If the creaking woods hold secrets therein, more so the lonely wizard that wanders their paths. Perhaps he is the most knowledgeable of all those who reside in Ravenwood- or, of all those who are trusted to be in existence. Every man has met or at the least seen the wizard. He is certainly among the most enigmatic features of the forest. Some say that he is older than any other in the wood, and that he knows all there is to know in the forest because he was there when the earth was first furrowed and the oaks planted. Others swear that he can not have been present for more than a generation, but certainly has existed longer than any other person in Ravenwood. What is not disputed is that he is the wisest and most formidable of its occupants.
Some believe that he is an elf, some a man. Some have claimed that he is a member of a mysterious folk of the woodland, which he has vehemently and fearfully denied. One more widely-believed tale is that he once, many decades past, followed the silver brook into a strange glen of the forest. Many claim that there, he met the unseen Woodland King. If true, this was the only known sighting to have ever occurred. Many trusted him when he first shared this experience because of his profound wonderment, breaking into the town square with eyes wide and hands trembling. Yet, all those who heard his story firsthand are now long gone. This tale, and many others strange and wonderful, may have loosened his lips once. Yet, having grown more wizened and more sagacious with age, he cannot be brought to speak of such memories now. What caused such a change of heart none know, and he will not discuss it.
Though even less often seen, and perhaps less widely believed in, the wizard is understood to have a brother. The location of this man’s abode is unknown, though he may occasionally be met if one walks the more winding paths of Ravenwood. Gifted in the arts of healing, his presence has given hope to many at the end of their wits. Whether his power is exaggerated by hearsay is uncertain, for few believe that he exists, and fewer still have come to meet him face-to-face.
Tales have been told in generations past of ill children taken through the night into the woods, the desperation of their families drawing them beyond the safety of town. In the night, they claimed to have seen the starlight blotted by a shadow in the sky. A great owl, with eyes glowing white, guided them to a place they had not seen before and could not find again. The next day, their stories could only be half-believed by the townsfolk- yet, the child would be healed, and would not easily ail again afterward.
While the wizard keeps company nearer to town, the healer makes friends in the woodland. The residents of the Mousling Village will take their own to no other healer when a bought of yellow cough strikes. Stories told of him vary wildly in detail, and the truth is often difficult to find in them. Creatures and individuals too strange and powerful to be mentioned during daylight call upon him, some say, and impart secrets of their own in exchange for his services. Though he is believed to be less fearful of talk concerning the mysteries of Ravenwood, he is no less wise than his brother, and knows which secrets are meant to remain so. He does not believe in hiding the existence of monstrosities and wonders in the wood, but his sense of self-preservation prevents him from becoming loose-lipped.
The cause of the falling-out betwixt the brothers is unknown. For as long as can be remembered, they have spoken rarely of one another, and then only in derisive tones. As a rule, the wizard refuses to speak upon his brother as he refuses to speak upon the secrecies of the woods. Whatever squabble caused the dissolution of their relationship must now be long past, but it is not forgotten.
Now, the Wizard of the Wood peddles trickeries and magicks of a simple sort, to entertain children and those with childlike minds. Like a vile sickness he avoids those that are curious of things gone past, and seeks out those with pure hearts set upon the future. He is few of words to those who are prone to prying, though a cautionary speech such as this may often be heard when he is pestered:
“Bother me not while I am working. You run into my shop with notions of adventure and mystery, but cannot fathom what it is you seek. The cause for your excitement is this: the mysteries of the forest – those you truly wish to speak of – are too frightening to even consider. I am a warm, familiar, and tangible alternative. Think of that before you ask for my tales. For when you have seen that which I have seen, you may choose what you shall and shall not tell.”
Such rich writing!