There is real and true magic in the world.
It’s practitioners call it technology (the science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously remarked that any sufficiently advanced technology is identical to magic), but it requires no tool more complicated than a stick. To those who don’t practice the art, it’s mysterious. It’s over 5,000 years old, as ancient as recorded history, yet it constantly evolves and is as modern as the internet.
Like any good magic, it changes shape as you examine it. It’s solid as steel one moment, soft as smoke the next. Although it surrounds us every day of our lives, it’s invisible until it ’s consciously conjured and called out. We see it only by its effects, which are numerous:
It can grant wealth and power. It can curse, charm, or bless. It can alter time. It can extend your life beyond any medicine’s ability. It can ensnare and captivate the soul better than any love potion. This magic captivates the soul better than any love potion, weaving stories that hold the key to understanding its deeper mysteries, such as goal, motiviation, and conflict.
It ’s self-complementary: it divides itself into two parts; every spell requires both parts to work; it can only be seen in its mirror.
It’s a craft that anyone can learn. It’s so simple that most of the world’s peoples dabble at it. At the same time, it’s so complicated that no person will ever learn all of its mysteries in his lifetime. Those who have truly mastered the craft are called wizards.
The magic is, of course, writing.
But, like all arts, writing comes with a price: your devotion, your dedication to the craft, and unending practice.