Collected Evidence, compiled and annotated by Albert Weaver.
"You cannot tame what was never meant to be held."
- Fragment found in the journal of Armand Vale, rogue caster, presumed dead.
[Audio Transcript – Police Interview, Buenos Aires Incident]
Det. Mariana Fuentes, interviewing neighbor witness.
WITNESS: "I told him not to mess with that stuff, I did. Said he was practicing Red Magic from some online forum - talking about kinetic shaping and plasma loops. Then one night, boom. Just... boom. The whole block lit up like the Sun. Three buildings gone. They said he tried to cast a fireball."
DETECTIVE: "Intentionally?"
WITNESS: "Yes! But he was aiming at the sky."
[Excerpt – Online Journal Entry, pseudonym: "Wishbone"]
Archived on the ManaLeaks netboard.
I work for someone now. He's never in the same body twice. Says it keeps the Blue energy fresh. I don't ask questions, just run the drops. One time I saw him rewrite a banker's entire memory with a single word. She laughed like it was a joke. A week later, the whole branch transferred ownership to him. Magic's not fire or light. It's... suggestion, rewired memories. The world nods 'yes' before it realizes it didn't agree.
[Segment – TV Special: "The Rise of the Black Army" – Canal 7 News]
ANCHOR: "The reanimated surged through the Alps, not stumbling like old movie zombies - but coordinated, fast, immune to damage. They were not alive. But they were not dead either."
FOOTAGE (blurred, timestamped):
A mounted corpse driving a stake through a roadblock. Screams. Something inside a man's eyes that doesn't belong.
ANCHOR: "Authorities believe the army was first raised by a group of Black Mages operating out of deep Slovenia. Witnesses report cult-like chanting, runes carved in bone, and apparitions preceding each surge."
WITNESS CLIP: "We shot them. Again and again. They didn't stop. One of them spoke with my brother's voice. My brother died months ago."
[Email – Internal Memo, Mana Regulation Agency – Confidential]
Leaked, confirmed authentic.
We're facing decentralized magical proliferation. The concept of a "secure society" is no longer viable. Magic spreads like fire, but teaches like hunger - once you need it, you find it. Basement casters. Children mimicking words on school desks. Black market spell-scrolls imported in books and candy wrappers. We are losing the monopoly on knowledge.
[Interview – Prof. Valéria Mendes, Mana Ethics Commission – Monday Journal]
INTERVIEWER: "Professor, what do you make of the increase in magical accidents?"
PROF. MENDES: "It's not magic that's unstable - it's people. Guns require factories. Spells just need desperation. You want to fly? You jump enough times, you'll try anything. The problem is, some landings... affect others."
[Excerpt – Children's TV Show: "Mana & Me!" – Public Broadcasting]
CHARACTER 1 (Mana Mole): "Remember, kids! Never cast alone!"
CHARACTER 2 (Safety Squirrel): "And always ask a licensed adult before enchanting your doll!"
CLOSING SONG:
"If the glyph goes red or starts to spin,
Put your wand down - don't begin!"
Albert leans forward and comments:
"We thought there would be systems. We thought regulation would work. We didn't account for curiosity, or loneliness, or the staggering human need to be more."
In less than three years, millions died. Entire neighborhoods became ghost zones. Memory became malleable. Cities burned not from war, but from failed ambition. And still, we didn't understand magic. We only learned what it could cost.