A Plague
The Mage-flaying syndrome’s plague was all over the news. Censored images of the mages are being shown in PSA's and infomercials. It's all over the feeds without anyone knowing. And now everyone was questioning what this was. Mages are the dream profession of the young usually. You ask a kid what they want to be and there's a good chance they'll tell you they want to be a spell-slinger. The one with loose heads would want to be a cyberpunk. Slinging guns and turning themselves into robots.
Still, with the Mages flaying themselves. The anomaly became a series of cases, and then a terrifying plague. You walk the streets now and you won't find a block full of idiots screaming it's over! It's the end of the world! Walking the streets listening to their nonsense was irritating. I almost punched a would-be prophet who kept on following me. It was only after taking a turn and getting into our turf that the prophet stopped yapping. Aidan's freelancers were occupying the street and the Seven Swords were hanging around.
Opening the office door. I found Kei manipulating a holo-projector. It was a small one with a lot of interactivity. Dynamic scaling images and draggable content as long as you keep said content on the light. Kei's hair has grown up to her back now.
"Got any plans to cut your hair? That even okay?"
She raised a brow at my question.
"So you're my stylist now too? Hah, well, I'm not planning on cutting it."
"Could get in a way when there's a fight."
"Well, I don't usually plan to fight."
A hand on her hip and a hand on her chin. She was eyeing the connections she made. Cases of the mage-flaying and how many are flaying themselves in certain locations. An isolated case turned into a plague. From what we know so far, only those who have arcane energy are being affected. There's a way to stop a mage by knocking them out, but once they woke up. They'll start screaming about how painful the skin was. I heard from a friend that those who have the afflictions are being frozen.
I put down the food. She looked at the pork buns and took one for herself. She takes a bite and then sits on the table while eyeing the cases.
"So we're still looking this up?"
"Have to. We started this case and it's not like we have any anomalies to chase off. Anomalies are rare. Not like back then we had time to chase after every aberrant that appeared. We have time. We have the money, but we don't have the anomalies to record down and make money off."
"Still not a detective agency for anomalies?"
"One day I might change my mind on that. But for now let's focus on this one. Besides, this is a problem we'll have to get on with. Say what you like about the Mages, but they are the people keeping the world safe right now."
Quite the understatement. Mages have been the people who were keeping the otherside at bay. Keeping evil away from civilization and doing their best to keep the world safe. Without the Mages, the Inquisitors, and the various forces. I doubt that the world keep on standing
“Got any idea?”
“As clueless as everyone. We have more access to information.”
“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”
Kei looked up. “What do you mean?”
“All of this. Felt like the Shanghai Risk Event’s been the start of the calamity.”
“If you want to look at it that way.”
“How do you keep being positive, Boss?”
Kei raised a brow. “One step at a time usually worked. When you’re pulled around in many directions. Sometimes, I think it’s best if you stick to one road for now. What’s with the question? Got depressed or something?”
“Tired.”
She enlarged one of the locations where the mage-flaying was more frequent. Most of the workshops who used magical techniques seemed to be suffering. Districts with mages too were the same.
“How do you find the cause if searching for said cause needs magic? We’re doing what we can with guesswork and deductions. But if you want to find the trace of magic, you have to know magic. It’s like a layman trying to diagnose a patient without actually knowing about medicine. Folks like us would think it’s some cold or some spirit.”
“It’s a spirit.”
“Could be. The strangest thing about this, my Assistant, is this.”
On the projection was a priest flaying himself in front of a congregation. The priest vaulted over the chair and tried casting their prayers and yet it devoured them. They couldn’t approach the priest and something was keeping them from doing it. No, they knew it’s going to happen and see what will become of the priest. It was already too late for their prayers and miracles to help. Then they can only watch as their fellow flays himself.
“Priests are being affected too?”
Kei raised a finger.
“It affects every form of power there is. Holy magic is magic so it might be like that.”
“And we haven’t heard anything from this. I’m surprised you have this footage at all. This is the Church Union.”
“I find it an honor actually. They sent a video of this in case we find a priest flaying himself to contact them. They sent this to us for reference with a message saying. They’d do everything to pull the rug under us if we spread the info of priests flaying themselves too.”
"So it's a thread from the TCU. Odd. The mages allow us to do this, but the church doesn't?"
"It's a matter of perspective. You can blame some of these on the Mages since they think the Mages are already dabbling on the unknown forces. Dabbling with magic means connecting with demons. So when priests start flaying themselves, the people become frantic. Afraid that even those who wear the cloth of god are dying from this."
Hearing that I had to take out my smoking pipe and take a long drag. For the years I’ve been living in this world. There are just times where I feel like it’s been constant misery. People here are strong. They are so strong that it makes me wonder how it would be if they lived in a different, kinder world. I asked someone about that.
I didn’t know the guy. Just someone who was working as a salaryman. He was a data entry clerk who taught me a lot of tricks and was quite friendly even to a debt-slave.
“If there’s a world like that… I’m still going to be like this,” he said to me. “I mean look at me. Lot of people are out in the streets trying to become hunters. An agent of the Bureau or even a Mage, but most of the population barely knows how to fight. I have a kid and a wife. I can’t fight monsters, demons, and do something so reckless. We’re all trapped in this cage and we’ll live it because we can. And we have to live our lives.”
I couldn’t understand it. Then again, the thought of being needed for anything else occurred to me. I consider Cindy as my friend, but I don’t delude myself into thinking she cares about in a way I think. She doesn’t. There are only a few people who I can rely on and it came to me how lost I was. My head was elsewhere even as Kei told me enthusiastically about her findings. I wasn’t focused on the information. But to the woman who had been sunshine. Kei usually doesn't wear her heart out in the open and throughout my time as her assistant. I’ve been thinking about things I shouldn’t have. It’s hard to be under the sun and not melt at it. Someone told me once that there’s a time where you’d meet people who’ll make a mark on your life.
I may not like to bare my heart out in the open too. Who does openly say things? But it made me realize why Eta would fight an Elder and a Man-made god for Kei. She just doesn’t stop. She always keeps on going despite the implications of what we’re facing. Kei’s got a good head on her shoulders. So it should be clear to her what this means.
Honestly, considering what we’ve been encountering ever since I started working under her. It felt like it was just going downhill. Sure, we got a lot of cash, but I guess the trade-off was that this prosperity might come to an sudden end.
Kei, who was lecturing me about all the info, stopped. She read my face and then looked out for something to smoke. I guess she had trouble trying to keep her mind off it and gave up.
“Well, I hope you listen at all. Could save your life.”
She found one under the desk.
"So, what's on your mind?"
"You know what's in my mind."
"I ain't a mind reader."
"You do know what this means?"
"Yeah. It's going to be hell if the plague spreads to every corner. Changye's made with its geomancy in mind. If the plague starts on the Feng Shui, the magical placements, the protections from the church. We'll have to rely on tech to get through tough times. Changye's a place where magic like this usually doesn't penetrate because of its shape."
"How did it manage?"
Kei blew puffs of smoke.
"I have a theory. The incidents as of late were always on the outskirts. The anomalies we've encountered and the incidents might have caused this."
"Seems improbable. These events happening doesn't mean they are all connected."
"It may not. But what I'm getting here, Assistant, is that the appearance of these cases mean something is going on. One of the faults of our office is that we don't search for the cause. We report what happened, but how did it start?"
"Why?"
Kei groaned.
"I had an agreement with the Bureau about this. It was before you joined us. We'll take a look and observe every anomaly, check out what we can but never try to ask what caused it. There are times where we do know the cause because it's easy to find. But most of the time the Bureau handles it because they need to."
"I don't understand."
"Controlled information. They don't want us knowing what these things are. They told me it's safer if they are able to handle it on their own. I do agree it's safer that way. If we start spreading stories about where they come from. Someone will get the idea. Same reason we don't talk about what happened in Vultan, and why we don’t follow up on some of our cases. Most of the time our cases aren't solved. It's because they want to continue it on their own."
"You're still not making sense to me."
"We get paid to tell WHAT happened. But we don't get paid when we tell WHY it happened. Telling why would mean trouble and think about it. The Bureau had the resources to finish in our stead. We're like first-responders while they are the ones who investigate it thoroughly. Know about it then bury it."
"So it's safe to assume they are investigating all we've been finding?"
Kei nodded curtly.
"Yeah. It may sound like we're selling the whole thing, but it's incomplete. We lack the conclusion to our cases and I doubt the Bureau's willingness to release them."
I looked at her. She looked away for a second in embarrassment and then locked eyes with me again.
"That's the price we have to pay for this. It feels shit, but logically it’s the best way to go about this."
I shook my head.
"Don't misunderstand. I get why they want to do this and why you'd agree. Still, have you ever looked beyond the usual?"
"Once with Von-Abel's help. That earned me their favor alongside Vaun. The Bureau's going to redact us if we try to go beyond reporting the actual cause."
"So this is a threat from the Bureau and the TCU? We can collect data, but we don't go beyond that."
"Yeah, sorry."
I took a long drag of my smoke and then asked her if we'll continue searching.
"We will. As long as we don't publish our findings. They won't react. I'm doing this because it's not something we can ignore. Without the protection of the Mages and the miracles of the church. We're going to have a hard time ahead. And I'd rather know than be ignorant."
The sickness grew. It didn’t take long for people to find out however that even the men and women of God were harmed by this plague.
karsev Thanks for reading!
A Plague
The Mage-flaying syndrome’s plague was all over the news. Censored images of the mages are being shown in PSA's and infomercials. It's all over the feeds without anyone knowing. And now everyone was questioning what this was. Mages are the dream profession of the young usually. You ask a kid what they want to be and there's a good chance they'll tell you they want to be a spell-slinger. The one with loose heads would want to be a cyberpunk. Slinging guns and turning themselves into robots.
Still, with the Mages flaying themselves. The anomaly became a series of cases, and then a terrifying plague. You walk the streets now and you won't find a block full of idiots screaming it's over! It's the end of the world! Walking the streets listening to their nonsense was irritating. I almost punched a would-be prophet who kept on following me. It was only after taking a turn and getting into our turf that the prophet stopped yapping. Aidan's freelancers were occupying the street and the Seven Swords were hanging around.
Opening the office door. I found Kei manipulating a holo-projector. It was a small one with a lot of interactivity. Dynamic scaling images and draggable content as long as you keep said content on the light. Kei's hair has grown up to her back now.
"Got any plans to cut your hair? That even okay?"
She raised a brow at my question.
"So you're my stylist now too? Hah, well, I'm not planning on cutting it."
"Could get in a way when there's a fight."
"Well, I don't usually plan to fight."
A hand on her hip and a hand on her chin. She was eyeing the connections she made. Cases of the mage-flaying and how many are flaying themselves in certain locations. An isolated case turned into a plague. From what we know so far, only those who have arcane energy are being affected. There's a way to stop a mage by knocking them out, but once they woke up. They'll start screaming about how painful the skin was. I heard from a friend that those who have the afflictions are being frozen.
I put down the food. She looked at the pork buns and took one for herself. She takes a bite and then sits on the table while eyeing the cases.
"So we're still looking this up?"
"Have to. We started this case and it's not like we have any anomalies to chase off. Anomalies are rare. Not like back then we had time to chase after every aberrant that appeared. We have time. We have the money, but we don't have the anomalies to record down and make money off."
"Still not a detective agency for anomalies?"
"One day I might change my mind on that. But for now let's focus on this one. Besides, this is a problem we'll have to get on with. Say what you like about the Mages, but they are the people keeping the world safe right now."
Quite the understatement. Mages have been the people who were keeping the otherside at bay. Keeping evil away from civilization and doing their best to keep the world safe. Without the Mages, the Inquisitors, and the various forces. I doubt that the world keep on standing
“Got any idea?”
“As clueless as everyone. We have more access to information.”
“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”
Kei looked up. “What do you mean?”
“All of this. Felt like the Shanghai Risk Event’s been the start of the calamity.”
“If you want to look at it that way.”
“How do you keep being positive, Boss?”
Kei raised a brow. “One step at a time usually worked. When you’re pulled around in many directions. Sometimes, I think it’s best if you stick to one road for now. What’s with the question? Got depressed or something?”
“Tired.”
She enlarged one of the locations where the mage-flaying was more frequent. Most of the workshops who used magical techniques seemed to be suffering. Districts with mages too were the same.
“How do you find the cause if searching for said cause needs magic? We’re doing what we can with guesswork and deductions. But if you want to find the trace of magic, you have to know magic. It’s like a layman trying to diagnose a patient without actually knowing about medicine. Folks like us would think it’s some cold or some spirit.”
“It’s a spirit.”
“Could be. The strangest thing about this, my Assistant, is this.”
On the projection was a priest flaying himself in front of a congregation. The priest vaulted over the chair and tried casting their prayers and yet it devoured them. They couldn’t approach the priest and something was keeping them from doing it. No, they knew it’s going to happen and see what will become of the priest. It was already too late for their prayers and miracles to help. Then they can only watch as their fellow flays himself.
“Priests are being affected too?”
Kei raised a finger.
“It affects every form of power there is. Holy magic is magic so it might be like that.”
“And we haven’t heard anything from this. I’m surprised you have this footage at all. This is the Church Union.”
“I find it an honor actually. They sent a video of this in case we find a priest flaying himself to contact them. They sent this to us for reference with a message saying. They’d do everything to pull the rug under us if we spread the info of priests flaying themselves too.”
"So it's a thread from the TCU. Odd. The mages allow us to do this, but the church doesn't?"
"It's a matter of perspective. You can blame some of these on the Mages since they think the Mages are already dabbling on the unknown forces. Dabbling with magic means connecting with demons. So when priests start flaying themselves, the people become frantic. Afraid that even those who wear the cloth of god are dying from this."
Hearing that I had to take out my smoking pipe and take a long drag. For the years I’ve been living in this world. There are just times where I feel like it’s been constant misery. People here are strong. They are so strong that it makes me wonder how it would be if they lived in a different, kinder world. I asked someone about that.
I didn’t know the guy. Just someone who was working as a salaryman. He was a data entry clerk who taught me a lot of tricks and was quite friendly even to a debt-slave.
“If there’s a world like that… I’m still going to be like this,” he said to me. “I mean look at me. Lot of people are out in the streets trying to become hunters. An agent of the Bureau or even a Mage, but most of the population barely knows how to fight. I have a kid and a wife. I can’t fight monsters, demons, and do something so reckless. We’re all trapped in this cage and we’ll live it because we can. And we have to live our lives.”
I couldn’t understand it. Then again, the thought of being needed for anything else occurred to me. I consider Cindy as my friend, but I don’t delude myself into thinking she cares about in a way I think. She doesn’t. There are only a few people who I can rely on and it came to me how lost I was. My head was elsewhere even as Kei told me enthusiastically about her findings. I wasn’t focused on the information. But to the woman who had been sunshine. Kei usually doesn't wear her heart out in the open and throughout my time as her assistant. I’ve been thinking about things I shouldn’t have. It’s hard to be under the sun and not melt at it. Someone told me once that there’s a time where you’d meet people who’ll make a mark on your life.
I may not like to bare my heart out in the open too. Who does openly say things? But it made me realize why Eta would fight an Elder and a Man-made god for Kei. She just doesn’t stop. She always keeps on going despite the implications of what we’re facing. Kei’s got a good head on her shoulders. So it should be clear to her what this means.
Honestly, considering what we’ve been encountering ever since I started working under her. It felt like it was just going downhill. Sure, we got a lot of cash, but I guess the trade-off was that this prosperity might come to an sudden end.
Kei, who was lecturing me about all the info, stopped. She read my face and then looked out for something to smoke. I guess she had trouble trying to keep her mind off it and gave up.
“Well, I hope you listen at all. Could save your life.”
She found one under the desk.
"So, what's on your mind?"
"You know what's in my mind."
"I ain't a mind reader."
"You do know what this means?"
"Yeah. It's going to be hell if the plague spreads to every corner. Changye's made with its geomancy in mind. If the plague starts on the Feng Shui, the magical placements, the protections from the church. We'll have to rely on tech to get through tough times. Changye's a place where magic like this usually doesn't penetrate because of its shape."
"How did it manage?"
Kei blew puffs of smoke.
"I have a theory. The incidents as of late were always on the outskirts. The anomalies we've encountered and the incidents might have caused this."
"Seems improbable. These events happening doesn't mean they are all connected."
"It may not. But what I'm getting here, Assistant, is that the appearance of these cases mean something is going on. One of the faults of our office is that we don't search for the cause. We report what happened, but how did it start?"
"Why?"
Kei groaned.
"I had an agreement with the Bureau about this. It was before you joined us. We'll take a look and observe every anomaly, check out what we can but never try to ask what caused it. There are times where we do know the cause because it's easy to find. But most of the time the Bureau handles it because they need to."
"I don't understand."
"Controlled information. They don't want us knowing what these things are. They told me it's safer if they are able to handle it on their own. I do agree it's safer that way. If we start spreading stories about where they come from. Someone will get the idea. Same reason we don't talk about what happened in Vultan, and why we don’t follow up on some of our cases. Most of the time our cases aren't solved. It's because they want to continue it on their own."
"You're still not making sense to me."
"We get paid to tell WHAT happened. But we don't get paid when we tell WHY it happened. Telling why would mean trouble and think about it. The Bureau had the resources to finish in our stead. We're like first-responders while they are the ones who investigate it thoroughly. Know about it then bury it."
"So it's safe to assume they are investigating all we've been finding?"
Kei nodded curtly.
"Yeah. It may sound like we're selling the whole thing, but it's incomplete. We lack the conclusion to our cases and I doubt the Bureau's willingness to release them."
I looked at her. She looked away for a second in embarrassment and then locked eyes with me again.
"That's the price we have to pay for this. It feels shit, but logically it’s the best way to go about this."
I shook my head.
"Don't misunderstand. I get why they want to do this and why you'd agree. Still, have you ever looked beyond the usual?"
"Once with Von-Abel's help. That earned me their favor alongside Vaun. The Bureau's going to redact us if we try to go beyond reporting the actual cause."
"So this is a threat from the Bureau and the TCU? We can collect data, but we don't go beyond that."
"Yeah, sorry."
I took a long drag of my smoke and then asked her if we'll continue searching.
"We will. As long as we don't publish our findings. They won't react. I'm doing this because it's not something we can ignore. Without the protection of the Mages and the miracles of the church. We're going to have a hard time ahead. And I'd rather know than be ignorant."
The sickness grew. It didn’t take long for people to find out however that even the men and women of God were harmed by this plague.
karsev Thanks for reading!
