Introduction to the Secrets of Magicalena
Winter has a thinness to it – a tinny secret folded into the blankets of snow. A whole other world exists beyond our own, next to it, but hidden. It can only be seen through a snowflake’s crystalline veil as it floats like a feather to the frozen ground. These tiny windows show a magical world with more color and vibrancy than our side of the snowflakes. It’s a place that we used to know but have mostly forgotten.
A long time ago, there was a doorway to the magical land where the crossroads at the center of both worlds met. Magical creatures came forth to greet humankind and they taught the first peoples sacred geometry and gave them an alphabet to learn how to ask questions. Everything was peaceful between our Earth and the magical land of Magicalena for hundreds of years, and the world of magic and the world of man traded travelers.
But humankind evolved in a harsh world of scarcity and hunger. As populations grew, tribes increasingly quarreled over territories. Over time, groups of humans began to change their alphabets to suit their isolated and diverging traditions from the others. That “otherness” made monsters of outsiders. In their immense imaginations and hubris, tribal leaders saw themselves as the center of the world with a right to all they saw and a mandate to take it.
Without meaning to, the magical creatures in their adventures to the world of humankind became individual totems to the different tribes. They were flattered by the patronage and returned regularly to support the welfare of the communities that had chosen them, but the magical creatures didn’t recognize the level of idolatry. Images of magical creatures were carried into battle so that unicorn tribes fought chimera tribes even while the unicorn and chimera were close friends in Magicalena. Even upon discovering the corruption of these natural bonds, many creatures felt oath-bound to their human tribes. Arguments arose amongst these legendary races of creatures and the sacred friendships that had endured for millennia in Magicalena were infected with the black seed of separatism. The chimera and unicorn no longer went to each other’s birthday parties or had tea on Friday mornings.
Other magical creatures went further, even leading their totemic tribes in battle. They began to see themselves as the humans did – as gods. At the peak of the Wars of Vanity, fighting broke out on both sides of the Doorway to the Worlds and many lives were lost. Many things were forgotten that had always been revered. The Truth was shattered into a million different languages.
Bahamut, the King of Magicalena - a golden dragon that was created from the many hearts of the living mountains - grieved for the worlds. Searching for an answer, he burrowed into the roots of the council of elder trees to commune with the green. What he found there were black veins of anamorphic fungi infecting the roots of life and spreading an emotional virus. He followed these arteries of putrescence, ripping them out and burning them with his breath. After seven years, Bahamut discovered the source of the virus. Pulsing with a viscous, oil-like sludge, the virus spread from a giant seed planted beneath the Gateway of the Worlds and fed by the violence of the Wars of Vanity.
He knew what he had to do but didn’t know if he had the strength to do it. With heavy hearts, he returned to the high perch one last time to say goodbye to his subjects and his Queen Tiamat. A fog of sorrow spread across the land and lightning streaked sideways in the skies. It was the last time that Bahamut saw the Elysian Fields blooming in the reflection of Mount Meru.
When he reached the Gateway of the Worlds, an army had amassed to oppose him led by the sons and daughters between the marriage of the worlds. Centaurs, minotaurs, giants, satyrs, harpies, nagas and manticores gathered to oppose the king, but human wizards, in their wisdom, trapped the half-men within the night even as the sun rose. On the last day of the last annual moon, Bahamut the King broke the black seed and muffled its power by spreading it between every living creature on land and in the sea – a single thread in every brain. The land tremored and split apart, swallowing the Gateway of the Worlds and shrinking Bahamut.
Fearful it would be rebuilt, Bahamut stayed in the world of man to watch over the broken stones, lest they be forged into the Gateway again.
Humankind has come a long way since that day and mostly gone are the memories of Magicalena. Cities have been built and returned to dust. Empires have come and gone and nowadays, individuals can travel on airplanes just to eat in nice restaurants and lay about on beaches. Though the stories and legends have endured in their myths and secret sayings, none remember the full Truth that was lost. And still to this day, Bahamut watches over the Gateway stones, disguised as a beggar in rags.
But every year, at the first new moon, the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest and the magic creatures can visit if they’re properly summoned. It is a time of great possibility – for good or for evil – and a chance for those that see with their hearts and not with their threads, can commune with the magical creatures of Magicalena.
Watch as the snow falls softly from the winter night; it’s all there. Whisper a secret invitation and light a warm and welcoming fire. For those that know, it’s the greatest holiday of the year.