Zhak'raa

In the isolated and wind-swept lands of Nel'Akhiron, little is known of its mysterious inhabitants, save for what rumours convey about their strange and ancient magic. Unbeknownst to most of Cyllarune, their ancient magic goes back thousands of years and has survived so long due to a cloistered culture and closely-guarded rituals and practices.   Zhak'raa is both the observed religion and practiced magical system by the people of Nel'Akhiron. For the Akhir, it wasn't worshipped as a creator but studied as a fundamental truth—the source of all magic, a Primordial Current that flowed through the universe.   The faithful, the "Archaists," believed that magic was meant to be observed, not controlled. It was a chaotic, beautiful force that could only be understood through ritual and deep introspection. The greatest sin was to try and "tame" or "impose will" upon this current, as it would inevitably lead to a devastating, blasphemous backlash.   The Archomancers' hubris was exactly this. They abandoned the sacred study of the Primordial Current and instead sought to weaponize and hoard its power, each through their chosen elemental school. The Magical Bleed that now consumes Nel'Akhiron is the universe's vengeful response to this great heresy, an undying scar from their great sacrilege.

Ranks

Neophyte

Untrained, non-magical status. Not yet inducted into a magic school, but beginning to learn practices such as meditation, energy flow, and magical theory.  

Apprentice Magic

The first, most basic step of learning magic is the manipulation of air and conjuring gusts of wind. More complex techniques involve using the air to block attacks and enhance your own movement.   Air Spells –

• Whirlwind
• Wind whip
• Deflection
• Agility

 

Adept Magic

After completing the Apprentice school of magic, the student then begins the arduous process of learning to control matter on a new level: manipulating heat and creating energy instead of just moving it around. Though this is a big step up from the skills acquired in the Apprentice school, fire is the easiest type of energy for Adepts to control.   Fire Spells –

• Fireball
• Flame cloak
• Wall of flame
• Molten earth

 

Advanced Magic

Mastery of fire magic in the Adept school sends the practitioner to the final school of magic. The Advanced school is concerned with fine-tuning the knowledge learned from the control of fire, and fine-tuning it to extend to more volatile and potent forms of energy, generally classed as “Plasma” though it also covers electricity, light and even radiation.   Plasma Spells –

• Arcane missiles
• Prismatic shield
• Ethereal walk / Blink
• Lightning storm

 

Master Magic

Upon graduation from the Advanced school of magic, the practitioner will be only be considered a “Master” if they pursue has further studies in magic. They will have a specialisation and profession selected for them, so they may follow one of four paths in a Master-level education. This is not technically a ‘school’ but more of a class of magic, however it has more distinctly religious connections and rituals than the previous schools.   Becoming a Master means being designated one of four elemental schools (Ice, Blood, Smoke and Shadow) to continue to study, whereupon they will travel to the corresponding temple/monastery and become a part of the order there.   The process for choosing where a master practitioner will spend the majority of their life, begins with a lengthy ritual carried out by a council of archmages, after which they will deliberate on the final decision concerning the mage’s path.   Within the chosen organisation, the Master practitioner will also have a role chosen for them that best suits their abilities. This will be their job on a daily basis, which they will pursue in addition to learning about the Master class of magic. This may be one of several options including:

• Priest
• Acolyte
• Warder
• Archmage
• Sage
• Scribe
• Prophet
• Archon
• Envoy
• Apostle
• Champion

 

Elemental Magic

While the three previous magic schools are concerned with the manipulation of matter, the Master level encompasses a more ancient system of magic, centred around the control of four separate elements. Each one requires existing materials and has rituals, techniques and a philosophy shaped around them that are observed and taught by members of the orders at each temple.  

Ice - Skitix

This school saw magic as a form of pure, crystalline logic. They sought to strip away the "impurities" of emotion and flesh to achieve a cold, perfect form of power. Isolde is the ultimate expression of this path.   Domain: Frost, stasis, preservation.
Philosophy: “To still is to perfect.” Believed magic should freeze corruption and preserve order eternally.
Style: Encasing enemies in frost, halting motion, slowing decay.
Temples: Silent monasteries high in mountains, built of translucent ice-crystal.
Fate: Many withdrew into hibernation, sealing themselves in timeless frost — waiting for a world “worthy” to awaken into.
Survivors: Ancient, statuesque figures, bodies half-glacier, half-mage.  

Blood - Verubi

This path focused on the symbiotic relationship between magic and life. The masters of this school, like Korvax, believed that by infusing their magic with the vitality of living things, they could create a more potent and enduring power. Their heresy was the belief that they could impose order on the chaotic cycle of life and death, creating abominations that defied the natural order of Zhak'raa's current.   Domain: Blood magic, vitality, and sacrifice.
Philosophy: “Life is the coin of power.” The Blood School saw mortality as weakness and sought mastery through draining and reshaping the essence of life.
Style: Wounds that never clot, blades formed from congealed vitae, healing through stolen essence.
Temples: Crimson cloisters built near battlefields and charnel pits.
Fate: Many fled into vampiric agelessness, their bodies reduced to shriveled husks filled with boiling blood.
Survivors: Lich-like beings who must “feed” on echoes and flesh to sustain themselves.  

Smoke - Kahet

This was the path of the unseen and the ephemeral. Its followers believed that true power lay in subtlety and illusion, manipulating the world from the shadows without direct intervention. Vez'Thul's madness is a direct result of this. He sought to create a reality of pure deception, and now, trapped in his own mental labyrinth, he can no longer distinguish between truth and the lies he wove.   Domain: Illusion, entropy, transformation.
Philosophy: “All forms are lies.” Believed identity and form were mutable, tools to be unmade and remade.
Style: Illusions, cloaking, transformation of flesh and substance into smoke.
Temples: Obsidian halls filled with incense, labyrinthine in layout.
Fate: Many dissolved themselves willingly into semi-incorporeal forms.
Survivors: Wraithlike, their bodies half-smoke, half-bone, existing between states.  

Shadow - Zyx'ra

This was the most feared and secretive school, delving into the void between worlds and the absence of things. They didn't seek to create but to unmake. The archomancers of this school believed that by manipulating pure emptiness, they could achieve ultimate power. Their work is a complete violation of Zhak'raa's current, as it is a worship of the anti-current, a force of pure negation.   Domain: Darkness, absence, memory manipulation.
Philosophy: “What is forgotten cannot corrupt.” Believed power lay in erasure — of enemies, of memory, of history itself.
Style: Void-blades, shadow-step, spells that strip away recollection and leave only silence.
Temples: Underground labyrinths lit only by cold blue flame.
Fate: Many retreated into the Underhollows, erasing even their own names and faces.
Survivors: Shadows in human guise, empty masks with no memory of who they were.  

Element	Alignment	Combat Method	Ideals
Ice	Cold / Negative	Strike with precision, debilitating opponent	Perfection, isolation, emotional detachment, indifference
		Ice lance Freeze / Shatter Hail / icestorm Ice sculpting Snow magic	Requires Water (enough moisture may be conjured from the air)
Blood	Warmth / Positive	Enhance yourself with opponent's power	Passion, drive, power, health and physiology, revenge
		Blood lash Divining/scrying Haemokinetic combat (appendages, weapons, tendrils, etc.) Exsanguinate Wound healing	Requires Blood (not necessarily your own)
Smoke	Warmth / Positive	Stealth, deception and manipulation	Endless change, defence, spiritual evasion, freedom
		Smoke rush Cloud Asphyxiate Smoke form Ash constructs Ash skin	Requires Fire
Shadow	Cold / Negative	Absolute annihilation of the body and mind	Stability, discipline, patience, silence, purity, deception
		Shadowbolt Umbrakinetic combat (Roots/tendrils) Envelope Animated shadow Light absorption Cloak of darkness	Requires Light

Rites

Rite of the Frozen

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Rite of the Bloody

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Rite of the Charred

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Rite of the Dark

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Grand Temples

Intentionally placed in difficult environments, the four Grand Temples function as places of worship, libraries, monasteries and strongholds. Master magic-users come to study their arts, as well as immerse themselves in spiritual worship. At the heart of each location, there lives a powerful elemental spirit that acts as a guardian.  

Temple of Ice

Seated high up on a mountainside, resting on an alpine glacier, lies the Temple of Ice. Its myriad towers shine bright, a cracked white exterior with frosted walkways between them, icicles hanging like spiderwebs beneath. Nestled amidst them is the main building, its tiled, gabled roofs ever caked in snow. Despite the cold, there is nary a chimney to be seen. While its occupants wrap up and embrace the icy chill of its halls, a warm bowl of broth or cup of tea does not go amiss.   Guardian: Glacien, the bitter squall  

Temple of Blood

On a barren hilltop of gravel and silt, the gothic towers and arches of the Temple of Blood cast looming shadows on the valley below. Columns, buttresses and spires give this place an ominous and even threatening silhouette, further amplified by rather grotesque statues and reliefs depicting gruesome strategies of bloodletting. Despite all this, no other institution has as comprehensive knowledge of anatomical health and the workings of the human body, and the temples inhabitants are blessed (or cursed) with unnaturally long life.   Guardian: Plasmia, the pulse of vitality  

Temple of Smoke

In the volcanic regions, the Temple of Smoke has found a home on the rim of one of these crags of boiling earth. The landscape around is scorched and blasted, little more than piles of ashy chips, fields of black glass or rivulets of glowing magma. The temple itself is made up of a collection of smaller structures around a central larger urn-like building, the home of the Everburning Flame. This chamber is the beating heart of the inhabitants of the temple and is used for most of their rituals. Needless to say, the Temple of Smoke can be spotted from miles around.   Guardian: Hearthus, the smouldering ember  

Temple of Shadow

At the bottom of a valley, a cave entrance yawns open, beckoning the willing to step into its gaping maw. This will lead to a series of underground caverns which only those with a guide can navigate, or risk becoming lost in the dark forever. Eventually though, newly inducted members of the Temple of Shadow will find themselves at the foot of a grand, monolithic structure built into the rock and housed within a colossal chamber. Over time, many inhabitants of this dank, dark place will find their eyes adjust to the levels of light in this place, even losing their reliance on it at all.   Guardian: Umbral, the void shade  

History

The Primordial Current

• A natural flow of magic, deep and unseen, running like a river beneath the world.
• Said to be the “breath” of creation, cyclical and life-giving.
• The Archaists believed one must commune with the Current — letting it flow through them without domination. Rituals, chants, meditation, and sacrifice.

  Archaists (Spiritualists)

• Worshippers of the Current. Magic as harmony, devotion, and balance.
• Their practices were often shamanic, organic, and slow to develop.
• They survived on the margins, mostly forgotten or dismissed as “primitive” once the empire rose.
• Their whispers live on in myths of the Unbroken Current ending.

  Archomancers (Pragmatists)

• The magocrats of Nel’Akhiron. Magic as control, refinement, expansion.
• They codified spells, weaponized Zhak’raa, and fractured it into disciplines.
• The White and Black Orders were both offshoots of Archomancy — different interpretations of the same “refined” Current.
• Their hubris gave birth to the Tempest War, and ultimately the Annihilation.