The Elder Ted Incident/ The Forbidden Arts

While they are rare, controversies and scandals are not unheard of within the Super Wizard Tower.  Some are considered worse than others, although for obvious reasons we strive to not have any at all.  The controversies are usually about students getting hurt by not properly following rules, people complaining about the 100% mortality rate of the brave Rabies users, budget cuts that have prevented us from staffing a real doctor or properly stocking the library, the standard problems that I'm sure exist everywhere.

Controversies within the Council of Elders, however, are practically unheard of.  There exists only one example, and it occurred a few years ago.  Even years later, we're still dealing with the consequences of what we refer to as the Elder Ted incident.

I've touched on forbidden weaponry and knowledge on previous entries.  There are a number of things considered too dangerous for Super Wizard use, for a number of reasons.  Abstract Art and Interpretive Dance (just to be safe) are the most well-known of the forbidden arts, as their danger* has been well demonstrated by the very nature of Elder [NAME DELETED].    There are many other forbidden arts, and we strive to keep the students and staff safe from them and the damage that they cause.**

One of the most dangerous of the forbidden arts is Logic, and this has been the case since the founding of the Super Wizard order.

We're not sure how it happened, specifically.  Elder Ted was one of the more prominent Elders, but a few months preceding the incident, he had begun taking more and more time away from the Tower.  Where he was going and what he was doing are still being researched to this day, but it has been determined that Elder Ted was using the dark forces of Logic to cover his tracks.

Elder Ted eventually returned to the tower, and established a new class.  He was a fairly popular Elder and had been gone for some time, so there was a rush of students who signed up for his class.  The class ran for several weeks before the Council of Elders noticed the sinister truth behind his 'Common Sense and Critical Thinking' class.  He had been secretly***  teaching students Logic.

For the first time in history, the Council of Elders unanimously decided to banish one of their own to the Dark Undercold.  Some of the students were more effected than others, but rehabilitation efforts are ongoing.


*At least in the case of Abstract Art.  There are those who are attempting to reinstate Interpretive Dance as a Super Wizard art, but it's unlikely to happen anytime soon (if at all)
**An exception to this is, of course, Faerie Law.  The Tower staffs a lawyer/cook versed in Faerie Law/culinary arts (rotated out every year and a day as their knowledge of cooking drives them mad, of course) to advise us on kitchen-related matters and to prevent further angering of the Fae.
***Admittedly, it wasn't a very good secret.  A class called 'Common Sense and Critical Thinking' should have been a red flag to someone.  That's partly on us.