A/N: For the curious, this takes place in the same universe as More Than Meets the Eye. The wizard in this may even make an appearance there at some point, but that’s still a bit up in the air. He’s my other favorite character, though.

This is, for the moment, a one-shot, but it may or may not stay that way.

You hear things, about this wizard. You hear that he's the most powerful wizard in seven kingdoms (or is it seventy?). You hear that he's centuries old and that he has not only tamed dragons, but slain them with a word. You hear that he's brought kings to their knees, that even the gods themselves (if there are any) would think twice before confronting him. Whatever you hear, whatever you think you know, it can't prepare you for the reality of meeting him.

-

"You are the wizard? You?"

The young man sniffed derisively. He wore a black silk surcoat embroidered with entwined serpents in gold and red, over gold-washed chain-mail, and sported an oversized sword that looked like he couldn't swing it even with both hands. The wizard's private opinion was that he was compensating for something, what with that and the army.

He himself dressed in plain brown and grey homespun trousers and shirt, with a warm woolen cape in inclement weather. Occasionally he got adventurous and wore a vest of the same brown homespun as his trousers.

"I am certainly a wizard, but there are quite a number of them in the world, young sir. Which were you looking for?"

The young man sniffed again, and the wizard wondered if he had a cold, or perhaps chronic arrogance.

"I am Prince Inzemar Sacheverell, and I seek the wizard they call Immortal, that they call Powerful, that they call Invincible, that they call--"

"Yes, yes, that's me. They also call me by name, sometimes, just in case you didn't know."

Inzemar sniffed. (Again with the sniffing.)

"I have sought you out," And here he looked over the wizard, as if an old man with gray hair to his shoulders and a neat beard, wearing homespun and carrying a plain staff, was not at all what he was hoping for, "For my quest is to gain the Ultimate Power."

"Why?"

A kid talking in that many capital letters was either powermad and out to rule the world or overly pious and on some quest for his god. Given the 'ultimate power' silliness and the outfit, the wizard was leaning towards powermad.

"My father is ill, and my half-brother, may the gods Curse his Name, foolishly seeks to challenge my claim to the Throne. I have therefore come to you before he can, so that I may secure the Ultimate Power before him."

Yup, powermad.

"I see. Now, if I give you the ultimate power, you know there's no returning it, right?"

"I would not dream of it."

"Good boy."

You know, when he was a young man and taught himself transformation spells for amusement, he'd never thought about how useful they'd turn out to be. He always spiced them up a little, with some flashy light, some mystic chanting, but really, all they were was...

There.

He was even nice enough to change that ridiculous chain mail and surcoat into a rather fetching dress, too. (And it was in better taste than the embroidery had been, too.)

"There you are, young lady. Off you go."

The girl looked at her hands, looked down at her chest, and shrieked.

"This isn't what I meant! I wanted power! Not... not..." She covered her red rosebud lips with one hand and shook her head, long black hair tumbling around her shoulders and chest heaving.

"You asked for ultimate power, my dear girl. What power greater than the ability to produce new life? And think of how you can charm men into doing what you please, now!"

He waved his hands at... Prince Inzemar? Princess Inzemara? Whatever... and smiled benignly.

"Shoo."

-

You hear things about this wizard. You hear about his power and his deeds and about his wisdom. The thing you don't hear about is his sense of humor.