Leo and Heidi

Somewhere in south-east Germany

“And how does this prove some conspiracy?” Leo asked, baffled.

“Viktor always thought there was something more to the removal of the clan head at the time besides weakening our clan. So he went digging and discovered a few things that someone hid in the history of the world,” Heidi answered.

“Like what?” Leo asked, his curiosity increasing with each sentence Heidi finished.

“Let’s start at the beginning, then. Something changed in the Pope’s thinking at the time. You know of the witch trials, right? How did the inquisition go hunting for witches, burning them at stake?

“Yes, of course. It is common knowledge that the church hated the pagans. They hated that they worshiped false gods and supposedly practiced magic, made sacrifices, and did other unbecoming deeds. At least that is what I heard in our history classes,” Leo answered.

“Yes, but the context in the mage world differed slightly from the one shared with the muds. The Church despised the commoners turning to the free mages for help and remedies, not the Church. People flocked and paid tribute to the free mages instead of going to the Church and receiving a boon or a miracle from their god. You understand that what the Church’s priests were doing to cure the commoners was just casting spells on them, right?” Heidi asked and waited for Leo’s reaction.

He just stared at her. ‘The supposed miracles were just spells? What?’ he thought. Some of the things he had always felt a conspiracy were coming together now.

“Meaning that the miracles performed in churches worldwide, filmed and posted online, are just what? Spells?” he asked.

“Yes,” Heidi confirmed. “All those years ago, the practice of magic was even more common than now. Mana was abundant, and the Church held even more power over commoners as science was undeveloped. Simply put, there were no other viable alternatives or cures for the commoners to their illnesses and problems.

“So they thought that god or some mythical force could help them. The Church reinforced this thought, though the free mages undermined the Church’s authority. That is why they devised a plan to cull them, clean the region from them and seize power back in their grasp.

“The local politicians and powers at the time, kings and queens of various nations, approved of this plan, given how close they were with the Church and that they were receiving multiple boons from them. So several free mages were burnt, which is recorded in your history books. Others were captured and tortured until they complied and allowed the slave spell to be cast on their cores.

“With time, the Church drastically cut down the number of free mages, and the Conclave, the name of the ruling council of the oldest and most powerful free mages at the time, was disbanded. No one knows what happened to them,” Heidi finished.

Leo’s thoughts ran wild after the short information dump he received from Heidi. He had so many questions. Before losing a few of them at the back of his mind, he asked, “But that does not explain why you are saying that we are enslaved already. We have more freedom of speech and access to water, food, and medicine, and do not forget democracy! Things have never been better for the commoner. Sure, there are places where that is not true, but still….”

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“Have they, though?” Heidi interrupted him. “Sure, your average lifespan has increased, and you have access to new technology and other shiny things to play with, but the underlying principles of fairness did not change. All men are equal, though some are ‘more equal’ than others. Kings have vanished. Even the queen of England! Though, the ordinary person did not start to hold any power.

“You can vote, but does it change anything? It is the same as it always was. Shout as loud as you want in the market square. In the old days, the Church would hang you. It is now accepted and treated as simple noise while everyone in power goes about their business. It is mirrors and smoke screens.

“What the Church and Inpes did together was seize power over commoners, cultivating it. They collectively took control of various vital functions, such as finance, property, and politics. Where it was impossible to seize power outright, people vanished. However, the majority agreed to have a finger in the pie rather than lose it altogether.

“This went on for hundreds of years, with merchants, politicians, and businessmen dying of old age while our mage clans continued to amass power, wealth, and influence. The commoner currently owes nothing. And you are asked to be happy with it. Think about it,” Heidi exclaimed.

And Leo did, not saying a word for a few minutes. His drive to make it big in finance always seemed like life’s calling, a meaning. He thought that working ten to twelve hours a day and getting paid a few thousand a month, which was above average in his country, would allow him to get a loan on an apartment, a car, and whatnot. In the end, he was just another cog in the machine, enslaved to want something, then work for it, repay and continue working and wanting. He thought that half of his desires were even not even his.

He had no power. No one did except those who had access to money and connections. Or those who chose to live in the woods.

“I see,” Leo said, “So what is their end game? Where does it stop? You said something changed with the Pope all that time ago. Clans seized power and now basically run the world, and we are just dancing according to their music. What next?”

“I do not know. I am just reciting what Viktor shared with me from his discoveries. But from what is clear, money and property were only a means to an end. By the end of the day, nature does not generate mana in the quantities it was back in the day, and not many new mages are born, which I believe is the main concern the Church and the Pope have,” Heidi finished.

At the same time, the truck pulled to a stop, making both of them stumble slightly in their sitting positions. After a few seconds, the trailer door opened, allowing a heavy wind and rain to pour into the trailer, making Leo and Heidi shiver in the cold. The truck driver motioned for Heidi to walk over. She got up and walked toward the exit. Meanwhile, Leo asked, “What is it?”

“We have to get off at this gas station. He is going back to Berlin. Take the rags with you,” Heidi answered, jumping out of the truck. Leo moved to oblige and exited together with her. He ran through the rain to the gas station where he hoped it would warm.

“Where are we?” he asked her after entering a standard Shell gas station.

“We are near Leipzig,” Heidi answered, moving toward the cashier and asking to buy a burner phone and a new SIM card.

After paying by cash she had with her and buying them dinner, she moved to the table area. They chose the only clean table that happened to be next to the window and sat down.

“What next?” Leo asked, tired of not knowing the next move. He took a sandwich Heidi had bought, starting to munch without waiting for an answer. Then he took a sip of a warm black tea, eyeing Heidi, who was turning on the phone and preparing to make a call.

“Next, we get in touch with my uncle Sebastian and ask if he will have us,” she answered, punching the phone number from memory.

“Why him? And where are we going?”

Before pressing the dial button, Heidi looked Leo in the eye and answered, “Because he is the only one from Viktor’s side of the family, no one remembers. Well, not many, but a few still remember him. You see, he is a bit fanatic and disappeared years ago searching for stuff our people believed a legend.”

“What? Why?”

“Because he always thought that one day ‘they’ would get to him and make him disappear for what he was doing. What exactly it was, I have no idea.”

“And where is he now?”

“Last I heard, he went to the Black Forest. Searching for the birthplace of the most powerful free mage ever lived - the Walpurga,” Heidi answered.

Leo stared at her and asked, “She was always real?”