Once upon a time, in ancient days, when a legend about a wise, yet eccentric ruler, King Wenceslas IV, hovered over the ramparts of Prague, a magician named Žito lived in the Czech land. His name, sometimes also written as Zíta, was whispered with both respect and fear throughout the kingdom, for his spells and magic far surpassed ordinary human understanding. King Wenceslas, who liked to surround himself with extraordinary people and sought unusual experiences, welcomed Žito to his court in Prague, where this wondrous man soon became the terror of misers and vain courtiers.

Žito first introduced himself to the king at Křivoklát Castle, where he amazed the entire retinue with his tricks. He could change his form effortlessly, appearing in different attire from one moment to the next, or sometimes conjuring cow or horse legs for the courtiers, or placing deer antlers on their heads, just to play pranks on them for their pride and greed. Rumors of his incredible abilities spread like wildfire, and many feared him, but King Wenceslas greatly enjoyed his company. They often wandered through the old Prague streets, even straying into the inn „U Modré štiky“ in the Old Town, where Žito entertained the king with his tricks and where it was whispered that he understood the king better than anyone else.

However, Žito gained his greatest fame in the year thirteen eighty-nine, when a magnificent wedding of King Wenceslas and Sophia of Bavaria, daughter of the Bavarian Duke John II, took place at Prague Castle. Guests from all corners of Europe arrived for the celebrations, and with them a retinue of Bavarian jugglers, who boasted of their skills and audaciously challenged anyone who dared to oppose them. Their pride was great, and Žito could not tolerate such insolence.

Before the eyes of the entire court and noble guests, Žito confronted the Bavarian jugglers. They performed their best tricks, but Žito overshadowed them all. The highlight of his performance was when he simply swallowed one of the most impudent Bavarian jugglers, who had been mocking him! Onlookers were struck dumb with amazement and horror as they watched the foreign juggler disappear into Žito’s mouth. For a moment there was silence, only King Wenceslas smiled, for he knew what was coming. And indeed, after a few moments, Žito spat out the juggler, but not just anywhere, but directly into a tub full of water that stood nearby. The courtiers erupted in cheers and laughter, Bavarian Duke John II and his daughter Sophia merely shook their heads in disbelief. From then on, Žito was spoken of as the greatest magician of all time.

His magic knew no bounds. Once, when the king at a feast lacked roasted pigs, Žito transformed bundles of straw into fat and squealing pigs, which suddenly appeared on the tables. Another time, when the courtiers thought they would catch him in the act, Žito calmly tore off his own leg, played with it for a while, and then reattached it with icy composure, as if it were just a wooden prosthesis. People whispered that Žito must have paid a high price for his art, that he had sold his soul to hell for all the magical secrets he commanded. And indeed, sometimes he was seen racing through Prague in a carriage drawn by black roosters, which was a sign that his power came from dark forces.

Thus years passed, Žito entertained the king and his court, punished the arrogant, and enjoyed the fame that his extraordinary abilities brought him. But no pact with dark powers lasts forever, and every soul has its price. As the end of Žito’s life approached, dark premonitions began to hover over Prague. People noticed that Žito, though still powerful, appeared increasingly melancholic, as if the weight of his pact was bearing down on him.

And so it happened that one day, as darkness descended upon the sky and the wind howled around the Prague towers, the one to whom Žito had once sold his soul came for him. It was no merciful departure, but a terrifying arrival of an evil spirit, a cacodemon, who came for the magician „body and soul“. Žito tried to defend himself, but his magic was powerless against infernal might. With a terrifying scream that echoed over the Old Town and froze the blood in the veins of listeners, Žito was carried away into abysses from which there is no return. He vanished forever, and no one ever saw him again. The only thing left of him were many amazing and terrifying stories that were told from generation to generation. People whispered that his traces ended somewhere near Přimda Castle, but that was merely an echo of his ancient existence. And so ended the life of the great magician Žito, whose fate warns all who would seek power at the cost of their own soul.