Eshtine

quote of the day

Schmendrick dreamed that the unicorn came and stood by him at moonrise. The thin night wind lifted and spilled her mane, and the moon shone on the snowflake crafting of her small head. He knew it was a dream, but he was happy to see her. "How beautiful you are," he said. "I never really told you."
...She said, "You are a true and mortal wizard now, as you always wished. Does it make you happy?"
"Yes," he replied with a quiet laugh. "...But there are wizards and wizards; there is black magic and white magic, and the infinite shades of gray between--and I see now that it is all the same. Whether I decide to be what men would call a wise and good magician--aiding heroes, thwarting witches, wicked lords and unreasonable parents; making rain, curing woolsorter's disease and the mad staggers, getting cats down from trees--or whether I choose the retorts full of elixirs and essences, the powders and herbs and banes, the padlocked books of gramarye bound in skins better left unnamed, the muddy mist darkening in the chamber and the sweet voice lisping therein--why, life is short, and how many can I help or harm? I have my power at last, but the world is still too heavy for me to move..."
The unicorn said, "That is true. You are a man, and men can do nothing that makes any difference." But her voice was strangely slow and burdened. She asked, "Which will you choose?"
The magician laughed for a third time. "Oh, it will be the kind magic, undoubtedly, because you would like it more. I do not think that I will ever see you again, but I will try to do what would please you if you knew."

--Peter S. Beagle, The Last Unicorn