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.,«\$&£###           $&$&&««.    .««$&&$&$          ###£&$\«,.
.,«\$&&&## $&  $&  ,,,  ..  magic   ..  ,,,  &$  &$ ##&&&$\«,.
.,«\$&£###           $&$&&««.    .««&&$&$           ###£&$\«,.
.,«\$£####                 $& $&$ &$                ####£$\«,.
.,«\$&£###                                          ###£&$\«,.
.,«\$&£###    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.                  ###£&$\«,.
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.,«\$&£###               $&& $ $ &&$                ###£&$\«,.
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....,««\&# the danger is a runaway  spell -  if the #&\««,....
.,«\$&£### filament of your canal is too  weak,  or ###£&$\«,.
.,«\$&£### 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 #££$$\\«,.
...««$&&&# about the  heat  death of  the universe. #&&&$««...
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.,«\$&#### well.  it is what it  is. a  dying art.. ####&$\«,.
.,«\$&£###            maybe for the best.           ###£&$\«,.
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