The Magician

     There was no magic here, nosiree, not unless you were one of those Neomillionaires who could buy potions and paint brushes.

     That was, of course, until Marlowe the Magnificent came around.

     Nobody knew where he had come from. Had he grown up in Roo Island and changed his name and colour? Had he snuck onto a boat and sneaked into the island so that nobody could check his passport? Nobody could say for sure, but every local knew his name.

     He made sure of it.

     It started on a sunny April morning. The residents of Roo Island woke up and checked their mailboxes like they did every morning. Some of those had birthday cards, others had Neomail from long-distance relatives, but every mailbox had one thing in common — an invitation for a magic show by Marlowe the Magnificent, with a picture of a Blue Roo magician in a mask, and a date printed below it, only a week away.

     It wasn’t long before chatter about the invite began, and in less than a day, every nook and cranny of Roo Island was filled with questions about Marlowe the Magnificent that nobody seemed to be able to answer. Who was this unknown Roo? Had he come from here? Had anyone in the Kingdom grown up with him, played in the playground with him, or even just crossed paths with him on the street or in a hallway?

     The most prominent theory was that he was the same mysterious Roo that gave King Roo the dice for Dice-A-Roo, but again, nobody could say for sure. Only the event space owners could possibly know the answers, but they were keeping their lips sealed. Whoever this Marlowe the Magnificent was, he clearly had the loyalty of his staff, which only emphasised the mystery of him even more.

     As the days went on, the excitement for the show grew and grew, and soon, the day had finally arrived.

     Every Roo Island citizen was in attendance.

     At exactly 7 pm, the lights in the stadium went off, and a spotlight lit up at the center of the stage. Suddenly, smoke appeared at the center of the stage, seemingly from thin air, and a masked Roo magician emerged from the fog, tipping his hat and bouncing around the stage with his tail.

     “What you are about to see tonight,” the masked magician said, “is as magic as a regular Neopian can be. There are no potions being used here and certainly no Faerie magic, but your eyes may be forced to believe otherwise.”

     And their eyes were, indeed. Nobody could believe the magic show they were witnessing that night. For two hours, Marlowe the Magnificent was making the impossible happen, floating audience members, making petpets appear from nowhere, and even escaping traps that seemed utterly inescapable.

     All throughout, the stadium was filled with oohs and aahs, and when the show ended, there was thunderous applause from the crowd. Marlowe the Magnificent took a bow, greeted everyone good night, and just like he had appeared, disappeared in a puff of smoke.

     He had one last illusion for the audience members, though. As he disappeared, the smoke came together to form one visible letter.

     M.

     The next stop was Meridell.

     It happened one month later. Word had spread about the mysterious magician, and soon, the whole of Neopia was talking about him — not just Roo Island. When the invitations suddenly appeared in the mailboxes of Meridell citizens that May morning, it generated so much talk that it made the news, and the Neopian Times was sold more times than it had been in the past decade.

     Once again, the show was incredible. The stadium was filled even more this time — Neopets from all over were just so intrigued, they travelled all the way to Meridell to make it in time for the show. Throughout the night, the Neopets watched with their eyes widened and their jaws dropped as Marlowe the Magnificent pulled Snowbunnies out of a hat, changed audience members’ shirt colors with the throw of a blanket, and even made himself look like he was flying.

     Just like last time, a letter formed with the smoke when the masked magician made his vanishing exit.

     A.

     The third stop was at Brightvale.

     When the citizens of Brightvale got their invites, they scoffed at the idea that a magician, even a self-proclaimed magnificent one, could ever fool them. The Neopets of Brightvale prided themselves on their love for knowledge and wisdom, and this magician show presented itself to them as more of a challenge than a chance for entertainment. Certain individuals even made bets amongst themselves (all under the table, of course) to see who could solve the most magic tricks in the show.

     But Marlowe the Magnificent managed to outsmart them all. Nobody could explain any of his tricks. There were several guesses, of course, but every time a theory came up, it’d be immediately questioned by statements like, “But I was sitting in the front row and there was clearly no string!” or “That’s impossible — he was doing too much for him to also be secretly doing so!”

     Even King Hagan was flabbergasted. “All my years as a ruler and nothing has stumped me like this,” he said. “He truly is Marlowe the Magnificent.”

     And just like the previous two shows, another letter formed when Marlowe disappeared into a puff of smoke.

     G.

     After that was Faerieland.

     Of all the places Marlowe the Magnificent had shown up in, this was the one that seemed the most promising in figuring the enigma of a Neopet out. After all, this was the land of magic, was it not? Surely, true magic could call out fake magic? And if Marlowe was lying and he really was using faerie magic, there’d be no better witnesses to confirm than the faeries of Faerieland, right?

     Still, true to his name, Marlowe the Magnificent had them all awestruck. Even Queen Fyora told the Neopian Times, “There was no faerie magic in that show, I can say that for sure. But even without it, Marlowe the Magnificent managed to enchant us all in Faerieland, who deal with magic on such a daily basis, it’s become mundane to us. That Roo sure knew how to put on an enchanting and unforgettable show.”

     Like always, Marlowe the Magnificent disappeared in a puff of smoke, and this time, the letter was….

     I.

     Neopians across the world were sure of it now. He was spelling the word MAGIC, and the next letter was going to be C! Theories started speculating on where the next show was going to take place. Tyrannia? The Lost Desert? Maybe even underwater at Maraqua?

     Where was the highly anticipated C going to appear?

     ******

     But that C never came.

     Just as quickly as he had appeared, Marlowe the Magnificent was never seen or heard from again.

     Two months had passed since his Faerieland show, and still, no new invites had shown up at any new location. Another month passed, then another, and nothing new from the magician ever showed up anywhere.

     Again, the event space owners refused to give a single word of comment, which left the whole Neopia scratching their heads. Everyone wondered where he had disappeared to, or if he was ever coming back again, or even if a Roo they knew or regularly spoke to was secretly the masked magician.

     But life went on, and soon, talk about Marlowe had been overshadowed by talk about the Festival of Neggs, the Altador Cup, and the Faerie Festival. Marlowe the Magnificent was a strange, small episode in the history of Neopia, but still just a small episode, a memory that seemed destined to be washed away by the sands of time...

     ******

     ONE YEAR LATER

     Everyone in Neopia Central was in a frenzy.

     Neopets were in their pajamas, knocking on their neighbors’ doors and chatting with everyone they met on the streets. “Did you see who sent this?” many of the residents asked each other. “What time did you sleep last night? Do you know anyone who could’ve been awake? Did they see any suspicious figures roaming the streets?”

     Some Neopians claimed they were up ‘til 3 or 4, but nobody could tell who was telling the truth. One claimed they saw a tall figure in a cloak, going from mailbox to mailbox. Another said they saw a group of quick Kougras sprinting to everyone’s houses. One even announced that they had crossed with Marlowe the Magnificent himself, and he had winked at him and disappeared right after.

     Whatever it was, one this was for sure: everyone in Neopia Central had received an invite to a magic show that morning.

     Marlowe the Magnificent was back.

     How the world of Neopia had missed him.

     The End.