...-«*^§@#                                          #@§^*«-...
....-«*^§@                                          @§^*«-....
.....-«*^§                                          §^*«-.....
......-«*^                                          ^*«-......
.....-«*^§                                          §^*«-.....
....-«*^§@                ^% ^%^ %^                 @§^*«-....
...-«*^§@#           ^%^%%««.    .««^%%^%^          #@§^*«-...
..-«*^§@## ^%  ^%  ---  ..  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.            @§^*«-....
.....-«*^§                                          §^*«-.....
......-«*^                                          ^*«-......
.....-«*^§                                          §^*«-.....
....-«*^§@                                          @§^*«-....
...-«*^§@#                                          #@§^*«-...
..-«*^§@##                                          ##@§^*«-..