..«^=£#@##                                          ##@#£=^«..
..«^=£#@@#                                          #@@#£=^«..
..«^=£#@##                                          ##@#£=^«..
..«^=#@###                                          ###@#=^«..
..«^=£#@##                                          ##@#£=^«..
..«^=£#@##                 =£ =£= £=                ##@#£=^«..
....««===#           =£=££««.    .««=££=£=          #===««....
....«==£#@ =£   =£  ...  ..  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.           ##@#£=^«..
.......«=#                                          #=«.......
......^^£@                                          @£^^......
..«=£#@###                                          ###@#£=«..
..«^^^==##                                          ##==^^^«..
..«^=£@###                                          ###@£=^«..
..«^=£####                                          ####£=^«..