“There is no magic. There is only knowledge, more or less hidden.”
- Gene Wolfe, Claw of the Conciliator

Ah. Back again. Eager to see more of this world that I am dreaming to life? Good. Tonight, however, I am not going to show you a place. I am going to show you a person.

We are still in the Web, as you can see. The Weeping Moon glowers above us, spilling blood-red light on the crisscrossing walkways and supports. Come this way. We shall meet our special guest further in.

Now I must warn you in advance: take care not to be disturbed by her appearance. She is rather vain, I am afraid, and were she to guess the truth about her looks, it might make her quite angry. And believe me, we do not want to make Emma angry. You see, Emma is one of the Blessed.

I can see by the look on your face that you are confused. Let me start from the beginning. I call Alyria a fantasy world, and it certainly is. However, it probably seems as though I have often gone out of my way to avoid standard fantasy clichés. Even the inclusion of dragons and unicorns has been molded to Alyrian concepts and ideals. However, one standard element of fantasy remains untouched: the wizard. Where are the wielders of mighty magics, who force the supernatural to bow to their will? You are about to find out.

Ah, there’s Emma! No, the woman in the black cloak. Now, remember what I told you about her appearance. Here she comes. Emma! So good to see you! What? Oh, I didn’t even notice your new hair. Orange is it? Well, it matches your third eye so nicely. Hmm? Oh, this is my friend. I’m giving a tour of the Web. Far too much time on my hands, don’t you think? Yes, you’re absolutely right. It is getting late. Goodnight, Emma. Be well.

Hush! Yes I will explain everything. Just wait until she rounds that corner. There! I always feel nervous talking to one of them. Emma especially. She is so sweet but I know that her sanity is starting to be affected by the Marks, and I would not want to offend her by accident and get blasted out of existence. Yes, Emma does have that kind of power. Let me explain.

As you will recall, during the Rape, the dragon cultists unleashed a virulent plague that ravaged the land. In modern day parlance, we would probably say that it was a mutagenic agent, unraveling and splicing DNA like a crazed film editor. Most of the victims of the plague died, their bodies mutating so rapidly that they collapsed under the strain. The survivors still bore the “scars” in their genetic codes, and to this day we see the results of these flaws. Monstrous children are born to normal parents, who often kill them or abandon them to the elements. These Misbegotten sometimes find their way up here, by the way, so do not be surprised if some of the faces you see are not quite human. I will describe these Misbegotten more fully later. I do not want to be distracted from the topic at hand.

The Blessing was another result of this plague. Unlike the Misbegotten, most Blessed are born looking normal. They have normal skin, normal eyes, and the usual number of limbs. However they are not the same. They have been gifted with the Blessing, which is both gift and curse. Their lives can never be normal.

How can I describe the Blessing to you? Picture it like this. Imagine, if you will, a door in the back of your mind. This door is shut tightly and locked. Behind this door is more raw power than you can possibly imagine. For most of us, that door stays locked for our entire lives. However, in a Blessed the lock is weakened and eventually the power breaks out. Perhaps it is a moment of great stress, such as being threatened by a bully or accidentally falling from a tree. Whatever the cause, the Blessing bursts forth. The bully is pulverized. The fall is halted abruptly. The Blessed has used his Blessing for the first time.

It is never this easy again. To go back to our door analogy, now that the lock is broken, the Blessed must make sure that the door stays closed unless he actually wants to let the Blessing out. This is a long, tiring struggle, requiring intense mental discipline. Many fail to control the Blessing and it takes its toll. There have been tales of Blessed being overwhelmed by their Blessing and literally exploding under the stress. An entire village was destroyed in this way once. Even under less extreme circumstances, the Blessed finds bits of power leaking out, guided only by his unconscious mind. In its own way, as you will see, this can be even more dangerous.

The mental toll is hard. The physical toll is worse. As the raw power of change courses through the Blessed’s body, he too is changed and twisted. Rarely is this for the better. The Blessed speak of the Marks of the Blessing. You saw some of them tonight. Emma’s orange hair, the third eye in the middle of her forehead. Those were just a couple of the Marks that she bears. She wears that cloak to hide some of the other deformities that her power has inflicted on her. Eventually she will be bearing too many Marks, and the physical strain will overcome her. It is a terrifying fate.

How much power do the Blessed have? A lot. Hmm? Yes, they could do that. Oh, certainly they could do that. Pull the moon from the sky? Certainly, although I would bet that the Blessed would tear himself apart with the overload of power before it budged too much.

I think that you can already see why the Blessed are shunned and hated. An undisciplined Blessed is dangerous to have around, as he could erupt with power at any moment in a blaze of destruction. Moreover, many hate the Blessed, envying the power that they wield and lusting after it. Finally, there is always the hatred of those that are different. Despite their power, the Blessed are the outcasts, the lonely, the despised. That is why so many of them live here in the Web, the last refuge for the downtrodden.

Not quite the noble powerful image that you were expecting, is it? Instead of mighty wizards, incanting mighty spells and warping the cosmos, I give you pitiful despised creatures whose bodies rapidly devolve while they live a life of squalor. Not quite what you were expecting. But, I’d like you to consider one simple question. If I gave you nearly infinite power but told you that you would slowly tear apart your body using it, what would you do? Would you devote your life to bettering the world? Perhaps you would strive to end world hunger or put an end to war. Or would you use your power for selfish ends, carving out your own little kingdom? Devote your time to fulfilling your own needs and desires. Or perhaps you would try to bottle up your power? Would you try to stretch out the time given to you, always in fear that your gift would slip free of your grasp, pushing you further down the long dark spiral?

Difficult question, isn’t it? But consider, there are many Blessed in Alyria. Do you think that they have not thought through this question as well? What are they doing with the time and power given to them?