Changes

Magicians in Ellada have a similar history and place in society as they did in our own Victorian Era. When Micah begins to study the history of magic, he learns the following from The Secrets of Magic by Adem Risto: “The ''The book had a brief overview of magic from its beginning: as basic illusions that priests would wield to cement their followers’ beliefs and sway the cynical. Vestige artifacts were considered holy and proof of the divine. Yet when scientists deduced that Vestige might be technology and not magic, believers grew more cynical of the priests’ effects. Magic for a long time was street entertainment, often married to vaudeville or circuses.”''

There were a few great magicians of the age, two of which are the magicians who have a fierce rivalry that sparks again in S[[Shadowplay by Laura Lam|Shadowplay]].

Adam Risto, the author of ''The Secret of Magic '' was responsible for changing a lot of people’s opinions on magic. He was the one who really helped it become what it is in ''Shadowplay'' – a grand stage extravaganza. Shadowplay describes him as: “An incredible inventor, he transformed magic from sideshow entertainment into a show fit for nobility and royalty.” He was the first magician to perform for royalty, in the grand Hippocampus in Imachara, the capital of Ellada. He also kept his personal life very private, so not much was known about him, other than he came from modest beginnings. He died about half a century ago.