Centuries ago…
Long ago, A human discovered that they possessed magical energy greater than any human ever had before. This magician decided to flee society and take up residence in a hidden cavern deep below a vast city. They secretly reached out to others who possessed powers much like theirs, creating a safe haven where they could all learn and master their powers in peace without fear of being killed or taken advantage of.
Years passed, then decades. One night, the magician experienced a vision of multiversal destruction so horrific that they knew it would come to pass. They, and all the other magic wielders, pondered what they could do to prevent such a tragedy from occurring. They all decided that they should build a machine that they would then store their souls and magical energy in upon dying. They envisioned a person in the future discovering the machine, and using the vast amounts of magic within so they could save the multiverse from such a terrible fate.
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The machine took generations of people to build, and the original builders died long before it was even halfway finished. However, it would remain unfinished. A young magician was caught using magic during a venture to the outside world, and was then tortured into giving out the location of the cavern. In a panic, the magicians created a seemingly impossible maze surrounding the cavern before sacrificing themselves to the Mortal Engine, fearing what would become of them if they were to get caught. Centuries passed, and the existence of the so-called Mortal Engine became nothing more than a myth as the world above evolved into the futuristic society of Newon…