Fractions Of Magic

There used to be so much magic in the world. There here hundreds of mages and witches and all sorts of magic weavers, bending nature to their will, if not outright breaking it.

But it was always going to be for just a time. You see, every spell could only be used once. Adjusting a spell by a fraction was enough to do practically the same thing again, but there was a finite number of fractions, and they're mostly gone now. Maybe a spell gets cast once a year.

The universe doesn't allow the exact same mistake twice after all.

The Saint's Day

In theory, I should talk of love.

Generally, because it's meant to be one of the few universal themes that we all experience, the list of which is not huge.

But specifically today, this is the day to discuss love. Either a simple, honest love story, or a cynical takedown of the concept.

Instead, this. Obviously. I try to avoid going meta like this too often, this is meant to be story-based, not a commentary track.

But today, I need to say this directly to you.

I hope you are loved, and love in return. To the amount you need.

Past Event Horizon

The probe was, to be honest, a ramshackle collection of spare parts and repurposed sensors. They weren't about to waste too much money on something that was intended to be jettisoned into a black hole. The few microseconds of data it would send back before it was crushed would, it was hoped, give some insight into what was going on inside one of the last mysteries of the universe.

It went in with not too many people paying attention. When it started transmitting minutes, hours of data, people took notice.

And then really wished they hadn't, when the nightmares started.

Ineffable Messaging

There is presumably a reason, somewhat ineffable, why God works in this way. But the pattern is there. Every couple of centuries, God chooses one man to appear before and reveal the plan. Usually this is an extension of a previous plan, the need for a new testament, and then a new book on top of that, then a whole new branch of religion or whatever. Every couple of centuries, give or take a few decades.

Always a man though. That seems odd, but then again, if a woman had gotten a message, would anyone have believed her about it?

Crossed Bar

The Brunette and The Redhead spotted each other across the bar.

It was five years, give or take a month, since they met for the first time. Four and a half since they began to date, two and a quarter since they broke up.

For The Brunette, it had been her first relationship after coming out to herself. For The Redhead, the first relationship after her last partner had been killed in a hate crime, sorry, "an accident".

Their time together was passionate but tumultuous.

The Brunette smiled and waved, The Redhead flipped her off.

Neither of them meant it.

Two Die

He picked up the two die and rolled them around in his hand. It was all down to this.

He'd been gambling for an hour or so now, and most of that was spent finding a game that both he and the brothers now counting their coins all knew. A simple dice game was settled on, but he had run out of valuables and had now promised them a deed to a property he didn't have. If this went badly, he was dead.

He rolled.

His companions finally appeared and dropped the brothers dead before they finished rolling snake eyes.

The Purpose Process

The hope is that you find moral clarity at the end. The lost and confused are promised clarity and purpose upon entering, and after months, possibly years of teaching, training, and observation, they will find what they seek, what they need. That is the offer, the prize at the end of the maze.

Having gotten to that prize and discovering that the process is the point, that discipline is the clarity, most of them accept this and continue to live as they have been, which is good.

The ones who reject this are moved on, which is better. Financially speaking.