The Wishmaster
Legacy Name: The Wishmaster

I don’t even know where the lamp IS. I could be anywhere. From the temples of Persia to the caves of Siberia or the Great Plains of North America. But again, I have no clue. I haven't seen the light of the Sun in eons, it seems. I haven't taken a single breath of fresh air in what feels like several lifetimes. Luckily I’m an astral being who doesn’t need to breathe. And so it is that I sit here, languid, hungry for an escape.I had no idea, of course, that I would be released from this prison much sooner than I anticipated or could have even hoped.

It was another day in the lamp. At least, I think it was another day. It was hard to figure out the passage of time in that wretched penitentiary I called home. I was minding my business, plotting out yet another futile escape attempt when suddenly I felt the lamp rising all around me. I knew what was happening, but it had been so long I had all but forgotten the sensation. The lamp was being picked up.

I smiled then, closing my eyes and willing whoever had grabbed the lamp to rub it, to set me free after who knows how long. When I heard the distinctive sound of skin sliding against the brass, I knew that my wait was over. Finally! Finally, I’d be free!

I prepared my grandest entrance for my new master. I would waste no spectacle in showing this person just who they had released. I put everything I had into it. Lights, smoke, even some fire blasts. It was truly magical.

I began to imagine who my new master would be. A seasoned warrior, or perhaps a curious princess, or maybe even a lucky peasant. Needless to say, I was surprised when I happened upon a wisp of a boy no more than eight. “You? You found the lamp?” I asked, incredulously.He just stood there, mouth agape, for a few moments before he pointed at me. “You’re a genie! A real genie!” he exclaimed.

I closed my eyes. What sort of madness had I been released into? What kind of cruel Gods would allow me to be chained to a… to a CHILD?! A child who would undoubtedly only wish for toys and candy and all other manner of meaningless trivialities. It was ridiculous! Preposterous! Unthinkable! As I looked on the face of the child, though, I began to imagine the possibilities. A child, an innocent, a fresh young creature that I could mold to my liking. I started to think that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad…

It started out simply enough. I taught the boy how to cheat the rules, how to wish for more wishes without going too far. Pretty soon, we had it down to a science. And slowly, surely, I began to shape him and his wishes. I would encourage him to wish ill will on those who had upset him. A broken toy, a skinned knee, a missing treat. Soon, his wishes became darker and darker, until even I was taken aback by the depths of his developing depravity.With the boy under my wing, it would be no trouble to put my plan into action. I would punish this world for imprisoning me for so long, and I would destroy that accursed lamp forever. Only then could I assume my true destiny as Lord of All Things.

It was so easy to convince him to have me destroy the lamp. All I had to do was tell him that as long as the lamp existed, I could be taken away from him at any time. And if I were taken away, so were his wishes. Once I explained that he quickly wished for me to destroy the lamp.And with the lamp gone, there was no more need for the boy…

I handled the boy with no problem at all, and of course he made it almost effortless for me. For weeks he had been saying that he wanted to travel, and with a snap of my fingers, we went this place and that. Disney World, Hawaii, Africa, Australia. And then one day he said he wanted to see the top of Mount Everest. Of course I was all too happy to oblige.

I watched him look around, awed at the scene before him. I waited for him to complete his circuit, and once he finally stopped to look over the edge, I gave him a quick shove. I heard his screams as he fell to his death, but they didn’t last long. I smiled to myself, knowing that I was finally and completely free.

A boisterous laugh escaped my lips then, as I turned a circle of my own. I was free. I was unencumbered. I didn’t have the threat of that stupid lamp or the weight of a master holding me back any longer. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, without being stopped. It was glorious.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do first, but I knew I had to get off this freezing mountaintop. I closed my eyes and imagined my former palace in Arabia, the place where I was created. But when I snapped my fingers to go there, something was wrong.

I opened my eyes to look around, and I was still at the summit of Mount Everest. It wasn’t possible. How? How could this be? I put out my hands in front of me. I still felt the magic coursing through my otherworldly veins, but… but I couldn’t use it.

I started to panic. If I didn’t have my magic, or rather access to it, I didn’t have anything. I couldn’t do anything. I was nothing without my powers. What? What had happened? Just a few minutes earlier, I had the world, the universe at my fingertips, and now…?Now my master was gone, dead by my hand.

No, no. NO. It was wrong. It couldn’t be. It was a cruel twist of fate. I couldn’t believe it. I crept closer to the edge, to peek, to see if there was some hope that the boy could be saved. One look at his mangled body on an outcropping told me that it was far too late.There was nothing I could do now. I was trapped. I had no lamp, no master, nothing to stop me, but I was trapped. I was trapped and would remain that way for all eternity…