Magic for a price. [Short Story]

There have always been many books, pamphlets, and other methods of spreading dark, grotesque rituals and spells. A few of the more comprehensive books passed through the ages, such as the old tome by the Mad Arab, but these have been confiscated by many, and hard to decipher given most are still in Arabic, and fewer in Latin. Many remain so hard to find as they are only shown by family, tribes and cults. By this nature, the nightmarish magic has remained obscure, invisible to the common people. Until recently. The proliferation of this world web has created channels that has made a much smaller world. It has made it a smaller world for everyone, including those horrific and fearful groups that had stayed hidden for so long.

With the nature of the web, this new frontier; this anonymous world to be forged. It has made it easy for these miscreants to build up new orders, share new(or very old) information, and of course, scout new initiates. Splitting their online addresses through proxy's, then sending the misguided addresses through an additional Tor network. This seedy underground of the web, it's hard to discover a new site without someone directly inviting with a given address, and a web connection password. There are however, always methods of discovering the doorway in, with more open sites that attract the more casual to peruse, experiment, and seek advice from the experts. The more devoted start to attract the attention of those in charge of the underground sites they manage.

Magic is no common feat. Sure anyone can perform magic, but that's not to say any of it comes without a price. Magic is a form of bending matter or rearranging it, and as such, must require an equivalent force and matter for compensation. This force, seen by some as luck, can thus become a very dangerous thing. It might take it from the wielder, or a friend, it might even take it from someone nearby. A small spell may do nothing more than cause a situation of small physical or emotional injury, but even many small spells will take it's toll in time. Just as it is easier to destroy than create, so too is it easier to lose some of this force than regain it, as it is constantly at play, it's not like this is karma, or some yin and yang.

--Post may be updated at a later date--

Instead of luck, magic can have a detrimental effect on the wielders psyche. Advanced skills may drive a person mad without proper training, too much may have ill adverse effects on the person, loss of sanity, delusions, violent rage.