Sunday, October 5, 2003		Books

Kids’ corner
A novel that reads like a film script
Jaswant Kaur

Wizard’s Winter
by Dhruva Chak. Rupa, New Delhi. Pages 237. Rs 195.

GOOD, they say, shall overpower evil and truth shall prevail. At least, it does in this novel if not in real life. Set in a different world, a world where magic has more say than the King himself, where witches and dwarfs are as common a thing as trees and plants, Wizard’s Winter offers more than meets the eye.

The book opens in a distant corner of Xanon. It is winter and a wizard is talking about some war to a frail little orphan girl, Kara. A man, wielding a sword — the sword of truth — is walking all the way to the Cold Mountain to learn how to die. And a dwarf has set out on a quest with a magnificent axe — the axe of Baldur, an axe his father could not even lift.

What kind of a war are they preparing for? Who are the opponents? And what has a frail little girl, a dwarf and the man called "The One" got to do with a war? "It will be a battle such as never before," prophesied an alarmed Horos, the Wizard of Wizards. "The forces of evil are ancient and powerful — Broadwitch — ugly midnight hag; Sarcus — the warlock and Morf — the Guardian of Form," he continued.

Spread over 31 chapters, the novel is the story of two friends, Horos and Morf, who join the Isle of Wizards to learn the art of sorcery. They spend their time together, share their lives and secrets, only to stand opposite each other. Morf falls in love with Freya who is destined to marry Trueblade, the King of Xanon. Intrigued, he enters the Chamber of Records to change the fate of his love and gets caught red-handed.

Horos is crowned the Wizard of Wizards, a title Morf had an eye on and who, in any case, is the more deserving candidate. Morf feels betrayed. Freya gets married to Trueblade and gives birth to a girl child, Kara. An outraged Morf declares war against Trueblade who has Baldur, the dwarf, on his side.

The ill-fated day comes. Lots are drawn and Broadwitch draws Baldur, Sarcus and Trueblade. The Hall of Ice is packed. People from nearby areas come to watch the contest, which, if won, will bring a new lease of life. But for them, there is no respite. Trueblade gets separated from Freya. Baldur is killed treacherously, and the girl child is kept in the custody of Horos. The only thing that remains is the sword of truth, the axe of Baldur and chaos.

Twenty years later, the stage is again set for another battle — a battle of black versus white. Morf has grown more powerful and the witch, bigger and bigger, nourishing her hatred and fear of the axe that can hurt her. And the contestants are Kara opposite Sarcus and Dimbo, the dwarf fighting Broadwitch, a little David challenging Goliath, ready to avenge the death of his grandfather. There is another man called "The One" who happens to be the adopted son of Trueblade. And the prize is Xanon.

The novel reads like a film script. The re-emergence of Trueblade and Freya, after they are buried under ice, and their subsequent reunion seems not only unrealistic, but is also difficult to digest. However, unlike many films, the villain here is neither killed nor put behind bars. Rather he is alive and free, ready to strike again with more force. Meanwhile, there is peace in Xanon, but surely not a long-lasting one.

At the end of the whole exercise, it is the author who emerges victorious in this war of "be and being." Written in a lively style, the novel should come as an eye-opener to those who accept the things the way they are and do not bother to set them right.