The Wizards
Once, up in the sky and above the clouds, there was a place where wizards lived. They lived there for so long time and no one knew how old their existence where or which Great Spirit created them. They were very similar to us humans, but only in appearance; in other respects they were quite different. They had great powers and could make marvellous things using only their mind or their magic wands. The “kingdom of the sky”, as they had named their place, was undoubtedly very beautiful. It was very big but harmonious; built upon the clouds it embraced all beauties and powers of the sky in a magical way.
Time was passing and the kingdom was becoming even richer and beautiful, since the wizards had always big plans in mind, as well as great imagination, while at the same time showed great love in whatever they worked at. And those big plans included also the exploration of other worlds, beyond their own. Besides, all those stories they had heard about other distant but strange worlds, wouldn’t let them rest, tickling them like annoying bugs and nurturing their interest about the alien and the unknown, even more.
So it happened… Many wizards decided to leave the great kingdom of the sky behind them and riding their magic horses, came down from the clouds to the Under Lands as they used to call them. The purpose of this journey was to find anything beautiful and useful and enclose it in a gem, Onia. Onia was guarded by Agathar the most respected of all wizards, who had attached it on his magic wand and with it the fate of the whole journey.
So the wizards travelled heartily and with high expectations for a very long time. However, nothing from what they saw exceeded the beauty of their kingdom, until they found a place very different from all they had seen until that moment.
This place had many different beauties mixed together creating images that not even the wizards themselves could ever create. Green forests and wide meadows, and seas and rivers and mountains and huge caves; one beauty after another, lead to an extraordinary and amazing result. But what the wizards were wondering was who could have made all these. So they stayed there, trying to find out what kind of creatures lived there, hoping that the creators of this wonderful place will reveal themselves. However they soon realised that there were only animals walking on the land and birds flying in a beautiful blue-grey sky, whose powers were limited only on how to survive. But how could all these be without the power of a great creator? They couldn’t figure that out. So they decided to stay there, in this new source of knowledge and learn things and then take this knowledge back with them to the kingdom of the sky and make it even more beautiful.
Time was passing and the wizards still lived there. They observed everything, from the smallest plant to the tallest tree and from the smallest insect to the largest animal, day after day, month after month and year after year. One day they realised that no matter how long they stayed there, it was impossible to know about everything and then fit it all inside the magic Onia. This thought was followed by a strong desire to remain to that land and become a part of this beautiful reality they experienced all this time. So they built a magnificent palace to live in and enjoy all these beauties and every day to be as the first of their lives.
So they built their palace in the middle of the most beautiful valley of the North, similar to their kingdom in the sky, though smaller, and named it Rindack. This valley was separated from the rest of the world by a big natural wall of mountains whose peaks were always snowy.
All the wizards lived in this palace for a long time, with the seasons passing slowly by, leaving an irreplaceable feeling of emptiness that made the wizards realise that something was missing from this new world. So they held a council and decided to share all those beautiful things with others. Thus, they created new clans according to their will and imagination. But with one condition! All creatures would have longevity and mighty powers but not equal, in order to help each another and live harmoniously.
So from the wizards’ mind came the fairies, the elves, the amazons and the dwarves, and there was given human voice to some animals so to communicate with them. They named that land Indelmir, which means Beautiful Land in the ancient language of the wizards and everyone lived there in harmony and under the stars.
The fairies were similar to wizards in appearance. They had the same height, and were beautiful and kind creatures with a strong thirst for constant learning. They really liked water, so they were given a piece of land which was magically emerged like an island at the centre of a wide lake at the southwest part of Rindack, beyond the mountains. They named it Narnen because that was the name of the wizard that gave them this island. So they made their homes there, using the craft taught by the wizards and the wood that the trees provided them generously.
The dwarfs were shorter and more petite than the fairies, with big hands and feet and two big pointy ears on their head. They liked to dig the earth and had great interest on whatever grew upon it. They settled in the east, in a very big forest made for them by the wizard Kerack, who also gave his name to that forest. It was a beautiful place, full of rare plants that grew only there.
The elves loved the earth too, just like the dwarfs and they had much in common with them, except they were shyer and liked to hide from the rest. They got a forest east of Narnen as a gift, so to live under the protection of the trees. This forest was named Arias like the witch who created it.
The amazons on the other hand, didn’t like to have a base. So when the time came to take their gift place from the wizards, they asked for a pair of magic horses that would give them more generations, in order to always have magic horses. The wizards made their wish come true, giving them not only one pair of horses, but many pairs. But with one condition! When the pairs would give birth, they should return them back and grow the newborns on their own. And so they did.
However, apart from all these presents, the generous wizards decided to make another one, like the parents who heartily give their children whatever they need, not because they are asked to, but because that’s what they feel and want to do. So they taught the art of wizardry in whoever wished it. The leader to this teaching was a great wizard; Cornelius. The fairies were most interested to this, while the dwarfs and the elves cared less. As for the amazons, they didn’t seem to love something more than nature and their horses. To all creatures that learned the art of wizardry were given magic wands as a final present.
Time kept passing quietly for everyone and there were even more clans created, different than the previous. The wizards enjoyed their work and felt extreme joy more than ever now that Indelmir was full of life. However, they stopped creating new creatures at some point, considering that they had done enough.
Narnen was a beautiful island with wooden houses and cobblestone streets, while cheerful voices were mixed everyday with the sound of the wind and of the fire burning, inviting the various fellowships to sit and have fun around it. A large bridge a few meters above the water connected the two shores, that of the forest and the island’s. The forests of the elves and the dwarves were full of life until late in the evening and many of the creatures slept on the soft grass, counting stars and trying to find between them the kingdom of their creators in the sky.
Many creatures however were trained in crafts, and became carpenters, blacksmiths, farmers and sculptors. They learned to “make” music and sing songs, to construct musical organs and many other beautiful things, essential for their amusement, pleasure and survival, were made by their hands and imagination. They learned how to make bread and collect fruits from the trees. They made sweet wine, soft red-gold honey, aromatic beverages a sip of which was enough to fill an empty stomach and rest a tired, from hard work, body. And so, life in Indelmir flowed nicely for everyone… at that time.
