A Great Magician

Welcome to this particular blog post.


Today's topic is about a great magician. Now, I am not talking about someone who has great sleight of hand. I am referring to 象山道子 or if you prefer,  (Xiàngshān dàozi), though admittedly, Chinese is a language I know none of. Why, might you ask, does this person have two names? Well it sort of is a long story. For those versed in English, she is commonly known as Michiko (mi-chi-ko) or in more peculiar cases, dàozi (da-zu), and she was a great magician. At one point in time, she was regarded as the most powerful magic-user in the world. 

Michiko was a secretary brought up through an international exchange committee to promote the study of English, which at the time was thought to be the superior magical language. In 1867, Michiko was recorded to be in the employment of a great wizard, Thar Weilant, who was thought to be the strongest caster of his generation. Weilant's company was hoping to expand eastward, and very cunningly he hired many eastern peoples into his company to make the transition more seamless.




Weilant never knew that Michiko could use magic. Most people in these western places did not think that they could even understand the complexities of such things. It is this ignorance that prevents Weilant, and his contemporaries from being the greatest of their time. Not to discredit Thar, who was in his mid thirties during this time; he had won many tournaments, and his respectability of splicing spells was unparalleled. (The process of splitting two spells into separate ones). 

Weilant's rival was a man named Titer Lange-- a very dangerous man, who would go down in history as being the most threatening magician of the 19th century. Since Weilant's company ran the tournaments, and regulated other magical affairs, Lange was banned from entry, and was threatened into exile as a result. Lo and behold, Lange scrounged up some underground followers and in 1872 launched his attack on Weilant. 

The 1872 tournament was postponed, and many of the officials were evacuated. The police form sent to deal with Lange were mostly killed or wounded. Even if the army had arrived, Lange would have been long gone. His sole purpose was to dethrone Weilant from his throne no matter the cost. 

The story unfolds as this. Lange had infiltrated the Weilant office, hoping to find his adversary there. Thar thought this would happen, so he kept Michiko behind to test her loyalty. In truth, Weilant went into hiding at the suggestion of his advisers-- Lange was simply too dangerous and cunning to confront directly. Insecure, and insesnitive, Weilant rigged his office to seal away anyone who was disloyal to him. Effectively every room in the company building was situated so that if someone betrayed him, willingly or no, they'd be cursed or spited by his magic. 

Michiko knew this. She was sad because Lange's men tortured those who could not defend themselves for information. Irritated by the prejudice shown against her (as a woman and as an Asian), she decided to defect from the Weilant company as soon as possible. Lange jeered and taunted her, calling her names and insulting her. He savored the moment lustfully, as he was hoping to see her pain. 

She lied to Lange, telling him that Weilant's location was stored within his desk, and that only she could retrieve it. While pretending to dig through the desk, she abruptly turned around and shot a spell directly at the powerful wizard. Instead of using the English incantation, she shocked Lange by using a form called Móshù-- spoken in her own tongue. When he attempted to retaliate, Michiko countered with five consecutive strikes; the first cut a hole in his lungs from underneath his skin, the second and third tore off his arms, the forth ripped open his stomach, and the fifth caved in his throat. 

Before a single drop could touch the floor, she wrapped up his corpse into a dimensional crevice, and stole away from the building as quickly as possible, stealing three million dollars in the process. 

Later, Gus Morton would call for Michiko's head for her treasonous ways and betrayal of the international committee. When they found her, back in her own country, she gave them the mutilated corpse of Titer Lange, and fled once more. The reward for the magician was around nine million. Gus Morton was displeased that an eastern woman was able to defeat such a powerful nemesis. But Weilant was convinced, and was humbled ever since. 

Michiko (or Dazu) was one of the first "modern" examples of a powerful female magician. She was bilingual, and was excellent at concealing her abilities. During her time with Weilant, she kept her implement hidden in her sleeve, and almost never used it until Lange confronted her. While there are no ways of measuring, the analysis on Lange's corpse has been done many times. To be struck five times in succession without leaving any evidence, would make Michiko the fastest caster in history. Her hand movements were known to be precise, as was her vision. 

Markus Henderson, one of the investigators who tracked down Michiko saw a girl who was quiet, yet fierce. It was believed that when the western world invaded the eastern world, Michiko picked off soldiers from a mountain village with deadly accuracy. After twenty years of fighting, the eastern world repelled the western world. 

This has been a minor report on a Great Magician! Wednesday, March the 26th 2014.

Persephone Ravine signing off.