The idea of magic has been around ever since the early ages. Perhaps back then it was more commonly believed to be true than it is now, but the idea is all the same.

To the people that believed in it, magic was this untouchable phenomenon, the explanation to the things that they couldn’t explain. However, no matter what unexplainable thing could have possibly happened; magic wasn’t a good thing. If something was impossible in the books of the people, a witch would be appointed, accused of wizardry and they would be burnt to death (unless they were a witch. Then they would survive, but nobody actually knew what they would do if this happened.)

No matter how many ‘witches’ were burnt, no matter how many occurrences didn’t receive an explanation during those ages, magic was something that could not be seen, touched or smelled. But it could be sensed. Perhaps not by the average human being but most definitely by the creatures that created the fears of monsters in the closet or under the bed.

Above everything, however, stood the fact that magic is real. Never have there been great amounts of people that had the gift within them but it could not be denied that some of the legends and fairytales were at the very least partially true.

The gifted people always understood the power that they had and only very few decided that taking over the world would be worth a try. For the most part, these magical abilities have been used for amusement, healing, or not at all.

With the discovery of the gift of magic came also the discovery of the phantoms, the creatures that have been scaring little children for ages by hiding in closets, under the bed and outside of the window.

You see, these creatures were and still are attracted to magic. They themselves came into existence with the magic, for every light casts a shadow.

Darkness is not always harmful. The shade cast by a tree on a warm summer’s day, for example, is a welcome relief from the heat of the sun. It’s when the light goes out that the shadows start to become a problem. What lurks in the dark behind the door? Magic was the light for these creatures of shadow. It was their warmth and their comfort, and to them it felt like home. With a bright enough source of magic nearby, phantoms are calm and harmless. Take away this comfort, however, and you will begin to run into difficulties. The shadows aren’t so harmless after all.

At first, they go rigid. They take on a much more physical form, capable of causing significant damage to the world around them. They lose any amount of calm they have ever had and will do anything to get back to that feeling of comfort and warmth.

The phantoms are creatures of the shadows. Where the magic has left them and where they fail to find it, colours will disappear for the people victimised and nightmares will make them insomniacs. To the average human, they are merely quick movements in the corner of an eye. The flicker in the mirror just as you’re about to turn away. The absolute darkness behind a cupboard that’s been left open a crack at night. Darkness without light causes problems.

A source of magic large enough to attract any phantoms in the area and keep them there over a long period of time was what was needed. But how could you contain magic? Creatures and individuals with magic were never powerful enough to get just one phantom to stay with them indefinitely, let alone all the shadows in an area. Spells were cast, magical objects were created, and large gatherings of people with magic were used in an attempt to attract the phantoms (often broken up by villagers with pitchforks); but to no avail. It wasn’t until many years later that a solution was found.

An elderly French man, harbouring modest elemental powers, followed a little blue light into a forest at night. His name was Gustave Béringer, and what he found there would result in the idea of magic almost becoming extinct in southern England as, after all, there’s no need for any explanation of strange events if there aren’t any happening.

It was a crystal, which at first glance didn’t seem all that special, but curled up at its side was a young phantom, fast asleep and perfectly at peace. Did the crystal hold magic? Gustave wondered.

Wherever he took the crystal, the phantom followed, docile and at peace. With time, he began to pour his own magic into the crystal and slowly it started to expand. He was a nomadic man, travelling through the English countryside at a leisurely pace and collecting phantoms from the villages they were terrorizing. But it seemed that phantoms weren’t the only creatures drawn to the source of power. Mythical and magical creatures were the first to seek him out, curious of the strange pull they were feeling in their hearts. Magical people would often stumble across the old man through no conscious decision, and most quickly became intrigued by the crystal and the magical creatures that they had never witnessed before. They would travel with Gustave, some for just a few days, and cast their own magic into the crystal to help his cause. The bigger it got, the more magical beings it attracted - humans and animals and phantoms alike.

It was then that Gustave noticed something new: it appeared that the bigger the crystal got, the stronger his powers were. The same could be said for all the other magical beings that encountered it. Just by being in the vicinity of the glowing power source their own magic was enhanced. Was this what the phantoms felt? Perhaps they needed the power source to calm their minds, for surely when they were without it they seemed in great distress.

Such an eclectic collection of life travelling around together was bound to draw attention, and when they encountered stray villagers (which they did almost nightly) they would share a little of their magic, in the form of performances and shows. A girl with fire powers would cast sparkling butterflies for the children, while a young man made snow pour from the sky. Together, the magicians were free from persecution. They could protect each other and support each other, and there was to be no more burning at the stake. More and more of the travellers were deciding to band together absolutely and dedicate their time to growing the crystal in order to free the country from the phantoms that plagued them.

When Gustave passed away, it was two of the youngest travellers that decided to take up his place.

“We travel the country putting on shows in our tents whenever we stop for the night,” one said to the other. “We’re practically a circus. Why not call it that?”

And so, the Cirque de la Lumière opened for business.

For many ages, it worked well. The numbers of victims decreased over time and for a few centuries nothing big happened at all.

But it was bound to go wrong sometime, wasn’t it?

Every circus worker questioned the how and the why. How had the phantoms escaped the circus without any of them noticing? Why had the phantoms wanted to escape? The circus lived because of the magical crystal and the magical people. It was home to the phantoms.

But the phantoms had noticed something rather peculiar during the performances that night. A boy. He saw them. He radiated warmth. They had gotten curious, and most had followed him out into the night. But he was a single soul. His warmth was nothing compared to the one in the circus, and the further he got from the crystal the weaker it became. It wasn’t enough for all of them, so soon enough they decided it to be a good idea to go back home.

When they returned however, home was nowhere to be found. The circus had packed and left, expecting the phantoms to be there like they always were.

So they scattered. They panicked and they went rigid, much like they had done so long ago. They hid in the shadows of the village, and began to panic.

During the day pots shattered, pans hit the ground and caused an echo. People constantly felt like they were being watched, and some claimed that they saw things moving in the corner of their eye. Cats and dogs didn’t leave their homes and did everything to stay inside. Horses refused to turn around corners and into seemingly empty streets. People complained that they were cold, even though flowers were alive and growing because it was spring and generally warm. Or so the thermometers said.

It was a strange day for the people in the village but at night was when the phantoms were at their worst. Something the magicians from the past did not know of were the terrors that these creatures could cause when someone was asleep. They were capable of manipulating the mind. Phantoms did not only feed on magic, as the magicians had discovered, but something they would also eat (even though it wasn’t their preference) was fear. It offered less comfort than magic but it was something.

When the night ended, some people woke in a panic. All colour had gone. Everything had gone black and white.

Some people had a bad morning in another way. Windows of stores had shattered, homes had been destroyed.

And still people saw things moving in their eyes. People tried to find a reason and some scared themselves while others found a little bit of comfort in their reasoning. However, everyone knew that something had happened. Something was off but nobody could explain what.

Doctors and nurses were riddled with hundreds of patients complaining of sudden colourblindness. People were wary of leaving their homes because of the night terrors they’d had and concentration could not be found because they just felt exhausted.

This continued for a little while. Until the circus noticed.

Cirque de la lumiere, jouons à cache-cache.

Let’s play hide and seek.

You’re seeking.