The Apprentice's Triumph

Hundreds of years old, Raveneye was one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world. He'd learned how to keep himself young centuries ago, and he'd been gradually amassing power ever since, learning new spells and acquiring powerful artifacts as he mastered the mystical arts. He'd known many other wizards and witches in his life, some of them friends and others enemies. He'd defeated all of his enemies, some with the assistance of friends. He'd had also had many apprentices and students over the years, and he'd felt the need to acquire a new one a few years ago.

Michael Hamari was an eager, attentive student. In his late twenties, he was young and energetic, which made him a quick but dilligent study. He paid careful attention to his master's lessons and eagerly read all of the texts that were presented to him. The only problem was his attitude. Michael was cocky, and his growing skill made him more so, despite Raveneye's continued warnings against it.

"Your overconfidence is dangerous," he said. "It increases your chance of miscasting a spell and harming yourself or someone else, and it may cause you to underestimate an opponent."

"But I haven't made any major mistakes, Master," Michael replied.

That was true, so Raveneye's warnings fell on deaf ears. The old wizard decided to wait until his student had made a big mistake to reinforce the lesson of humility. Until then, Michael's training continued, and academically speaking, he was the best student Raveneye had ever had. Eventually, Michael was skilled enough to do his own research and make his own discoveries, which his teacher encouraged, believing it would lead the young man into a situation Raveneye would have to bail him out of.

One day, Michael came to Raveneye asking, "Master, would you help me with this spell in my room?"

The powerful old wizard wondered if the moment had come and agreed, following his student to the small bedroom where he slept in Raveneye's spacious mansion. They made small talk as they walked, and the wizard tried to discern his student's mood. He did seem a bit tense about something, so maybe this would be the looked-for turning point in his pupil's education, after all.

But when they crossed the threshold of Michael's room, the young man cast a holding spell, and Raveneye found himself restrained by invisible bonds.

"Michael! What's the meaning of this?!" the wizard said in anger and surprise.

"I'm tired of waiting for the power and the knowledge! So, I'm going to take it!"

"So, you're betraying me," Raveneye said in a disapponited tone. "That's unfortunate but not completely surprising. I planned for this possibility. I have always established safeguards in case an apprentice turns on me." Then, he uttered the magic word to break Michael's holding spell, "Liberataxit!"

Nothing happened.

Perplexed, Raveneye started to ask, "What--"

But Michael cut him off with a smirk. "It's a leeching spell I discovered a while back. I've been gradually draining your power so you wouldn't know what was happening. I don't have all of it yet, but I have enough that you can't break my spells anymore."

"You traitorous bastard! This isn't going to work! I'll get free somehow and get my power back!"

"No, Raveneye, you won't. Because I discovered something very important in my research yesterday: your real name, which gives me power over you." With that, Michael cast another spell. "Temporum contra-ordia Gylberd Bonvalet infantilia!"

The air around the man who was once known as Gylberd Bonvalet began to shimmer and ripple with mystical energy. He knew the spell, so he knew what was about to happen, and he immediately tried to counter it but to no avail. His vision began to distort and waver. He tried once again to counter the spell before the room started to grow larger as he began to shrink into reverse-puberty. He started to panic then and appealed to his student to stop what was happening to him. "Michael, stop this, please! I was good to you! I taught you everything you know!"

"Not everything," Michael replied with a grin.

"Please don't do this! What do you want?" Gylberd asked as he grew shorter than his apprentice.

"Your power and status."

"You don't need to do this," Gylberd yelled, his voice suddenly changing to a much higher pitch. He knew he was now a pre-teen and didn't have much time left. He frantically begged his student to stop as he continued to shrink into his clothes, his voice getting squeakier as Michael grew larger and began to loom over him before his vision was blocked by his robe as he shrank into it. "No, Michael, please stop it! I don't want to be like this! I don't to be a babyyyyeeeehhhhhhhhhh!" The last word became a pititul wail as the once-mighty sorcerer became a tiny infant, losing his ability to speak and his grip on his emotions and crying loudly. Tangled in the robe that once fit him, he felt a stream of pee uncontrollably shoot out of him, splashing the inside of the robe and splattering back onto him. Suddenly overwhelmed by frustration, anger, betrayal, helplessness, and discomfort, little Gylberd continued to cry loudly even as the robe magically vanished, leaving him sitting nude on the floor.

"Well, that was fast. I guess that's what happens when a man's bladder suddenly becomes a baby's," Michael said. "Luckily, there's a solution to that problem." He uttered another spell, and a disposable diaper materialized on Gylberd. "There. That should keep everything contained, and I do mean everything."

Realizing what that meant, Gylberd, who still had his adult mind, thought of the artifacts in his laboratory and tried to run for something that could restore his rightful age and any portion of his power. But his legs were too weak for him to stand, and he toppled forward onto his hands, reaching out and beginning to crawl.

Seeing what the baby was doing, Michael bent over and scooped him up, carrying him off. "Want to go to your lab? Good idea, let's go." He carried Gylberd through the house and back to his laboratory, where he cast another spell and transformed the room into a nursery complete with baby furniture and decorated with infantile designs. "After all, I'm sure you need a nap after an ordeal like that." He gently set the baby, who'd started crying again, into the crib, and locked the side, shutting him in. "Aww, this will make you feel better," he said, producing a pacifier and sticking it into Gylberd's mouth. Acting on the instincts of his regenerated emotions, the baby immediately calmed down as he started sucking on the plastic nipple. "Now, you go to sleep, and I'll check you in a little while to see if you need a change."

The once-mighty sorcerer, who was indeed exhausted, found himself feeling very sleepy. He laid his head down and began to doze off, thinking that it all seemed like nothing more than a dream and hoping he'd wake up to discover it had been.

The End (for now, at least)