Heart-Less

Prologue

We used to be able to do real magic. A wizard could take a seed and cause it to produce flowers made from fire and ice, all within the span of mere minutes. Our clothes were woven from the elements themselves, and we made our own houses from whatever we pleased. We had ice palaces next to mansions which burned red. We built our homes with wood that glowed all through the night. Every single home mentioned in the myths once existed. Every great deed that the bards sing about once occurred. Now they are nothing more than stories.

Now, we have been degraded and forced to make do with this pathetic power we call 'magic'. Our Sakoku brethren have to train their bodies to overcome nature, while our Kaiguo brethren sell their ideas for food. As Magi, we are slightly better off, as the spark still lives on in us, albeit in a diminished form.

Five hundred years after we split, our leaders decided to formally break off connections. The breaking of relations was presented as the natural response of the separation, but my research has shown that there was a far more insidious reason at work.

By searching through the forbidden archives in the Magi Central Library, I came across a stash of letters from the then-president of the Magi. Many of them are undecipherable, but one of them quite clearly shows the reason why our countries were separated. I have reproduced them here in whole for your benefit.

Dear [UNDECIPHERED],

I agree with your sentiments completely. The three citizens have come dangerously close to restoring the magic of our past. If we are to keep our countries separate, we must prevent further communications between our countries.

I have thought this over, and instead of regulating every form of communication, I propose that we cut off complete contact between our two countries, save for a secret mode of communication between the leaders.

Please let me know of your decision.

Yours sincerely,

____________

As the letter shows, our leaders were worried about our people gathering together, and rediscovering our true heritage. It is the reason why, in the course of my research, my research grant was revoked and my findings suppressed. However, my hope is that this book would be able to reignite the feelings of solidarity among us.

One cause for hope is that a hundred years later, Sakoku and Kaiguo have resumed diplomatic relations. The reason has not been released, but I believe that the two countries have over-specialised in their respective magic, and now have to cooperate in order to survive. There is talk of two separate networks to be created, mainly for Kaiguo to communicate and make something from their daily lives.

I have snuck in to the president's office, and have stolen the copy following letter, sent to the respective heads of Sakou and Kaiguo.

Dear [UNDECIPHERED],

You have disappointed me greatly. By breaking our pack, you leave me with no choice but to completely break off relations with the two of your countries.

With no sincerity,

______________

Without this letter, the following presidents will have no idea of the new directive. I suspect my book will be banned but not completely destroyed. They will not make an exception for the likes of me. No, let their hubris be their downfall. You, dear reader, are my last hope. If you read this, you are tasked to let the truth be known and to unite our people again.

The cause of writing this book, which I have alluded to throughout, lies in an experience many of you will not believe in. I have left it to the very end, for I know that to write it in the beginning will hinder your beliefs in the accuracy of the research. But now, I tell it to you, and ask you to believe me.

They will have reduced my role to nothing, but in the past, I was the leading wizard in the Magi. The country's research funds were at my disposal. One day, as I was contemplating my next topic, I was hit by a flash from the past, present, and future.

I saw a people much more powerful than ours, doing magic much more impressive than the kind we do now.

I saw our president, hastily scribbling a letter. I also saw the codes he used to to file the paper, which is how I managed to get the letter.

I saw the future, our people reunited as one. But how that happened, I do not know. I only know that I have to write this book, and that my powers will not let me rest until I finish it.

Now my work is done, and I am ready to give myself up to the government.

THE END

- From"The True History of the World" by Professor [REDACTED], banned and burned.*

*In accordance with Statue 314 subsection 73, a copy of this book was kept in the Central Library for archival purposes.  

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