Mazirian the Magician
Encyclopedia
Mazirian the Magician is a sword and sorcery
short story
by Jack Vance
. It was first published as part of a series of loosely-linked tales in The Dying Earth
, a paperback
, in 1950. It has since been reprinted and also reprinted in the anthology
The Spell of Seven
, edited by L. Sprague de Camp
.
to himself.
Mazirian is interrupted by a distantly spied beautiful woman who tempts him to follow her out of the garden and into the wild country. He resists but when she comes repeatedly, he eventually follows her, armed with only five spells. In this age, such spells that remain to the knowledge of sorcerers are very complex and difficult to memorise, and disappear from memory once used.
The eager magician follows the girl through hills and valleys, chanting his spells to avoid the strange creatures he encounters; these include a flesh-eating mutated man-creature, the Deodand, and Thrang the ghoul-bear.
In due course, he closes upon the girl and is about to capture her - but they are both attacked by deadly vampire-grass. As Mazirian, out of spells, is held tightly and beaten to the ground, the girl is enabled to crawl away with her life. Battered and barely alive, she returns to Mazirian's garden, enters his house and releases Turjan. It is now revealed that the girl, known as T'sain, is a creation of Turjan and sent by him to destroy his tormentor. He bears her lifeless body away to his vats to create an even lovelier creature.
Sword and sorcery
Sword and sorcery is a sub-genre of fantasy and historical fantasy, generally characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent conflicts. An element of romance is often present, as is an element of magic and the supernatural...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Jack Vance
Jack Vance
John Holbrook Vance is an American mystery, fantasy and science fiction author. Most of his work has been published under the name Jack Vance. Vance has published 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and 3 as Ellery Queen...
. It was first published as part of a series of loosely-linked tales in The Dying Earth
The Dying Earth
The Dying Earth is a 1950 collection of fantasy short stories by author Jack Vance. It is the first book in the Dying Earth series. It was nominated for the Retro Hugo in 2001.-Stories:*Turjan of Miir*Mazirian the Magician*T'sais...
, a paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
, in 1950. It has since been reprinted and also reprinted in the anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
The Spell of Seven
The Spell of Seven
The Spell of Seven is a 1965 anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by L. Sprague de Camp and illustrated by Virgil Finlay. It was first published in paperback by Pyramid Books...
, edited by L. Sprague de Camp
L. Sprague de Camp
Lyon Sprague de Camp was an American author of science fiction and fantasy books, non-fiction and biography. In a writing career spanning 60 years, he wrote over 100 books, including novels and notable works of non-fiction, including biographies of other important fantasy authors...
.
Plot summary
Mazirian the Magician paces his enchanted garden, wrestling with the problem of how to invest the humanoid creatures he has created in vats with intelligence. The secret is held by Turjan, who despite imprisonment, reduction in size and torment by a small vicious dragon, has thus far kept the secretto himself.
Mazirian is interrupted by a distantly spied beautiful woman who tempts him to follow her out of the garden and into the wild country. He resists but when she comes repeatedly, he eventually follows her, armed with only five spells. In this age, such spells that remain to the knowledge of sorcerers are very complex and difficult to memorise, and disappear from memory once used.
The eager magician follows the girl through hills and valleys, chanting his spells to avoid the strange creatures he encounters; these include a flesh-eating mutated man-creature, the Deodand, and Thrang the ghoul-bear.
In due course, he closes upon the girl and is about to capture her - but they are both attacked by deadly vampire-grass. As Mazirian, out of spells, is held tightly and beaten to the ground, the girl is enabled to crawl away with her life. Battered and barely alive, she returns to Mazirian's garden, enters his house and releases Turjan. It is now revealed that the girl, known as T'sain, is a creation of Turjan and sent by him to destroy his tormentor. He bears her lifeless body away to his vats to create an even lovelier creature.