The witch king
A man makes a troublesome deal in exchange for power. He obtains everything he ever wanted but when the time of payment comes, he refuses. retribution comes swiftly on a sea of arcane darkness, everything is lost in a second, and the toll is claimed… “The eyes of the person you love the most”.
“I presume you come for your payment” She said.
“Did he explain it?” he asked her, without daring to look.
“Everything. It's ok. I'll give them to you. Just… Please, find kindness in your heart. Forgive us.”
“Even him?”
“Especially him. All he did was in the name of love.”
“Do you think that justifies him?”
“At least to me. I can't hate him for that.”
“But can you keep loving him after everything he caused?”
She let out a sad smile.
“No, I can't. I want to believe that is punishment enough..”
He finally looked at her, he seemed at the edge of tears. “Is it?” he mumbled
“It's everything I can offer now”
Although short this scene is the heart of the tale, the wizard has destroyed his opposition and defeated the man who tried to cheat him, and finally the time has come to collect. The price was never his to pay, he gambled with the woman he loved, used her as the currency to achieve his ambitions, and the one who had the most to lose when (not if) he failed. The man was rooted in selfishness and in the end he got a punishment fitting for his crimes.
By contrast the wizard is a lonely man, he has left the troubles of the world to be locked inside his tower for the longest period of time. He has felt pain, he has felt sorrow and now he faces a man much younger who took what he had for granted and played with the trust his loved ones had for him. The wizard knew the kind of person the man was before he even spoke the first word of his lies but he wouldn´t refuse his request, he knew it had to be felt, the mistakes and the betrayal, he was astonished at the mans denial and audacity to try and trick him, him, who has seen it all and fallen as deep as one can fall.
This is a tale of sorrow and hope. Hope that we can learn from our mistakes and that when we see ourselves reflected in someone else we can be kinder than those that came before.
