(no subject)
s m o k e&m i r r o r s
Everyone knows that magic exists. It has done for decades, maybe a couple of centuries now, every historian will tell you a different story, show you a different book, this piece of evidence and that one too. No one knows for certain, but they all have their theories. It doesn't matter, either way, because everyone also knows that magic is dangerous. Magic is a drug. Magic takes the strongest soul and overpowers it until that soul wants nothing more than to keep feeling that thrum of energy and impossibility under their fingertips, their skin, on their lips. Addiction catches most, grabs them by the throat and squeezes.
The problem was always a paradox, because magic solved the problems. Lives were saved, tragedies averted, but in the end a life will probably fizzle out anyway, another tragedy will take place. Magic addiction is hard to fight, and its consequences are often dear. It's not a unique talent that some are bestowed with, it's something to be learned, like maths and chemistry. There is an art to it that some master with more skill, but with time anyone could wrap their head around even the simplest of incantations. Some can even twist and mould it into something that becomes their own; the right powders, the right incantation, the right tilt of a mirror can make something out of nothing. The more it becomes your own, the deeper it sinks into you. The more elaborate the spell, the better the fix.
Always studied but rarely practiced, there was no shift to involve magic in society until 1965. The United Kingdom made the first move, followed by most central European States, tentatively allowing magic to be integrated with security and police services in the interests of benefiting the people. Rehabilitation was developed and improved as time went on, with restrictions on magic use put in place to try and avoid addiction. For about a decade, it seemed to be working. Countries relaxed, lifted restrictions, trying to make magic even more efficient.
Everyone knows that magic exists. It has done for decades, maybe a couple of centuries now, every historian will tell you a different story, show you a different book, this piece of evidence and that one too. No one knows for certain, but they all have their theories. It doesn't matter, either way, because everyone also knows that magic is dangerous. Magic is a drug. Magic takes the strongest soul and overpowers it until that soul wants nothing more than to keep feeling that thrum of energy and impossibility under their fingertips, their skin, on their lips. Addiction catches most, grabs them by the throat and squeezes.
The problem was always a paradox, because magic solved the problems. Lives were saved, tragedies averted, but in the end a life will probably fizzle out anyway, another tragedy will take place. Magic addiction is hard to fight, and its consequences are often dear. It's not a unique talent that some are bestowed with, it's something to be learned, like maths and chemistry. There is an art to it that some master with more skill, but with time anyone could wrap their head around even the simplest of incantations. Some can even twist and mould it into something that becomes their own; the right powders, the right incantation, the right tilt of a mirror can make something out of nothing. The more it becomes your own, the deeper it sinks into you. The more elaborate the spell, the better the fix.
Always studied but rarely practiced, there was no shift to involve magic in society until 1965. The United Kingdom made the first move, followed by most central European States, tentatively allowing magic to be integrated with security and police services in the interests of benefiting the people. Rehabilitation was developed and improved as time went on, with restrictions on magic use put in place to try and avoid addiction. For about a decade, it seemed to be working. Countries relaxed, lifted restrictions, trying to make magic even more efficient.