Wisdom Enough

Lawrence Harding

“Almighty sage!” cried the young man as he shouldered his way into the tiny hut, his mane of hair flowing down his shoulders and his over-polished sword held high and gleaming improbably brightly. “I have come to receive your wisdom!”

Quenzance sighed and looked over the top of his spectacles. “Why?”

The youth stabbed his sword into the ground with a flourish, causing Quenzance to wince as he contemplated darning the rug again. “I am Hakon, the Chosen One, charged by the gods themselves with cleansing these lands of the dark and evil forces plaguing them, beloved of—”

“Yes, yes, yes,” tutted Quenzance, waving his hand dismissively. “I know who you are. But why do you need my wisdom?”

Two heavy brows knotted in confusion. “If I am to defeat the Dark Lord,” Hakon began.

“—then you need only be in the right place at the right time and hit him with your sword very hard,” finished Quenzance. “That’s all. Honestly, you don’t need much wisdom for that. Those who must rebuild the world after you’ve saved it, however…” He let out a wistful sigh. “They’re the ones who’ll need wisdom. Once you find them, send them my way and I’ll deal with everything.”

With that, Quenzance picked up his book again and pointedly started reading. Hakon stood silently, fidgeting uncertainly with his sword that still remained stuck in the rug. Eventually, Quenzance grunted and looked up. “Still here?”

“I was told you’d grant me wisdom,” grumbled Hakon.

“And I did. I told you to be wise enough to do what you need to do, and to send those who need greater wisdom to me. All you need to do is confront the Dark Lord and hit things as hard as you like.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

“Huh.” Hakon considered this. “Doesn’t seem so bad. Maybe this quest won’t be too hard after all.” He shrugged and tugged his sword free. “I’ll be on my way then?”

“Please.”

In the silence that followed, Quenzance smiled. Sometimes the best wisdom was to recognise your own limits. He’d done his job. Now, he could go back to enjoying his book while he waited for the world to be saved. Again.

 

 

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