Collection "Quarter of Legends"
In Russian
In Ukrainian
"I see you got tired, my Apprentice," Janus (or just Jan) said, glancing at the young boy who followed him in a silent, obedient shadow (as a true model student). "Need a break, Arthur?"
Arthur nodded happily. He loved these magic lessons and respected his Mentor (almost idolized him)... but rare breaks in the company of the ancient sorcerer (ancient only in age, for he looked pretty youngish) were an absolute pleasure.
"I'm not tired," Arthur objected, just in case. He didn't want to appear weak and sissy to his adored Teacher. "But... I don’t mind a little break."
A break in Jan's language meant that the magician would embark on colorful memories and share another tasty story with his student... long centuries of life resulted in a great collection of legends and fairy tales that the sorcerer had gathered. Arthur didn't know which were true and which remained only fiction... and he didn't really care.
"Then it's time to combine business with pleasure... I invite you to a special place, a very charming town." Janus said with a mysterious smile, slowing down and then stopping.
Arthur stopped, too, looking around in surprise. They were in the middle of the market square: nimble merchants of various edible things were scurrying around them, and confident buyers were pacing, searching for certain shopping arcades or exploring the vegetables and fruits they liked. The Apprentice and his Mentor generated dissonances with the surroundings: one was a tall, broad-shouldered sorcerer with a neat walnut-colored beard and laughing gray eyes, wearing a floor-length dark purple cloak. The second was a thin, young, brown-haired guy of average height (even short), also in a cloak, but of faded gray color, typical of a student.
"Town?" The guy repeated aloud. "What... town?"
Janus tilted his head to the side, considering the answer.
"Well… it's not a real town, no, just a few streets… It doesn't matter. You'll understand... in time".
Arthur sincerely hoped that the Teacher was right, and in time, he would understand what it was about. Alas, he could only guess so far... on the other hand, the lad was used to "just guessing." Janus liked speaking in riddles and evading direct answers; he made his student read between the lines and get to the bottom of it for himself, at least in most cases.
Janus seemed to have read his thoughts (and why not? A sorcerer, after all!).
"Believe me, you will understand," he said soothingly, patting the young man on the shoulder. "Let's go."
He squeezed the lad's hand above the elbow and took a sliding step forward... an unusual step. The man seemed to be trying to pass into another dimension, to find a slit in the fabric of space. Apparently, he succeeded: Arthur felt the air around him heating up; a little more, and the moisture contained in it would boil... a shiver went through the boy's skin, and the world vibrated for a moment, turning into a dazzling glow... then it became nothing but a dead star.
And there they were again, still standing in the middle of the market square. But the area was now completely different... not much resembling the one they'd just left.
"Journey to another dimension successfully completed!" Arthur mentally shuddered. Janus sometimes showed him fascinating miracles... which the guy considered to be nothing more than resourceful stunts: gifted illusionists impress the public with similar magic tricks. However, what happened now was too powerful for "just a stunt." Magic had clearly come into play.
Yes, they were still in the square, crisscrossed with long rows of tables filled with things for sale (this time, not only edible ones!)... and between these tables, smug shoppers were pacing too. The overall picture looked the same... the difference was in the details.
Firstly, the tables themselves: narrow, old, on seemingly unstable legs. Some merchants tried to decorate their "workplace" with a bright, apparently never washed fabric, greasy from the constant touch of sticky fingers, but with little success. Although, few people paid attention to the tables, for the variety of goods caught their eye. The view was truly overwhelming!
So, secondly, goods. Arthur's eyes ran up from such a multi-colored abundance; he turned his head in all directions, unable to hide his surprise and delight. That's what the market should look like in some oriental fairy tale (let's say Aladdin)... at least in his imagination, it looked this same way. There was plenty of everything: exotic fruits, rare vegetables, iridescent fabrics (silk, satin, the finest wool, and something gaseous, weightless!), wardrobe items of amazing styles (the lovely Jasmine and her friend Aladdin came to mind again), sparkling feminine trinkets (jewelry, maybe?), and other similar things.
Thirdly, the market atmosphere. Again, it was something in the oriental spirit: vivid, juicy colors, a mixture of strong aromas of rare spices, a pungent onion smell, and a sweetish flair of ripe fruits. And, of course, the merry, discordant hubbub and perky effervescent laughter also contributed to an overall uplifted mood.
And finally, people: merchants in colorful bloomers, with turbans or panama hats over their heads; saleswomen in flowery, gaudy dresses and silk shawls; buyers in outlandish outfits (Janus and Arthur in their long cloaks looked too boring next to them). The apprentice had the impression that people from different worlds and different time parallels had gathered in that market square.
"Where are we now? Is this the town you were talking about?" Arthur asked aloud. When dealing with the Teacher, one had to keep one's eyes open and carefully choose the words because the magician liked to find fault with inaccurate formulations.
Janus shot an amused look at his troubled face, which the lad tried to give an indifferent expression (with no success). The sorcerer was clearly enjoying the achieved effect.
"Yes, this is exactly the town I've spoken of, or rather a couple of streets. Let's call it the Quarter of Legends."
"Legends?" The boy repeated in bewilderment. "Why legends?"
"Because a lot of incredible stories, almost legends, happened here... and they're still happening," Janus explained in a mysterious voice. "I'll introduce you to some of them..."
"Introduce me to the legends?" The guy said in an innocent tone. Had he expressed himself in such a manner, he would have had to endure a critical comment from the magician; after all, legends aren't human beings to be introduced to them…
Janus glanced at him suspiciously, clearly sensing a trick.
"Yes, my friend, legends," he repeated firmly. "They're associated with unusual, sometimes outstanding people... and I'll introduce you to them, to these people. In doing so, you'll learn their stories too. Do you get me now?"
Arthur nodded sagely, though he bent the truth a little bit since he was still far from fully understanding the whole picture. However, the guy didn't rush things and was looking forward to fascinating stories... Janus knew how to hypnotize with his voice and words and choose engaging, sometimes magical scenarios.
“And yet... where are we? “ After a pause, Arthur ventured a question that tormented him. “Are we... in another world?”
Of course, Janus couldn't answer directly, as the usual "yes" and "no" were hardly in his nature. He preferred evasiveness, forcing the student to draw independent conclusions (often far from the truth). Sometimes, the guy wondered if the sorcerer spoke to everyone in the same obfuscating way, equivocating all the time and answering a question with a question.
The magician smiled mysteriously and said, lowering his voice:
"And what do you make of it yourself?"
Arthur mentally groaned. Well, it starts again! Why not just answer the question without making him guess and blush when he comes to a completely wrong conclusion?
But those were the game's rules, and he had to put up with them... or give up the hope of learning the sorcerer's art. Janus never compromised, at least in matters of teaching magic.
"I think it’s a different world..." He finally said aloud, a little timidly. In the end, it was just a crazy shot in the dark.
Arthur shuffled his feet nervously, waiting for the magician's reaction. If he guessed wrong, Janus wouldn't miss the chance to ridicule his idea. "Do you think a dumbass like you would be able to move to another world so easily? Oh well! Don't hold your breath" Surely, Janus won't call him 'dumbass,' but the meaning of his caustic commentary would be just like that.
Janus (a real one) chuckled and patted the young man on the shoulder.
"In a certain sense, you are right," he said. "Depends on your idea of the world, reality... but your concept is quite good. It'll do!"
Arthur heaved a relieved sigh and smiled shyly. Coming from the magician, this sounded like an unprecedented compliment. However, it was too early to get cheery.
"I'm surprised," Janus continued, not allowing the apprentice to enjoy the moment of triumph. "Usually, your guesses are no good and just worthless."
"Apparently, I'm making progress." Arthur's smile became more strained and tense.
"I don't think so," said the ruthless Janus. "Rather, it's something else..."
"Something else?" The guy repeated.
"Yes, something else. Just look around! What other explanation could come to your mind? There are no better options!"
"I'm not stupid," Arthur protested languidly, not daring to object more openly.
"That's yet to be proven." The sorcerer grinned in response and added, noticing the young man's face darkening: "Come on! A sense of humor and the ability to laugh at oneself are important qualities of a magician."
"I have a sense of humor," the lad worked up the nerve to try to defend himself. "But it upsets me to hear that you think I'm stupid… after all, why haven't you chosen a sharper student?!"
Titling back his head, Janus laughed.
"And that one is smart!" He said cheerfully. "Yes, stupid students are useless to me. You're right. Okay, we've concluded you have a brain (though you don't always use it). Now let's get it to work... for a change."
"Let's do it, okay," Arthur answered uncertainly, trying to comprehend what was said. What was it, a compliment or a hidden insult? Perhaps, both, as always...
"So, we really moved into an unusual space, and you can safely call it another world. Why not?"
"And… what kind of world is it?" The boy asked with more confidence in his voice. After all, his hypothesis wasn't rejected or ridiculed. The first victory, albeit a small one!
"Let's put it this way: only a special type of people can get in here.”
Arthur straightened himself up, being classified as a "special type of person." However, looking around again, he frowned in disappointment. Neither the buyers nor the merchants gave the impression of being "special"... their outfits were bright, yeah, but that's all.
Once again, Janus guessed what his student was thinking about.
"Not impressed?" He asked mockingly.
"Well… they don't look very special to me," Arthur admitted with an embarrassed shrug.
"You're arrogant!" The mage laughed. "And what is so special about you, for example?"
"I'm your student!" The guy defiantly said. "Or do you teach them magic too?"
"Would that surprise you?"
"To be honest, yes. They don't seem interested in magic lessons. And there are too many of them, I guess... You are a sorcerer, not a school teacher!"
Imagination drew a school class filled with students and Janus at the blackboard, explaining a magic lesson to them. The picture was quite amusing, especially if among the students were such colorful, dissimilar characters.
"You are right; they aren't my students. But being my apprentice isn't the only… hmm… passage to this world. For some people, it serves as a kind of magnet, and some get here during their sleep, in a night dream, for example!"
"In a dream?" The guy was taken aback. "So… some people… aren't really here?"
"It depends on what you mean." As always, the magician answered vaguely. "Night dreams are sometimes quite real, too."
"It's just our brain working." Arthur objected out of a sense of contradiction. "Isn't it so?"
"Yes, most of them are just our brain working," Janus agreed. "But what does it change? Believe me, the Universe that our mind creates also deserves attention... and respect. Dismissing dreams as "just brain work" is rather stupid."
"Well, here it is again!" The young man thought sadly. "I've been called stupid… one more time."
"I don't dismiss anything," he said aloud, not without resentment. "I just want to understand..."
"Magicians know how to use their night's sleep as a valuable resource. They travel with their help, predict the future, draw strength and energy... Over time, I'll teach you various useful tricks..." The sorcerer paused and measured the student with a critical look, then added skeptically: "At least I'll try to teach you."
Swallowing another veiled mockery, Arthur asked curiously:
"So… are some of these people mages? Since they know how to travel... er... through their sleep?"
"Not necessarily. Pretty sure, even you must have penetrated another reality through the world of dreams... at least once. You just don't remember."
"Even you!" Arthur was outraged. If the magician hadn't made this remark, the guy would probably have protested, saying he couldn't forget the astral flight. However, he didn't want to hear a caustic response, for example: "Yes, you're right; you're not smart enough for a journey through your sleep."
"And some of the inhabitants here aren't humans at all," Janus added, pulling the student out of his gloomy thoughts.
"In what sense?" Arthur inquired in amazement, looking around the square with some caution. “They all look… like people…”
"Looking and being isn't the same thing," Janus chuckled. "You should have mastered so little by now."
Blushing, the boy shrugged and said more harshly than he wanted to:
"And I have mastered it! But why cannot I be surprised? I'm just a human being..."
"Oh, yes!" The man cheerfully confirmed, his eyes flashed with a stray fire. "And the key word is HUMAN. Unlike, say, him..."
And the magician nodded at a colorful gentleman, a merchant of various shiny trinkets. This man, too, resembled a "sparkling trinket", even a Christmas toy of some sort: bright, eye-catching, and totally mismatching dull everyday life. All decorations should be hidden away when Christmas is over... until next year.
"Who is he?" Arthur asked hotly, eyeing the incredible merchant with curiosity. Tall, swarthy, not fat, but large, with a wide white-toothed smile, he oozed vital juices like a tomato in the sun. Well, he looked a bit like a tomato, too, especially due to his spherical belly, covered with a scarlet silk shirt. A round gold earring glittered in the gentleman's right ear; yeah, it was impossible to miss such a creature... He attracted attention and drew glances even in the variegated, motley crowd gathered on this square... not least thanks to the noisy, loud laughter spilling over the trade rows.
"You ask who he is?" The magician repeated with a chuckle and shook his head; a smile flickered and melted under his mustache. "He belongs to a special caste that calls itself Free Creatures. And I call them demons."
Arthur laughed nervously.
"Demon? I imagined them differently."
"Did you imagine them at all?" Janus chuckled. "Have you ever thought about who the demons are and what they might look like?"
It had always been so. Janus knew how to ask provocative questions and confound his student.
Well… the mage certainly hit the mark. Arthur had never thought about demons. And why would he think about them, for that matter?
"Have you read 'Demons' by Dostoevsky?"
"I don't like Dostoevsky." The guy honestly admitted and added, willing to avoid another mocking comment in his address: "Or rather, his books. And yes, I read his books... some of them. Boring."
Janus whistled admiringly.
"My compliments to you! And not because you read Dostoevsky's books (I suspect you read one at best). I respect your making progress! The first time you articulated your thoughts so clearly, I could hardly find something to pick at. Well done."
Such a dubious compliment was better than nothing, especially since the magician was very stingy with praise.
"Demons are, in my understanding, just loafers," Janus continued his speech. "They consider themselves free beings who do what they want and obey no one... however, by and large, they are of little use, and they have no purpose other than having fun and enjoying themselves."
"I would say they resemble some people," Arthur couldn't resist a sarcastic remark. "I know a couple of such fans of fun and festivities. And they have little use either."
"But even the most inveterate loafers and slackers are bound by the limitations of our world," the sorcerer spread his hands. "And sometimes life forces them to curtail fun for the time being and do something useful. And the demons have nothing to worry about! They don't have a body... a permanent one, at least. They can create a kind of mental image... like this gentleman..." Janus nodded again at the colorful merchant. "Of course, such a mental image is perceived by our senses only under special conditions."
"Special conditions?" asked the guy with curiosity. Although Janus referred to their walk as a "break," it was more like an ongoing magic class. However, nothing surprising, the sorcerer rarely missed the opportunity to teach his protégé something new, even if this was just a story about the nature of "freedom-loving demons".
"Yes, that's right," Janus nodded. "Of course, people with subtle perceptions (which include magicians, too, by the way) can see the mental image created by the demon in almost any condition. But this is rather an exception to the rule."
"And can you see… uh… mental image of a demon under normal conditions?" Arthur interrupted him, secretly hoping Janus would say neither yes nor no... a sure sign the answer was negative (for the sorcerer didn't allow himself to lie, at least openly). It would be nice to know that his self-confident Mentor was also imperfect in one way or another.
Janus gave the student a condescending look.
"Of course. And let's hope over time you'll be able to see things more sharply too..." He sighed and added: "But so far, I'm not sure about you, alas. You have a natural gift, that's right, but zero perseverance."
"So what about these special conditions?" Arthur returned to the previous topic; he felt somewhat optimistic. What a surprise! Janus admitted he had a natural gift! The guy just ignored the second part of the phrase; after all, it wasn't the strongest rebuke he had experienced from the magician. The lack of perseverance, ha! Just nonsense.
"The Quarter of Legends is surely a place with special conditions!" The man shrugged. "And there are other worlds like it. And, of course, our night dreams. Also, demons can temporarily possess a person's body, take the place of their own soul aside, to put it figuratively."
"Sounds terrible!" Arthur shivered, looking at the bright merchant with more apprehension and, perhaps, not without respect. "And then what? Does the person become demon-possessed?"
A Demon-Possessed Man. Sounded like a cheap horror movie with a mystical twist... Arthur had nothing against horror films, but only if the action occurred on the screen and not in life.
"Yes, such a person becomes possessed," Janus nodded. "And the demon can even partially control their will. By the way, some of the slackers you mentioned are demon-possessed poor fellows."
The picture looked frightening, and its main character no longer seemed to Arthur like a funny fat man with an extravagant manner of performance and memorable image. The appearance of the trinket seller suddenly showed something imposing and impressive. After all, it's one thing to sell trifles in the mysterious Quarter of Legends and quite another to take possession of a person's body, albeit temporarily.
"I see you are interested in my story," Janus interrupted his thoughts; he smiled with the corners of his thin, mustache-hidden lips. "Now, this gentleman doesn't look too ordinary to you, right?"
The guy blushed and looked away from the merchant, which took some effort.
"Well... I didn't know he wasn't a human," he shrugged, hoping the color had faded from his pale cheeks. "I thought he was just a merchant."
"Just a merchant... just a security guard... just a housewife? Never label anyone unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, you, too, will one day be called 'just a student'."
"I hear much more offensive things from you!" Arthur reminded him.
Janus looked at him with pity.
"Do you really think that being 'just someone', being nobody, being ordinary is better than being criticized? Believe me, insignificant people are rarely targeted for criticism. They are unnoticed."
Arthur thought the magician's words over and concluded that they, too, could be considered unusual praise... with some stretch.
"Are all these merchants demons?" He asked aloud after a short pause. His mood was upbeat, almost jubilant. Whatever they say, today, Janus made it clear he considered his student capable of many things... At least he didn't see his mentee as an utterly hopeless creature.
"Of course not!" Janus answered his question. "Not each merchant is a demon; the Quarter of Legends is full of all sorts of characters."
"Quarter of Legends? You've already used this expression several times... this place... is it really called that?"
"It has no special name… But I call it Quarter of Legends... Do you mind?"
"No, no, just curious," the guy said hastily. He felt a strange excitement, an anticipation of something unusual and new... it was his craving for the unknown that motivated him to become an apprentice of Janus. Of course, it's not bad to master the art of magic, live for centuries like his mentor, and work miracles... but it's even better to experience vivid emotions, which people involved in the world of sorcery get.
"Let's go for a walk," Janus suggested, nodding towards the square. "And I'll introduce you to some interesting characters! Trust me... You won't regret it."
There was no doubt in Arthur's mind about that.
(to be continued; follow the updates on the website)
