3,500 years ago.
That was how long ago magic was stripped from the people and hidden deep below the perception of the average person.
3,495 years ago.
That was the exact amount of time that Ever’s own ancestors had worked at freeing the magic from its prison and restoring it to those that had once harnessed it.
It was a piece of them, all written accounts had said. He had spent sleepless nights poring over books, journals, and diaries that had been written by his ancestors. He learned all about magic when normal kids were learning how to ride a bike - which, Ever had to point out, he had taught himself at age eight and was actually really good at it. He'd actually taught himself quite a lot - cooking, swimming, and math - just to name a few.
This heist had to go down without a hitch. His entire life had literally led him up to this point. Their crew was… good, Ever supposed, but he worried that they weren't good enough. After all, they were in it for the money. While Ever didn't want to trivialize the effect that currency had on the lives of the others, he knew it didn't fuel anyone the way magic would.
The only one that he knew he could fully count on Clovis. He had known the other man since his youth, and the leader of their little ragtag gang was the only one that knew of Ever’s true motivation. The others haven't given Ever a reason not to trust them yet, but he wasn't at a point where he had the faith in them that he needed. He could try making friends with them, he supposed. That would certainly grow more trust between Ever and the others.
But… he didn't have time for that. Not when everything he had was focused on planning this heist. They were so close and he couldn't risk everything going up in flames. Not when he was about to break open a thousands of years old mystery.
He was getting restless, as much as he hated to admit it. See, Ever was known for his skills of hiding away for hours and not moving as he read or studied or worked on a puzzle or whatever it was that he was working on, but he just couldn’t seem to do that right now. He finally shut the book he’d been working on, blinking when he realized there was sunlight coming through the window. He packed his book up under his arm and slid out into the hallway, locking the door carefully behind him so that nobody could get in.
Ever rushed down the hall from his room that the team was staying at for a few days, grunting when he collided with someone that was just a little shorter than him. He stood up, narrowing his eyes at Flick. “Hey! Watch it,” he snapped, ripping his book from her hands as she attempted to pick it up for him.
Now, it had to be said that he was never rude to the rest of the crew. He was just quiet, and anything he said to them was as polite and neutral as possible. But here, Flick had almost seen his book - which was clearly an old magic book. He might feel guilty about it later, but now he couldn’t care.
Flick recoiled for a moment before shaking her head. She wasn’t one to be knocked down by a harsh tone. “Looks like pretty boy actually has a backbone, huh?” she teased, reaching forward to mess with his hair. She turned around before he could say or do anything.
Ever paused, his book tucked backs safely under his arm so that he could fix the hair that she had felt the need to touch. There was no mirror around, so he could only hope that every hair was back in place as he shook his head and went off in the same direction that Flick had gone. Except he walked past her room - 242 - until he got to Clovis’ room.
He took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock gently on the door.