Originally from
Barque and later moved to
Crecia Kendell, while not the first
Mage to exist, they were the first mage to record their knowledge and findings for future reference.
From there, they wrote the first six observations of
Arcane Magic:
- One can only learn magic if they possess the ability to create magic within themselves.
- Magic must be tamed and honed, otherwise it will lash out and possible put the casting mage and those around them in danger.
- One only possesses a finite amount of magic. Overuse of this can lead to physical bodily harm.
- Magical energy is latent and a part of a mage's body, just as blood and tissue are. The absence of it for prolonged periods of time can be detrimental to a mage.
- Magical energy will eventually replenish, though this may take anywhere from days, to months, to years for it to do so.
- Magic is neither inherently good nor evil, it simply is. The choices of the mage wielding it are what send it on one path or another.
Since then, there have been others who have added to this list, and though Kendell's observations have been augmented and added to, they have remained more or less unchanged, even after hundreds of years. It is because of these tenets that schools dedicated to teaching magic were established and teach under these basic principles to this day
This, unfortunately, was not always the case.
When Kendell brought these thoughts up to some of the more exclusive mage circles, they were all but laughed out town, as the existence of their tenants ultimately demanded that magical education be made available to all walks of life, simply for safety’s sake. At the time, mage circles, where one could be educated in magecraft, were exclusive, and only open to the extremely wealthy.
Keeping those too poor to pay for membership uneducated in magecraft proved to be a dangerous practice, as many smaller villages and towns soon began sending their magical children into the wild to fend for themselves, rather than risk having their livelihoods and buildings destroyed by someone that couldn't control their magical energy.
As the number of mages in the world began to grow, it became clear that there was only so much one could teach themselves without a mentor, so Kendell decided that they were going to do something about this disparity between rich mages and poor ones.
Over the next few years, Kendell began amassing money from those with similar ideas, and eventually moved from Crecia to Lumin, where large plots of land were absurdly cheap. There, they built the beginnings of a small village with a few like-minded Mages, complete with a schoolhouse, where Kendell would teach those that found their way to the town.
Soon, word spread of the school, and the College of Magecraft began to grow. Students that had graduated began to teach their own classes, creating unique branches of magic whose discovery was not possible before.
The college was kept afloat by donations from wealthy families, once it caught on that the mages who went to the college were able to attain a greater degree of knowledge than those that joined circles. These funds allowed for the expansion of the college itself, as well as the enrolment of those too poor to be able to pay for an education by themselves.
As the years passed, the College grew and so did the town around it, until it was a proper city, with Kendell at the center of it as both Headmaster and Mayor. They named the growing town, as well as the college, Chenya, after their life-partner, who was not a Mage herself, but was incredibly clever regardless, and kept the town and its citizens safe from the fey as best she could.
Now, the
College of Chenya is housed within a massive keep, is home to several hundred students of all ages and walks of life, and offers classes in every branch of magecraft currently in existence.
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