A Character In Search of a Story

Notes

Notes on the actual world surrounding Alluriel.

The Professions of Magic

Sorceresses and Wizards

Sorceresses and wizards are the most widely known spellcasting profession in the world.

What differentiates a sorceress and a wizard? Besides the obvious, in that wizards are always men, and sorceresses are always women. Both are able to channel magic through themselves to cast spells. Both can use magical devices such as wands. The answer is in the way they cast magic.

Wizards cast spells through learning by rote. They then cast their spells using the Laws of Magic by repeating the gestures and incantations and using the symbols and materials required. They are able to take advantage of the learning and writings of previous generations of wizards, so their range of spells are quite vast, more than any one wizard can ever learn in a lifetime. Most, through practice, can learn dozens: the legendary wizard Calandrus once cast over a hundred unique spells as part of his Archmage ritual trial. However, a wizard with a good library of spellbooks or a network of friends and associates can cast almost any spell desired given the time to research. Trading spells is a time-honored tradition between wizards, as is creating new spells or developing new ways of casting old spells: observing a sorceress casting a new or improved spell is one popular method of research.

Sorceresses cast spells by channeling the magic by act of pure will directly into the desired effects without the knowledge of how or why the magic does what it does. It has been likened to “talking” to the magic to persuade it to work. The spells they cast emerge from their subconscious and are retained only through constant practice and repetition, and most sorceresses only know a few dozen. Their intrinsic nature often controls which spells they develop, and oftimes their spells influence their intrinsic nature. On the other hand, they don’t need all of the ritual trappings of wizards although sometimes will sorceresses take advantage of them to enhance their spells.

Other Magic Using Professions

Sorceresses and wizards are not the only spellcasting professions: there are several others, and the following are the most well known.

• Bards channel magic through their instruments, and cast spells through their songs and music.
• Priests and priestesses channel magic through sacred relics or holy objects and cast spells through their prayers.
• Smiths channel magic through their tools and cast spells by chanting during forge work. They are known for producing magical weapons and armor.
  • Jewelers and leatherworkers are both considered forms of smiths. They channel magic through their tools and cast magic through the runes and markings they place on their work. They are known for producing magical charms and amulets.

The Specialties of Magic

Spellcasters often specialize in types and applications of magic across their professions. These are some of the most common forms:

• Crafters – Spellcasters who create magical (amulets, armors, wands, rings, etc.) and mundane objects (statues, buildings, etc.) through magic and craftsmanship.
• Elementalists – Spellcasters who directly manipulate elemental forces and raw elemental forms.
• Enchanters and enchantresses – Spellcasters who manipulate emotions and thoughts of sentients and non-sentient animals.
• Healers – Spellcasters who specialize in healing magic, both for humans and animals.
• Illusionists – Spellcasters who create imaginary sensory images in the minds of others.
• Transporters – Spellcasters who specialize in lifting, movement and transportation magic.
• Warders – Spellcasters who create temporary or permanent wards against a variety of offenses.

The Orders of Magic

There are several orders given royal commissions to seek out and train anyone with the talent to use magic in the proper and lawful use of their talents. Most train only one profession although some train one primary profession and one or two secondary professions: the most notable of these orders is the Order of the Shining Star, a bardic order that trains wizards and sorceresses as adjuncts (illusionists to create settings for plays, for instance) to bards. Most orders are self-policing while the remaining orders employ members of allied orders for enforcement.

Not all spellcasters are recruited into an order. Primarily these spellcasters are from isolated areas and are never found by agents of the orders but some simply refuse to join an order. These renegades are monitored to ensure they do not use their magic for illegal purposes. The most common are witches who prefer to stay outside the royal orders and train through their covens or through the master and apprentice relationship. Witches are most likely sorceresses by nature although some may also be priestess.

The Order of the Amethyst

The Order of the Amethyst specializes in training sorceresses to use their magical talents and any other talents to make an honest and decent living: because of the diversity of their training, many find employment with mercenary companies or with travelling players.

Other Orders

• The Order of the Fountain trains sorceresses and wizards in healing magic and all mundane healing arts.
• The Order of the Shrouded Moon trains wizards and sorceresses in covert and potentially illegal uses of magic. Although stories of the Order are dismissed as “just a bard’s tale”, it does exist and is royally but secretly commissioned. Membership in the order is very secret (cell organization) and members maintain membership in more overt Orders as a cover. Most members of the Order are secretly employed in royal service for their special skills while the rest act “unofficially” and often for “unusual” situations for other orders. As part of that secrecy, there are no known overt symbols of membership, and many may work side by side with other members of the Order and be totally ignorant of each others’ membership.
• The Order of the Swan trains wizards for royal service.
• The Order of the Thorn trains wizards and sorceresses in battle magic for the royal military.
• The Order of the White Robe trains priests in the divine use of magic.

Religion

The predominant faith is a pantheon based on pairs of opposites, yet only one half of the pair is ever actively worshiped by any one person, although many worship halves of more than one pairing. Sometimes these pairs are depicted as two separate statutes yet sometimes they are the opposite faces on the same statue. At the head of the pantheon are the most powerful deities: the Sun Lord and the Lady Moon, the Sky Father and the Earth Mother. Ranking underneath them are several ranks of lesser deities, such as the Justice Maker and the Oath Breaker, the Health Giver and the Pestilence Bringer and the Lady of Veils and the Lord of Pain. At the lowest level are the family deities such as the First Father and the First Mother and personal deities such as the Enticing One and the Reproachful One.

None of the gods have names, only titles. It is held that if a mortal knew the name of a god, they could replace that god in the pantheon. The gods themselves are silent on this subject.