Since the inception of the market at the village, the villagers had been accepting gifts, strange tools or figurines brought home by merchants who came from distant lands. Of such miscellany, the first and quite the most treasured one was the Light-Wand, an instrument so arcane and potent as to make one, for as long as it is held, to become the center of the universe. It was forged in the bygone days in the South and brought here from
Sapmi in the west. The merchant who brought it called himself Martyn the Engineer, a word which meant sorcerer, or a wizard. He was a slight man, stooped with age, his hair puffed up into a tenuous cloud around his head, like a halo. The villagers called him Cloudhead in their native tongue.
On the night before the Sapmi caravan set out eastwards, Cloudhead had shown his light-wand to the imploring villagers. He would not have them touch it, nonetheless, lest they hurt themselves if they handled it too carelessly. Brandishing the instrument from the village hall out into the night, with the whole village trailing after him, the Engineer aimed at the pole star and set off the wand. Then at once a
fibril of green light, straight as a taut string and so bright that it stung the eyes, could be seen stretched from the Engineer's hand and all the way to the pole star. And for that brief moment all the stars in the heavens danced around the pillar of light and around Cloudhead.
The market crowd gaped in awe. While the Engineer explained the purpose of the wand, most of the villagers were already not in the mood to listen. In the months after Cloudhead headed east, they had found other uses for the wand: Apart from serving as a contact to the heavens, the wand also combusted anything that came in way of the light, provided that it was held there for long enough. A young man looked into the light one day and was blinded. The wand was involved in a murder attempt during a land dispute, and thereafter it was stowed away in a locked cabinet and was forgotten about.
In due time the village received another visitor with the caravan. He called himself Kostia, son of Martyn the Engineer. They believed him, because his wild hair resembled the Engineer's, and named him Stormhead, because he was young and his hair was jet-black. They handed the wand back to him, lamenting its uselessness the troubles that it had brought to the community.
Kostia tried to set off the wand, but failed. He remarked that the wand had lost its magical powers and that he would like to try to restore it, just for fun. Cautious from the memories of the incidents but piqued by curiosity, the village captain agreed. The Engineer's son first asked for a sliver of
sincum ("you know, the thing they bring in from the
Laurentides") and was promptly handed a sincum plate as large as him palm. Next he asked for a some coal, just a little bit of it, and was given that as well, powdered and served in a canister. What he did with those, no one could recall with absolute clarity, but the next moment all could see that the wand gave a weak glow, as green as it was when Cloudhead first put it to action.
Kostia held his hand to the path of the light, to the horror of the villagers.
"Don't worry," reassured Kostia. "I've only put a little power back into it. To restore it to its fullest power would require much more noble matter than sincum and coal, if you would like me to do so for you!" The villagers demurred, but the captain declined. Take it, take it home with you, said he; we can't handle this stuff, it has brought us nothing but annoyance. The two bade farewell, and, without further comment, the Engineer's son headed west with the caravan, bringing all his magic back along with him.
