Virgilius the Potter made pleasing plates and beautiful bowls. He made comely cups, and the prettiest pitchers; but, the artistic altitude achieved by his saucers was unmatched. Artists wept for joy at the sight of a Virgilius saucer. Competing potters wrecked their wheels, and crushed their kilns upon seeing one of his creations. Wars were fought, and ransoms paid for his saucers. Thus he came to be known from the tip of the Western Kingdom to the shores of the Eastern Isles as Virgilius the Saucerer. Virgilius and his entire village thrived on the trade in his singular saucers.
One day on the grassy common at the center of the village square a sinister figure appeared. Leaning on an ebony staff topped with a jagged crystal that pulsed with a malevolent sanguine light was Wargnuff the Scourge, a dark sorcerer of foul repute.
"Bring me Virgilius the Sorcerer, too often have I heard his name mentioned as the greatest sorcerer in the entire world!"
Virgilius was summoned and tried explaining to Wargnuff that he was not a sorcerer, but a saucerer, a potter who makes saucers. Wargnuff would have none of it,
"Coward, I challenge you to a magical contest, the winner will be the greatest sorcerer ever known, the loser will be dead."
Virgilius realized that the dark sorcerer was beyond reason. Thinking quickly he spoke,
"Very well, since you have challenged me, it is only right that I choose the contest. My greatest power is sleeping; I shall sleep for 100 years, nothing will disturb me, and I will awaken without having aged a day."
"Then I shall sleep for 200 years, and awaken one year younger than I am today," proclaimed Wargnuff.
Both men immediately lay down upon the sward. When Wargnuff began to snore, Virgilius rose with a triumphant smile and returned to his studio. From that day forward he was known as Virgilius the Sorcerous Saucerer, and Wargnuff the Scourge became known as Wargnuff the Ivy Covered.
The End
This story was first published on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019
We hope you're enjoying
Virgilius The Saucerer by
Art Lasky.
Please support Daily Science Fiction by becoming a member.
Daily Science Fiction does not have a paywall, but we do have expenses—more than 95% of which are direct payments to authors for their stories. With your $15 membership, less than 6 cents per story, we can continue to provide genre fiction every weekday by email and on the website to thousands of readers for many years to come. You may also choose to support us via patreon.
Tell me more!
Support Daily Science Fiction
Please click to rate this story from 1 (ho-hum) to 7 (excellent!):
Please don't read too much into these ratings. For many reasons, a superior story may not get a superior score.
5.4 Rocket Dragons Average
Please join our mailing list and
receive free daily sci-fi (your email address will be kept
100% private):
