“Okay look – when you are somewhere between 11 and 14 years old, two enormous things are happening in your life at the same time,” the Genie explained. “You are at an age where your lore, your fantasies, your imaginary friends and the characters you’ve made up have developed their own stories. You’re still a child with a boundless imagination, but not so young that you haven’t developed your own sense of character yet. You are developing yourself into the hero you want to be, the main character you want to see in stories.
At the same time, you are hitting puberty and society’s eyes towards you are changing. You are nearing sexual maturity, at which point you’ll be considered an adult. Not because you actually are mature or feel mature or act mature, but based on the arbitrary biology that your body is now capable of procreation. Incidentally, this age of sexual maturity used to be older in humans, but your evolution has reduced that age. However, your brains did not evolve in the same manner and still stubbornly see reproductive ability as the hallmark of “grow the fuck up” so the species has consistently battered the child’s boundless imagination out of them.
This is where the magic was lost. You see, the concept of asceticism in religion did not come from some concept that sex kept you pure in the eyes of the religion. There were those children whose bodies do hit puberty and their minds do become preoccupied with the material world, with that which will lead them to reproductive success. But there are those for whom puberty starts and the reproductive drive does not take effect – their minds are still preoccupied with the development of the hero. Their peers shun them – “ew you’re weird you’ll never get a girlfriend” – that kind of thing.”
“So that whole thing about becoming a wizard if you’re still a virgin...is real?” Titan asked. The Genie choked back a laugh and waved their hand. “That’s a bit oversimplified and derogatory, but yes I suppose that’s not wrong,” they replied.
“What happens now?” Leiana asked directly. She was not an unkind person, but she saw this entire fiasco as an assignment, a job to be completed. These people around her may have been chosen by divinity, but to her, they were merely coworkers in a temp role. Being a magical savior was not her life’s dream, as fantastical as it may have been, so she wanted to simply get it done with and move on to the next thing.
“It is as I said before: your child mind developed the hero character that you always wanted to be. You may have lost that hero in the years that have gone by, but your inner child will never become lost. Find the hero again, create them as perfectly as you can… and when you are ready, you will become that hero.”
“I don’t get it,” Titan said with a look on his face like a confused puppy. He earnestly tried, but the concept of an inner child was foreign to him.
With a wave of their wrist, the room spun around the three in a blur of color and sound. It was like being underwater or in a wind tunnel, their senses overwhelmed by a whoosh of motion and pressure. When the movement stopped, they found themselves in a classroom. The desks were adequately sized to fit their adult bodies, but everything else about the room screamed middle school. Some of the walls still held on to the vestiges of youth; neon and pastel signage loudly declaring “READING IS FOR KOOL KIDS” with cartoon mascots giving a thumbs-up sign. Other walls appealed more to the pre-teens and teens, those trying hard to embrace maturity; “What do you want to be when you grow up? Learning is growing!”
In front of them, their desks were lined with rolls of white paper, functionally endless by way of the Genie’s magic, and a pack of crayons. It was the jumbo 124 color kit, the one they’d all envied as children but only Titan had been able to get. At the front of the classroom, Genie clapped their hands before them like a proper teacher getting their students’ attention.
“Alright everyone, your assignment for the day is to draw your character. Make it as silly or as serious as you want. Daydream all the features of their costume, all the cool gadgets their suit has, or all the cool superpowers that they possess. Can they transform or shapeshift? Can they teleport? Do they attack with fire or ice or lightning or even psychic force? Spend the rest of the day here allowing your inner child to come back out of hiding and embrace their beloved hero once more.”
Without warning, the Genie vanished – their unsubtle way of saying they would not take no for an answer. This irritated Leiana deeply.
“What bullshit is this? You want us to be magical heroes, but instead of training, we’re coloring? This world crisis don’t seem that urgent to me!” she shouted, but the room did not echo. After all, it was a classroom for children, the sound insulation was well constructed for a reason.
Kelvin leaned back in his seat and stretched his long arms over his head. “Hey, don’t get so riled up bout it. It seems ain’t none of us got a choice about it, so we might as well do what they ask. What’s the harm in spending the afternoon doodling some character?” he said calmly. Titan looked positively giddy, though he was trying to hide it and failing miserably. He was the first to break open his box and start testing out the colors, starting with the brightest fire engine red in the box.
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