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Northern Magic Tradition

The magic of the northern peoples was rooted firmly in words of power woven into songs and poetry, then turned into magic by will and intent. Subtle, everyday magic could be known to many, but the truly devastating words of power were held only by the chosen few and kept from all others in the strictest secrecy.


Words of Power

While regular words could be and were used for magic, there existed concepts and laws of the world unknown to the everyday individual. For those deeper truths of the universe, one had to delve into the realm of dreams and deeper still—risking madness, death and worse in their search for knowledge.

Incantations were a focus for the mind, and a guide to the folk of nature. That life which the northerners called folk was an energy and an entity. It was one and many at the same time, and more still. The folk, or lutëjï in the language of the Eltiri, was the land itself and the life within it, an existence which could be guided to act in ways different to its regular behavior.

Many creatures understood concepts of the world which humankind could not even imagine, and some could share said information—usually in return for something else. These were not the beasts of the woods and wilds, but minds both formed and formless who dwelt in those uncharted realms below dreams, well out of light's reach. Some had been corporeal, such as those the Eltiri called giants, who now slept somewhere within the earth, forming mounds and hills and giant rocks.

Practice of Magic

The Allorï

The Allorï of Elteläi in the heartlands of Tenwä specialized in small, everyday magic which could aid them in daily tasks, such as spells to preserve their tools and clothing for a lengthened period of time, or incantations to track food from the woods and lakes around them.

In addition the Allorï prided themselves in their abilities of divination, and held rituals particularly in midsummer and midwinter to sneak a peek at future days.

The Astuorë

The Astuorë of Usmarea claimed control of the winds and the seas themselves, guiding gusts to aid their ships instead of letting them slow the vessels down. They asked the guidance of gulls and crows in their search for seals, and evaded coastal rocks with new incantations.

The Lennöri

The Lennöri wove together sticks and stones and various fibers of Sümilennä to create semi-living, doll-like creatures in the shape of a small animal. Though short in stature, the power and abilities of these entities were a great aid to those sages who held one's leash.

Rumors of the forest-dwelling people's ability to understand and even converse with trees were many. Some went so far as to claim that their sages could control trees and their roots as they willed. Most outsiders, however, decided these stories to be false, if not outright lies.

The Nolǐur

The Nolǐur of Udzar were the most powerful and knowledgeable of the northern peoples in matters of magic, but their touch was a cruel and dominating one, seeking to control instead of guide. Where the land was seeped in permafrost, they forced life to surface and warm the dirt. Though effective in the short-term, the long-sterm effects of their actions proved deadly for the land and its people alike.

The miznar, or witches of the Nolǐur who worshipped their queen Unno-Ǐara as if a god, were said to be able to shapeshift into critters of the land and sky, and back into their human forms. The details of these abilities were unknown and often thought to be an exaggeration born out of fear or awe.

Woven Words of Magic

Related Rituals
Mallaurë

Related Ethnicities

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