The Day Magic Died

"I, King Crysalus IV, hereby declare magic, and any magical things and beasts, illegal."

These words echoed throughout the hall. Everyone in the Great Hall was surprised to hear that. Magic? Illegal? No way. Their entire lives had been entirely based off of magic! Their cities, their kitchens, their armies, everything had needed magic in one way or another. How would they live now?

King Crysalus spoke again, "Any and all mages must now either never use magic again, or surrender themselves for execution. This is a change that will all greatly affect our lives, however it is necessary to prevent something as tragic as The Great Magic War from happening ever again."

Hearing the name of that war sent a shiver down everyone's spine. That deadly war had ended in the destruction of the only other kingdom in the Northern-West Continent, and the death of millions, second in deaths only to the Black Dragon War. But was this really a necessity? This war was a one time thing, right? Surely it wouldn't happen again!

All the mages in the room were even more shocked at the news, as they were asked to give up their most skilled ability. A few, including the Royal Mages, willingly stopped using their magic, as they trusted their king. However, most of the mages cried outrage, and used their magic to destroy the Great Hall. Those mages willing to never use their magic used it for one final time, and drove away all the rogue mages using their combined prowess and skill.

Many mages who wished to not give up their magic were captured, gagged, and executed in quick order, while the others escaped to someplace else. A few others had hid underground, hiding underneath the country they once loved, hunted like animals. On the other hand, magic creatures like dragons and wisps were hunted until they could no longer be found. Magic relics and items like wands and endless goblets were burned and destroyed, preventing their use ever again. Buildings were redesigned to no longer use, nor need, any more magic.

Due to a life dedicated to magic, however, any and all technological advancements they could have made were forgoed for perfecting their magical abilities, and research was expensive. They managed to make steam engines and trains, however they still required magic, such as unlimited boiling water, for ease of life. The people were so unused to life without their precious ability to bend the laws of physics, the whole kingdom was falling down without it.

Having detected this, an envoy from the Eastern Alliance traveled over to Crysalus Castle to discuss certain business matters with the king. He entered the castle, and found the king in his own study.As he opened the door, the king turned around to see him enter.

"King Crysalus IV. What a pleasure to meet you," Witt, the envoy, said.

"You must be Witt," King Crysalus replied. "Pleasure to meet you too."

"Now, Your Highness, I assume you know why I'm here on behalf of the Eastern Alliance?"

"Actually, I haven't the foggiest why you decided to come here..."

"Yes, well, we have heard about your recent abolishing of magic, despite living in a kingdom dedicated to it."

"Ah, well yes, but I'm sure that you very well know my reasons..."

"Of course. You wish to avoid another incident like The great Magic War. And seeing as your kingdom is falling apart thanks to this new law, I am here to provide a solution."

"A solution?"

"Yes. The countries at the Eastern Alliance are willing to sell you some of our... less advanced technology to help you all transition into a more modern era."

"Hmm... What's the catch?"

"There is no catch, other than the price and tech age. It is quite dated compared to what we have, but we are also willing to teach your kingdom how to effectively use this tech."

Witt handed the king a contract. It detailed exactly how the transactions for the exchanges would go, and how it would be handled. After reading through it, King Crysalus asked, "I assume I am to sign this contract?"

"Yes," Witt replied, "It is merely to make sure you fully understand our exchange and fully consent to it."

After looking it over who knows how many times, King Crysalus signed the contract, hoping it would help the kingdom stay alive. About a week after the contract was signed, a cargo ship with all the tech the East promised to bring in arrived at the dock of a coastline city east of the capital. The technology was confusing at first, but after 10 years, all of the Northern-West had adopted the tech fully. Still, it would take many more years before everything were modernized, and many changes had been made since. The kingdom had turned into a democratic republic, and the now President Crysalus had created the Magical Repression and Removal Group (MRRG), in order to round up the remaining mages hidden away.

Centuries passed. Many more mages were caught and executed. Those who lived underground thrived, digging out more and more rock until they lived in a large hidden cave expanse, free from those that oppressed them. The mages that gave up their magic gave birth to magic-wielding children, who either did not know of their abilities, or did and rebelled against the choice to abolish magic. They had magic children, who they taught all they knew about magic, who in turn taught their children, and so forth. Mages became prey to hunt, as technology advanced, and anti-magic tools and weapons were created to destroy them. As time passed and as mages became rarer, the MRRG became secret, as knowledge of their existence might bring about rediscovered knowledge of mages to the people. And as time passed, why the MRRG was formed and why mages were abolished were lost to time. Mages were no longer seen as a danger to life, but as a pest to destroy.

However, as the rage against magic continued, the flames of revolution grew brighter and brighter underground, and would eventually burn hot enough to boil those above ground, as their plans are being set in stone...