‘Very well’responded the Watchman, ‘pray sit and I will listen to your tale.’ ‘I will tell you my story,’replied the Stranger, ‘so that you understand my request.’ ‘How came you to this decision?’ enquired the Watchman, eyeing the Stranger closely, ‘for I warn you, it is not an easy art.’ ‘I come in humility and respect Sire,’ said the Stranger, ‘for I wish to learn the craft of the Watchman.’ ‘Greetings Stranger,’ said the Watchman, ‘what brings you hither?’ One morning, the Watchman was looking from the wall as was his usual custom, when he heard footsteps on the stairs. He could see far and wide across the Kingdom with his enchanted looking glass and his advice was valued by many. He used such spells as he possessed to change people’s ways so that they would suffer less and the Gatekeeper and the Wizard would not be so greatly burdened. It fell to him to survey the land from the castle wall to see all of the people in the Kingdom, understand their ways, and judge why they came to the Gatekeeper, and why some needed the Wizard’s strong potions. He too was a learned Wizard but his was a different task.
What has not been told before is the tale of the Watchman. Over time many more people saw the Gatekeeper than the Wizard, but this balance was shown to be necessary for all concerned. He too had great learning, but he had a less powerful crystal ball, less powerful potions, and he cured less serious conditions (so that not everybody who came to the Gatekeeper needed to see the Wizard). At the entrance to his castle lived a Gatekeeper who would decide which of the many people who came with their illnesses should go on to see the Wizard. He had spent many years training to become such a clever Wizard and was highly revered by the people. 1 – 3 The Wizard lived in a white castle and owned a powerful crystal ball that could tell him why people fell ill, and, when he had determined the cause, he would cure them with powerful magic potions. Once upon a time there lived a Gatekeeper and a Wizard whose tale has been told by learned scribes in highly respected scrolls.
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