The Magus

My name is Mari. I had a family name, many years ago, but once I chose to abandon my family’s path in the world, to strike out on my own and master the mysteries of the unknown, I thought it best to forsake any connection with this past.

Magic is a forbidden thing. The high churches burn witches and warlocks, while the high sorcerers — too powerful to be stopped, even by the armies of the united Kingdoms — are quick to destroy those who appear too eager, ambitious, or dangerous. There is no confusion as to why; Magic is a powerful and dangerous thing. The fae and enchanted creatures of the wild use magic freely, and their corruption causes daily strife. The dark mage-lords of old destroyed kingdoms with their power, and the High Sorcerers are too powerful to hinder.

I left Trella’s library half a year after I first crossed its threshold, wiser and stronger than I had been. I swore to her to find a way to repay her generosity, and she sent me on my way with enough food and supplies to get to the next town to the west.

I had, however, a different destination in mind.

Years I spent a broken shell. My studies languished, my passions dulled. I suffered nightmares unimaginable, and my magics became wild, uncontrolled. I feared my magic, such that even when the horrible echoes of the gemstone faded in my memory, still my fingers balked at weaving the arcane threads once more.

I still practiced, I still learned, I still grew in power; but I did not grow in wisdom. I was a broken soul, and the darkness within me refused to leave.

This story was made using the solo RPG: The Magus, by momatoes. It is a “crunchy” journaling game: while there are only seven “scenes,” you have to make choices about your character that drastically adjust the results of the story.