The Old Castle Goes Quiet

Thursday. The old sanctum in Northbridge has closed its doors. I walked over to Lake Street to see it go, the way one visits the house of a rival who has moved somewhere nicer.

I besieged that place for years. I knew its gate, its lanterns and the bit of pavement where I liked to stand and glower. I had a favourite lamp-post. Now the Headmaster keeps his Perth sanctum under Hay Street Mall alone, and the old one has gone quiet.

One would think a sorcerer would be glad. Fewer sanctums, less defending. It has not worked out like that. The castle under Hay Street is just as busy as the old one ever was, and the students there have better lighting.

I left a small curse on the lamp-post, out of sentiment. A curse of mild dampness. It will wear off by spring.