The sound of the harp filtered through the room, calm yet peircing to her ears. She had heard it too many times, a sign that she was failing. She frowned, shifting a litte on the silk cushion. Her eyes were closed, she was concentrating, she was doing everything! What was wrong?

"You will feel the balance that connects the forces of this world, it will tug at your heart, my dear. You have to search for it, gloom will be vital in your plight for enchantment and sorcery." The mystic voice of Esmeralda drifted like a cloud on the air. It was a heavenly sound, melodious and honeyed. 

"I'm trying, but I don't think I'm up to it, to tell the truth." I sigh, my harsh voice sounding out of place in the tranquil surroundings, Esmeralda's silent words the only noise to break the silence. Somehow they seemed to add to the peacefulness of the place.

I open my eyes. It is dark, the room lit by softly glowing wax candles, the sparse light reaching into the furthest depths of the room and illuminating few objects. There are mugs, filled with flowers such as honeysuckle, roses and chrysanthemums, filling the room with a pleasant aroma. Apparently they are supposed to be spiritual, harassing the powers of beings beyond this realm, but the sight of them is also enough to soothe the senses. The furniture consists of a number of intricately patterned cushions, and a table in the middle that hardly comes off the ground. There are few windows, those that there are here are covered, thick curtains drawn to hide the creeping rays of sunlight outside. 

I enjoy the simplicity of the cottage, of course, but sometimes I grow weary of the lack of action, despite my frequent attempts at sorcery.

Esmeralda seems disappointed that I have given up already, and she comes to sit next to me on a pillow adorned with carefully sewn birds. "Alright, I suppose that is enough for the day. Spiritual activity can not be forced upon anyone, and the powers of levitation are among the beginner's enchantments, so it is natural not to understand the concepts. But once you do, that will be a sign from the spirits, a sign that you are ready to advance. I see great potential in you, my student."

That is the thing about Esmeralda, she has her cryptic messages and wise words, but she is just too kind to realise that I may never become a sorcerer. This was her way of saying that I was too dumb to grasp beginner's spells, and I was her only hope for a future in sorcery.

You see, Esmeralda may be wise but she is also experienced, the way she says old. She fears she has little time left, and she knows she is the last sorcerer. Upon chance, a vision came to her one night. Me! Me, of all people. She believed I would save all hope for sorcerer's recovery.

But I am not so sure.

We eat in silence. She doesn't look at me as we eat. We are sitting cross-legged on the pillows, our food on the small table in rough wooden bowls. 

She has opened the curtains, something she only does when she is brooding. Light filters into the room, and I can see the blossom tree outside waving its branches against the window.

"Esmeralda, I'm sorry...." I begin, but she quenches me with a meer look.

She may be old, but she certainly has power.

We continue to eat in silence.

A few minutes pass before she speaks. She doesn't look up. "You know, I do not blame you. Error is natural, it means there is always more time for learning." She finally looks at me and I see her face is creasing in a sad smile.

"Esmeralda?" 

"It's fine. It's fine."

But I know it's not, there's something she's not telling me.

She's dying.

I close my eyes again, feeling Esmeralda's gaze on me as I concentrate, meditating cross-legged on a cushion. I am desperate for a new result. I can't fail her again.

"Untether yourself from your earthly bounds. Let your soul roam from your body, and reach the spirit world. Find equality and harness its power."

I can't concentrate, I can see the flickering candlelight filterinf through my closed eyelids. I breathe heavily, inhaling and exhaling with careful precision. I feel strange...

Untether yourself from your earthly bounds. 

The candlelight fades, it's flickering easing as darkness overwhelms it. I am experiencing a new feeling. What is this? I am being drawn from the light......

Let your soul roam.

Numbness washes over me. I can feel a tugging sensation from inside of me, and suddenly nothing. No pain, no feeling. I can't move. I am more in control even than before....

Reach the spirit world.

I feel a floating sensation. I am no longer in my body, and I am being sucked into a void filled with mesmerising colour and light. I am detached.....

I am startled by the sight that greets me when I dare to open my eyes. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. If I were still breathing, the living breath would be taken from me. It is far too wondrous to describe in mere words, but I will try.

I am standing on what seems to be a layer of fluffy clouds, yet they are like wisps of solidified smoke, coiling around my feet like it has a life of its own.  The sky is a colour never seen before, and if I had to describe it, I woul say it was near azure, a sheen glossy and shiny. There is no sun, moon it stars but it is far too bright for reality. It is a place untouched by wind, fire or darkness. It is filled with bizzare creatures, lazily trotting, swimming or soaring to their destinations..There are dragons of varying sizes and colours, phoenixes - the symbol for life, and creatures that may be unicorns, though they are nothing like the ones imagined by humans. And there are other animals, some distinctly recognisable as real animals, others a mix, and some not even resembling anything ever seen by humankind.

These creatures swim in the clouds, under my feet with ease, fly through the skies and amble to what seem to be lilac trees.

I admire the glittering surroundings in awe, before suddenly making sense of the tugging sensation. I am being drawn towards the boundary line between the two worlds, the place known as equality.

I remember Esmeralda's words.

Find equality and harness its powers.

I set off, following the irrestible force, glad of the help.

Time passes differently here.

I may have spent hours here, even days, months maybe, just admiring the creatures and the landscape. Or it could have been minutes. I don't know. My watch seems to have stopped.

But I know I have reached my destination. The tug has eased. I look around but there is nothing special about this place. But the lack of spirits might mean something. It is completely deserted. I feel very alone all of a sudden.

 "Hello?" I intented to be moderately quiet, but my voice carries in the desolate spirit world. 

I didn't really expect any answer, and I'm startled when someone does. A voice that spreads through the land like a tremor, that shakes the very earth beneath me. 

"What is a mortal doing in the spirit world?" A form rises from the clouds, growing in size as it comes. A huge shadow that spreads across the clouds, until I can finally stare up into its huge face. It is terrifying.

Despite the light, it's face is unnaturally shadowed, impassive as it glares down at me.

I struggle to find words. The only thing I can manage is simple, reflecting how we humans aren't as complex as any spirit. "W-who are y-you?" I stammer, feeling dumb at the same time. Whoever it is, they are clearly a very powerful spirit. It must think I should know who it is.

But it is not angry. It is curious.

"I have many names." It says. "None of which can be pronounced by your humble tongue. All you need to know is that I am most powerful of all spirits, the ruler of this world. I have no gender, for I have no need. And to you I have no name. But I don't need any of these. I need no true identity. For everyone recognises me as leader of the spirit lands, and respect me. They know to leave me."

At this the spirit glares down at me. It doesn't want me here and it is making it plain.

Irritation comes from nowhere, like it has snuck up on me. I can't believe I came all the way here after so long, and it is telling me I shouldn't be here. 

"So you aren't the equality?" I ask, trying to keep my cool.

The spirit looks down at me in wonder. It doesn't answer my question. Instead it asks me one. "Who taught you, child? Who taught you the secrets to sorcery, to spirits and this world?" I don't answer so it continues. "Whoever that being must be, they must be very powerful to have taught you to come to the spirit world. Not many sorcerers can."

I'm shocked. Levitation was a beginner's spell. I was trying levitation, and if it was so hard to get here.....

"Where is the equality?" I ask faintly, unsure I want the answer. 

The spirit narrows it's eyes. "Are you telling me you came here by accident? The equality is in your world, child. It can be found by separating your soul impartially from your body, but it is not as far away as the spirit world." I stare in horror. Far away, Esmeralda would see me meditating. She would talk to me, and I wouldn't answer. I wouldn't be aware of anything, even if she shook my violently. There's no way she could get me to come back. I would have to do it myself. 

The task seemed daunting, but I felt worried for Esmeralda. The shock might kill her.

"Spirit, please, you need to help me. Of course you are right, the person who taught me is powerful. But she is also the last sorcerer and she is nearing death. Without her, all of sorcery will crumble and fall into extinction. Please, you need to help her stay alive. She is dying. Please!" 

The sudden outburst takes the spirit by surprise, and for a moment I see a flicker of something that may be pity. It is gone in a second. 

"Child, you are the last scorcerer. You are the last hope."

"Please. Please save her!" I'm crying now, but I don't care, I don't care anymore. "Please! You can do it, you have the power."

The spirit turns on me. "I have helped you all that a spirit should. Mortals sort their own problems out. Now leave me be!" It swishes its hands and starts to melt into the clouds, its shadowed form growing smaller. I am aware that I am still crying out frantic "please"s.

But as the spirit disappears slowly, the clouds rumble and crumble. They tear apart under my feet, and I fall into a gorge, down, down down.

I'm screaming as I fall, I see the ground flying closet, my hairs in my face, I see my own body coming nearer at a tremendous pace.

I jolt, and open my eyes, heart racing. I am still sitting in the meditation position, and my face is dry. The room seems far too dark compared to the spirit world.

I can hardly see, despite the resolutely burning candles.

"Esmeralda!" I cry. "Esmeralda, I went to the spirit world and met the leader of spirits! It was so...."

"Really?" Her voice sounds through the dark. It's lost its honeyed tones. It's cracked and hoarse.

That's when I knew.

I scanned the room and found her lying on the floor. She had obviously fallen. Her head's bleeding. There are tear tracks down her face.

I rush down to her side. Her breathing is rough and unstady, rattling hollowly in her throat. Her greying hair has come out of her plaits and is splayed on the floor. She is reaching towards me, trying to touch my face. I see her hand shaking.

"Esmeralda. Esmeralda, come one, you can make it." I let her stroke my hair as my racking sobs prevent me from breathing. I can hardly see through my tears. "Esmeralda, please. You're the only friend I have, the only family. Please. And you need to help sorcery. You need to help me! Please you can't die!"

She is gazing at me lovingly. "I...I know you can do it." She gasps. "Y-you were always....always so strong."

"Not without you." I bury my head into her chest, feeling her heart beating slowly. It is hard for her just to talk.

"No, you were always strong. Even when I saw you at that dreadful orphanage..... I knew you were strong." She's struggling to breathe. "You are the last hope for sorcery, and I'm so glad....so glad it's you. Because I know you will make sorcery thrive." She strokes my hair one last time, gazing at me fondly, before letting her hand fall 

And her chest stops heaving underneath my head, her rattling breath slows and I stay there sobbing for ages. 

She's gone.

I am the last sorcerer.