- Look at this grain of sand. Look at it closely. - The master said to his apprentice, near the beaches of Rekk, on the western Isthmus.
The apprentice, a young Jurgian, wrinkled his wide forehead. The old man's questions were rarely what they seemed. He decided not to risk it.
- Perhaps it is obvious, master, but this is... a grain of sand?
The air thickened behind him, and he received a good shake to his head. Fortunately, his hat protected him, or perhaps, the force of the blow was carefully calculated to reinforce the lesson... or, simply, he was already used to how his master indicated that his answer was far below what was expected of him.
- I'm sorry Master, - he said, with as much dignity as possible - but I cannot even imagine what you are trying to explain to me.
The old man seemed to collapse a bit, letting more of his true age show. It wasn't anything spectacular; a slump of the shoulders, a loss of the gleam in his eyes, perhaps an aura of silence starting to spread around him, as if sound itself was aging, losing strength, moving unhurriedly toward death.
- This, young Irk, is what remains of countless wizards more powerful than you can ever imagine... Perhaps it is time for you to learn something about the cycles of Terra...
- In the beginning, there were the Six Archetypal Gods: Lucifer, Sol, Magic, Natura, Moon, and Satan. Eon after eon, they played games of power and seduction among themselves, and all went in harmony. But even gods can get bored; they needed something more.
Natura had the idea to create creatures to play in their place, dotting them with powers aligned with each of the gods and creating certain rules to prevent any of them from starting with a special advantage. The idea was welcomed with enthusiasm and they set to work. Sol and Moon opened a hole in Satan's infinite domains, vast as only the void can be. Lucifer donated his heat and light, Magic materialized the idea of the world, and Natura gave it the essence of life.
Each of the gods began to create creatures to their liking: Natura created dryads, Phoenixes, and Griffins; Magic created pixies, sylphs, and leviathans... Each endowed their creatures with related powers, as was stipulated. And among all of them, they created Men.
Actually, only five gods created men, and Magic selected a few to breathe the mystical touch into them that turned them into Wizards; the same touch that came to you at the moment of your conception. Magic's lack of direction guaranteed that it was at random, and by their place of birth, they took their elemental alignment.
You and I, in the tropical zones, are green wizards... Further north, we have red wizards, and to the south, we have white ones. In the pole, there are black ones, and everywhere, where domains cross, blue wizards can appear, strange in all lands and native to none.
Everything went well for a while. The forces were balanced and all wizards competed with the subtlety of their enchantments and the strength of their armies. Several eons passed, to the great amusement of the gods. And it could have continued like this until the end of eternity.
But behold, something happened that the gods had not foreseen... For even gods may not foresee all the consequences of their actions, especially when several of them intervene and where Magic puts its hand. Men created their own god, in their own image and likeness: the god Science.
- And they surrendered to him in body and mind, developing artifacts of unimaginable power, like the nefarious Atomic Bomb, and a terrifying spell: Armageddon... Subjects on which I will not speak while the sun is not at its highest in the sky, for there are secrets that are better left buried. Suffice it to know that since then, Terra has been cursed.
- When wizards begin to amass enough power, their hearts inevitably turn toward Science, the banished God, in search of the strength that none of the gods of the Origin grants to their followers. Some are so powerful that they can invoke the ultimate spell without a god: Armageddon. If seven wizards manage to maintain it without being sacrificed by the followers of the True Gods, Science begins to manifest again in the world, destroying forever the magic that keeps it confined.
That is why the gods destroy and reduce to dust all beings 24 hours after the Spell is conjured. Furthermore, every so often, the gods break the seals themselves to banish the desire for Science from Men. They only save in the Eternal Books the names of the Ten most powerful Wizards of the cycle, and those mortals who dared to invoke Science are left in the Papyri of Damnation.
- Now you know what this small grain of sand is, young apprentice... It is time for you to return to study, for time is limited.