Sadon woke from his deep slumber with a crick in his neck and a ferocious headache. He groaned as he sat up, his bones popping and protesting the whole time. With a sigh, he struggled to remember what had landed him in this horrible state. His mind was surrounded in a dense, impenetrable fog.

It all came back to him slowly. The dragon, the fire, death, and a whole lot of magic. After the sheer amount of magic he had used to save the villagers, it was a wonder he wasn't in more pain.

"What day is it?" he whimpered pathetically. The sorcerer rolled over, misjudging the distance to the edge of the bed, and found the floor rising up to meet him rapidly. He hit the ground with a thud and a loud exclamation of pain.

Less than a minute later, there came a frantic knock at the door. "Sir?" came a worried voice. "Do you need any help?"

"Leth?"

"Yes, sir, it's me. Are you okay?"

Sadon climbed to his feet and staggered to his chamber door. Opening it, he leaned heavily against the door frame. Three Leths stood in front of him and all of them were blurry.

Leth looked at him with concern. "Sir?"

"I am fine. Just a little dizzy." Sadon dismissively waved a shaky hand in the air. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About a day and a half. Are you sure you're fine?"

"A day and a half?! You're kidding me! What about the villagers?" Sadon took a step forward before his knees buckled and he immediately fell to the floor.

Leth did his best to catch the sorcerer, but the weak teen was no match for Sadon's weight. The would have both hit the ground had Sadon not grabbed hold of the doorframe at the last second. With a huff, he pulled himself back up.

"Sir," Leth said worriedly, "you really should go back to bed."

"Never." Sadon, stubborn as ever, attempted to walk again. This time he was able to keep his balance after a step. "Tell me how the villagers are."

Leth tried to direct Sadon back into his room, but was weakly pushed away. "The villagers are fine. Please, I insist you go back to bed. You're no help to anyone if you pass out."

"Help me into the kitchen area," Sadon commanded.

"Sir..." Leth sighed, but took his master by the arm and led him down the hallway.

They entered the well-lit living room. Looking up, Sadon was surprised to see two people sitting on the couch. It was an elderly pair, one female and the other male.

When they saw him, the two rose as quickly as their old bones would allow them to and bowed deeply. "You must be the mighty sorcerer," the man croaked in a hoarse voice. The woman beside him nodded respectfully.

Sadon looked at Leth, blinking in confusion. "Who are these people," he murmured under his breath.

"They're villagers who came by for a visit. They had originally come to see if you were awake, but I told them you were still out. I decided to let them inside for a snack. I hope that's okay."

"Yes, yes, my boy." The stubborn sorcerer tried to get to a chair by himself, but his legs were still weak and he almost fell. "Bring me to a chair so I can sit and talk to my visitors."

Leth guided him over to the nearest chair. Once Sadon was comfortably seated, the apprentice sat down in another chair that was close by.

Sadon took a deep breath in hopes of clearing out his muddled head and turned to his two guests. "Excuse my rudeness, but could you please introduce yourself to me?"

"You're not rude t'all," the elderly man said in his gravely voice. The small, weak man sat hunched over on the ornate, backless bench, sinking into the plush cushions. The woman was next to him, her eyes cast downward and a soft expression on her face. "It was so kind of your apprentice to allow us inside."

"He's a kind boy." Sadon rolled his head to the side and looked at Leth with a smile on his face before turning back to his guests. "So, your names?"

"I am Fendrel and this is my wife, Sybbyl. She was one a' the many people ya' saved yesterday with ya' healing potion."

Sadon nodded to the quiet woman. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Sybbyl bobbed her head, but remained silent.

"Have we had many visitors while I was asleep?" Sadon turned to his apprentice. A shooting pain shot through his neck and let he let out a slight exhalation of discomfort.

Leth tapped his chin. "Not many. A little boy and a middle-aged man both came by yesterday to say their thanks, but for the most part people have stayed away."

"'Scuse my interruption," mumbled Fendrel, "but allow me to say that a lotta folks are too scared to come visit ya'. Not ta' mention that they're too busy mournin' the dead."

Sadon nodded. "As soon as I regain my strength, I shall do what I can to save your village. My magic is drained, so you must forgive me for being so tired and slow."

"I've been feelin' like that for the past twenty years!" Fendrel chuckled. "I understand. You've helped us 'nuff by saving so many people from the fire. It's amazing how fastly everyone is recoverin'. Sybbyl here was on Death's doorstep when you saved 'er, and now look at 'er!" He gestured proudly to the meek woman beside him.

His words were true. Sadon vaguely remembered watching Leth save an elderly woman who had been crushed by a tree that had caught fire and fallen over. Before the healing potion, her limbs had been horribly smashed and her body completely covered in life-threatening burns, and yet now she appeared as if nothing had ever happened. Sadon was surprised with how well the potion had worked, as usually it left some reminder of the damage it healed.

Fendrel slowly got to his feet, his hunched back and old bones hindering his movements. "We'll be leavin' now, let ya' get some sleep. Come, Sybbyl." He gestured to his aged wife, who also stood. Together they sluggishly made their way to the door to leave, although the aged Sybbyl admittedly had a little more pep in her step.

Leth rose to his feet, escorting them to the door with a polite gesture. He opened it for them and stepped outside to help them down the steps of the wagon. After they were gone, he stepped back inside with a sigh and shut the door firmly behind him. "I thought they would never leave."
"They seemed nice enough," Sadon breathed. He let his head loll to the side and tried to focus his eyes on Leth. With their company gone, the sorcerer found himself overcome with exhaustion.

"Sybbyl was fine enough, but something about Fendrel just seemed a bit offsetting. Not to mention they were here for over an hour."

"An hour?"

Leth grabbed from the kitchen a loaf of bread and bit down on it hungrily. He walked back into the living room, shaking his head at Sadon as he passed. "Had you not woken when you did, I have a feeling they would have stayed all night just to see the 'Sadon, the Mighty Sorcerer'."

"I hope no one has started calling me that. You know how much I despise nicknames."

Yes, sir, I know." Leth broke off a piece of bread and handed it to his master, who weakly took it and began gnawing on it. "I still find it funny how you threatened to obliterate that village a few months ago when they called you 'Sorcerer Sadon, Savior of Men'."

Through a mouthful of bread, Sadon chuckled. "They were asking for it. I told them that just Sadon would suffice."

Leth felt a smile creep onto his lips as he ate the rest of his snack. He shoved the rest of the bread in his mouth and looked at his master. The smile quickly fell off his face as he noticed Sadon's glazed-over expression and sickly pale features.

"Master," he said concernedly, "you should go back to bed." He got to his feet and stepped towards Sadon.

"I am fine, my boy." Sadon readjusted himself in his chair. "Just allow me to rest here for a little while longer."

"Is there anything I can get you?"

"Some more food, if you will. I'm famished."

Leth bowed. "Of course." He left the room and entered the kitchen. There was a bowl of fresh fruit that Sadon had bought weeks ago and enchanted to stay fresh for a long time. It was a handful of bilberries that Leth scooped into his hands; they were Sadon's favorite, and he often indulged in binges on them. He put them in a small, grimy wooden bowl.

"Here you go." The teen set the bowl in his master's lap.

"Thank you, my boy," Sadon said delightedly. He mustered his strength to pop a few of the blue berries into his mouth. He held up a few for Leth. "Would you care for some?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Suit yourself." He continued munching happily on them. With berries still in his mouth, he said to Leth, "What have you been doing to entertain yourself while I've been sleeping? A whole day to yourself must have been boring."

Leth shook his head adamantly. "I had a right pleasant time. Most of yesterday I spent catching up on my lessons and just tidying up around. It was hard to focus though, because all I wanted to do was go help the villagers. But I know that, without you, I wouldn't be much help. When I would go outside to check on Terragon and Aswlyn, sounds from the town would drift towards me. Many are still weeping over their dead and playing mournful tunes; it's such a dreadful sight."

Sadon clicked his tongue. "First you tell me that I must rest and regain my magic before helping the village, but then you go and tell me of all those suffering in the town."

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: you will be of no use to anyone without your strength." Leth took the bowl, Sadon having quickly finished off the berries. He brought it back into the kitchen.

"Sometimes I forget which one of us is the adult and which is the child. You may not be my mother, but you sure act like her."

"If it weren't for me, you would be too weak to move right now. I'm helping you."

"True indeed, my boy. True indeed."

When Leth had begun living and traveling with Sadon a few months prior, he had found himself intimidated by the powerful sorcerer who had saved his life. But, as time wore on, he was able to see Sadon for who he truly was: a kind, caring, sometimes absent-minded man who simply wanted to help people. Once Leth had come to this realization, he instantly lost all fear of his master and the two were able to talk as equals. Normally, Leth would never even think of speaking to such a powerful man which such a teasing tone, but Sadon never made him feel as if he said the wrong thing.

Sadon didn't say anything more for a while, which led Leth to believe he had drifted off to sleep again. The teen went to the wooden table in the kitchen that was supposed to serve as a place for them to eat their meals, but instead was simply a place for them to stack all the spellbooks that couldn't fit on the shelves.

Not long after they had begun traveling together, Sadon had discovered that Leth was illiterate, something that wasn't completely uncommon for most poor farm boys at the time. This had greatly upset the wizard, who immediately insisted he teach the boy how to read and write. Leth, doubtful of his own abilities at first, had proved to be an excellent pupil. He rapidly absorbed the alphabet and was writing sentences within a month. Seeing this progress, Sadon had begun teaching him the basics of the language of magic.

Leth knew that he himself possessed little to know magic, but that didn't stop him from becoming enthralled by the language itself. It was a beautiful way of speaking, where you didn't speak words so much as feel them. As non-magical as he was, Leth greatly appreciated Sadon's teachings, no matter how long or grueling the lessons were.

It was now, as Sadon was dozing in the chair, that Leth continued his lessons. A few days prior, Sadon had tasked him with translating an entire section of a potion book involving magic designed for animals. The chapter he was given was on creating a charm that calm wild creatures.

The chapter was long and dull, and before long Leth found himself beginning to doze off. He did his best to stay awake but, a few hours later as the sun was beginning to set outside, he too drifted off into a deep slumber. He slept at the table, using the musty potion book as a pillow.