William Calhoun and the Black Feather. Book I
«So, this Federation governs all wizards?»
«That is right! The next level of authority after the International Federation of Wizards is taken by the Wizard Association, headed by Fafner.»
«And besides him being the rector of Templedoor, is Templedoor better than the other three MUnis in some way?»
«Of course! Under Fafner, students started studying deeper and more efficiently than it had been before him. He dismissed all teachers that had worked at Templedoor before and brought his students and comrades to fill their places, and they turned out to be better teachers that their predecessors. And education at Templedoor entered a new level of quality.»
«Awesome!» William said with deep admiration towards Fafner. «So are we going to enroll me in the Preparatory Course tomorrow?»
«Master Calhoun cannot wait to start studying!» Nymus noted with obvious satisfaction.
«Are you kidding? I couldn’t even dream about this! Studying among wizards!»
«Do not diminish yourself, Master Calhoun! The Calhoun kin is known for producing real stars of the wizarding world every few generations, and they live in glory and respect for the rest of the days!»
«Wow!» William managed.
«Yes, Master Calhoun has all the rights to be proud of his kin,» Nymus added, «rights like no other wizard! No wonder the Calhoun kin is often called the Proud Kin!»
«What did we do?» William asked stupidly.
«I have already told Master Calhoun that once, dark times came to the wizarding world! Further existence of wizards was threatened and many of them laid their feathers in the battle against the evil that started dwelling in the Community!»
«What kind of evil?»
«Oooh,» Nymus said passionately. «The Dweller of the Dark came from the gloomy swamps to overthrow the rulers…» Nymus dropped down to whisper again. «But May I Never See Letters Again, he failed to do it thanks to your famous ancestor – Deverell Calhoun! My great-grandfather Bommel from the Nymus kin served him faithfully at that time! And now I serve you, Master Calhoun, and my kin, as I’ve said before, is very proud of their wizards! From Kin to Kin, Kin for the Good of Kin!» quoted Nymus, holding his chin high.
William was so shocked by everything Nymus had told him that he went deep into his thoughts for a while, running each word Nymus had said about his ancestor Deverell Calhoun over in his head.
Meanwhile, the door to the house opened noisily and a voice drifted up:
«William! Are you already home, dear?»
«Mrs. Hoggart!» While Nymus was telling him about wizards, William seemed to have moved into a different world! It seemed to him that there was no other world but the world of wizards. There was only the world with Ferzibald Fafner, the International Federation of Wizards, their presidents, and MUnis headed by Templedoor! He learned all that just then, from Nymus, but he knew he didn’t want to go to any other of the three MUnis. He could hardly wait for the day when he would study magic under Fafner the Great himself and his teachers! But then, he suddenly remembered that he was still in the Blackfriars Lane, in his room. And his only connection to the magic world and wizards was Nymus!
«You need to leave,» William said. «It’s Mrs. Hoggart and she can enter any minute!»
«Alright,» Nymus said. «But if Master Calhoun wishes, I can return to him any moment! It is my duty! To summon me, Master Calhoun needs to write my name on a piece of paper and to burn this paper.»
«What an odd method!» William noted, but then he saw that the mailmage’s face was turning sad and added: «Alright, Nymus! I’ll remember that! When should I expect you tomorrow?»
«If Master Calhoun does not need me today, I shall come tomorrow with the first letters of the Post Office – at 06:17!»
«Great! This is the time Hoggarts leave for work!»
Nymus was already going to peregrine, when he suddenly asked an unusual question:
«And where do Hoggarts work?» the mailmage’s right eyebrow shot up.
«Er… I think in the sphere of public relations!»
«Curious…» Nymus said, rubbing his beard, «very curious…»
«No, they aren’t mailmages!» William assured him with a smile.
But Nymus seemed to be thinking about something completely different. William noticed it and ushered him:
«Nymus! You need to go! See you tomorrow!»
«Green Monogram!» Nymus snapped out of his reverie. «That is right, I need to go! I do not want Master Calhoun to have problems because of me! Good Mail, Master Calhoun!» With that, he disappeared with a sound as if somebody crumpled some thick paper noisily.
There were steps and soon a knock on the door. Then the door opened a bit, revealing Mrs. Hoggart’s head to William.
«Hello, Mrs. Hoggart!» William tried to sound natural. «You’re early today!»
«Hello, dear!» Mrs. Hoggart entered the room and gave William a kiss on the forehead. «Yes, the day turned out surprisingly easy and I came home earlier! What was this noise in here? I thought the bed collapsed! Are you alright?»
«Yes, I’m great!» William was searching for an explanation for Nymus’s noisy peregrining and finally found one. «I wanted to move the nightstand a bit, I always stumble on it when I enter the room.»
«Strange! It seems to be standing on the same spot…» Mrs. Hoggarts walked to the nightstand and started thinking hard on where to move it so that it wouldn’t get in William’s way, but he hurried to interrupt her:
«That’s because I’ve changed my mind and moved it back! No matter what, it’s the best place for it!» he said and hurried to change the subject. «And when is Mr. Hoggart coming home?»
«Alright!» Mrs. Hoggart continued her line of thought. «Let it stay here for now, but I’ll tell Edward over the weekend to do something about it. He’ll be home any minute! He called from work and said that he would finish earlier today as well. So, I’ve decided to make an excellent chicken pie, so start on your homework to be done by the time dinner is ready!»
«Great!» William nodded. «Then I’ll start on it right away!»
«Yes, yes. I’m going! I won’t bother you, dear!» – Mrs. Hoggart was going to leave when she suddenly turned and asked: «Is everything alright at school?»
«Yes… yes…» William muttered, «it’s great!»
«Wonderful!» she kissed him again and left the room.
William spent some more time thinking about today’s events. After talking to Mrs. Hoggart it seemed that this whole story with the mailmage and wizards was nothing more than a dream. And now he was awake and his life became like it used to be. William liked his life. Firstly, he was lucky to have such parents, even if they were foster ones. And secondly… Secondly, he was already saying a mental good-bye to his old school. He took his textbooks out of his backpack and hid them deep in the wardrobe. Tomorrow, he was going with Nymus to register his magic feather, after which he hoped to be enrolled in the Preparatory Course for a MUni.
The feather! William had just remembered about it. He took the box from under the bed, which he had placed there when Mrs. Hoggart was heading to his room.
As he opened the lid, he was happy to see that it was still on its place – though, at first it grudgingly pushed at William’s fingers with its hairs when he tried to take it, but after him whispering «Obnoxus’, the feather became friendlier.
«I wonder what you can do?» William was thinking aloud as he stared at his feather, white with black dots. He pointed the Feather at the bed and ordered: «Bed! Unmake yourself, I want to sleep!»
Nothing happened. Then, slightly disappointed, William put the feather back into the box and then into his backpack, not to forget it in the morning.
«Fine, I’ll need to learn how to control you!»
He unmade the bed in a traditional way, climbed under the blanket and immediately fell asleep, completely forgetting about dinner.
Chapter four
Magic Post Office
Early in the morning, William was still in bed, fast asleep. The first rays of sun still hadn’t shown, when there was a loud sound of «crumpled paper’. William jumped up, but calmed down right away after hearing a familiar voice.
«Master Calhoun, Good Sunrise!»
«Nymus!» William rubbed his eyes. «Listen, could you appear without so much noise next time? Hi!»
«The mailmage from the Nymus kin did not want to scare his Wizard!» Nymus sounded hurt.
«Alright, alright! No offence! What time is it?»
«Exactly 06:17! Mailmages are never late!» Nymus’s cheerful voice wasn’t very loud, but somehow it filled the whole room.
«Do mailmages sleep at all?» William asked.
«Mailmages?! Sleep?! Never!»
«Really?»
«I am telling you the truth! It is one of the most truthful truths that can ever exist in the sphere of truths, Master Calhoun! Besides, we cannot be late for the Magic Post Office! They are open for public until nine a.m. Then the Post Office Meeting begins! We need to hurry!»
«Fine! Give me two minutes!»
William jumped out of the bed, washed his face quickly, pulled on his jeans and a clean shirt, and took his backpack.
«I’m ready! Shall we go?» William said, then he realized that he had no idea how they were going to get to the Magic Post Office. «And how are we getting there?»
«We are peregrining! Take my hand!»
Squeezing his backpack tight with one hand, William grabbed Nymus with the other. He felt familiar dizziness, but not as bad as the first time. Besides, Nymus’s hand gave him the feeling of protection. Everything was over in a few moments.
They were standing in the middle of a large hall covered with piles of letters! William couldn’t even make out what the floor was made of and what colour it was. Letters hid almost everything in here. They were everywhere! The floor, the windows, the walls – everything was covered with letters! Besides, the letters were alive! They were either flying from one end of the hall to the other or they moved at a very high pace back and forth.
William saw an endless number of mailmages rushing in all directions, as they were trying to find and to pick up the letter they needed. They used their large hands to sort piles of letters on the floor, on the tables, and on the windows of the giant hall.
«We are in the Correspondence Hall!» Nymus explained, sensing William’s confusion. «Several million letters arrive here every day, waiting to be sent!»
«Nymus, wouldn’t it be more convenient to store all the letters in a special place so that it is easy to find the required one?»
«A special place?» Nymus repeated. «The building of the Magic Post Office is that special place – it was created for that!»
«Do only London wizards send so many letters?»
«The Magic Post Office, Master Calhoun, is the only one in the world. And it is located in London. Letters come here from everywhere. We are the heart of the world correspondence. That is why serving at the Magic Post Office is such a great honour for any mailmage.»
William looked at all that crazy fuss. He was surprised with the passion and diligence the mailmages fussed around with, from door to door, carrying the correspondence, sorting it, giving over to each other, and putting it down.
«Tell me, Nymus, can anyone become a mailmage?»
«Green Monogram, of course not! Mailmages are a special species born for one reason – to achieve the honour of serving the Post Office one day. We have our own schools and training. You, wizards, are taught magical arts, we are taught to know each corner of the world and to be able to get there at any cost. It is one of the many reasons why wizards cannot do without us. We honour our traditions and pass them from generation to generation. Our motto is: „From Kin to Kin, Kin for the good of Kin!“.»
«I understand,» said William, «that I don’t understand any of that!»
William noticed that mailmages were different from each other in appearance. Their only similarity, apart from the blue mailmage uniform, were giant hands. The young man looked at Nymus. He was practically glowing with happiness and his expressions made it clear that this was his home. Fourteen years spent away from the Magic Post Office were gone and he was happy to be at home again.
Suddenly William saw that a mailmage, having found the letter he needed, placed it right inside his palm. Then another and another.
«That’s why you have such big hands! You put letters in there!» William said.
«Yes!» Nymus nodded. «Our hands are our everything! Without them we would not have been who we are! They are a defining feature of any Mailmage. We use our hands to store and transport correspondence to the addressees!» He stretched out his hand and showed William a compartment on his palm for storing letters.
William had seen something similar on kangaroos at the zoo. He didn’t pay attention to this during their first meeting with Nymus and he was quite impressed now.
«And why can’t you use ordinary bags for delivering post, Nymus?»
«Ordinary bags? Demits use those, not mailmages. Being a mailmage is a very dangerous job, Master Calhoun. Bags are a very unsafe place for keeping letters.»
«Why is it dangerous?»
«Over several dozen mailmages go missing from the Magic Post Office in a year, because they are hunted down by enemy intelligence.»
«Wizards have an intelligence service, too?»
«Of course! Like everywhere else.»
«Why do they want to steal other wizards’ letters?»
«To read them! Wizarding world is just like the demit one in this, Master Calhoun! Each wizard kin has mailmages. The higher is the status of a wizard in the community, the more dangerous it is for his mailmage to move around. There will always be those who will want to know more about his master’s business and plans. Especially if he has enemies. That is why many high-ranking wizards unregister their mailmages to keep their correspondence safe and mailmages work undercover.»
«Does Fafner have a mailmage?» William asked suddenly.
«Of course he does! But everyone has been trying to find out who he is for centuries. Only Fafner and the Postmaster know that!»
«You haven’t told me why you keep letters in your palms. Is it safer?»
«That is right! When someone or something puts the life of a mailmage in danger, the inner pocket on the palm instinctively shuts tight and then not even the most ancient and powerful magic can help the evildoer get the letter. It is very old mailmagic! Even though we are not a warlike people, no wizard can make us open the correspondence we are delivering with their magic!»
«So mailmages aren’t wizards?»
«Wizards?! We are a separate species that has existed for as long as wizards and demits themselves! We do not submit to the general laws, but the Post Office Code. Beyond the Magic Post Office, we obey nobody but our masters. We are created to help the wizard kin which we give the oath to serve loyally with each new generation.»
«I’m sorry if I’ve hurt your feelings, Nymus. I had no idea!»
«Master Calhoun should not apologize to his mailmage! We have the only type of magic – mailmagic. It serves the only goal – to deliver letters to their addressees. We have no need in other abilities. Mailmages have existed since the appearance of writing. Back then, if you believe Mailmage History, messages were passed orally and mailmages wrote letters themselves, leaving them on the walls of addresses.»
«Do mailmages have their own history?»
«But of course! Mailmages have all kinds of their own things – Post Office hospitals, Post Office rights, a special pass to all corners of the world. We even have a special article in the Wizard Constitution, which says that any wizard, except for his Master, who dares to threaten personal immunity of a mailmage will be stripped of the feather from two to five years. Depending on which mailmage rights violation the wizards commits. You see, mailmages are a kind of ambassadors. Not only from one country to another, but also from one wizard to another. And all ambassadors, as it is well known, have personal immunity.»
«Can mailmages themselves betray their wizards?»
«They can. But it is a severe violation of the Post Office Code, as well as the Celestine Oath, which we give during the Mailmage Initiation Ceremony. If a mailmage breaks the oath, he will be separated from the Central Magic Post Office once and till the last line! After which he will be stripped of his right to take part in exchanging any kind of correspondence in any way and his further Mail Activity will be persecuted and punished by Law.»
«Why is it so important to have a mailmage? Can’t we just use mobile phones or the internet? There are so many ways of exchanging information instantly and, more importantly, safely.»
«Master Calhoun has yet so much to learn about the wizarding word. He still does not know that wizards and other representatives of the International Federation of Wizards do not use digital and electronic devices.»
«What? Why not?!»
«Magic Feathers have ancient magic in them that has bad influence on digital and electronic devices when it is near them, they stop working because of the interferences the feather causes.»
«No way! Here’s one advantage demits have compared to wizards,» William noted. «Wizards can use the latest digital achievements.»
«On the contrary!» Nymus objected. «Wizards do have similar achievements! Only in more convenient ways. But Master Calhoun will have time to learn about all that.»
The amount of new information made William fall silent for a while, then he looked around and asked:
«Why are we standing, not moving ahead?»
«Because we havenot been summoned yet and we are waiting for a messenger from the Postmaster to see us there.»
The moment Nymus finished his sentence, someone very heavy nearly knocked William off his feet.
The boy looked down and saw a grey-haired old man, short and with a crooked nose.
«Young Wizard, could you move away for a bit and allow me to keep searching for letters?» the old man said grumpily.
«I’m sorry, sir! I haven’t noti…»
«Vulpik!» Nymus cried out. «I can’t believe my letters!» He knelt down and hugged the grey-haired old man he’d just called Vulpik. «Why you, Tattered Parcel, still growling at everyone in the morning, as I can see!»
«Nymus!» the old man with the crooked nose recognized him. «Celestine’s Monogram! May I Lose My Letters! Which winds have brought your envelopes here? Are you with us again?»
«Yes! With a wizard again!» Nymus told him.
Then the eyes of mailmage Vulpik stared at William’s shoes meaningfully and then slowly went up until they reached his face.
«A Calhoun?» he said with distrust, turning back to Nymus.
«Yes!» Nymus nodded with a satisfied smile. «To be exact, the last of the Calhouns.»
Vulpik got up suddenly, almost pressing himself to William, and started examining him. He seemed to have forgotten all about the letters he’d been looking for.
After giving William an intent look from head to toe, he said slowly:
«So here you are…»
«This’ll be enough! Go back to your letters, you Tattered Parcel!» Nymus shooed him off. «I’ll pay you a visit after lunch if I’m free. So get ready, set a table. Let’s Seal some Envelopes!»
«I’m so glad to see you again, Nymus! Celestine’s Monogram! Years away haven’t changed you a bit!»
And Vulpik disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.
«Nymus,» William dared to break the silence, «who’s Celestine?»
«Marcus Celestine is the founder of the Magic Post Office and the whole system of mailmages that has been working all over the world for many centuries. When we take the oath to our master, we do it by placing our hand on the Post Office Code signed by Marcus Celestine.»
«Wow…» William drawled, «you have your own world in here, as I can see!»
In a few minutes, a young black-haired curly mailmage in glasses approached them and addressed Nymus:
«Nymus House Representative?»
«Yes! I came to get my Mailmage license back!»
«The Postmaster is absent today. His deputy is ready to see you! Follow me!»
And the young secretary headed towards one of the numerous doors. It lead to a narrow corridor with a marble floor. The corridor was rather dark and gloomy and was a great contrast to the bright hall they’d just left. There were numerous offices along the corridor, on both sides. Each door had a sign shaped like an upturned open envelope with the name of the department on it and the second sign sticking out, shaped like a piece of paper. That one stated issues and tasks each Magic Post Office Department handled. William noticed that one of the envelope signs on the door said «Magic Post Office Archive’, and the piece of paper added «Authorized personnel only’.
Finally, the young secretary stopped by the door, the envelope sign on which said: «Postmaster Deputy, Thomas Hill’. The bottom part of the sign, instead of the customary piece of paper, was decorated with a large Post Office emblem – a yellow envelope with a green MPO monogram and a white magic feather inside, which symbolized how inseparable the kins of wizards and mailmages were. Below there was the motto of the Magic Post Office, already familiar to William from Nymus, in large red letters: «From Kin to Kin, Kin for the good of Kin’.
The curly mailmage told them to wait and entered the room, then came out a minute later to say:
«The Postmaster Deputy is expecting you!»
With that, he disappeared in the dark corridor.
Nymus entered the door, William following him closely. The office of the deputy of the Magic Post Office Master turned out to be surprisingly bright and spacious. William looked around. The first thing that he noticed was a statue, the height of a fourteen-year-old boy, depicting a big-handed figure in a uniform, running somewhere. On the inside of his palm there was an envelope corner. Behind this figure, there was a second one – in robes, with a long feather in his hand. There was a sign in golden letters on the bottom part of this statue: «Kin for Kin, from Kin to Kin!»
«Please, sit down,» said an old mailmage wearing red robes. His face was adorned with a long beard. «I am Thomas Hill, deputy to the Magic Post Office Master.»
The massive table before the Postmaster deputy had a few dozen papers, with the same number of red feathers over them writing something fast and without a break. These feathers were different from William’s. They were smaller and, as William guessed, used only for writing. There were two massive armchairs with soft seats next to this massive table.
That was where Nymus and he sat down. The low armchair made it hard for William to make out the face of Thomas Hill. Besides, the fluttering of feathers over the table made it even more difficult. But William made an attempt to focus his eyes on Mr. Hill’s face.
The deputy of the Magic Post Office Master addressed Nymus:
«Your letter says that you desire to get reinstated as a mailmage.»
«Yes, that is correct!» Nymus replied with a slight tremble in his voice.
«Your letter also says that you have somehow managed to find an offspring of the kin your kin has served loyally for many centuries,» Thomas Hill continued.
«Yes, that is true!» Nymus’s voice sounded more confident with every question.
«Your letter also mentions that fourteen years ago the abovementioned wizard kin YOUR kin used to serve was killed in a mass murder and that since then the Calhouns were considered a dead kin.»
«Yes, that is correct!»
«And you state that this young man,» he pointed at William, «you have arrived with is that representative of the Calhoun kin?»
Nymus glanced at William and replied:
«Yes, Your Mailness!»
William could barely keep himself from laughing when Nymus address the Postmaster’s deputy this way.
«Please, young man,» he turned to William, «allow me to look at your magic feather.»
William looked over at Nymus and he gave him a nod. William took the box with the magic feather from his backpack. This puzzled Thomas Hills.
«May I ask you,» he addressed William, «what are you doing?»
«Er… I’m taking my magic feather out, sir,» he replied politely.
«From a box in your backpack?»
«Yes,» William said unsurely and looked over at Nymus again.
«You see, Your Mailness, Master Calhoun grew up without knowing that he…»