Numenology/Spellcasting
Spellcasting is the Art of seperating the border between the Material Plane and Numena, the plane of Magic. Numenology can be achieved through several verbal, somatic and materialistic rituals which conjure up different spell effects.
The Ways of accomplishing Numenology can be categorized into three classes of magic: Arcane, Divine and Natural.
While some classes focus on one class of magic, others like monks specialise their magic class depending on their subclass.
Arcane Magic
Arcane Magic is the most commonly used class of magic, learned and perfected through relentless training but also granted and used by fiends and the aether kindred. Precise rituals act like a knife between Numena and Etharis, creating temporary rifts and usable magic. This type of magic is commonly used by Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Artificiers, Bards, Arcane Tricksters and Eldritch Knights.Divine Magic
Divine Magic is a severance of the planeborders through the power granted by Aol the Architect. As his power was absorbed by the gods and currently given to the archangels, they grant their Numenology to their most devout followers and other celestials. This type of magic is commonly used by clerics, paladins, sorcerers born through a celestial bloodline or warlocks with celestial patrons.Natural Magic
Natural Magic is achieved with the help of natural, elemental and fey spirits opening portals between the planes to supply casters with the resources for their spells. This type of magic is commonly used by Druids and Rangers.Colleges of Magic
An ability as potentially dangerous as magic is kept under control by certain authorities, and magic users who attend a college have long been taught to respect this hierarchy.Erlefurt Colleges
Western Nordenland is the center for arcane learning in The Bürach Empire, and certainly, they wish to keep it so. The capital of Erlefurt has the highest number of magical colleges anywhere in the continent, with the Magister College being the oldest and most venerable of all. It’s difficult for an aspiring mage to enter an Erlefurt College, but the Magister College proves itself to be exceptionally stringent. The Magister chooses only the best among its applicants—not merely those with high magical aptitude, but also those most likely to bring greater honour to the school. The Erlefurt Colleges see magic as a force that must be harnessed with wisdom, the kind that only those trained in the way of the Erlefurt mages possess. As such, all students must swear to follow a set of rigid laws, listed in a tome called the Magician’s Codex. The primary laws in the Codex include the following:- Only wizards that pass their final tests of the Erlefurt Colleges may carry the title of Erlefurt mage.
- Only wizards that pass their final tests of the Erlefurt Colleges may carry the title of Erlefurt mage.
- An Erlefurt mage shall defend their College against all who would despoil them or steal their secrets.
- Only the Erlefurt Colleges may train a student.
- All students must be registered and approved by the Colleges.
- All magical experiments must be registered and approved by the Colleges.
Ravencourt Sanctuary
East of Raevo’s shores, hidden among the mists of its enchanted isle, the Ravencourt Sanctuary trains its mages in its own academy. Unlike its rival, the Magister College, the Sanctuary believes that magic may only grow through freedom. Thus the Ravencourt Sanctuary has few laws to guide the actions of its mages. Their primary rule is that the mages must keep all the secrets of the Sanctuary safe. Apart from that, a wizard who successfully graduates from the Sanctuary is free to do what they will and teach whom they want. Despite their seeming lack of laws, the punishment for breaking the primary rule is both harsh and unequivocal. Before they leave the Sanctuary, a Ravencourt wizard swears a vow to protect their academy’s secrets. They write their name on a page of an enchanted book and leave a drop of their blood on it. This creates a highly potent curse: if they should break the vow, the page tears itself from the book and burns. The wizard consequently dies an unspeakable death. Due to the politics of the times, the mages of Erlefurt and Ravencourt Sanctuary are technically at war. Mages from either side have standing orders to annihilate each other on sight, though this is rarely practiced.Sarmar Academy
Having lived for thousands of years as a people, the Elves are no beginners when it comes to magic. In their capital of Tol Leyemil, they have established their own college for wizards: Sarmar Academy, famous for its abjurers, mystics, and war magi. The Sarmar mages believe that magic is learned and controlled through careful observation. By watching and listening to the natural world, the Elves first learned to summon and shape numen. Thus they teach their students to pay close attention to detail and focus on what they can sense. The emphasis on patience makes teaching slow. Often, education at Sarmar can last decades. For Elves, of course, that’s a short period of time. Being an entirely elven city, only Elves may enroll in Sarmar Academy proper. The exception is Aemanyir House, a branch of the Academy located outside the city limits. This program was begun decades ago by an elven mage named Alren Corynthios as an experiment in teaching the elven way of magic to non-elves. Most of the Sarmar academicians consider this a waste of time, but Alren’s persistence and connections with the elven nobility have kept the school going for many years, if just barely.Renegade Colleges
There are several unrecognised colleges in Etharis that purport to teach magic. As they tend to produce subpar mages, they’re looked upon with scorn by the established colleges. At worst, they’re viewed as potential sources of magical mishaps, as without proper guidance, these mages may cause irreparable harm to the reputation of all mages—or worse, bring about a magical catastrophe. The Erlefurt wizards have made it their protocol to capture any “renegade” wizards and bring them to Erlefurt for processing and possible reeducation. Those who refuse this polite entreaty are viewed as enemy combatants.Social Impact
Society is divided in its view of arcane magic.
In The Bürach Empire, for instance, it was considered a means to maintain order, project power, instill obedience, gather information, and maintain the status quo. However, with the coming of the Great Beast, magic is now treated with greater suspicion, as some have come to suspect that the entity was the result of an arcane experiment gone horribly wrong.
The Hearthkeepers have not denied this notion, as it deflects their own culpability on the matter.
The Ostoyan view of magic is more varied. In the province of Soma, the lower classes fear magic as something they’re incapable of understanding. They also stay clear of it to avoid inciting the jealousy and ire of the nobility.
The Crimson Court believes that the use of magic is theirs by right; anyone else who uses it must either become their servant or be destroyed as a potential threat. Thus one often finds mages under their employ in their war against Raevo and the Bürach Empire.
In the province of Raevo, magic is by and large an accepted part of daily life. The workshops and markets of Castalore are teeming with wizards and magical constructs, all under the watchful eye of the Ravencroft Sanctuary.
In The Charneault Kingdom, the Elves treat magic as an integral part of their lives. They hold skilled mages in high esteem, even as they warn of the costs of seeking greater magical power.
The dark elves have no such restraint; they plumb the deepest secrets of magecraft with hardly a thought to the dangers involved. While they have attained great power, the price is often paid by the entirety of the kingdom, as is the case with the Dark Mist.
In the human-controlled lands of the Charneault, attitudes vary greatly. Mages are treated with respect in more learned circles, but among Knight Chapters they are treated with suspicion, and in the case of the Severe Templars, outright hostility. They hold elven magic accountable for the suffering endured by the populace and forego all arcane abilities in favor of strength in arms and divine fervor.
It is worth noting the Castinellan Provinces in particular when it comes to magic for the specific stance they’ve chosen: deplorably, the theocracy is hostile to all forms of arcane magic. It is the will of Empyreus, they claim, that their people wage a righteous war against all magic-users and those who harbor them. To undertake this task, The Arcanist Inquisition has assembled a host of knights and common soldiers under the command of clerics and paladins. Backed by the power of belief, they call on divine magic to locate arcane mages and neutralise them.
As such, magic-users must be careful when entering the Castinellan Provinces, lest they be arrested, imprisoned, and very likely put to death by the Arcanist Inquisition.
Mages cannot even expect sympathy from the common folk; most peasants hold all magic as witchcraft and devilry, the power of demons brought to Etharis. The Castinellans have yet to move against nations that employ magic, such as the Bürach and the Charneault Kingdom. But should the theocracy grow more powerful, a “righteous war” would certainly be in the cards.
Comments