Asus and Ligh

There was a great magician named Asus who, throughout her long and adventurous life, had developed a set of abilities that only she possessed. Her peers would come from all corners of the globe to shadow her as she performed wonders with metals and other worldly materials. Turning lead into gold was a thing of the past, and as the alchemists grew bored in their miraculous wealth they set out to master transformations that were less common. Asus was the only wonder-worker who had learned how to take a lump of gold and form it into a boulder of lead. This act may seem counter-intuitive, but the real value for shapeshifters in this day and age lies with a performance's novelty. Asus had departed on a six-continent tour, and planned on debuting her skills for people around the globe.

Ligh was a novice metal worker who had grown tired of hammering away at metals, turning piles of ore into merchandise to be sold. She longed to perform and stupefy audiences. Instead of selling customers molten rocks that had been turned into meaningless trinkets, Ligh wished to use that material to impart wonder. So Ligh bartered her way into a cabin on the lower deck of the very same freighter on which Asus had set sail. Her plan was to watch Asus perform her tricks, rushing back to her cabin after every show to practice on a golden necklace she kept around her neck. Fortunately for Ligh, it did not take long for Asus to notice the thin, scraggly girl with golden locks watching her hands at every gathering. After the third stop, a week-long excursion on the island of Petra, Asus approached the young girl on one of the long decks that ran along the sides of the ship's upper deck. She had followed Ligh there after seeing her dart out of the large mess hall. Asus looked at Ligh with an understanding smile but Ligh tried to dart away again, back towards the hallway that led down to the stage. Suddenly, Asus appeared on the other side. Ligh gasped at the surprise- there was no way that anyone, let alone a person the age of Asus, could move that quickly. Ligh looked at Asus' calm, warm smile, and heard her say, "I have seen you at every show since I left the port of Rickly. Are you here to learn?"

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After this interaction, Ligh and Asus became inseparable. Asus was thrilled to impart her tricks to a mentee, something that had caught Ligh by surprise. Why would anyone willingly give up their hard-earned secrets? Whenever Asus was not performing, she was speaking with a deliberate voice in hushed conversations with Ligh. As the worldwide tour continued, the two could be seen together at all hours of the day, crouching at the stone-working table and speaking in hushed voices. By the end of the journey Ligh had become a master at performing all but one of Asus' tricks. The one that remained in need of work and continued studies was Asus' famous ability to turn gold into lead. The other abilities, from works of true alchemy to basic skills surrounding sleight of hand, had all become second nature to the young apprentice. Unfortunately for Ligh, Asus' mastery of this one final skill would leave room for only one true Master of Golden Lead.

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Author's Note: This writing definitely took on a life of its own. I wanted to retell the story of The Passing of Merlin (Link), but once I had the seed in my head the writing churned itself out. This will be a two (or three) part series. The story will have a similar ending to Merlin, for which one could see the groundwork laid, but it will take us one or two episodes on the freighter to hear. In the original, Merlin ends up dying after a mentee tricks/accidentally tricks him into a hole before having a boulder appear above him.The second part, featured in this portfolio post, leaves the readers expecting the worst or at least understanding that for one character this story will not have a pleasant ending.

I wanted to focus really on the story rather than any character development, in a fashion that I associate with classic folklore. That is why there is such limited dialogue or description surrounding the physical interactions between Ligh and Asus. I intentionally focuses on the plot points, and even then relied on a direct and shortened description of what was going on. Ideally this style will lead to the story reading as if it were a bedtime story that has been passed down as an oral tradition. The characters' words and descriptors are less important than what really happens to the actors themselves. Part three makes this finality clear and will easily be the most important segment of the story. Similar to the ending of The Passing of Merlin, the audience could only read the final section or paragraph and still understand what happens to the characters. The first sections only offer the rising action and are not crucial to the integrity of the story.

Story source: King Arthur: Tales of the Round Table by Andrew Lang and illustrated by H.J. Ford. Link.

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