the past and power

[marycatelli]

Once upon a time, there were immensely powerful wizards who cast mighty spells in their wars and made the land a desolate waste. They were overthrown by slightly lesser wizards banding together, who made a green and pleasant land of the waste.

And now the land is ruled by the slightly lesser wizards-- or is it?

The power level is mostly hereditary but imperfectly. Even if all the greatest had perished without issue, new ones could easily be born.

They might not even realize it. Wizards of old had fewer scruples to throwing about land blasting spells, and more need to because of the wars, and were actually doing less harm than the equivalently damaging spell because there was less to blast. Hmm. Not to mention how the current day ones are spending up their powers keeping it green and pleasant....

Comments

[jbellinger]

One summer we camped by a lake near Springfield IL (cheaper than hotels), that had a no-swimming warning. Not because of radiation from the adjacent nuclear plant, but because it was the "cooling pond" for the plant, and never froze. Because it never froze, things that winter would normally kill flourished--including a brain-eating amoeba. Sometimes "green and pleasant" isn't all its cracked up to be.

[marycatelli]

Nah that's green and unpleasant. They realize the importance of the difference.

[jbellinger]

How many stories rely on the Law of Unintended Consequences?

[marycatelli]

As it happens, not this one.