Welcome to Story Piles, where stories pile up. I am Laras, and I usually finish all these stories in one sitting. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!

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• Where Magic LacksOctober 25, 2025

  Where magic lacks, technology reigns. It has been since the founding of the States of Bormen. The many earthlings that got trapped in Ivengard naturally flocked together according to their natural tendency. In Bormen, those gathered who fundamentally didn’t need magic to survive. Those were people who could cheat nature, those who knew its laws well enough to manipulate it as is. The most cunning of human beings ever existed. Some even dared to say to surpass God in their supremacy against nature. Where God would allow natural disasters, those humans would go and conquer the wilds. Where God might seem to take away His grace, these people stepped in. Where God lets injustice play out, there were the ones to be the judges.

  Arrogant, some may say. Blessed, say the others. Powerful, many would agree. Vulnerable, only the least would say so. But human they are, and humans they stay.

  Many years ago, because of their lack of magical affinity, humans have been suppressed by the other magical beings. Ivengard was the touchpoint of multiple universes, and magic was the norm for most. When so many members of each world got trapped in one place, it was only a matter of time until natural selection ran its course. And humans, who were used to being masters, the ones even nature couldn’t touch, fell to the lowest of the food chain of intellectual beings. Simply because they lacked the thing the other beings put the most value in: Magic. They might have body, mind, and spirit – spirit the others might lack. But in a naturally democratic world, the majority have their last say.

  Magic is the most valuable thing, so they say. But apparently it can’t be the only thing. Another group has to suffer from that hypocrisy: The phantoms. They are the natives of Ivengard. Where humans lack magic, they lack matter. They don’t have any bodies, but for that possess a huge amount of magic so that they can materialize themselves. But that is not true matter, said the majority. Even though the phantoms had materialized Ivengard for their sake, the other beings don’t see them as equal. They were put to the most bottom of the hierarchy, along with the humans.

  So it began, a great conflict. But also, a great miracle. The first humans fused with the last of phantoms. Now, magic has become part of humanity. And matter became part of the phantoms. It was the first generation of human beings ever to touch magic. Everyone approached their new-found gifts differently, but with an equal amount of awe and gratitude.

  Back to the people of Bormen. This was the continent where most didn’t know what to do with their gifts. They have mastered the art of nature so well that they didn’t find any need for magic, some even saw it as a curse. It only served as a trump card if a magical being ever went to attack them. But even that threat faded away as the people in that island more and more developed their own magic, the true magic of human beings: Technology. After recreating most of the technology available on earth, they drove away the last of the elves, dwarves, and others. What is the pride of humanity was seen as abomination to everyone else. So, the magical beings named Bormen cursed and never set foot there again.

  Which leads to me and my life in Bormen. I do not agree with most of what has been going on in the past generations. While I find science and technology as amazing as my peers, I am also fascinated by magic. And I discovered that I am not bad at it too. In my free time, where others would play ball and gamble, I would pick up my staff and practice my spells. Sometimes, I would embed some spells in my items, so that I can track them if I lose them, or that they don’t break as easily as they should. My friends like to take advantage of those skills too, but I see in their eyes how they feel like they have been betraying themselves and upbringings.

  “I am just the most pragmatic from us all, I guess,” I then said one day to them. “If we already have some magic in us, why not use it? It doesn’t hurt, right?”

  They looked at me stunned. “Why should you? You don’t need it in Bormen! And look at the many confusions you have caused here too. Don’t you feel bad for flailing around your gifts? Don’t you see that not everyone has enough magical power to be like you? Don’t you understand that it’s the sole reason why we rely so heavily on technology? We sought a way to build a place for all humans, and only technology can unite us. Not all are spiritual, not all have a sharp wit, not all are magical. But everyone can use technology.” Aneon was not pleased with the direction I was going.

  I shrugged. “Then say that to the Children of Thunder! It’s the very technology that you want to promote so hard that makes them isolated from us!”

  The others shrugged. I saw Jeremy and Ken started exchanging glances. They opted out of the conversation. We were in the group, but it is now between me and Aneon. He took a deep breath. “How many times do I have to tell you? We are still investigating their cases. And as long as we are still figuring something out, we facilitate them with the best we can.”

  “Like putting them in a shed and throwing them books they might not be the slightest interested in? Separate them from their parents because they have to work in the city to finance even their basic needs? And you are satisfied with that treatment? Is it even human?”

  Aneon went silent. It has never been a good idea to talk about the Children of Thunder. Though the name sounds appealing, it has become more of a curse than a blessing. Those are the children who were born with innate abilities to control electricity. Back in the days, they were the ones who put things into motion. Back when the first humans of Bormen still struggled with generating electricity, they were the ones who lent their powers. But now they have become a liability for our society. Their electrical affinity causes gadgets to go rampant in their presence. Apparently, they radiate some kind of magical electrical wave that disrupts signals and so on. I am not well-versed in that area of physics, so I can’t go into more detail.

  “I am not demonstrating my magic for the sole purpose of showing off – though of course pride might have influenced my decisions. I wanted to invite others to take a closer look at magic. And maybe, we can find a way to integrate the Children of Thunder to the cities.” I tried to find a diplomatic end to the conversation.

  “But don’t you understand that with what you do, you are excluding the people who are traumatized by magic? By those who had to rely on technology to survive? And this has been going on for generations. We finally found a way where those people can be happy, and you want to introduce new wounds to the younger ones?”

  I sighed. “What, in the end, is justice? We scream inclusivity all day, but by accommodating one group, we keep excluding another. There will always be people who get left out.”

  Silence. Luckily, Ken ordered another beer. Jeremy asked for more tea. The two gave their cue that it’s time to move on. Humans are too specialized to be confined in a general framework, I guess. But what is the solution then, for a happy life for all? Does the happiness of most really have to rely on the suffering of the few?