Realm of Magic: Stories Discussion

Mortimer's ancestral line began with a powerful noble clan of Spellcasters. Their magical ability was notably exceptional in their day, and through the years the family had created spells and wrote brilliant essays on magical theories that modern Spellcasters still use to this day. They were respected and highly influential. So much so that they were commonly seen among the Sages when it came to dealing with matters of the community, offering their advice and opinions. Even in the non-magical community, their names were known. (In those days, magic was performed openly and Spellcasters lived amongst Sims. It was quite common to see Sim families who had magical relatives.) However, over the last 1000 years, the Spellcasters experienced a sharp and dangerous decline.

To this day its still unknown how it happened. Generations of Sages could not pinpoint its origin. A mysterious sickness had swept through Spellcasters to an unprecedented degree, and disappeared as quickly as it came. It almost always began with a cough that never ended during the morning hours, and left the victim incapacitated by bedtime on the very same day. No healing magic or potion could stop it. It even evaded the mastery of the Sages. Many spellcasters had died from the disease, but even more had considerably weaker powers after a long recovery. And to make matters worse, it had passed onto the children. From parents who had contracted and survived the "Silent Plague", each generation's magical prowess was worse than the last. It was common for children to start showing signs of magical ability after their 1st birthday, but since the plague, kids were showing signs of it later and later, until it failed to appear at all.

The Goth family fell prey to the "Silent Plague" when Lady Amadelia Goth, who was pregnant with twins at the time, fell ill. She was lucky enough to have recovered, but soon discovered her power was merely half of what it was before. And her two children were thought to be magickless until their 7th birthdays, which was a cause for great concern. To make matters worse for the Spellcasters, a wave of anti-Spellcasting hysteria had been growing in the Sims community. There were some Sims who didnt take kindly to their magical neighbors, believing them to be evil and looking to take over the world. Those with influence started a movement that had grew slow at first, but during the height of the pandemic it had exploded. They preached that the disease was nothing short of a purge that nature intended for having powers they shouldnt have, and the sooner they distanced themselves from the Spellcasters, the sooner Sims could live without fear.

With technology advancing among the Sims and Spellcasters diminishing, the Sages had decided on a plan to save what was left of the magical community. It was now a growing belief among the Spellcasters that their prolonged exposure to Sims had weakened them and the longer they stayed, the sooner they would face extinction. They must live amongst themselves and only themselves. Gathering only those who did not contract the disease, the Sages cast away weak and sick Spellcasters as well as those that had mixed families, and closed the only link between their world and the Sim world. The Goths, despite all their reputation and influence were among those left behind.

For years the Goths struggled to survive in a world that now hated their very presence. Though many spellcaster families had fallen, the Goths only barely managed to survive. It had taken months for the family to find a new land to live in, and it took years to acclimate and properly hide their magical status. Though new wealth and status returned to them as their generations continued, their magic didnt. Society continued to change as centuries went by, and magic was eventually seen as only cheap card tricks or llamas pulled out of hats. Tales of real magic were relegated to legends and fairy tales. It was of no use for Goth elders to tell their children of how their ancestors could hold fire in their fingertips and ride on a dragon's back. They had no magic of their own to show, and the children would only say scoff and say "Yeah sure Grandma." All that was left were old books and tattered journals written in a language no one could understand.

The Goths today are as indistinguishable as another family. Mortimer has heard the stories about his bloodline descending from Spellcasters, but has never paid it any mind. Magic is but merely an inside joke in the family. His children's birthdays are tomorrow, and despite Cassandra being older than Alex by a few years, they were still born on the same day, at the same time. They were just as ordinary as other teens and children their ages, minus their eye colors being an unusual shade of bright lavender. And how interesting that on the eve of their birthday, there is always a curious yet gorgeous sight of bright falling stars and the moon's glow would mimic the children's eye color...