Page 16 of Beyond The Maples
Once you enlist, I don't think it's long before you have to leave. The thought sobers me up a little. Soon… I'd do it all soon.
I notice that Willow's breaths are coming in shorter, a little raspier, the dark circles under her eyes glaring at me from across the living room. Linden and I both know the signs, what happens before a real episode takes place. The telltale warnings are here, which means I have even less time than I originally expected.
It's afternoon by the time Linden finally gets going, heading back to the school to study. He locks eyes with me, silently communicating what I'm already thinking. Willow is going to need her medication soon, which is unnerving because the last dose lasted longer.
The hospital always gives it to her via a vapor mask, having her inhale the medication. We used to take the chamber home, but materials being one of the main valuable resources around here, they no longer let you take much of anything home. I make a mental note of what I'll have to do later, the loose ends at the diner, and write a rundown of bills for Linden to take over in my absence.
The realization that I'm going to have to track down my surly best friend tonight makes my stomach churn. Linden leaves, claiming he won't be gone long.
Willow and I are lazily laying in the living room reading. Neither of us wanting to break the easy bubble we're in. I catch a glimpse of her notebook on the floor.
"Will, is that your report? Can you read it to me?" I ask gently.
She frowns at me. "Why?"
"Because," I say with a smile, "You said it was brilliant, and I could use the education."
She huffs, but reaches for it anyway, mumbling something about not talking while class is in session. I lay back, staring out the dusty skylight and listen to my clever little sister's raspy voice.
The Rise and Fall of Arcadya's Magic:
By Willow Treow
In the beginning, magic seeped through every crack and crevice of the land. It was an intricate web, pulsing beneath the surface. Every living thing had a thread of this web and it breathed life into the very soil of the continent. Some research suggests that magic itself, at its core, is a sentient entity.
The four elemental Gods had ruled this realm since its creation. Each a guiding point on the sacred compass, representing ruling elements needed to sustain the delicate balance of life.
North: Ignius, God of Fire
East: Ethra, God of Air
South: Nephrani, Goddess of Water
West: Dyea, Goddess of Earth
The Gods ruled alone for years, taking on the heavy burdens that came along with it. They gave and took with their elements, sustaining everything peacefully. Over time, as the population grew and their workload became heavy, they decided to bestow some of their divine power to their most worthy and devout servants; the humans that were created to worship them. They each passed down a kernel of their power to the most faithful disciples, who devoted their lives to the elemental Gods. Acting as faithful wardens to the land through their magical affinities, and the Gods that ruled them.
And with this, the lineage of wielders was born.
What the Gods did not anticipate was how that magic would move through generations. As time went on the devout and faithful line that the wieldershad originated from looked different in every region. Magic manifested as a reflection of their individual soul, predetermined by genetic makeup and the fates that were even beyond the Gods’ reach. Determined on their journey through the underworld, also known as Aethur.
It was impossible to anticipate, despite lineage, who in a family was going to generate what gifts. And if they were worthy of those gifts, which became a great point of contention later on.
Each wielder would materialize the obvious abilities from their magical line, in its basic form: the manipulation of that specific element. But they could also embody other aspects of their reigning God, all varying in levels of potential power. For example, Fire wielders could not only manipulate physical flame, they could also control heat, could sometimes see long distances through thermal energies. Some of the more gifted could actually create flame itself, from nothing. Water wielders were often gifted healers. Some lore suggests the wilder water wielders were more beast than human, becoming amphibious over time. There are even reports of the most powerful water wielders being able to manipulate their appearances through the movement of one's bodily fluid, plumping lips here or elongating a nose there.
Over the years, the magic began to change the way the humans interacted with one another. Hierarchies were built entirely on the powerful wielders produced through time, and the gap between humans and wielders grew. The last monarch of Arcadya made to rectify this. She defied the traditions and laws of her country, marrying a human without a drop of his own magic. She claimed her own Earth magic was strong enough to sustain them, to help the Kingdom flourish and her husband dedicated his life to bridging the gap between humans in another way: innovation.
For a short time, the King and Queen worked together flawlessly. She worked her magic, ensuring the Kingdom was well fed, while the King encouraged a technological and industrial revolution. He created a Council of brilliant minds, and the advancements made throughout his time ruling were astounding. Medicine, communication, transportation. Industries thrived, and all were developing at a rapid pace. They thought this was what they needed to bridge the inequality and prejudice between wielders andhumans.
Unfortunately, complications rose when the Queen's magic began to misfire. Speculation and hostility rose, wielders and humans began to fight openly. Their animosity grew as other areas of magic began having issues. It was simple things at first. Mass manipulation of the elements became difficult. The leer stones that once held magic began to stutter. Devices that integrated magic and technology no longer worked together flawlessly.
The old magical families, the ones who'd been in power for centuries, demanded that technology be stopped, that the Gods were angry mortals tried to manipulate the natural order of things.
But the humans refused to go backwards. They wanted assurances that they would not fall back to the bottom, that they would be treated fairly going forward. They had become used to the advances of their new society, and they didn't want to return to being slaves to those with magic.
The King and Queen tried to calm both sides, but were eventually torn apart. The Queen got sick, desperately pushing her magic to its limits to try and heal the land that was clearly dying. To feed the Kingdom that was slowly slipping into a hungry chaos.
A civil war broke out, and catastrophic life was lost throughout the continent. The wielders' magic had become unpredictable, which at first benefited the humans as their new weaponry far surpassed that of the old world.
