prologue- MIST

" life. It's troublesome, yet filled with flabbergasted wonders. Wonders that can't be predicted, nor seeked, it can be only experienced, with emotions that we take with us to our graves. Yet we still crave for more. Greed indulged in all of us makes us not less that any blind hungry animal desperate for food. We know the consequences, yet still detour from our given stats. Breaking the nature's law has effects both on ourselves and the people around us. As such for our choices ? It is the product of our circumstances, but we do get judged on the basis of that, on the basis of the mistakes we make. But do we learn form our mistakes ? I hope you already know the answer, I need not have to rejoinder the question. Such petty creatures we humans are !

It has come to my realisation, that this world was a better place, when it was unknown of our existence, the existence of the Mage society. This story was meant to turn cruel in one way or the other. It's not that I can do anything about it. I am nothing but just a mere Oracle, who sees so much, yet can do so little. Just stranded here awaiting the call of my demise. I just don't want to see anything anymore, because in this stage of my life, all I see is chaos !

Honestly speaking, I don't want any of this shit anymore, I am fed up ! I am tired, of this 'Nelgians' and the 'Union' hypothetical bullshit....I am sorry I took so much of your time. Forgive me but, I have to say goodbye. Just try to not lose hope, like me. I know I am a coward, taking my own life ! Haha Haha, but at least I will be at peace, I think so.... But just try to live with a curse to see everything, every anomie, every dreadful incidents. Let's see how long you hold on. So long, meet you in the afterlife !

- lisa's journal, June 18th, 2021

On June 19th, of 2021, approximately at about 10:34 p.m in the night, the body of a Oracle named Lisa Rodriguez was found in her apartment. She hanged herself to a ceiling fan, the forensics says that the time of death was around in the morning in the previous day. The most awkward fact wasn't that her body was there enclosed in the apartment for about a day, but it was the fact that not a single person or family was present in the complex at that time. It's rather a strange thing that not a single investigation was held by neither the Mage council nor the police officials. It was in the files that she actually worked for a 'Nelgian' relic smuggling group in the outposts of eastern sector of Newport, but later she surrendered herself to the Investigation division of the 'Syndicate' and helped them to detain the people in her group. According to her, their group collected children from slave traders and used them as a vessel for Mana recharging which is an impersonal supernatural power which resides in every being irrespective of mages, commoners and animals, they mainly used children as they stated that their quantity of mana is plenty and quite unstable, but very easy to consume. Later they used to supply those bodies to the 'skin collector', who dismembered the parts and use them as a sacrifice for rituals, the whereabouts of the skin collector is still unknown but the investigation is still going on.

This is a very strange case. I won't say that the parties from both the ends aren't doing anything, but still there's something they are covering. My gut feeling says that the 'Nelgians' had something to do with it because they never leave a traitor alive.....and the gut feeling of a reporter is never wrong. I know she was going through a very difficult mental phase, but even so....all of these bits aren't going right ! There was also a report that said an essence of mana of two or three people were found in the apartment, but according to the other residents Lisa always lived alone nobody ever visited her and also she never invited anyone to her apartment, if that was the case then who were the other two or three people ? Someday this mystery will be solved. I give you that. Because there are people in the Mage council who believe in justice !

- by Edward Olsen of Newport times "

Every story has bits and pieces that makes it whole, but this story has all its pieces scattered around like broken pieces of glass. Messed up to the extent of irreversiblility. For those who are still wondering what is happening ? Let me tell you how all this came to be as it is. In 1984 a sudden large scale war broke out in different countries, mainly in England, India, America and some eastern Asian countries, the war took the large juggernauts of world wide superpowers and diminished them to a mere ant farm. The war wasn't nuclear, nor it was any military. But it was a war called by the Mages ? In this people with supernatural powers known as Magic exists and there was a secret council for the protection and administration of such people with such powers, we call it the 'Mage Syndicate'. The Mage syndicate was said to be first made by the great Mage warrior Merlin, in the time of king Aurthur, and thus it continued to exist hereafter. But the Mage Syndicate always had internal conflicts going on in periodic intervals, this led to a separation of the syndicate into two communities, mainly the original syndicate and the liberal functionalist or simply the ' Denominators', who had their own beliefs, and customs. But who knew that these liberals wanted more than a free state of expression. These group of Mages always went against the 'Merlinial system' of Magic, the ancient laws of magic passed down from generations after generations after the downfall of Merlin's reign. To their ideals, this world is tainted and henceforth should be cleansed, for that the Mages have to take control of the situation, which means world dominance. They became aggressive and hence were detained by the Mage syndicate. Around 3000 Liberals were imprisoned in the gates of Babylon, which is a group of towers situated in different parts of the world. But some of them escaped and started a rebellion, they made an army, by recruiting young Mages and imposing their own beliefs in their heads, as children are quite easy to manipulate, thus their manpower increased vigorously. But most of them did the thing which was forbidden in all the books of natural laws, that is making pact with supernatural beings to enhance their physical and magical attributes, and they came to be known as the 'Nelgians', the more they used this power the more toll is taken from their souls, thus their mortality decreases. As time went their power increased immensely, the mage syndicate then found it very difficult to hold them back, no sooner did the Denominators stole the 'orb of Gorgon' which is one of the most powerful relics in the Mage syndicate's vault of treasures, capable of destroying cities and even nations, and used it to attack different nations to create worldwide tension. The mage council had no other choice but to expose themselves to the outside world. Due to God's grace the Governments heeded to their aids, in sheer desperation. Both the Mage syndicate and other major governments joined forces to battle the raging terror of the Denominators. The war went for about years, and at last in the year of 1989 the war came to an end, as the Denominators were forced to go underground. But still they lurk around the shadows of the night, awaiting for the chance to strike again. The battle wasn't of forces or powers but was of ideals and beliefs, but was it won by either of the sides ? The answer depends upon your perspective. The Mage council was too afraid for outcomes and were very conservative and the Denominators were too aggressive and latched on to their liberal beliefs that it eventually led to the harm of many innocents, about 6 million people including men, women and children were slaughtered out of sheer feeling of freedom by others. If this is the cost of harmony then it's better to live in chaos.

Violence is just a justification of the inner demons that an individual keeps. Irrespective of what their nature is, everyone has a side which is kept hidden from others. But all violence and all conflicts leads to one thing, that is peace. But this peace comes at costs, which is far more horrific than violence, costs that you can't even imagine. people devouring other people in the name of ideology, only to be stopped by their own remorse. If this doesn't makes you laugh, then I don't know what will.

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