A Brief History of Magic

By Cronus Tempus

Chapter Two: The origins of Wands and Incantations

Two of the most famous, or infamous, characters in all of Wizard History are the brothers who founded what would become the Roman Empire, Romulus and Remus, the sons of Mars. As we discussed earlier, many gods of ancient times were actually extraordinarily powerful wizards. Mars was , to put it kindly, a violent, unstable, despicable warlock with a taste for wanton destruction and terror, fashioning himself as "The God of War". What's worse is that the man might have actually believed it, since wizards as well as muggles were then largely ignorant of their own powers.

Being a "God" and on a level above mankind, Mars saw fit to take whatever he desired from the surrounding muggle settlements, be it food, wine or women. One of these women was Rhea Silvia, who was a Virgin sworn to the witch Vesta, a powerful opponent of Mars and also a member of the Roman pantheon of gods. In an arrogant attempt to best his rival, he repeatedly had his way with her most beautiful and favored of servants. This plan, of course, backfired as Rhea became pregnant, which you would think would be the logical conclusion to repeated acts of breeding, but was never considered a possibility by the 'all powerful' war god.

Realizing that Vesta would show him no mercy if she discovered his transgression, Mars hid the evidence by abducting Rhea and obliviating* her fellow servants . When she gave birth to two twins in March of 771 BC, he wanted nothing to do with them and initially planned to kill them. However, Rhea pleaded and bargained for their lives, and Mars granted her the small mercy of sparing them. Rhea lived out the rest of her days as his concubine until his death in battle fourteen years later, and is to this day mourned for and honored by witches everywhere.

Mars, meanwhile, disposed of the children by abandoning the twins to a wolf pack. With them, he left two coin pouches with 17 pieces of silver and a magical object, which was the customary wizarding birth token in his time. With Romulus, the elder twin who he somewhat favored, he left an enchanted dagger. With Remus, the younger twin ( who was born a few moments after his brother ) he left what he thought would be useless, a strand of hair from a unicorn he had slain. He placed compulsion charms on the wolves to feed and care for the children, and left, never seeing either of them again.

After an indeterminate time of being haphazardly cared for by wolves, the boys were found by local shepherds who took them back to the village and raised them as their own. Romulus was quickly integrated into the town, and was reputably a handsome, athletic young man with a dagger around his neck and a scar on his chest from tumbling with the wolf cubs. Romulus was a prominent leader of the youth of the village, and was as charismatic as he was vicious. Remus, by contrast, was a solitary loner, often preferring the forest of his youth to the bustle of town, and had a much less romantic keepsake from his infancy with the wolves, a horrible limp that required him to carry a cane at all times.

Despite their vast differences and quarrels, the two boys had a sort of kinship unrivaled in the area, and when Remus was seen, he was never far from his mischievous brother. One day, Romulus suggested to his brother that he place his unicorn strand, which the boys had by this time identified, into his walking stick to prevent it being stolen. Remus jokingly did this, but then experimented. Remus had learned in his time in the forest that the resonant magic from the unicorn hair could enhance his own, and did his best to enchant his cane as well. The enchanted wood and unicorn hair became a crude wand, the first wand, and it exponentially increased Remus's control over his powers.

Astonished, he then began experimenting in the woods even more, and was seldom seen even by Romulus. He, as many proto-wizards did, began keying certain spells to certain movements, and more, certain spells to certain words. Remus, however, recorded his findings, and began compiling his masterwork " A Simple Book of Spells".

Magic comes from the energy collected from an unknown source and directed by magical enzymes and a wizards nervous system. Any bit of magic can be performed using any trigger, but by establishing certain movements and certain words as the trigger, a wizard can repeatedly use the same spell over and over again.

Remus's insight is why magical children bear his name to this day, why Latin is still universally used as the language of magic, because it is the language he spoke. Many of his spells are still in use today, including Accio, Wingardium Leviosa, Incendio and Aguamenti. Remus became the first modern wizard, and he recorded his knowledge to share with all who would follow him.

Using his magic, a teenaged Remus finally healed his lingering limp and announced his powers by walking into town on his own legs, his cane now a formidable weapon. After finding his brother, Remus told Romulus in detail about his powers, and the two brothers conspired once more.

Romulus had often fantasized about leaving the village and becoming a conquering hero, and his bond to his brother was the only thing keeping him from this. Now that his brother was able to accompany him, and a valuable asset as well, nothing could stand in his way.

Many volumes can and have been filled simply with the adventures and exploits of the two brothers. From slaying dragons, to saving princesses, to narrowly escaping the clutches of a goblin army, the tales are numerous and nearly unrivaled in magnitude.

What can be expressed in this brief history is this, the magical power of Remus and the bravery and charisma of Romulus drew more and more adventurers and warriors to their side. As Romulus's band of brigands expanded it became necessary to set up a permanent base, the beginnings of a kingdom.

While Romulus was the undisputed captain of these ruffians, and was adored and obeyed, Remus was shunned and hated as many wizards were. Those who could not understand him could never respect him, and were always suspicious of him. This suspicion eventually reached the point where it infected Romulus himself, and a riff began to form between the two once close brothers.

When a spot was chosen between seven hills on the Tiber, a dispute began between the two as to what it's name should be. Romulus, who was to be king, insisted that it bear the name Rome for him. Remus was the sole challenger, claiming that his magic was responsible for the groups success, and that if Romulus was to be king then at least the city should bear the name Rem, for him.

Romulus then pointed out that he had done more for the city than any one else. " Behind me is a mighty army, ready to defend our city at any time and from any foe. I have amassed this force, to defend the settlement that I claim as my own, and this is why it should bear my name. What have you done to deserve this honor in my stead?"

Remus paused, then responded. " Meet me at the edge of the city when the sun rises tomorrow, with your army, and then I shall show how I will protect the town." Romulus agreed to this arrangement, and retired to this chambers. Remus, meanwhile, spent the entire night outside, no one exactly certain what he was doing.

At the crack of dawn, the city woke and began to walk to the edge of town, gleeful about Remus's coming defeat. As the approached, however, it became clear that Remus was not the one who would fall from grace that day. To the amazement of all, there stood a mighty wall surrounding the entirety of the settlement, and at the top of the gates of the town was a panting, shivering, but victorious Remus.

"This, Romulus, is how I shall protect Rem." He laughed, finally besting his lauded brother. At this, something broke inside of Romulus. For many wizards at the time, the ability to control their magic was far beyond them, indeed it was so far beyond Romulus he never realized he had magic, but the raw emotion of humiliation set off a powerful act of accidental magic. Romulus pulled out his dagger and slashed it forward in anger, but the force of his magic sent a cutting curse right towards his brother, who was so exhausted from transfiguring a wall that he could do nothing but watch in horror as it struck him. No one is sure whether it was the curse or the fall that killed him, but regardless, Remus lied dead outside of Rome's walls.

Romulus felt a wave of overpowering guilt, and tried to bring his brother back, but no magic can truly bring back the dead. Romulus was crowned king of the city, and in tribute to his brother, declared it a safe haven for witches and wizards everywhere. He also founded the 'Rem Scholam Magicum' or Remus's School of Magic, as the first formal institution of magical learning in the world, open to wizards of all ages. Rome's history had been riddled with magic and blood, and it would continue to be so for a very long time. But while Remus's wall may have fallen long ago, the legacy of his magic lives on in all of us, with every swish and flick of our wands.

*Obliviation refers specifically to the affect of a memory charm on an individual, i.e. the selective wiping of their memory.