A New Breed of Magic

An empty cafe sits on the street, filled with dusty tables scattered about without chairs. Any bystander could see that the place had been abandoned for quite some time, perhaps years or even decades. The front door creaked open for the first time in who knows how long, as two figures walked into the empty restaurant. One was a tall lanky male, wearing a ragged looking purple robe and an ugly fish mask. The other a dark-skinned woman wearing body armor with the letters “AMU” on the back.

“This place is a mess...” said the woman quietly, running her finger on one of the tables and looking at the thick dust that she picked up. “Well, we’d be able to talk somewhere more secretive if it wasn’t for your city’s ban on magic” replied the other, not entirely paying attention to what was around him. “Take a seat, I have something important to discuss with you” he said, gesturing to some chairs around a table. Hesitantly, she did so while he sat across from her.

“So, what was so important that you came here of all places? You know my orders are to arrest Magnolians on sight” the woman advised, her gaze focused on her partner. “Don’t play stupid with me Ella Marie,” he replied in an annoyed tone, “you and I both know that you don’t care about what you do. If you actually want to hear what I’ve discovered you’ll drop the policewoman act.”

She raised an eyebrow inquisitively at this, growing curious. Toritz had always been going on and on about the magical oddities he’d discovered, but he’d never gone out of his way to talk to her about it. Had he finally lost it? Or maybe he was on the verge of something else…?

“Alright then. So, you discovered something? Surely it must be impressive if you’d risk execution to come to me,” she said coyly. She’d be arrested herself if she admitted it, but she was just as intensely interested in magic as Toritz, though perhaps not with the same intensity. It was banned, after all.

“Impressive doesn’t even begin to describe the magnitude of what I’m only starting to uncover,” he started, his excitement starting to show itself; a rare sight indeed if any emotion whatsoever was displayed. “I’m on the verge of learning a very ancient breed of magic, older than any other in addition to being the most powerful.”

She sat back in her chair as she listened to this. “Toritz, you’ve been ‘on the verge’ of learning new magic for as long as I’ve known you. What makes this any different from the numerous dead ends that you’ve stumbled upon?” She asked in doubt.

“The difference is that this kind of magic is singlehandedly the most powerful I’ve ever witnessed,” he replied, annoyed at the interruption. “It can make any kind of change to reality itself, with barely any effort or buildup whatsoever.”

“I don’t understand how that’s different from any other kind of magic in the world. Most spells can be simplified into a short incantation or gesture as is. I don’t see how it could be any simpler,” she said.

“That’s just it!” he started, “It’s simpler than even any of that, you barely have to do anything if you want the magic to work!” he continued, standing out of his chair with his palms on the table. Seeing the doubt remain on her face, he let out a deep breath and sat back down.

“Let me give you an example,” he offered. “Say I want to cast a simple light spell. All I would have to do is swish my finger in a circle like so,” he said, following his own explanation with his finger, “and exert magical energy into a ball of light like so.” he finished, a ball of glowing light appearing like he claimed it would. “But what I’ve found is completely unlike any other school of magic I’ve ever discovered. It can create items and experiences wholesale, and fit them into reality as if they were always there. And it’s even simpler to use than conventional methods! I just picture in my head that this item was here, and lo and behold, not only is it there, but you couldn’t remember a time when it wasn’t there!” he explained, growing excited once again.

Ella Marie shook her head and gave a sad smile. Despite everything, it seemed Toritz had indeed finally lost it. “I can’t begin to understand what you’re talking about Toritz, what you claim that you’ve ‘found’ sounds like the ramblings of some of those heretics down the road. If what you’ve found is so simple and revolutionary, how about you show me an example of it? Make something miraculous appear for me without doing anything” she challenged, her smile becoming sly.

Toritz smiled as well and gave chuckled to himself. “I already have, and you never realized it. Take that chair you’re sitting in right now; when you walked in, do you remember seeing any at all in this abandoned building?” he asked.

She was about to reply before she stopped and thought about it. Somehow he had a point, when she walked into the empty cafe, she hadn’t noticed any chairs at any of the tables. It was her first thought, in fact. And yet, here she was, sitting across from her cohort in a chair that seemed to have always existed. She shook her head, “Maybe I didn’t,” she offered, “but you’re going to have to give me something more substantial than that. Just because I didn’t notice these chairs when I walked in is hardly any proof of what you seem to be claiming,” she said authoritatively.

He nodded in understanding. “Okay. That’s fine. I’ll ask you another question. Do I look different from how I usually look?” he asked, standing in front of her with a smile on his face. Despite herself, she took the bait and studied his body. Aside from the tattered robes and tired but excited look, nothing really stood out. “Not really,” she replied confused.

“Don’t I usually wear a mask? You always hated it,” he asked afterwards. She had to stop herself again, because what he had said was true. “You did… it was an ugly fish mask. I never understood why you wore it everywhere. I don’t know how I didn’t notice until just now,” she answered. These were clearly flukes and tricks, she told herself, turning to face the ground. Toritz is trying to make a fool out of her, and here she was just letting it happen.

“You know you can’t explain any of it,” he taunted, his dumb mask shaped in a way that made it look like he was laughing, not that you could ever tell what his face looked like. Wait, wasn’t he just…

“...Not wearing the mask?” he answered her thought. She sat back, wide-eyed. She knew for a fact that he wasn’t wearing it just a second ago, but looking on him now, it sat on his face as if it were always there. Worse yet, she couldn’t recall a time when he wasn’t wearing the mask; the memory of his face just wasn’t there.

She took a deep breath and sat back up, mentally preparing herself for what was about to happen next. “So. I get it. You can change reality itself now, congratulations. So what do you plan to do with that?” she asked him, leaning forward and leaning her head on her wrist.

“Well, I’ll be honest,” he started to admit, “the answer’s not much. I’m still learning how to use this myself, and what I’ve shown you today is pretty much the extent of my current ability.”

She leaned back again. “Great. So you have the ability to create chairs and take your mask on and off. Sounds useful. Why did you want to tell me all this again?” she asked.

“You’re the second-most powerful mage I know, if there’s anyone else who can help me figure this out I’d say it’s you,” he answered, turning around. “And well, I wanted a confidant. If anyone in Magnolia heard about this, I’d be tossed in prison as a heretic, and I can’t do my research in a cell.”

“Not that you’d let yourself stay in one.” she said slyly.

“Details.” he retorted dismissively.

“So. How do you want me to help then? Where are you even going to go? Magnolia doesn’t sound safe, and this city would rather see you arrested, so what are you gonna do?” she asked.

“I have a safe house. Well, ‘safe’ enough, relatively speaking. I can’t take you there now, but in due time you’ll find your invitation. I want to know everything there is to know about this, and I have a feeling you do too.”

“I suppose you’re right,” she agreed, turning down to look at the table. “And the ability to affect things retroactively would be useful. Alright. I’ll keep an eye out for your invitation just don’t get yourself arrested...” she trailed off as she looked back up. He was gone. Was he ever there? Where did this cafe even come from, she never noticed it before.

Ella Marie have a quiet “hmph” to herself before standing back up. She wasn’t sure what exactly was going to happen, but she knew that whatever it was, it would be very interesting.