Magick - A Brief History

a. Major Modern Events

- Salem -

The Salem Witch Trials occurred in colonial Massachusetts from February 1692 until May 1693. The Witch Trials were a series of people being accused of witchcraft and practicing dark magick. Over 200 people were accused, 20 of which were executed, and many others found their end in a cell. It is to be known that none of these deaths were witches or warlocks, but normal people engaging in their daily lives.

This horrifying event has led to laws being created to avoid exposure and the deaths of millions of magicians. In order for magicians to prosper, they must stay hidden from the rest of the world, save a select few humans who have proven themselves worthy of the knowledge and useful to the advancement of magicians in society. Our governments work tirelessly to prevent exposure to the mortal world; their primary protection is a piece of legislation nicknamed Sacred Salem, which entails several procedures and protocols that help protect our kind.

- WWI -

World War One was the first of two devastating wars that wrought out magicians all over the world, on both sides. About 40 million people died, between nine and eleven million deaths were soldiers, eight million died of famine while the rest make up civilian casualties.

Many warlocks (because witches were not allowed to join) fought on their own accord, often being drafted in mortal armies, despite government warnings to stay out of it. Warlocks in Europe used their magick to influence politics and battle strategies whilst most magicians in North America focused on production methods to help provide arms to our allies. By the time the U.S. joined the war, many magickal communities had garnered enough support and information from overseas that they tactfully took down magickal several strongholds of the enemy's without drawing too much attention.

Many magicians, on both sides, lost their lives. Several hundred were imprisoned for their acts of war and negligence of the laws of war. Many of the Axis warlocks killed Allied civilians and magician families. Many women of all species were raped and sold into sex slavery. Creatures, such as elves and nymphs, had their habitats utterly destroyed. It was nearly impossible to recover the stolen souls and desecrated environment due to the onslaught of the Great Depression and World War Two.

- Great Depression -

The economic downturn of 1929 to 1939 resulted in a massive destabilization of the entire magick world. When Wall Street collapsed in October 1929 and sent investors scrambling, magicians thought they were safe. The magickal community doesn't use mortal dollars unless they are in a mortal space. However, across the world, magick money has no mortal value, and since our communities are ingrained in mortal society, people could not earn enough mortal money to buy groceries or pay their houses off. The governments offered to exchange magick money for mortal money, but, even then, it wasn't too much heavier than the bills the mortal world used, and thus still had little value.

As the magickal governments soon realized that witches and warlocks needed a balanced trade economy between the two deeply intertwined worlds, they made an attempt to fund the mortal government. As many know, one cannot fix a money issue by making more money. The channeling of magick money made it essentially worthless as well, and thus the magick banks fell into ruin and despair until the end of the Great Depression and onslaught of World War Two.

- WWII -

The first world war was thought to be the last, but Hitler's rise to power, the crumbling economy, and growing sentiment for blame turned the page to a new world. The German people, especially, struggled to hold power, and with Hitler's influence, they found a way to appease their hateful appetites. Millions of people suffered at the hands of the Axis powers. Witches and warlocks alike joined the cause, with many witches now sneaking into armies to fight alongside the men.

People soon realized, though, the massive industrial threats the war posed. People had perfected the use of planes for battle, new weapons plagued battlefields, and sorcerers on both sides had new defensive/offensive spells and such. The war was chaotic, and soon, atomic. With the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, American warlocks got right to work on a weapon of mass destruction. J Robert Oppenheimer, a genius and madman, introduced the explosive capabilities of fission of heavy elements (uranium or plutonium for example). Though Einstein didn't play a direct role in the atom bomb's creation, his equation E=MC^2 and research made the bomb possible. Not to mention, it is rumored he used his spells to stabilize the elements long enough for them to explode properly.

After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings in 1945, it is believed the Yakuza crime syndicate- which played a massive role in the smuggling of goods during the war- placed a high bounty on many U.S. officials, including the president, Harry Truman. Truman died of organ failure in 1972, but the magical communities rumor that it was the work of the Yakuza. Oppenheimer died of cancer in '67, but once again the rumors that shook magicians internationally disputed that claim.

- Civil Rights Movements -

American magicians walked alongside mortals through the several marches to gain equal rights for Black and Brown people of America. At that same time, many different species lobbied for their own rights to schools across America, voting rights, and their rights to work. Vampires, Werewolves, Fae, and bi-species individuals flooded the streets in non-mortal neighborhoods and government areas demanded equal rights.

The North American Board of Magicians adopted Eisenhower's and Johnson's policies for voting and desegregation as they made them. The mortal president's worked alongside magicians to edit the policies to better apply to the magick community. In May 1967, the Board's director, Victor Sanchez-Brighton, signed into law Docket 87632, also known as The Magicians of All Act. This essentially stated that humanoid creatures of any kind, with the exceptions of demons, would be granted full privileges in magickal communities and under law. That being said, people did not really stop tormenting them until about the 1980s. Even now, racial and species tensions are high strung due to immigration policies and religious beliefs.

- History Overall -

Magicians and mortals have fought alongside one another, against one another, and for one another for decades. Many historical events involve some sort of magickal influence, whether or not it is known by mortal history books. Civil Wars, technological advances, and just day-to-day leaders often are influenced and rooted in magick itself. The Earth itself is flowing with magickal energy. It is wise to learn from history and work with magick. Not against it.