There are many reasons as to why magic has been forgotten with time. Its complexity, its mysterious nature, the fact that not many are skilled enough to even grasp its very basics… but there was a reason that primed above the others, something that had pushed many societies of old to outright ban its practice:

 

Pandaemonium.

 

It was said in the past that every time a magically inclined person performed their craft, it pushed against the Universe’s very will and broke its rules to make the wondrous and impossible a reality. Done carefully and sparsely, magic was of no real harm to the world, but when enough mages go against the Will of the Universe together, then Fate takes notice and disasters begin to strike the mages and everyone around them. The terrible consequences of magical congregations, that’s what the ancients called “Pandaemonium”.

 

Of course, this was knowledge forgotten by all at this point… or forgotten by most, really. For Mustafá remembered it all like it was yesterday. The seas rising, storms breaking and roaring out of nowhere, ravenous beasts pushing and prowling in the shadows.

 

Mustafá had seen it all happen many times, enough to know that when the ambitions of a pupil started to rise too high, it was time to go.

 

Observing from a nearby hill, called by the erratic wails of magic hastily casted somewhere in the city, the Man of Stone simply watched as the first waves of a Horde arrived at the walled city of Caen, and sighed. For they knew very well who was to blame for this.

 

“Every pupil must be stupider than the last…”

 

Bog walkers hungrily roared and clawed against the brick walls of the city, pushing against each other as the middle of the whole mass of creatures slammed its huge claws against the wooden gates. Each of them was much stronger than a man, leaving heavy dents on the wood and even breaking pieces of rock with each violent hit. Storm clouds were already starting to cover the city’s skies.

 

With another sigh, Mustafá prepared to depart. Their curiosity wasn’t strong enough to push them into a doomed city, nor morbid enough to stay and watch how the people of Caen struggled in vain. 

 

But something seemed to hold them in place. A sort of intuition, a gut feeling… a premonition.

 

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Gabrielle was not sure of how she had ended up in such a predicament. Was this what the visions had been warning her about?

 

The girl had gotten herself a fancy new cape with a hood big enough to cover her hair completely, mostly to return Luci her hat. She felt so confident and ready to face the people of a new city… only to be pushed around as soon as she managed to reach Caen.

 

As the masses of people pushed and pushed further into the city, looking for shelter wherever they could take it, both Gabrielle and Lucrece were doing their best to follow the flow of people and avoid getting stomped to death. For the redhead that sounded like a bit of an exaggeration on the Normadian girl’s part, but to Luci the fear of being squashed like a potato was a bit too real.

 

“We need to find a good place to hide damn it!” Lucrece frowned, shaking her head. “Urgh I knew we had a bad star over us the moment we stepped in Caen’s grounds. Why did this have to happen? Here, of all places!?”

 

“It feels like Fate.” Said Gabrielle, nonchalantly, while the mob of people began to disperse through the many streets of the portuary city. 

 

“Fate sucks, it sucks and I hate it!” Lucy covered her face with both hands as soon as both of them could afford to stop moving. “I wish it stopped getting in my way!”

 

Gabrielle let out a soft sigh, taking her time to breathe and recover while Lucrece complained. Her eyes wandered back to the towers, to the screams of the beast beyond it, and the nervous soldiers that were already bracing for the moment where their gates inevitably fell. People were carrying big cauldrons of burning oil to try to repel the beasts, but everyone knew it wouldn’t be enough…

 

Lucrece caught the look of her companion and immediately knew what was going through her mind.

 

“Don’t even think about it.” She immediately exclaimed. “It’s suicide!”

 

“They need help.” Gabrielle answered, matter of factly.

 

“Yes, they do, as in: we do! One or two more bodies in there won't make that much of a difference.”

 

“You don’t know that.”

 

“Gabi…”

 

“This is the reason I came here, I think.” The redhead turned to face Lucrece, a candid passion burning in those usually cold, confused eyes. “I must.”

 

The blond girl simply stared at her, long and deep. She wanted to call Gabi many different things right now, yell at her, somehow dissuade her from running to her death! But it would be no use, she had spent enough time with the redhead to know that once an idea like that appeared in her brain, that was it. No escaping it now.

 

“You don’t have to come with me.” Gabi soon reassured Luci. “You go to the bank.”

 

“I will! I am not going to jump at them just like that, you whacko!” Lucrece barked back, frowning and taking a step back from Gabrielle, then turning her back on her. “If you want to throw away your life like that, good! Don’t count on me. Good bye! Good riddance!”

 

The blonde kept her arms crossed, trying her best not to look back… but when she inevitably did, Gabi was already gone. 

 

Lucrece missed her already.

 

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The redheaded girl ran against the mob, pushing and dodging the desperate people. No one seemed to really care for the insane girl going towards the danger, to the point that no one even spared her a glance even when crashing against her. Soon enough, Gabrielle reached the gates of the city and the two surrounding towers. 

 

“Oi! You are not allowed to be here! Go and seek refuge somewhere else!”

 

A soldier immediately stood in front of her, gruff but well intentioned. Gabrielle had the immediate feeling of wanting to apologize and explain herself to him, but she also knew there was no time for such things. 

 

“I am here to help.”

 

“You help by getting out of the way, missy.” The soldier frowned, he wasn’t exactly patient. “We have this under control.”

 

“That’s a lie.” Gabi pointed out, unsheathing her sword. “Extra hands always come handy.”

 

“...Was that a pun?” The guard felt as if he had been battered all of a sudden by that sneaky joke. “Look, ma’am. You a sellsword I see, right? If you are looking to die here with us? I will not stop you. But know that I don’t approve of it.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Soldiers turned to look at the small woman now joining their ranks. Some of them thought of cracking a joke or two, maybe making an uncouth comment… but no. Not now. Not when the gate was cracking under the pressure of a million claws pounding.