EPISODE 3: Kinship
For any traveling professional, time on the road can be a lonely place. For a touring illusionist in the mid-1800’s it was no different. Reginald Black, head-strong and eager to make a name for himself, hopped from venue to venue, day after day, for nearly three years straight. Playing for small groups or packed houses, it was an opportunity for exposure and to sharpen his skills of sleight of hand, misdirection, and mental coercion. But no matter how far and wide he went, Reginald always yearned for home.
Returning from his long sojourns, Reginald would meet with friends at the local tavern, drinking rounds of ale, and regaling them of the romantic tales of a life stitched in cities and sunsets. Though he’d never openly admit how quickly he’d trade it all for a normal life...if the pay wasn’t as good as it was.
Friendships were important, grounding. One confidante, in particular, Reginald enjoyed consorting with was Fredrick Frost. He came from a privileged background, his father, an auditor with the British East India Company. And with the senior Frost’s standing with the monarchy, Fredrick could have taken any path he wanted, but yearned for the type of adventure Reginald waxed poetic over. Unbeknownst to his father, and taking lessons from Reginald Black’s gypsy grandfather, Fredrick was a quick study in all things parlor magic. And the next season, hit the road with Reginald, the pair would never look back.
While not as proficient at the “magician’s veil” as Reginald, Fredrick would quickly gain footing by simply performing for audiences. Covering his deficiencies using quips, and bawdy humor to entertain crowds. Chasing the horizon, and winding miles together, the bond between friends became stronger - like that of brothers. Kin to their craft and one another.
They would each amass small fortunes, building lives envied by others. Each would marry, and spawn heirs. Reginald’s son Orem and Fredrick’s son, Joseph, would be raised together. Strong friends, just like their fathers.
To their trade, both men would become pioneers, experts in their field. Reginald known as the “Master of Illusions” and Fredrick, becoming “The King of Magic”. They would headline fairs, festivals, and celebrations. But their magic both had limits, the intricacies of misdirection has bounds. It would be together, through their travels that the rumblings of “real” magic existing in the world, would come into focus.
For each man, this information would be met with different forms of excitement. For Reginald, it was with awe, imagining authentic magic as a beautiful and wondrous thing - bordering on spiritual. But for Fredrick, he wanted to possess spells, secrets, and power. Dreaming of the extraordinary, and impactful things he could do with it. They would individually investigate the claims for their own reasons. Hearing quiet names of those with natural abilities...and echoes of books and tomes existing that would make magic possible for anyone to wield.
But alas, a cautionary tale by a Hungarian shaman named Shandor would discourage the young illusionists from seeking out magic of their own...
As the story goes, centuries before, an alchemist by the name of Broderick Zayne was on the hunt for the “Elixir of Life”. His research pointed him to a book of black magic, rumored to hold forbidden knowledge of the mystical chemistry necessary. But the pursuit for the book consumed Zayne’s life, losing all he had in the process. And as he set out into the wide world to find the grimoire, he’d never return. Leaving his loved-one’s, heartbroken.
The point of the tale mattered not what fate befell Zayne, it was that the man vanished, erased from this world. The dangers of his mission, the act of following his trajectory would lead anyone else to meet the same fortune. It was a candid warning by the well-travelled Shandor, but one that worked, keeping Reginald and Fredrick honest -- And with families waiting at home, neither would consider straying from their paths.
Family would be a recurring theme with Reginald and Fredrick through the years. The camaraderie they shared coming up together. Finding success together. The families they had, finding love, siring children. The strong bonds they created through the Order of Wormwood.
Despite their feelings about “acquiring” magic from a book, Reginald and Fredrick still revered those born with real abilities. Reginald witnessing Banerjee in the flesh during the 1860 Carnival of Venice, cemented his feelings about the need for magic in the world. And his prophetic dream of the shadowy figure in the field, set to unleash Armageddon, made him realize magic could hopefully be the weapon to use against the darkness. The Order’s creation was an appeal of family to those with real abilities. Come and seek shelter with us -- as mankind is a family worth saving.
For Fredrick, it was important, being a close confidante to Reginald when his disturbing dreams began. And a welcoming ally as Reginald rounded up Banerjee and others with true abilities in an effort to establish the Order of Wormwood. As “Face” members, Reginald would be paired with Banerjee. Fredrick would take on Banerjee’s nephew Veera Sarin, as the young protege in his act - becoming a father figure to the boy who struggled to find his place in the world. Reginald and Fredrick would both be an encouraging force for them, and others sharpen their supernatural abilities, knowing evil in some form was coming.
In the individual family units, Veera would grow up around Reginald’s son Orem, and Fredrick’s son, Joseph, as all were the same age. But while appearing as boyhood friends, Veera was often times the odd-man-out, bullied by the other two. Forced to conceal his abilities, there was a certain prejudice against Veera that existed from Orem. And jealousy from young Joseph -- who couldn’t understand the true depths of his father’s working relationship with the boy transplanted from India. But despite their differences, as is often the case with family, a brotherhood formed.
Later in life, Joseph would follow in Fredrick’s footsteps, becoming an illusionist and joining the Order. Privy to the long-held secrets of his father, of real magic existing, and the mobilizing forces against the coming threats. It was then he understood Veera’s complicated place in the matter and reconciled the feelings he had as a child. Orem however, would reject his father, searching for his own path in life - becoming something of a black-sheep.
Joseph would later confirm Orem’s distain for his father’s work, and the Order -- noting a marked change in Orem’s feelings for Reginald’s illusionist act when they were younger. Veera too indicated Orem had a quickly fading appetite for magic in their formative years...but that is sometimes the case with families. They grow apart. Divide. Go their separate ways. Orem didn’t know the truth about Reginald’s masterplan or his altruistic designs to defend mankind against evil...which is why what happened after Reginald’s death in 1888, was even more confounding...
TO BE CONTINUED…