History of the Magi, Part One

LEGEND OF THE OMNIMAGI
Chapter 7: History of the Magi, Part One


Alright. Let me tell you what I know about Kh'altean Ore. The whole mess started about 2,500 years ago...

...well, actually, you probably don't know much about mage history, do you? ...figured. Most people don't. Alright, well, let me give you a quick refresher. It'll help the story make more sense.


Over the years, archaeologists and scholars have discovered that, several millenia ago, long before pre-recorded history, an ancient race of people existed on this world. They were completely isolated, perhaps on purpose, from humans, and are said to be the progenitors of all the magic that exists today. I don't know what the official word for them is, but most people simply call them the Ancestors.

Keep in mind, most information on the Ancestors is all theory and supposition. No one really knows much about them; they seemed to have left little in the way of historical text. But we have learned of things that existed before our time, things that can't possibly be naturally occuring. Their magic must've been incredibly powerful, because even the greatest mages alive can come close to recreating some of things they've done.

But one day, for some unexplained reason, something apparently wiped out every Ancestor out there. Any artifacts from pre-recorded history are never older than a certain date in time, some 5,000 years ago or so. No one has any explanation why, but it's believed that one day, they all just disappeared. Of course, being isolated from the rest of the world, no one really noticed.


Alright. Fast forward a few centuries, into stuff that we actually know happened for certain. As time went on, something strange began to happen to some of the humans. Some of them were suddenly able to use magic. Who was affected seemed to be random; people all over the world, of varying ages and ethnicities, were all able to control the ether...that's magical energy, by the way. As you can imagine, this was quite a shock to a lot of people.

Also, as you can imagine, not everyone took this new development so well. Some were jealous of those who could suddenly use magic, especially since there didn't seem to be any pattern as to who could use it. Most people were just scared stiff, and understandably so; none of these newfound magic users had any idea how to use it. Imagine a caveman capable of starting fires with reckless abandon and absolute lack of control, and you can see what I mean.

So, the world over, many mages were cast out of their societies. They soon found that they were not only capable of taking care of themselves with their new powers - the ones that didn't kill themselves with it, anyway - but could also find others like themselves very easily. Nowadays, we've honed that ability into a spell, but back then, it was more of an instinct. They banded together and began creating their own societies, calling themselves the Magi. It's some kind of ancient human word, but it ended up being the word that 'magic' and 'mages' would come from later on.


Thus, the Magi and the humans were divided, living separately from each other for many, many years, each group developing their own culture and language. On rare occasion, the two groups met on friendly terms, but it was always an uneasy exchange.

Alright, now fast forward again to 2,500 years ago. The two societies, still completely cut off from each other, decide to try and bury the hatchet. For the most part, this is brought on by sheer curiosity; by now, both of their worlds were so different, it was hard to believe they shared the same planet together. Unfortunately, things didn't go very well. The humans still had a grudge against the Magi for the same old reasons, and the Magi hated humans for being expelled, mistreated, and generally hated merely for existing. Tensions grew, and before you know it, someone on one side killed someone on another side. The Great War of the Magi had started.


During the War...what? 'What's the Great War of the...' You must be joking. Everyone knows about the War! I mean, what the hell...alright, alright, alright. Quit hitting me and I'll tell you about it already. Sheesh.

Okay, where to start...um...alright. Once the War started, people naturally started picking sides. A few Magi went over to the human side, who they thought would be completely outmatched, because they still wanted to unite the two groups. Likewise, some humans began serving the Magi for the same reason, though it's debated that some simply wanted to join the winning side.

The fighting began, and at first it seemed the Magi were simply too strong an opponent. Centuries, millenia of training had finally helped them hone their skills, and what was once a group of dangerous, amateurish magical flops were now skilled manipulators of the arcane arts. Humans, however, still had numbers and tactics to their advantage. Though the Magi had mastered their own skills, they'd never had to use them in serious combat. For every enemy the Magi blasted to oblivion, the humans were capable of ambushing and killing enough to even the score. It looked like the war might turn out to be a very bloody stalemate.

Then, during the War, the humans discovered something that they thought would turn the tides of battle. Today, we call it Kh'altean Ore. Back then, they referred to it as nullicite. They also saw it as a boon to their cause, a way to defeat the Magi once and for all.

But it wasn't meant to be. You see, what happened was this..."