.......^«†                                          †«^.......
........^«                                          «^........
.........^                                          ^.........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                 %@ %@% @%                ..........
.........^           %@%@@««.    .««%@@%@%          ^.........
........^« %@  %@  ^^^  ..  magic  ..   ^^^  @%  @% «^........
.......^«†           %@%@@««.    .««@@%@%           †«^.......
......^«†%                %@ %@% @%                 %†«^......
.....^«†%@                                          @%†«^.....
....^«†%@¤   magic is about being unaccountable,    ¤@%†«^....
...^«†%@¤@ about removing the source  of the action @¤@%†«^...
..^«†%@¤@# from yourself. it works by exploiting  a #@¤@%†«^..
.^«†%@¤@##       kind of gravity, called the        ##@¤@%†«^.
..^«†%@¤@#              arrow of time.              #@¤@%†«^..
...^«†%@¤@                                          @¤@%†«^...
....^«†%@¤ things in this universe always  seek the ¤@%†«^....
.....^«†%@ least energetic state. all potential  is @%†«^.....
......^«†% gradually lost  into lesser  forms (such %†«^......
.......^«†                 as heat).                †«^.......
........^«                                          «^........
.........^     magic then, is creating tunnels,     ^.........
.......... specific and  intricate canals, for this ..........
.......... to happen  in a controlled manner. think ..........
.......... of it  as setting an elaborate  trap for ..........
.........^                 entropy.                 ^.........
........^«                                          «^........
.......^«† and then, when the circuit  closes,  the †«^.......
......^«†% arrow  is  forced  to  do  your bidding! %†«^......
.....^«†%@                                          @%†«^.....
....^«†%@¤   of course, you're also irreversably    ¤@%†«^....
...^«†%@¤@ draining time  from  the  universe,  but @¤@%†«^...
..^«†%@¤@#                   yeah.                  #@¤@%†«^..
.^«†%@¤@##                                          ##@¤@%†«^.
..^«†%@¤@#                                          #@¤@%†«^..
...^«†%@¤@                %@@ % % @@%               @¤@%†«^...
....^«†%@¤                                          ¤@%†«^....
.....^«†%@                                          @%†«^.....
......^«†% the danger is  a runaway spell  - if the %†«^......
.......^«† filament of your  canal is  too weak, or †«^.......
........^« the potential  is high  enough to escape «^........
.........^ any  self-closing mechanisms - a breach. ^.........
..........                                          ..........
..........      these are usually catastrophic.     ..........
.......... although  many  are  local,  they   stay ..........
.........^ active   until  closed  off  by  counter ^.........
........^« spells  (hard to pull off) or there's no «^........
.......^«†       more energy to fall through.       †«^.......
......^«†%                                          %†«^......
.....^«†%@ in that case the outcome  depends on the @%†«^.....
....^«†%@¤  spell. small-scale breaches might not   ¤@%†«^....
...^«†%@¤@ even  be  noticeable by the uninitiated; @¤@%†«^...
..^«†%@¤@# but a  spell might also very well  bring #@¤@%†«^..
.^«†%@¤@## about  the  heat  death of the universe. ##@¤@%†«^.
..^«†%@¤@#                                          #@¤@%†«^..
...^«†%@¤@                                          @¤@%†«^...
....^«†%@¤                    %@%                   ¤@%†«^....
.....^«†%@                                          @%†«^.....
......^«†%                                          %†«^......
.......^«† well.  it is what  it is. a dying  art.. †«^.......
........^«            maybe for the best.           «^........
.........^                                          ^.........
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