To graduate from wizard training, Stick must direct a starving lion to go from one end of a long cage to the other. Then survive the brother wizard who hates him -- and the Moon Queen who loves him.
Tired of magic wand, eye of newt 'recipe' magic?
If the ingredients really contain the power, you perform a chemistry experiment.
Perhaps real magicians can impose their will on the world without hocus pocus.
In the early Neolithic era, wizard schools teach powerful inner magic. Chants and charms might fool ignorant primitive hunters and stoop farmers, but not the king of beasts. In the end, your inner strength derives from the God or Goddess you serve.
In The Moon Queen, a very short story for very young children, a poor little backwoods girl walks all the way to town to see the Moon Queen, only to have the crowd of arrogant town people turn her away.
However, far from the proud and powerful, she meets a little girl in a carriage who insists they change clothes, and she never sees her mother and little brother again.
Stick and the Lion first appeared in BARDIC RUNES IX in 1994.
Genre: FICTION / Fantasy / HistoricalStick and the Lion is a short story that originally appeared in Bardic Ruins in 1994.
The volume I sell on Kindle also includes a related short story, which was actually written as a children's picture book. It's The Moon Queen.
And both stories are related to the novel The Chaos Formula.
Quivering, Small Nose let go of his lion's tail, then pissed through his hemp loincloth. He threw himself against the wall, shouting, "Help me, Stick! You're my best friend. Save me!"
Behind his wall of silence, Stick heard the faint sounds, but continued to concentrate on projecting calm thoughts into his lion's mind. Stick did not know how much longer he could save himself, let alone Small Nose.
Every boy knew they must conquer the lion on their own. This was a trial prove one's own strength, not ability to receive help.
Small Nose's lion reared up on its hind legs and bit into the boy's neck. A scream, then a loud crunch of bones.
Stick promised both Small Nose and Hog Turk if he lived he would say a service for their souls. He felt the stored energy in his light-body and the force of his power blowing through his mind like a tornado.
With fresh boy-blood and meat so close, Stick realized he couldn't control the lion there. It immediately whirled sharply, roared and lashed out. The yellow claws flicked by Stick's ribs as he jumped to the side. His mind leapt even faster, drawing on the power of the storm inside him to send to the beast: Relax, Sir Lion. I am your friend.
The lion growled and snapped, almost biting Stick's leg. Hot slobber fell on his thigh.
Stick's terrified mind dodged his power as it blew from him into the lion's brain with the fury of a storm that bends trees to the ground and blows away children.
Stick tugged hard on the lion's tail. At the same instant, he projected the picture of food and water at the other end into the beast's mind. As the lion roared and turned back and forth, Stick pulled at its tail with every muscle, so it kept facing the corridor.
| Language | Status |
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Stefano Vazzola
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Author review: Works quickly and diligently. |
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Caio Bonatti
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Lorenzo Bermejo Thomas
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Author review: Lorenzo finished the translation very quickly. And he caught a mistake I made that would have confused readers if not corrected. |
