Tonudar Van Thun

Tonudar woke up at dawn and wondered, "Why is it so early?" He looked at the dog, curled up in a large ball, sleeping, as every night, in his favorite armchair. He glanced at his watch. It was only 6:23, and since it was Saturday, he quickly snuggled under the warm duvet and fell asleep. It wasn't until around noon that he realized he no longer wanted to sleep. He threw off the soft duvet and sat up in bed, looking around his room. As usual on Saturday mornings, he searched for the shortest route to the armchair, marked by the thousands of pieces of trash scattered across the carpet. He approached the dog, still lying in the same position as six hours ago, tenderly patted its muzzle, and asked, "Shall we go for a walk?" The dog, named after its father, Forthet, lifted its head slightly and replied, "Another hour. I'm terribly sleepy." What was so strange about that? This dog was a terrible sleeper. He always sleeps until late afternoon. He only occasionally gets up and relieves himself in the bathroom. Tonudar keeps telling him he has to maintain a semblance of normalcy. Otherwise, the neighbors will think he doesn't care at all and call the Wildlife Conservation League. His cat, Demon, was gone, as usual. He only comes home when he's hungry. As Tonudar was leaving his armchair, he tripped over the microwave on the floor. He'd told her so many times not to drink, because then she wouldn't remember how to get back to her seat. Gently, without waking her, he picked her up and placed her on the refrigerator. The rest of the things on the floor were never brought to life, and he could calmly clean them up by whispering, "Back to their places," and gesturing with his hands. I won't explain how, because it took Tonudar about six months to learn how. Sorry... I haven't told you yet that he's a magician. His full name is Tonudar van Thun. Everyone calls him Bartek. And he looks like he's around twenty, but of course, as you've already guessed, he's not. He's actually four and a half times older. So, around ninety. I've strayed from the topic again... He finally left the room and entered the bathroom, where a swimming pool, fifty by twenty-five meters in size, with hot water, was waiting for him. Every time he swims, he wonders if he'll ever meet a sorceress who would want to splash around with him every morning. Finding the right sorceress in this age of plastic society and hyped-up pop culture is difficult. Despite the fact that there are many sorceresses in Poland—a full four percent are women—there are only half as many magicians. There should be two sorceresses for every wizard. But Tonudar doesn't have any. He enjoys solitude, so he doesn't even try to find someone to spend the rest of his life with. He once met the perfect girl - Ampirka, but unfortunately after seven years of their relationship she started cheating on him with another sorceress, so in his anger he couldn't control his emotions, and since he's a bit nervous, no one saw her or her "friend" again.Later, he deeply regretted it, because Ampirka was excellent at certain things I don't intend to write about here. Usually, after an hour of swimming, he'd go to the sauna for a few minutes, and whenever he was there, he'd recall the beautiful moments spent there with Ampirka. He truly loved her. She only died because Tonudar is one of the most powerful magicians on Earth. He once competed in a... how should I call it... hmmmm magician's championship, but he was hungover because his cat had turned fifty the previous day. That's why he took second place. Unfortunately, he fell asleep during a demonstration of his firebending skills. Which doesn't mean he didn't burn down several opponents, forests, and houses in his sleep. After leaving the sauna, he brushed his teeth, doused his body with oils and beautifully scented potions, dressed, and sat at his desk. First, he did some calculations, then thought for a long time, opened some old books with strangely twisted characters, and wrote something down again. He was working on a spell that would allow him to slow down time for others, but not for himself. He called it "slowing down." Then he would be much faster than everyone else. He would think and cast spells several times faster. This was his lifelong goal. So far, he had succeeded so much that after casting the spell, a certain group of people around him became several times slower for five seconds. Unfortunately, he still had a lot of work to do to achieve what he desired. After a few hours, he rose from his chair. He heard meowing outside. He opened the door and saw a beautiful girl standing there. In her arms was his cat, Demon. He knew immediately that the girl was a sorceress. Her long, auburn-black hair and black clothing gave her away. Around her neck were three crosses: an Ankh, a Celtic one, and the largest, a Christian one. When her mouth opened, a voice he had never heard before emerged—delicate, soft, simply perfect. She asked, "This is your kitty." Her lips were a beautiful blood red. She had very fair skin. Tonudar had thought a lot about his ideal girl, but what he saw and heard surpassed all his imagination. He looked again at the kitten, nestled against the sorceress's perfect curves, and said, "Yes, this is my cat. A demon." Immediately after these words, he thought, "Is she really a sorceress?" To be sure, he asked, "Dertojuel hosur dewan?" She looked at him and said, "Dea." Which meant that was her name. Then the conversation unfolded itself. Tonudar learned that she had been living there for several days and had no close "friends." Then they tried the potion that Tonudar had been brewing for several months. After two hours, they lay naked in bed, then hit the armchair, the pool, and the sauna. After returning from the sauna, Dea lay down in bed and fell asleep. Tonudar got up, uttered a spell, and the table was already set for dinner.He gently woke the sorceress and led her to the table. After they had eaten, they drank some more white wine and regained their vitality. They didn't even make it to bed, and since Tonudar had a Persian rug, it was very comfortable.

From then on, she came to see him every day, or he dropped in for a surprise visit. These visits usually lasted a few days, even though Dea lived two doors down. Thanks to her, he felt revived. He'd only known her for three months, and everything he did had taken on meaning for him. He already knew he loved her even more than Ampirka. Something that had previously seemed impossible to him.

One day, probably the 14th of the beautiful month of May, he knocked on her door. He waited a moment, and when no one answered, he was very surprised. He entered through the closed door. He saw no one inside, so he left. He thought Dea was supposed to go shopping today and buy herself a beautiful black dress for this special evening. This evening was very important to them, because today marked three months since they met. Tonudar suddenly felt a terribly strange feeling that numb his body. He had never experienced anything like this before. Suddenly, terrifying images flashed through his mind. He saw his beloved with handcuffs on her hands. He also saw an old power plant and several people wearing black balaclavas. He knew where it was. Two years ago, he had killed a magician named Derkhel. He started running. He ran so fast that he overtook some cars. He didn't tire. He cast a spell on himself to increase his endurance and strength. He ran into the power plant through the main doors, which suddenly slammed shut behind him. Behind him, he heard a rustling sound. He turned, gesturing and uttering a spell. A balloon seemed to appear around him. Suddenly, a thick metal beam fell from above. It bounced off his shield and landed beside him. He uttered the spell, and thousands of icicles flew from his index fingers. Only screams could be heard, and suddenly bodies began to rain down from above. They fell with shards of ice like hail from the sky. He didn't count them, but he heard four loud thuds against the metal grates laid on the floor. He uttered the spell, and his pupils dilated instantly. Now he could see everything. Dea lay at the other end of the great hall, and in front of her, he saw another silhouette. He looked around, but there was no one else. When he looked back toward his beloved, he saw a flash, and instinctively, he formed his fingers in the Aard sign. And that saved his life. The power of the spell was incredibly strong. It threw him against the wall. "Nooooooooo, please, leave him alone!" Dea screamed. But millions of arrows rained down on Tonudar. Tonudar uttered the spell he'd been working on for the past few years. For others, it took a single second, but Tonudar had ten. In that time, he managed to cast four spells. With one, he stopped the arrows, with the second, he deflected them. When he uttered the third, the arrows flew through the attacking mage as if through butter, and after the fourth, they stopped in front of Dea and fell to the ground. The slowing effect wore off. Dea ran to the prone Tonudar and whispered in a trembling voice, "That was the brother of some mage you supposedly killed." In an even trembling voice, he replied, "Remember how I told you about those mage championships? He was the reason I came second back then. So, after all, I'm now the most powerful mage in the world." Those were the last words he managed to utter.

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand caress his cheek. He opened his eyes slightly and saw Dea kneeling beside him. He wanted to kiss her, but his aching back prevented it. Dea whispered, "Easy. We'll have plenty of free time together now." "I love you," he said. Dea didn't respond. Tonudar, however, immediately guessed what she meant when he saw her bare shoulders and breasts.