Magnolia Caelum - The Flight of Hand
INTRODUCTION
Rubica was alive with motion, a symphony of sights and chatters that never seemed to pause. The town square teemed with people of all kinds, each moving with purpose, be it merchants, craftsmen, and townsfolk. Among it all, stood a street magician in the middle of a bustling square, her presence barely announced save for the small amount of onlookers that had begun to form.
Dressed in a weathered black vest, a cotton undershirt, and a top hat tilted just so, she exuded casual confidence that invites intrigue. The sunlight above casts a soft glow on her as she held a scarf by it’s corners and slowly starts folding it, her movements deliberate yet graceful. In a snap of a wrist, it seemed to collapse on itself, disappearing in an instant. The crowd was left in silent confusion, but as they began to murmur, the magician clapped her hands and out comes a white dove, it’s wings flapping as it took flight.
The crowd erupted into an applause, astonished by the seamless execution. For her grand finale, she tipped her signature black top hat and lowered it to her chest, parting from cinerous locks. “Ladies and gentlemen, keep your eyes on this!” she declared, with a mischievous smile, she flipped the hat upside down, showing the audience that it was empty. With a dramatic pause, she set the hat upright and held up a staff, drops of seawater trickling from the scepter as she waves it above the hat.
“Abracadabra!” she gave the hat a light shake. The magician set her staff to the side and slowly reached out inside the hat, the crowd leaned in, eyes glued to the hat. There was silence, nothing seemed to be coming out from the hat. “One second.” she said, frantically reaching out further into the hat, before smooth, shimmering red skin reflecting hues of brown was slowly brought to light. Before she knew it, eight striking appendages latched itself onto the brunette, two much longer tentacles crept it’s way towards the audience.
It was huge and it was monstrous, emerging from the hat was a decapod never seen before, it’s sheer size a marvel to the deep ocean. Looming over the small group, enormous eyes the size of dinner plates struck terror into their human hearts. Without hesitation, the magician lunged at it with the same staff she had used to summon the beast, overtaking the red devil. A long silence broke among the audience, she nervously faced the audience before one of them starts clapping, followed by another, and finally the crowd roared with cheers as the magician gave a deep bow.
This piece is supposed to come with more illustrations but I can’t be asked to finish the rest, I’m sorry chat, art block’s got hands..
