History: The Dark Ages
To most magic academics, the Silver Age was just a myth. Most acknowledge the beginning of magical history with the advent of the miraculous wizard known, appropriately, as the Mage of Beginning; the Lifemaker. Although not the one who invented magic, the Lifemaker did something almost as spectacular: Using his phenomenal power and his artifact, the Great Grand Master Key, the Lifemaker forged a parallel Magic World and calibrated the Gateports to travel to it. Many of the surviving wizards retired to this far-off realm, where magic and the fantastic carried on unabated. A rare few retired to other worlds of their own design; it's believed a number of the Earth Court's survivors that did not retreat to Mundus Magicus, vanished into the small magical realm known as Elysium. This left Earth with only the most stubborn of mages - those who insisted on facing the tide of mundanity head on.
They had their work cut out for them. The demons were still around, if in lesser quantity; besides the demon world, many threats rising from human suffering, like the Noise, the Orphans, and the eternal menace called the Princess of Disaster, all still lingered in the corners of the world. The very earliest magical champions began to arise, contracted not to any one object or being but to the World itself; but the World could only foster so many champions.
And so the Incubator made his move.
They came out of seemingly nowhere - young girls burning with light and strength, shining with more magic than the average mage could fathom. Always girls; always passionate, always powerful. Their numbers easily equaled the World's contractors, and all declared that they had been selected by the same small fairy - an eternally smiling creature with two sets of ears and unblinking red eyes.
These new magical girls arose most directly in response to a new threat, perhaps more frightful than any others: The Witches. Strange in ways little else was, cursing the innocent with a beguiling Kiss of despair, the Witches brought a sorrow rarely seen to the human world; they quickly became a priority target of any who chose to battle the darkness.
It became clear the wizards would need to shepherd their power, their knowledge, and their secrets. An emissary was sent to Mundus Magicus, and a deal was struck: The great wizards of Mundus Magicus, many of them scions of the Earth Court, would be allowed governance over the disparate magics of Earth; in exchange, they would provide much-needed support and guidance, combating the evils that stalked the world. Thus, the Magic Association was born.
The world continued on in this way for millennia - magical girls rising and falling in handfuls, often in response to a threat they were uniquely suited to fight; while the wizards of the world did what they could to keep the demons under control - and to keep their battles out of public view.
For more information, please see: History: The Other Worlds, History: The Magic Association, History, Theme Primer, Theme
