Magi:a person granted with the ability to use magic. Gifted with longer-than-mortal life spans, Magi are born of four different bloodlines, the Adored, the Unseen, the Hallowed, and the Reviled. Each bloodline has innate talents unique to them, though a large proportion of the Magi lack magical aptitude beyond the most basic of spells.
Mortal:a person not gifted with the ability to use magic. Mortals still make up a majority of the workforce in the Magi society, so some Magi see them as lesser-than.
Adored:the wealthiest and most politically powerful of the Magi bloodlines. The Adoreds’ innate talents allow them to impose their will upon others, but only the most powerful families are able to wield it with much success.
Unseen:considered by others as the lower-class Magi, Unseen’s animalistic appearances have been a stigma for generations amongst the Magi community. These animalistic traits are displayed in a variety of forms, but most often in the presence of animal features such as tails, fangs, claws, wings, scales, etc. All Unseen are traditionally male-presenting, and are capable of reproducing with another male Unseen. The Unseen’s innate ability allows them to conceal themselves with magic, aswell as grants them traits of their animal-like personas, such as enhanced speed and strength.
Hallowed:the religious class of the Magi. Hallowed worship the Source of all magic and govern the Church of the Source. These devout believers’ innate abilities allow them to use their magic to cure disease and heal wounds.
Reviled:the exiled branch of the Church of the Source, Reviled are thought to be extinct in the modern Magi world. These powerful practitioners possessed rituals that could bring the dead back to life, conjure spirits of the deceased, and even project their own souls from their bodies. Driven from the Church of the Source during a schism, the Reviled are pariahs of the Magi community.
The Source:believed to be the source of all magic by the Hallowed, the Source is the recipient of the Church’s worship, and serves as their deity.
The Awakening:the inciting event that originally granted magic to the mortals many centuries ago. A popular belief among the modern-day Magi is that a second Awakening is coming.
Glamour:a low-level illusory application of magic that most Magi can use.
Veil:high-level illusory magic that can disguise a person’s appearance, voice, and tactile sensations. Only Reviled Magi are able to utilize these skills. Can also refer to the layer between the Ether and the physical world.
Distortion:a being of myth in the Magi society. A horrible creature, twisted by magic into shapes unrecognizable.
Artifacts:powerful magical items handed down through generations of Magi.
The Ether:the nexus between reality and realms beyond. Magic enters the world through this mysterious plane.
Miracles:displays of incredible magical feats performed by the Hallowed that grant them the status of “Saint” in their communities.
The night sky loomed over sharp cathedral spires, an absence of stars lending to the yawning void that stretched endlessly above the Magi City. It had been three months since the stars had all at once winked out of existence. Since Tobias and his sister fell into a slumber I had yet to remedy. Since the Second Awakening had come at the hands of the Greene twins, and with it, a slew of mysteries that the Magi world had so far failed to even comprehend.
I myself was only preoccupied with one such mystery—what curse befell the man I loved?
Shining between the spires of grey stone, a sliver of silvery moon shone as the only source of light besides the streetlamps dotting the sidewalk. I hadn’t intended to arrive in the Magi City at this late an hour, but time held little influence on me as of late. My days stretched long with tomes stacked tall, raided from the shelves of Paradise’s Grand Library. Hours poured through my fingers like grains of sand.
Yet, for all of my efforts, I had come up empty-handed. Weeks of research had led to more dead ends than I cared toadmit, and somewhere deep down, the last flickers of my hope threatened to be extinguished.
I was failing him.
The thought loomed over me, its shadow growing larger with each passing day.
A creaking sound drew my attention as one of the large wooden doors creaked open at the top of the stairs. A familiar head of crimson hair streaked with white appeared in the opening, and my worries dampened, if only for a moment.
In his proper vestments, Cirian Findlay was truly something to behold. Robes of sapphire blue and ocean waves adorned his body—the colors favored by those of the Hallowed. Before Tobias’s revivification, the thought of entering the Cradle—the seat of the Hallowed’s power here in the city—would have made me wretch. After all, as a Reviled, I was a pariah in their eyes. Now, it simply made me fidgety.
Or perhaps that only happened in the presence of a certain Acolyte.
“I was starting to worry,” Cirian said, stepping out into the brisk winter air. His words burst into puffs of steam that swirled above him. “Did you take the wrong train again?”
Warmth bloomed under my cheeks at his jibe.
“You make it seem like a frequent occurrence.”
His blush-red lips pulled into a grin as he reached into the folds of his vestments, pulling out a small square package.
“Is it not?”
Pulling a cigarette from the vessel, he seated it between pink lips. With a flick of his fingers, the end of the vice flared to life, and he exhaled a plume of sweet smoke.
I wondered what it would be like to feel those sinful lips drag across my flesh. Would it be just as intoxicating as last time?
