The World As It Is

In a cold, dark prison cell a once young and beautiful woman sat staring out the single window she'd been granted. She looked at the leafless branches on the trees outside and the gray grass of the dying fields around her lonely prison. She could see the now familiar feeling of death and despair in everything she looked at. She remembered a day when the world around her held an air of magic and perfection, a day when she was the definition of grace and beauty, but in more recent times she was finding it harder and harder to remember those happy days.

She was only one of many, but she felt as if she were the one and only to be confined to that prison for what was once a truly just use of her powers. She found herself once again telling her story to the walls around her as she gazed at the never forgotten world outside:

"I was young and naïve… You see, the world was a happy place it seemed, that's how I wanted it. That's how I made it. But the people… The people were constantly becoming more and more unhappy with their lives. They complained about everything. 'There isn't enough money,' some said, while others groaned about the education system or job security. They complained about everything!

"I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could do something more to help them. I had created what they hated, I figured I could create what they would love. I used my magic to make the world a better place. I did everything to fix what they complained about. I created jobs, I made it so that everyone could have what they wanted… Money shouldn't have been a problem anymore, for anyone.

"But it all went wrong, so wrong! People got lazier than they had already become because they didn't have to do anything anymore, and they wanted even more than what I'd already given them. I had shared my powers with some to make my new 'job' easier on me, and they took advantage of it. They thought they could do the same as I had—they kept giving, even after I'd realized that it was useless. I tried to stop them, but they were too far gone in the reign of power. I was losing my control—the people had to be reigned back in. They had to be taught self-control. I put every person capable of performing magic in a prison, each one somewhere different. I spread them all throughout the world, so it'd be simpler to keep them away from each other. I thought that if I separated them I could watch over them and keep them from doing any more harm.

"I locked myself up as well, to save the world from me… From my powers. I knew that if I were to continue seeing the world spiral downward I would continue to try and fix it. I knew this never ending twisted tale would continue on and on if I didn't stop… But even after I put myself away I didn't seem to help the situation. The people began to revolt against each other, social and economic classes resurfaced once again, money began to be a problem, everything was just so wrong…"

The woman trailed off as she spoke of the world and how it had become. Her mind replayed the violence she had seen as she watched the world come to its demise and she could see that her only option was to end herself, as her motherly emotions made it more than difficult for her to do what was right for her people.

She was determined to end things on her own terms, not those of the people she had so selflessly tried to help. As she rose to complete her final task she could feel her aged bones creaking their disapproval. The evil of humanity had finally taken its toll on Mother Earth, and for that they would pay. The end of Mother Earth meant the end of humanity.