who knelt to receive him. He flung his arms around the man’s neck.

“Thank you,” he sobbed. “Thank you so much.”

The wizard’s arms wrapped around him and held him until the boy’s crying trailed off into sniffs and hiccups. Then he pulled away, wiped the child’s tears with his sleeve, and kissed him on the forehead.

“Welcome home, Josiah.”

~ ~ ~

And so began Josiah’s apprenticeship. Each day, as the wizard had requested, he learned something new: a new spell or variation of a spell, a new word of power, a new word of healing. He learned to call a falcon out of the sky and a fish out of the depths, and to see out of their eyes as he released them again.

And every day, his love for the wizard grew.

Sometimes other wizards, some with their own apprentices, would come to the tree to consult with his master. There was the woman with flowers in her hair, whose green staff wound upward like ivy to enclose a rose-colored stone. There was the man with a cockatoo on his shoulder, his staff like a birch tree holding it its branches a stone the color of the sky.

Then there was the man who seemed to melt from shadow to shadow and whose staff was ebony, the stone like a moonless night blazing with stars. His face was hard and lean, but he smiled kindly at Josiah.

When he had left, Josiah asked his master about him.

“There are dark wizards in this world, and he seeks them out to lead them to the light.”

And so Josiah grew in stature and knowledge, the weeks fading into months and the months bleeding away into years. Only the wizard and his tree seemed impervious to the passing of time and the change of the seasons.

One day, when Josiah was on the very brink of manhood, the wizard called him.

“Josiah, you have learned all you can here. There is but one thing you lack to become a wizard in your own right.”

“A staff?”

“A stone of power. Once you have the stone, it will shape its own housing.”

Josiah nodded. “Where can I find a stone of power?”

“I will show you the way, but I cannot go with you. Obtaining a stone is difficult and you will need all your determination and courage.”

The young man hesitated. “Do you think I can do it?”

“I wouldn’t send you unless I knew you could.”

The wizard led him into the forest to a cave hidden deep in a thicket. “The stone you seek is in there.” He placed a hand on Josiah’s shoulder. “Be of good courage.” Then he turned and left.

Josiah took a deep breath and entered the darkness of the cave.

The passage was narrow and the walls appeared to be obsidian. This was confirmed when, slipping on loose stones, he caught himself on the wall and cut his hand. He spoke a simple spell of healing, but his hand continued to bleed.

He frowned. He tried to create a light, but that, too, failed.

The sudden absence of his powers gave him considerable pause, but his longing for a stone of his own drove him on.

He walked until the entrance was a dim smudge of light behind him. He wondered how long he would need to stumble blindly in the darkness when he stepped into air.

He fell hard on his hands and found himself sliding down an incline littered with obsidian shards. He twisted and turned, trying to minimize the damage, but when he reached the bottom, his robe was shredded and he was bleeding from a multitude of cuts.

He used what he could salvage from his clothes to bind the worst of his wounds, then realized he could actually see to do so.

He looked around and found that he was in an immense cavern. Thousands of glow worms clung to the ceiling and filled the space with an eerie, greenish light.

And then he saw it, on a stone pedestal in the center.

His stone of power.

He hauled himself to his feet and stumbled toward it, only to find the way blocked by a subterranean lake, which boiled and seethed like nothing he’d ever encountered before. He tried to use his powers again to calm the lake, but they again failed.

He sighed. There had to be a way to get to the stone. He began walking around the edge and eventually came to a bridge. It was narrow and fragile-looking, but it appeared to be the only way across.

He stood a moment, gathering his courage, then stepped onto to the bridge. He picked his way carefully, avoiding places where the stone seemed ready to crumble.

He was about halfway across when the lake set itself on fire, the flames licking up the sides of the bridge like a living thing, eager to consume him.

Looking around at the fiery waters, his resolve wavered. He considered turning back, but dismissed the thought. His desire to possess the stone drove him on.

With each step, the fire seemed to grow in intensity until, just steps from the other side, it formed a wall between him and his prize.

Without stopping to think, he leapt through the flames.

On the other side, he frantically cast off his flaming clothes and burning bandages. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked up, only to find that he was back where he started.

He turned in disbelief and saw the stone on its pedestal in the middle of the lake, on the other side of the bridge. A wave of frustration and despair washed over him. But he remembered what the wizard had said about needing all his determination, so he approached the bridge again. The flames of the lake had receded to embers and the waves of heat made the bridge waver and dance. This time, there would be no clothing to protect his body.

He gathered his courage and stepped again onto the bridge. Immediately, he was covered in a sheen of sweat. His feet burned with every step and his lungs seared with every breath, but he kept his eyes on the stone and pressed on. He moved deeper and deeper into the heat until his tongue felt dry in his mouth and his eyes parched in their sockets. He began to feel that he himself was made of embers and, at the end of the bridge, he fell rather than stepped onto the other side.

After several minutes of lying on the ground, gulping lungfuls of cooler air, he pulled himself to his knees, and then, painfully, to his feet. There was a pedestal before him, but the stone was not on it. Instead, he found a basin of clear water which, at that moment, was a treasure almost as valuable.

He plunged his head into the basin and drank deeply, then splashed handfuls over his feverish body. Everywhere the water touched was cooled and healed, and he felt cleansed and purified in a way he had never experienced before.

At the bottom of the basin, he found a small blue-green jewel. It looked very much like his stone of power and took it with wonder.

He turned and, to his utter astonishment, found that the bridge had arrayed itself with gemstones. It was also now wide and smooth, the waters beneath it calm.

He marveled at the beauty of the stones. Each was different, but fit together seamlessly to form the whole. Part way across, he noticed a gap. He inspected it curiously and realized it was the same size and shape as the jewel in his hand.

He dropped the stone in the opening and then realized that every gem represented a wizard that had passed the test of the bridge. He was one of them now and was suddenly overcome by a deep love for each of them and a profound sense of belonging.

He wept with joy.

Then, at last, he approached the pedestal.

The stone seemed to welcome him as he lifted it reverently. It was cool and heavy in his hand, and its inner light swirled with all the colors of the sea.

In a moment of pure thankfulness, he pressed the stone to his heart and thought of the kind, powerful wizard who had adopted him and set him on this path.

Then he had to shield his eyes as a hidden door opened and bathed him in light. Blinking in the brightness, he exited the cave.

He found himself on a beach, with white sand sparkling in the sunlight. Testing the new power coursing through him, he focused on the sand, binding and weaving it into a soft, shimmering robe that formed itself around his body.

His working uncovered an unusually-shaped piece of driftwood and he retrieved it from the sand. To his amazement, the stone brightened and the wood started to grow, reaching tendrils out toward the source of the magic. They coiled around the stone, lifting it out of Josiah’s hands to create a protective cage around it. The other end lengthened and thickened into a staff which was precisely the right size for the new wizard.

It was only then that he noticed the figure at the water’s edge, gazing out over the waves. As if sensing his protégé’s eyes on him, the wizard turned and opened his arms in welcome.

Josiah ran to his mentor and their embrace was long and fierce. Then the older wizard cupped Josiah’s face and kissed him on the forehead, as he had done when the boy was small. He gazed into his eyes, clear and bright with new, hard-won power.

“Well done.”

Josiah beamed. “Thank you, master.” He looked out over the water, suddenly feeling somewhat lost. “Now what should I do?”

“Now you must go out into the world. Help those who need it. Find your own apprentice and pass the knowledge on.”

“Where should I go?”

“Anywhere that pleases you. Oh! I almost forgot. I have something for you.” He held out his hand and there appeared a small bag with a tiny green sprout peeking out of the top.

Josiah took in gently as the wizard explained, “This is a seedling from the Great Tree. It will grow anywhere you choose and provide a home for you. Just feed it some of your magic.” He gave Josiah’s shoulder a squeeze. “Now go find your place in the world. And, if you should ever have need of me,” he tapped the young man’s stone, “I’ll always hear you.”

Then the wizard was gone. Josiah smiled and shook his head, and then looked out across the water that had always called to him. Raising his staff, he spoke a word.

In a matter of moments, the tide roiled and an enormous blue serpent raised its head out of the surf. Josiah waded out to it, gave it a pat, and climbed onto its back.

The serpent brought him to an island where Josiah planted the seedling. He fed it his magic, and it grew until it was large enough to shelter him.

And so began his work. He traveled up and down the coast on his great blue serpent (sometimes disguised as a blue-white charger) helping all he found in need.

One day, on a great cliff overlooking the sea, he found a little girl gazing out over the water.

He sat down next to her and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“The sea,” she replied. “It’s very beautiful.”

“It is,” he agreed. “And your parents don’t mind you coming here alone?”

“I have no parents, sir.”

He pondered that for a moment. “You know,” he ventured, “I happen to be looking for an apprentice.”

She turned to look at him and he rejoiced at the joy and hope his words had kindled in her eyes.