Prologue Pt 1.4

Opening his eyes from the darkness, D’Art looked at the alarm, its red hazed numbers glowing somewhat in an evil manner, mocking him of supposed sleep. Ever since he had left the hospital he hadn’t been able to find much rest in his sleep, often waking in the night at strange hours for no reason, unable to go back to sleep. When he did sleep, it seemed as if he was awake, floating in a void of darkness, a consciousness in nothing. It was strange. No dreams, no people but voices. Perhaps they were his thoughts but they all sounded differently to each other. Personalities within himself? Shaking these thoughts away, D’Art definitely wanted not to think of such peculiarities first thing in the morning. Sliding out from the bed, he started to get changed in the dim light of his room.

The room itself was quite ordinary, shelves, a desk with a computer, a nightstand and his bed. The books neatly sorted and stacked along the rows of shelves covered fiction and non-fiction alike. Topics of science, technology, magic were interlaced with fantasy, medicine and romance. Adventures of other worlds, people, places, these had been his steadfast companions for many years while forming the barrier around him from the outside world. A more recent addition to the shelf, with a tasselled bookmark was the history and encyclopedia of magic.

Magic, an age old concept, of fantasy from the imaginations of writers, directors, old storytellers had long been cast as purely entertainment by the vast majority of the world. It though had only been a recent discovery, the last decade or so, when science was able to make the startling connection between what was now considered magic and the tales of lore. It was something that still was being studied, but yet at the same time people were now using it in every day life, if they had the ability. Previously, studies on the brain had only shown a significant portion of the mind was not in active use, and speculation on what would happened if the rest could be ‘switched on’ were just that, speculation. A group of researchers however found that those who practiced particular martial arts with a strong emphasis on Ki, or Chi, Qi, the same concept across a variety of languages and forms, utilized large areas of these previously ‘inactive’ zones.

These people were found to be able to produce, often at will, changes in their bodily magnetic fields, flux patterns previously unheard of, and radiation auras. What they could do, was still not clear but it soon became obvious that they could do something with them. Not long after, martial artists around the world were being tested on, probed, studied, observed for this phenomenon. It was seen that telekinetic forces could be applied, with very rare cases of people ‘teleporting’ (how was still unknown). Mutation and conversion of matter was also discovered and many people began to be frightened by this idea, and so society changed once again to adapt to this new discovery.

Newborns were tested with a new device invented to detect Ki generation. Due to the changes in magnetic flux in the body, it was possible to predict, but not accurately to any extent, the possibility of the child to generate Ki. To avoid chaos and panic, society adapted a mentality of acceptance, there was no segregation between those who could and couldn’t, and those who couldn’t were encouraged to learn a martial art to focus their own bodily energies, in an attempt to produce their own Ki. The term magic however was not put back into use until after the discovery of the Ether.

Physics and Science had long known about the invisible particles, and radiation that the world was showered in every single moment. The Ether however was something a little more than that, a field, an aura, where the location itself produced similar magnetic fluxes to those who generated Ki. The manipulators (as they were coined) could use their abilities anywhere, but unexplained phenomenon was occurring at higher proportions when the manipulators used their abilities within the Ether. Amplification of their abilities, the manifestation of new abilities, miracles even.

During a live television broadcast outside a concert, the population watched on as an accident between two cars occurred. The cars crashed head on with the passengers trapped inside. Reality television had long desensitised viewers to these things and the cameras kept filming while the emergency vehicles and staff arrived to save them. The medics on scene had pronounced one of the victims to be dead, but then it happened. A miracle. Magic.

The announcement of the death reached one of the other car passengers. Screaming in her anguish, the unknown woman ran to the mangled corpse. As it was broadcasted live, the millions of witnesses around the nation watched as the world changed forever. A glowing field burst around the two, tears streaming and the Ether reacted. A haze, colours changing, prismatic glittering, and a soundless wave was reported to be felt by those at the scene. A reporter on scene cried in shock, awe, disbelief “It’s a miracle, it’s like magic!”, and indeed it was. The woman’s injuries were gone, and, she had brought back the dead.

From then on, Magic as it was now called, became the hottest point of research. Rare, and yet still unexplained cases of resurrection were being found and studied, though no ethics committee would ever approve of deliberate deaths to study attempts of this. Some poorer countries with capital punishment began to market themselves and earned much by selling opportunities for researchers to attend executions for them to test their ideas and work. The religious debate once again flared, science could not explain magic sufficiently, and new faiths began to sprout. The world was shifting once more. Most promising from this however, was the idea that magic could be used to heal on a regular basis those minor injuries and maladies, not yet so advanced as death.

In the short span of less than a decade, Magic had advanced far, and was now widely accepted. People lived in relative peace with it, and conflicts around the world did not change from it. Early manipulators became experts, and so the teaching and passing down of Magic and its use, control and application became another part of every day life.

Adjusting his tie, D’Art checked his presentation in the mirror, and headed out the door. Glancing at his watch, he had enough time to grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast before the skills test. “I can do this” was his thoughts as he shut the door behind him.

Prologue Pt 1.3

Sitting in his quiet office, Alvin tried to relax after reading the latest report on receiving human remains for his school. The regulations and laws were simple enough if you wanted to use the bodies for research, but for educational purposes, it was a much greater mess. The differences between those who could control the Ether and those who couldn’t meant that two sets of regulations existed for educational laws since no-one ever bothered to do research on the non-manipulators. However, since what they were embarking upon was to be applicable to everyone, they had to obtain donors from both sides.

Resting back in the black leather, he closed his eyes, pondering. He knew they had already a reasonable number of people who wanted to donate their bodies, but it wasn’t enough. They were also not allowed to advertise nor market for their needs. At the last meeting with the board of directors, he had raised this point but Peter had waved it aside, mentioning they already had someone else looking into it. Sighing, he hoped they had it covered. The initial applications had been very successful with their quota already filled. Many of the applicants had highly distinguished backgrounds in medical studies or were doctors who wished to specialise in their healing abilities. Others had enrolled in their trade specific program, to become learn how to be emergency teleport healers for accidents and major events as their abilities to teleport to locations were an asset to the healing profession.

Switching his already taxed attention to the other side of the administrative burden, he scanned over their staffing list. Already onboard, they had thirty-two staff, and were looking to pick up another eight or so. The academics had been long selected and approved, their offers made and accepted with many negotiating higher than expected benefits, but it was to be expected considering their expertise and reputations. Reputation. It was the major drawcard for this institution, without it, it would have been like any second rate community college learning how to deal with colds and flu, instead of cancers, limb re-attachments and much more complex healing, especially of the mind and spirit. On the technical side, they were still short a few non-key staff, but once the bodies began to be collected, those on the roster could get to work. Preserving bodies could be tricky business if you didn’t know what you were doing.

A quiet knock broke his chains of thought, his secretary coming in with more papers, some important, others not so. “Perhaps you should finish for the day Sir.” she gently chided him, knowing fully that he had been there for more than half the day, having skipped his lunch, and yet would have stayed long after she had gone if she did not tell him so. Alvin made a non-committal noise as he sifted through the pile, and was oblivious to her leaving with the soft click of the door latch. There was still more to be done before he could go home.

Prologue Pt 1.2

* * *

D’Artagnon meticulously tore one edge off the brown envelope he held in his hands. The sound of the paper being rendered made a satisfying sound in the empty room, providing some form of audio warmth in the stark noiselessness of the hospital. The regular sounds from the machines around him had been accustomed to and no longer registered as sound. His mother slept soundly on the bed next to his lounge seat, the aftermath of the last few days still nestled in his mind, sleep did not come easily. Much questioning lingered in his head, why had things gone the way they did? What would have been done before to prevent this? Where to go from here? Only a few days ago life had seemed so normal. The usual arguing of parentals, normal behaviour really for many families, or so D’Artagnon thought. It had been going on for years, and he no longer thought much of their bickering or callus words, nor of the tears and what had seemed to be hollow threats of harm. Bringing his thoughts back to the present, he skimmed quickly through the contents of the envelope, as if the words were secrets from within.

Dear Mr Lled,

Thank you for your application for the position of Prosector at the Nonac School of Healing Magics. We would like to congratulate you on being a successful candidate for a position on the basis of a final skills based interview. We request you please visit the school at the specified time and date below to demonstrate your skills at an in-person technical test. We look forward to seeing your abilities.

Sincerely,

Alvin Johnson
(signed on behalf of Mr Johnson)

What normally would have been elation from this opportunity, D’Art could only manage a small smile. At least he would have something to take his mind of things he thought. Putting the letter away, he tried to sleep, finally sinking into a cloud of darkness.

Prologue Pt 1.1

* * *
As the first black trucks rolled up to the service dock out the back, a secretary inside the building printed off forms while another sealed envelopes. Their first sets of information packs and enrolment forms and payment details would be sent out today. Since the idea of the school had been advertised, they had over five hundred expressions of interest to attend, if only all of them could be accommodated, but the initial size of intake was restricted to three hundred. The application process had begun.

Prologue Pt 1.0

Prologue:

The old grey building lurking in the backstreets of Marbig once was a warehouse for dry crackers, their salty, flaky, and crisp taste waiting for distribution to the hundreds of stores across the city. The crackers had long gone, and so with many of the businesses in the district, to better premises when crime began to spread through this part of town. The dilapidated sign of Wheezers Biscuits Co. hung at an odd angle covered with the grime of years abandoned. A rumbling from the distance caused the insects around to scurry away as a small convoy of vehicles came rolling down the street, to stop in front of the sign. The slamming of doors ceased soon after and the sound of busy work began. On the brighter side of town, men in suits and white coats celebrated with champagne and finger food, watching a large scrying basin as the insides of the Wheezers Biscuits Co. building was being taken apart. Construction had begun.

“Johnson old chap, congratulations on getting this project going!” The jovial red-faced speaker slapping Alvin Johnson hard on his shoulder. A slight grimace fleeted across Alvin’s face “Why thank you Peter, it has been a very long journey to come so far, and I hope this new school will be a success, otherwise the other investors and you will howl for my blood no doubt.” “Nonsense!” retorted Peter Locef “We would have never invested our gold unless we knew it to be certain to succeed. My glass is empty, now where is that bottle….” Alvin hated these kinds of events, but it was customary to bear the pompous activities of the rich when they paid for important things such as his new school being built. Sneaking away from the crowd while the other bigwigs drank themselves to excess, he hoped they would fill their enrolments quickly.

A few short weeks later, the old cracker warehouse was not recognisable anymore. Rain dripped grey walls were now a nondescript but clean fresh cement look, the old wrought-iron doors replaced with new metal and tinted glass, a sophisticated security system adorning the panel next to the front entrance. Workers scurried to and fro still, placing the finishing interior components before the contents could be brought in. A panel van rolled up to the front, and the men started to install a new sign. The Nonac School of Healing Magics was nearly ready for opening.