"Oh yes, quite," Anton nods. "Magic users must be licensed or employed by the government, and are legally obligated to keep their activities hidden. In the event of a major supernatural event, they all - myself included - are expected to participate in mass application of illusions, enchantments, and alchemical amnestics to keep the populace at large in the dark."

"And you said witch hunters will track you down if you don't?" her interest captured as well, Gweyir, steps forward to join in the questioning.

"Yes. In England, the worship of gods besides the 'One True God' - a false idol of perfect order and obedience invented to sap the true gods of worshipers and thus their power - is the only recognized religion. Pagan worshipers, unlicensed spellcasters, those who break the masquerade, all are pursued and eliminated by the witch hunters. Druid circles are expected to remain in their 'preserves' and avoid interaction with the general populace, where they care for controlled populations of magical creatures such as Spider."

"Controlled population?" Spider asks, not really understanding the meaning.

"Well, um. Keeping there from being too many of you... putting it in nice terms."

"That's- that's absolutely insane! Why would they go to such lengths?"

"Wars of men, wars of gods, vampire lords and wild magic," the scholarly writer explains. "In the true history, time and again, the world has nearly come to an end. More than once we have been set back an age or more in progress. And so the governments of Europe have settled upon pacts to quell the spread of unchecked magic, and drain the gods of their power." He shakes his head. "I don't agree with it. As far as I'm concerned, they are leaving the greater populace completely unprepared should something happen again. They can't cage the world, not realistically. They can barely cage Europe."