( WP ) Blatant Magic vs . Subtle Magic

Malcolm was a vain man. He liked the idea of his clothes ruffling in the wind, and wore appropriate attire to facilitate that. He kept his hair and face striking and clean cut. His nails were kept, his clothing immaculate, and his manner overflowing with charm. 
 
 As a child he had spent hours looking alternating between admiring the stars on television and looking at himself in the mirror. He longed to be one of them, admired and worshiped. But his parents were plain and poor, and he had inherited both. 
 
 Entering high school, he found and joined a magic club. And there he learned all sorts of banter and slight of hand. They put on a few performances showcasing their `` powers'' of misdirection, to polite applause of their fellow students. And for a while, Malcolm believed that was all this club did. 
 
 At the beginning of his second year, he was inducted into their cabal. They claimed fantastic powers granted to them in exchange for deeds by forgotten beings. They showed him how to petition for the power to snuff a flame, the ritual to summon an imp, and the tricks to hide from notice. 
 
 And Malcolm took it all in, diving into it. He went further in his bargains than any of his fellow brethren. Not satisfied with the limited toolset and knowledge available to his local magic club, he carefully began to look elsewhere. 
 
 Like a suburban family hunting for a congregation, he shopped around the local cult scene. Without finding anything that really spoke to him, he began to lose hope. Walking home from another fruitless search, he was approached by a man. 
 
 `` I have been noticing you are looking for something'' the man said, his eyes glowing behind his sunglasses. He leaned in close to Malcolm's ear and whispered, `` Follow me.'' 
 
 Malcolm vanished that night. His parents reported his disappearance and worried for weeks. But when he came in from the rain, completely dry, he was a changed man. 
 
 Malcolm had spent the last two months learning what his mentor called `` applicable magic.'' He learned what dead gods still listened to forgotten words and which ones rewarded theft and deception. He spent his nights crafting his body into that of the movie stars he had grown up idolizing, trading his youth for beauty. He learned how to move as a shadow and enter a locked room. He developed an affinity for influencing memories, inserting or removing himself from them. He could `` reconnect'' with a woman, have her `` remember'' him from a year ago, and then never be able to recollect his face again. 
 
 Within weeks of his return, his parents developed severe memory problems and had to be committed. His father, a mean drunk on the best of days, woke up with a limp one day that never went away. His mother, in an act of kindness, forgot everything and got to start over. Malcolm left them, forgot them, and moved on. He traveled, always first class, and always left a trail of strange stories and forgotten memories in his wake. 
 
 His suits always pressed, a soft wind always blowing his jacket and hair, and his handshake electric, Malcolm is a very special kind of grifter. A con artist with a cruel vain streak, he trades his humanity for freedom and power. Malcolm is a vain man, and he is the most dangerous kind of magician: Subtle, ruthless, and forgettable.
