Sequel: Escape the Madness
Status: Completed ^-^

Method to the Madness

Magic and Madness

I felt bad about leaving Alyson so soon after telling her about who she was and why she thought she knew me somehow, but I knew I had to leave for my own ‘lessons’. Before I left though, I made sure she understood that she couldn’t afford to let the others know that she knew. I had her keep that promise not so much out of fear for myself but for her. I’ve never been good at removing her from my thoughts…

“Elias!” I snap back to attention as I hear my name, and immediately I’m aware of my mentor, Adam Forest, in my face. The man is in his middling thirties if I’m correct, with sleeked back, tousled dark hair, tanned skin, and pale blue eyes. He has a strong build, a loud voice, and if I’m to be honest with myself, he sort of scares me a little. “Time to get back to training! Now tell me, what sort of weapons do Guardians use?”

Of course; it’s just like him to quiz me on this sort of crap when I haven’t been here even a week. I sigh, running a hand through my hair as I think on what he’s told me so far. “Well, we use our fists and standard type weapons, including guns, swords, knives, and the like, as long as they are not magicked,” I say, hoping against hope that I’ve answered correctly.

Thankfully, there’s a small, almost approving nod from Forest (as I’m supposed to call him). “Very good; you catch on fast, Ward. Now, why do we not use magic? And this is a very important one.”

Unfortunately for me, I haven’t been paying much of any attention for the past half-hour when he was most likely explaining this bit to me, and in response I’m forced to give a small shake of my head, deciding to take a guess. “Because we are still merely human, captured in Purgatory so that we may be immortal with our Selva. Since they’ve gone through a transformation, they hold the ability to use magic.”

This answer earns me a stinging slap across the head, and I suck in a breath as I send a glare up to my mentor, holding my head where he’s hit me. “You aren’t even close, Ward. Have you been paying a speck of attention? The dirt beneath our feet could have answered that!”

Turning my gaze away, I feel a smart remark rising to my lips before I can stop it. “Yeah, well the dirt is older than the Selva and has probably heard the answer over a thousand times.” My mutter is barely inaudible, except Forest has hawk hearing, and I’ve earned myself another smack upside my head, except this one is a lot rougher and actually causes me to make a noise of pain.

“If you’ll shut up a moment, I might actually tell you the real reason we don’t use magic.” Forest rolls his eyes at me, causing me to give him a glare. Obviously, he doesn’t remember his youth in the least, and I smirk at the thought of him being just a grumpy old man.

“You’ve heard of the Tribes, right?” he asks, and when I give him a nod of confirmation, he continues. “That’s where the really old Selva are sent if they don’t choose to…move on. Their job requires magic, and after about a millennia of using it, they kind of go insane. So, there is a set limit on how long they are required to ferry souls before they’ve earned ‘retirement’. Their service earns them a place in Heaven, but if they choose not to go, well they eventually succumb to the Madness. I guess after living so long, it would come on naturally, though not severely. But this is different; by using magic so often as they have to, it speeds up the process, makes it worse.

“As Guardians, we are required to protect our assigned Selva, but unfortunately, we cannot save them from the disease known as Madness. The best we can do is try to help them fight against it, and the best way for us to do that is avoid contact with magic completely. So, we do not use magic nor magicked weapons, and without the fear of succumbing to Madness, we remain healthy minded and of full use to our Selva. Do you understand?”

I frown slightly, listening to Forest aptly as he talks about magic and Madness. With the way he explains it, it seems to make sense and so I feel no need to question it, instead giving a small nod to him as he finishes. “Yes, I think so. So, that’s why Aly-0074 is going to have magic lessons and I won’t?” I question. This time it is his turn to nod.

Quite frankly, I’m almost surprised that Selva and Guardians can work together, what with so many differences. I know opposites are supposed to attract and Selva are fully female and Guardians male, but there seems to be too much separation. “Okay then.” Forest claps his hands together, a wicked sort of grin claiming his face. “You go off and take a break for a half hour; set your clock for an alarm, and I’ll meet you back here in that time. When we do meet back though, you’re in for a brutal training session in hand-to-hand combat. Come prepared, pretty boy.”

And with that final warning, he sends me on my way.