The Christchurch Wizard was yesterday mourning his prized spell-casting staff and other valued possessions lost in a fire he described as a "random act of a maniac".
Speaking after the home he shared with fiancee Alice Flett was gutted by fire, the Wizard - aka Ian Brackenbury Channell - was thankfulthe pair escaped with their lives.
The blaze tore through their suburban St Albans home early Monday and destroyed thousands of books and items crucial to his craft, such as his staff and cloaks.
Yesterday the pair combed through the ruin to see what could be salvaged and found Ms Flett's father's ashes and precious jewellery were spared.
Police called the fire suspicious, and the Wizard too was convinced the blaze was deliberately lit.
"How and why is inexplicable. It was almost a homicide. With the car being damaged as well - it doesn't make sense," he said.
"We've had no abusive phone calls. We have a nice relationship with the city and we haven't had any arguments with anybody. I think it was a sheer lunatic and we happened to be in the way."
"We are now trying to recover from the shock."
Police, Fire Service staff and scientists from Environmental Science and Research completed their investigations at the house yesterday but it will be weeks before test results are known.
Sergeant Tony Tully of Papanui police said he was getting information from the public about suspicious activity in the area over the weekend.
The Wizard awoke the residents in a downstairs flat and they all made it out safely.
Yesterday he was determined he and Ms Flett would not dwell on the sadness of their loss.
"The best thing to do is to keep going. I enjoy it [being the Wizard] so much. I'll be back in the Square again soon - I look forward to having another rave again," he said.
"We've got the insurance money and we'll have to decide what we will do with that. There's a lot of memories that will never be replaced, but it is another start in life.
"I'm tempted to get a campervan and drive away, but I don't know what Alice will think of that."
