The First Great Magic

"It is I, the masterful magician — Parsifal 'the Great'!" "You will bear witness to a fantastic world, never before imagined!" "This hat, for instance, leads to the legendary eastern Paradise!" "Or perhaps, let us witness peril within a mirror, unrestrained by our laws of space and time!" What is called magic is quite similar to fraud and theft, The first relies on acting and narrative creation, the second on technique. "There was an elusive thief in Master Coppelius's play who was a master of appearing and disappearing at their leisure, wasn't there?" "Let's use that for our stage name! Whaddaya think?" The excited youth sitting at a snack stall next to the Fleuve Cendre spoke without hesitation. "Parsifal? What about me, then? Am I to be the lady of the sapphire, the beauty you stole?" Replied the youngster's partner. Laughter lit up the undercity that had never seen sunlight. And thus, the two young thieving sisters who made their living cheating and stealing at the glorious opera house, Were dazzled by the comic stories of knights-errant onstage, and forgot their original purpose for entering the theater, And the idea of relying on their skills and technique to step onto the stage, under the shining lights, began to bud, Of using their brilliant performances to illuminate equally the dreams of those forced to stand, as well as those seated in luxurious VIP boxes. One of them would play "Parsifal," the other, her assistant Josephine. Their first performances were in Eduardo's taverns, beside the sewers, and in front of food stalls, From being before the eyes of children, brightly shining out from beneath faces stained with ash and oil and amidst the applause of the denizens, To the bright spotlights of the splendorous theater, brilliant, burning like the sun. "Feathers into Butterflies," "Paradise," "Fire in the Mirror," "The Golden Fish"... Just as the light of these performances illuminated both the luxurious VIP booths and the standing audience, The name "Parsifal" became the talk of the town in the cities, both above and below. Those clothed in purple say that all have their place, and those before the stage are no different: Whether in the exquisite booths overlooking the stage, or along the crowded floor with standing room only. Yet, though the light of the performance shines equally upon all who see it, outside the theater, Briefly forgotten anger and indignation will permeate, like tree roots penetrating a stone wall. During the Fleuve Cendre operation, that wall finally collapsed. The girl who always played Josephine rushed back to the Fleuve Cendre. Apart from the ever-present smell of iron and rot, There was only the smell of anger, grief, and blood that had not yet dried. All the people knew Parsifal, but an assistant is merely an assistant. If that really was all things were, it would be simple, and easy. But just as the assistant on stage is lopped in two by the sword, yet never harmed, And the missing pocket watch always returns to the audience unseen, The girl finally lost her "place" in life. And thusly she designed a "grand magic trick" that belonged to them. "It is I, the masterful magician — Parsifal 'the Great'!" "You will bear witness to a fantastic world, never before imagined!" "Here there shall be no aristocrats, no kings — no swords shall be pointed at you!" "None shall be born into wealth, none into poverty inescapable!"