ADAD Chapter 17: Conjurer

 Mustafa was an enigma. He didn't want to tell them from where he came, or the extent of his abilities. What he did, was to fill up Gorgon with animals better suited to the new climate.

Another thing he did, was to power the new rune that Darius and Harvey created, by using his mana, that was responsible for the cooling of the climate, and the spreading of the soil to the deeper levels of the dunes. 

Still, Anastasios didn't trust the man. What was a sultan doing in here? He didn't look injured, so the vampire prince thought that he couldn't possibly have been taken off the throne by force.

Adding to that, he still had all his possessions. Mustafa lived in his pyramid, but he was in the water of the oasis every day. Swimming, as if his life depended on it. 

That is where Anastasios found him a week after the wizard moved to Gorgon. There were so many fishes in the water that Anastasios wondered if he should try to find a new water supply. None of them were here before, but Mustafa had conjured them. And that was the strangest part.

Anastasios knew that conjuration was possible, but you had to have the animals or objects beforehand. Mustafa didn't seem to have anything like the animals in the pyramid. Not that Anastasios had ever been inside it. The wizard stopped his swimming, to look at Anastasios. The vampire prince sat at the edge of the water, and did his best to smile. 

"Ah, so you can smile, my prince. What a lovely thing that is, a smile from you. Have you come to Mustafa to ask him for a swimming tip?" Mustafa asked, and then chuckled when Anastasios frowned. 

"I have been swimming since I was three," Anastasios said, and the wizard sighed. 

"I didn't mean to insult, my prince. Just to get to know you. Of all the people in this oasis, you and your group of Orestria students have been the coldest towards me," Mustafa told him, and he faked hurt in his voice. 

"Yes, well, you are still an uninvited intruder," Anastasios argued, and the man chuckled. 

"Had I known that Orestria had taken this realm for its ruling elective, I wouldn't have come. To think, I wanted to populate it with sand sharks, and then live in the pyramid," Mustafa said, and he dived in the water. Anastasios waited for him to resurface, not as patiently as he would have liked. 

When the wizard broke the water's surface, he had a wiggling fish in his hands. 

"Be a dear and have this cooked, ok?" Mustafa threw the fish at the prince, who didn't bother to catch it. The fish wiggled on the ground a couple of times, and then it went back inside the water. Mustafa's good mood evaporated. "I have been nothing but friendly, and yet you treat me so?"

"Where did you come from?" Anastasios asked, brows furrowed. "Are you a criminal? Am I to expect bounty hunters coming into Gorgon?"

"A criminal? I will have you know I ruled justly for five hundred years, and then stepped down from the throne in favor of my half-brother. If he sends assassins after me, it won't surprise me. I doubt that it will make too much trouble for you and your friends," Mustafa splashed some water at Anastasios, who jumped out of the way. 

"What are you, a child?" The vampire prince snarled, and the man chuckled. 

"No, but you are. Your childhood has been robbed from you. Tell me, when was the last time you saw your parents?" Mustafa asked, and Anastasios sighed. 

"Seventeen years ago, when I got admitted to Orestria," the vampire prince said, and the wizard looked at him with pity. 

"For them, it will be just a month, but for you..." the wizard then sighed again. 

"What is it to you?" Anastasios asked, and Mustafa got out of the water. He had on boxer shorts, and his feet were webbed. "Wait, you are no ordinary wizard?" 

"Oh, no, I am quite human, I can assure you," Mustafa said, and then walked out of the water. "There is little people can't do with spells. You have a wizard among you, do you not? That shy blonde boy, what was his name again?"

"Noah," Anastasios told the man, who clapped his hands together. 

"Yes, Noah. A human, like me. One that went to Orestria, just like me," Mustafa then sat next to Anastasios. 

"You went to Orestria?" Anastasios asked, and the wizard nodded. 

"I even have a ruling mastery, much like how you strive to get one," Mustafa told him, and then looked at the dimensional pockets. "I can teach Noah things that Orestria would never so much as mention in his presence." 

"In exchange for what?" Anastasios asked, and the man tilted his head to the side. 

"Once a sultan, always a sultan. I can fund this little project for you. You can do the heavy lifting, and I can give you the money. All I ask for, is for you to leave me Gorgon, when you are ready to turn in your assignment," Mustafa then patted Anastasios on the back, and went back in the water. Another fish flew towards Anastasios. This time, the prince caught it. "Good boy." 

Anastasios just shook his head, and stood to leave. 

"And one more thing, my prince," Mustafa said, as he played in the water. "Tell the Fey that I want to meet him under four eyes. What can I say? His magic is very similar to mine." 

"You and Harvey?" Anastasios asked, and then pity wormed into his face. "He is a part of the cycle of life." 

"I am a wizard, and such things don't concern me. There are ways to share your lifespan with others, my boy. Maybe I will teach you, perhaps I won't," Mustafa winked playfully, and then dived back inside the water.

 Anastasios entered the dimensional pocket he had gone out of, the fish still in his hands. Does he tell Harvey right away? Or, does he speak with Darius first? As the one who knew Harvey the best, Darius would know what to do.