World building p. 3: Moving forward

For this blog I'll focus primarily on writing instead of illustration, cause at this point in the story, I haven't quite gotten to the drawing it out part. 

I covered one of the forms humans took on after they let magic change them, elementals, but I do have two more species that I'd like to talk about in future blogs (which, for the time being, I will omit for now). For right now, I'd like to focus on the story as to what happens shortly after this evolution of the human race. 

So... for a time, all was well. Humans grew and changed and it was a breakthrough to the creation of new cultures, new traditions, new ways of prosperity..  
As well as new ways of thinking. 
 Sadly, peace was not to last. Conflict will always start over the smallest things, turned into the biggest of wars.  


Humans and their former selves distanced themselves, created their own communities and flourishing  lives, only to find themselves clashing hundreds of years later. By then, magic was everywhere, and it was powerful. It was easy for the fighting to begin. People were trained in the art of dangerous magic. Water elementals honed the fluids within their enemies to bring them down. Fire elementals burned others alive, and in turn found themselves smothered and drenched. Earth elementals wreaked havoc until their bodies crumbled apart. Humans exploited their enemies weaknesses. 

It was a terrible, terrible time. War raged on and off for what felt like an eternity. 

 Until centuries later, gradually, each race started to restrict the use of magic. Humans banned it all together, while elementals had to make due with strict limitations, being made of magic themselves.
Treaties were formed, fighting gradually stopped... things became peaceful again, for a time. 
But it was a strained peace. 

With magic being banned, traditions and cultures were broken and torn apart. Witch hunting was brought back in full force, hundreds of people who wished to continue using magic, for personal reasons not pertaining to fighting, were found and punished. For a time, punishments were light, however... taking a page out of their long ago ancestors book, those deemed 'witches' were killed. Hung, beat, stoned, burned. Until people were too afraid to keep trying. 

Powerful lineages of magic users were wiped out. Magic became pitifully scarce. 

And now, in present times, it'd be a miracle to find anybody naturally gifted in magic. Everybody has a tiny bit of magic within them, especially elementals, but it is seldom used. Witch hunts are being brought to a stop, being deemed too cruel and twisted, but there are still those out there who advocate it. Punishments for light magic use have been toned down, but the study of actual magic has been banned and will be more severely punished. 

This is the world that I will be delving into with my art and stories.