Christchurch fires "official city wizard," leaving itself dangerously open to dragon attacks
The New Zealand city has paid the wizard a salary since 1998
Christchurch, New Zealand has just made a terrible mistake. It has fired its official city wizard, a man named Ian Brackenbury Channell, and now finds itself undefended against attacks by mystical armies of dragons, goblins, and, most dangerous of all, outraged bands of rogue magicians led by Brackenbury Channell himself.
This story was relayed to Stuff, presumably by a raven who perched on a writer’s windowsill to speak the news from its very beak. “The Master has been fired!” we imagine it squawked. “After 23 years! The Master has been fired!”
All the fae creatures of Christchurch are surely abuzz with the news, which has seen Brackenbury Channell’s post terminated and, along with it, the $16,000 NZD he’s received from the city each year “to provide acts of wizardy and other wizard-like services .. as part of promotional work for the city of Christchurch.”
Brackenbury Channell has held his position since 1998 but has been fired by the city council in order to usher in “new and different promotional programs that will increasingly reflect our diverse communities and showcase a vibrant, diverse, modern city ….”