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Neville Sinclair · (08-19-2017)

Again and again, in great throngs they came,
There came Bran and Melgan to meet me
At the last, they slew Dyel
The son of Erbin, with all his men

A host of spears fly high, drawing blood.
From a host of vigorous warriors –
A host, fleeing; a host, wounded –
A host, bloody, retreating

Seven score heroes, maddened by battle
To the forest of Celyddon they fled
Since I Myrddin, am second only to Taliesin,
Let my words be heard as truth

- Myrddin Wyllt

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August 18, 1117

Introducing Welsh Mythology to the English proved to be a tricky topic. The English saw the Welsh as vile, horrible men. They were Pagans, and there was nothing more that needed to be said about that. But Geoffrey of Monmouth knew that it needed to happen. Although the results of adding mythology to a history book could be disastrous for him. At best, people would enjoy it but belittle it’s necessity. At worst, he could be put to death and labelled a heretic. These were tricky times indeed.

What should I do?

He knew he needed a sympathetic figure, one that the Englishmen would enjoy hearing about. He couldn’t make him a warrior, that needed to be an Englishman. He would create a fictitious King and have him be the conqueror England needed. But how could he get the Welsh into it?

An old man

There was something about an old man that cried out for both respect, because of his age, and sympathy, because of his weakness. A child would be seen as a future threat, a young man even more so. It needed to be an old lonely man. Not one that would be seen dangerous, one that would be seen as pathetic. But he could offer the English something that was needed, a little bit of magic.

He thought long and hard about what he knew about old Welsh men when someone popped into his mind. When he spent time there, they told stories of a man named Myrddin Wyllt. As stories went, he was an old man that had gone crazy after a battle and then concocted magic outside of any major settlement. The stories had told that he told the future and talked with animals. The English might find some of this a little goofy, but there was something entertaining about the idea. Geoffrey had interacted with him once in his studies, there was nothing magical about him, he seemed more a poet than a wizard. But there was such good potential for storytelling. This needed to be included. He would write about this man. But his name was too damn Welsh.

Maybe if I anglicized things a little?

Geoffrey decided in that moment, he would call him Merlin, an English approximate. The English would think this was English legend because of the victorious English King in the stories. But Geoffrey knew that what would ultimately satisfy them was a classic story told with a little bit of magic.
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August 18, 2017

Neville stood on the banks of the River Tweed in Northern England. It was amazing to get to look down at this river and imagine the magic that happened here. Not necessarily the ethereal kind of magic that gets told in storybooks, but the history, the stories that must have come from this place. There was a special kind of magic that happened here. What made England so great was that all over the world there didn’t seem to be another place with as rich of a history and as promising a future. England was great, but it owed itself a lot to other places and different cultures.

With the current events happening in the world, Neville had grown sad this week. He didn’t want to be another person spewing hate and insults into a world that didn’t need any more of them. But he had a job to do, and taking on Mezian this week was exactly what he needed. He didn’t have to hate Mezian for any other reason than his pathetic existence as a wrestler. Mezian didn’t need to be called out for who he was but for the lack of work he put into maintaining a proper wrestling work ethic.

It’s interesting to talk magic today as I spend time in England. I think there’s different kinds of magic. There’s the supernatural kind that seems to involve spells, and things out of the ordinary. That’s what some people believe in and want more than anything. The ordinary seems so pathetic and jaded that people crave anything outside of that. People turn to mystics and cultish practices because they need magic to be real. Look at the Ouija board as an example, it’s just a piece of illustrated cardboard that gets sold in board game stores everything. But people then move their hands and make it say what they want it to say because they crave the supernatural and desire to have an encounter with a demon. People have encounters because they desire encounters so bad.

But there’s another kind of magic, it’s the kind when everything seems right in the world and nothing could be any better. Because circumstances turn out so good, everything feels magical and you couldn’t imagine what the negative in these times could be. Have you guys ever experienced this magic? I imagine it would be close to what I’m feeling right now. Walking through one of the most beautiful rivers in the most amazing country in the world knowing I’m one of the best in the world at what I do. How could anything be better than this?

Neville takes a handful of water up and throws it in the air. This might seem a bit odd, but Neville wanted to feel the water wash over him. At times when he felt this good, it seemed like life was baptizing him into a promised Kingdom. This was almost a religious experience.

The thing that has made the Arthurian legend great isn’t that he was a victorious King who vanquished his foes and made his Kingdom proud. That had been seen many times before. People stopped caring at success in the ordinary. What made the Arthurian legend special was that it contained a little bit of magic. The wizard who helped the King and introduced to a whole new kind of mastery. The experiences dabbling with magic that shaped who he was. The success in both the supernatural magic and the natural success with who he was. This is why we read legends and incorporate things into our own lives. We all crave the same kind of magic that Geoffrey of Monmouth sought to give the people he needed to instruct.

Neville sighs and throws a rock across the river

Mezian, I had big plans for this pay-per-view. Believe it or not, this is my first pay-per-view with this company and I really wanted to make a statement. But I’m not sure you have that magic anymore. I don’t even know if you’ll show up at this match and I’m sure if you do it will be an undisciplined disaster. I really feel the need today to teach you about these two kinds of magic and show you how they matter. Listen up, shut up, and let me tell you a few things.

Lesson #1 – Supernatural Magic is mostly unreal

I feel like of all the people in the XWF, you might be one of the people who need to hear this the least. I try and pay good attention to you, but I can’t seem to shake the fact that everything I watch defies logic in every coherent way. Why is it so tough for you to try and live within the realm the rest of the world does. Why do you think you need to do things differently? I can’t help but shake the fact that I think you do it for unfounded attention. Because you can’t be interesting enough as a normal person, you act up and act out to try and get noticed. You create things that seem supernatural because you think the lack of normality actually helps things. You dance around with names that people can barely say because you think it makes you sound cool.

Mezian, there’s a bad way and a good way to handle outbursting infants. The bad way is to give them what they want and think it’s going to change everything. The good way is to lovingly show the child that there’s an alternative to what they want, or gently explain the no to them. Why has the XWF rewarded you with a title shot when it only seems like you’re a self-serving brat who thinks he can pull the wool over all of our eyes with who you say you are. It’s very creative Mezian, but its so full of shit, more shit than a grown man who’s been constipated for a week. You don’t matter anymore Mezian. The next generation is here, and we want to show guys like you that we won’t stand for this outrageous bullshit you think is building who you are. Just stop.

Neville pulls another bottle out of his pocket, it’s Glenlivet again. He pours a shot and smiles at the camera.

Lesson #2 – Real Magic Comes when Things are Right

Real magic is what happens when sparks go off because you’re in the right place at the right time. Have you ever met up with someone you shouldn’t have been able to because you were there? Have you ever turned down a wrong road and ended up somewhere awesome? This is what magic is, it’s the outside of normalcy situations that make us say “wow”. When was the last time anyone ever said that to you Mezian? Do you make people say wow?

I feel like I’m in my right situation. I’m the TV Champ in a new federation and pretty soon I’ll be running things. I understand this kind of magic because I live it every time I win a match and continue to reign supreme. It feels even more right retaining this in my home land of England. This Weekend, we are going to feel this magic. Watch my match. Watch my win. Remember what it’s like to have this kind of real magic. Not the supernatural bullshit that Mezian puts forward as his own.
I implore you people, this weekend you will all see, a little bit of magic.

Neville turns and the camera shuts off

Threaded Mode \| Linear Mode Creating a King. Chap. 2: A Little bit of Magic
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