Sihir

To hear the mages of Sihir tell the story, they are all that stand between civilization and the final ending of the world. Today Sihir is one of the foremost magical nations on Celasper, but it was not always the case. The mages of Sihir in the distant past were once slaves within the city-state of Sosso. The magocracy in Sosso could not keep up with the demands of war placed upon it by its enemies, and so chose to enslave goblins en masse to utilize for magical experiments. Many of these goblins were trained in basic magecraft to act as foot soldiers in an unending war. Within the Blackfire Alchemists Guild, a number of goblin test subjects rose up against their masters and initiated the Blackfire Rebellion.
The rebellion gained wildfire as goblins, hobgoblins and bugbears threw off their chains and killed their masters. Infused with sorcerous energies, what the goblins of Sosso lacked in knowledge they made up for in manpower and desperation. Adding fuel to the fire, many of the Sosso mages had foolishly trained cannon fodder apprentices in the arts of wizardry to serve as targets for clone spells. The revolt of these hobgoblin wizards proved the final lynchpin to turn the rebellion into a revolution. The results were swift, with the mages council of Sosso was put to the sword and the free peoples of Sihir proclaimed. The goblins knew they could not remain in the city however. An exodus of tens of thousands of freed slaves left Sosso to its fate and withdrew northwest towards the rocky coastline to leave the war behind them. They set up magical wards to block against outsiders and began studying their former masters craft to defend Sihir against retaliation. That retaliation never came, as Sosso's destruction left a power vacuum filled by total apocalyptic annihilation. Within a generation, the remaining city states would be destroyed by their own hubris, leaving Sihir the last survivor of the conflict.
During the interim however Sihir made allies. Overtures were successfully made to the Imperium of Bengion and specifically the Knights of Nova Brigodia and the city-state of Bartsama. The three nations formed a triple alliance against the city-states of Matanga. That alliance has lasted for over a thousand years.
The goblins also took the time to train themselves in the sorcerous arts. While they left as little more than novices, they swiftly ascended to the status of high-magisters, and not a moment too soon. The mad city states had left behind Avatars of Eldritch Gods beyond mortal comprehension. It soon became clear that they could not be destroyed. After much deliberation a decision was made between the Sorcerer Karavax and Duke Brigodia IV. If the abominations could not be banished, they would be frozen. An army of goblins and Nova Brigodian knights charged into the center of the carnage, and performed a terrible ritual that resulted in the Temporal Binding of the Eldritch Scar. Neither Karavax nor the Duke would survive the ritual and died of a magical backlash soon afterwards. To this day the details of this ritual are only known to the High Magisters of Sihir, and only under Geas to never speak of them to outsiders.
Over a thousand years have passed since that day, and it is difficult to tell if the mages of Sihir are sufficiently different from their ancient masters in Sosso. The mages of Sihir treat non-mages with indifference at best and outright disdain at worst. They have bent their allies in Nova Brigodia to their will, bringing the Knights of the Comet into direct service. With their ally descending into civil war, some in Sihir debate whether or not to claim direct control of more. Even as they claim to ward against calamity, many mages perform experiments and rituals that would make outsiders very nervous.
Many mages of Sihir specialize in conjuration magic, and as a result extra-planar blood has seeped into their lineage. Planar Scions are common, with demonic scions especially so. Hobgoblins have emerged over the centuries as the true rulers of Sihir, with goblins and bugbears often relegated to inferior positions. While it is certainly possible for a goblin or bugbear to achieve the rank of high magister, it is significantly rarer.
Sihir today exists in a state of isolation. Mages tend to be more inwardly focused on their individual studies than the outside world. Many within Sihir feel that the magocracy has grown lax as a result. Many more bugbears and goblins believe that the hobgoblins of Sihir are treating them unfairly. Others believe the problem extends from mages to non-mages. To date, the government has shown little desire to modernize or change its social positions. If these divides continue to grow, another Blackfire Rebellion may soon be on the horizon.

Structure

The Mages Council of Matanga, named as a final show of spite against fallen city states, rules Sihir. At any point in time eight high magisters sit in judgment on how the magocracy should be run. In the event of a tied vote, the high-sorcerer, the eldest serving mage, will break the deadlock. The magisters each represent one of the eight schools of magic, though some debate if additional seats should be added to acknowledge Dunamancy or Gravitational magics.
Scheming between the high magisters is common, and certainly each possesses enough power to level the city to the ground. However, Geas magic prevents open conflict between them, and it is strictly enforced. Before we were mages, we were slaves, or so the motto goes. There is an earnest belief, at least publically, that any disagreements between the magisters should not threaten the city of Sihir itself. The archmagisters are as follows:
High Magister Kallimachus, a supreme bugbear sorcerer and the oldest serving goblin in Sihir.
High Necromancer Runescar, a vampire hobgoblin wizard
High Illusionist Aethermark, a hobgoblin sorcerer
High Enchanter Dominus, a hobgoblin bard
High Evoker Ignus, a goblin sorcerer
High Conjurer Mansus, an aasimar hobgoblin warlock
High Abjurer Starshroud, a half-bugbear wizard
High Diviner Folami, a hobgoblin druid
High Transmuter Sphera, a tiefling hobgoblin alchemist
The fortress Echlin serves as the seat of government from where the Mages Council of Matanga makes their decisions. The fortress sits high above the city of Sihir on a private demiplane, and the High Magisters themselves enjoy experimenting on anyone foolish enough to attempt to interrupt their gatherings without invitation.

Culture

Magic is king in Sihir, and even the lowliest in Sihir have a greater understanding of magical arcana than most people alive. Magical effects enchanted by the mages of Sihir are almost taken for granted by the populace, who use teleportation, prestidigitation, mending, and other magical conveniences as part of their daily lives. However the actual signs of magical interaction outside of the capital remain sparse.
Within the capital signs of magical supremacy are commonly seen. Bubbling elixirs sold on street corners, humming standing stones ringed with cold-iron golems, the floating fortress, or the Acadamae Arcane rotating around the city center. Indeed within the capital the older wizards themselves seem more ancient and unknowable. The taint of the Eldritch Scar is not without consequence, and those wizards devoted to warding against the influence of the Outer Gods decay into an almost alien appearance with age. Extra eyes, tentacles, pustules can be seen from these individuals when the taint allows them to function. Just as likely for the long lived is paralysis of the lungs or a decaying of the flesh that leaves one crippled. The deeper and wider the robe, the more likely it is that a goblinoid has been struck by an outer-malady.
The easiest way to know that one is in the magocracy of Sihir is to look at the clothing of individuals. Cloaks, cowls, hoods and staves are commonplace and warn openly. It is not uncommon to see potions on the sides of peoples belts at a distance, or wands hanging from the waist. Mages in Sihir give up their birth names in a magical ceremony in order to protect themselves from invasive magics. The easiest way to tell a mage by name is to see whose names sound more like titles.
Necromancy is tolerated in Sihir but not encouraged. The study is necessary to combat the forces of the Charnel One, but Sihir knows as well as any the danger that lichdom can pose to any society. Indeed the High Magister of Necromancy elected vampirism specifically because of this fact.

Demography and Population

Hobgoblins, Bugbears, and Goblins make up the overwhelming majority of Sihirs popuation, with all other races bringing in less than 10% of the total people in the magocracy. A large number of demonic and infernal blooded tieflings exist within Sihirian society, though such members are usually not allowed to advance as mages due to fears that their blood may threaten the cities magical protections. 
Non-mages within Sihir are in theory granted equal rights as citizens, but in practice are often deligated to lesser jobs and lesser opportunities from their magical betters. The knowledge that anyone can learn magic keeps a number of these citizens in line, but there are always grumblings from those without power that Sihir's talk of freedom is little more than a veiled scam. Warlock patrons and even covanents have gained a surprising amount of followers in Sihir for this very reason, and some in Sihirs leadership continue to argue that a more open show of force is needed to put down any who disagree with Sihirs heirarchy.

Territories

The Acadamae Arcane: The magical college of sorcery in Sihir could be better described as a dozen different small schools of usually small or even single student tutelage. Instruction typically begins by 14 and can last for over a decade. The Acadamae possesses an incredible library of books salvaged from the Eldritch Scar containing the full depths of knowledge from the old world known as the Librarium Caelmarath. The library is always in need of translators, and to date only about a quarter of its tomes have been unlocked through magical deciphering. Violence between students is not tolerated and public displays of power are discouraged. "Magic exists to serve Sihir, not to rule over it." Those who graduate the acadamae often become researchers, artificers, or enchanters. Many of the elite choose to bond with a knight from the Order of the Comet to serve Sihir in a more martial capacity. Also notable within the Acadamae is the Planteria Observatorium known as the Invisible Halls. This school of illusion is used to create glamours that are seen all throughout Sihir and the surrounding countryside, creating fantastic vistas and images for the populace, or to hide people or even entire towns from the notice of enemies.
Alphaseth: Sihir has no official religion, but Alphaseth comes as close to sacred ground as the magocracy will allow. The mausoleum of Karavax the Sorcerer can be found here, along with the tombs and memorials of the first goblins killed in the Blackfire Rebellion. The sacred alchemist fires have burned from the mausoleum for over a thousand years, made from the first black powders used to instigate the rebellion of Sosso's slaves. The High Magister of Necromancy has pledged that any who come to Alphaseth will be fed and clothed, and any slaves within its boundaries freed. Each year, the graduates of the Acadamae Arcane will gather here to pledge oaths of loyalty to the nation and undergo their naming ceremonies in front of their sacred founder. This event is the closest that Sihir ever comes to a celebratory festival.
The Blazing Beacon: The personal headquarters of the High Evoker stands as the first sign of trouble from the Eldritch Scar. In the event of an emergency. the beacon atop the great tower of sorcery will alight, allowing all of Sihir to mobilize within a day. The Order of the Comet keeps knights stationed here, and the beacon serves as a landmark for warriors traversing the Scar where safety may be found.
The Oathwood: Sihir maintains respect for the creatures of the savannah that surround the nation, and has no desire to hunt the creatures that live there to extinction. As a result, the Oathwood is set aside for a school of magic not otherwise observed by Sihirian magocracy. The Druid Circle of the Oathwood is smaller, but no less potent in its use of magic. Named as the location where the Knights of Nova Brigodia and mages of Sihir first forged an alliance, the Nova Brigodians later gave the Oathwood over to the druids of Sihir for stewardship. These druids will oftentimes be seen around Sihir and its holdings interacting with and protecting the wildlife such as lions, giraffes, zebras and antelope, or providing water to the otherwise barren landscape. The water from the Oathwood's center goes not only to Sihir, but Bartsama and Nova Brigodia. In this way, the druids from Sihir are arguably more valuable to their collective alliance than any mage, knight or tradesman.
Ouja: Ouja was built relatively recently by the magocracy of Sihir as a military fortress to protect against attacks from the Eldritch Scar or potentially from Zir. Its position upon the imperial trading road is equally as important. Raw goods from the Hyksos are manufactured in Sihir to be taken along the great road to Bartsama for final shipping. Ouja has developed its own markets however, and exists as the premier site of alchemical goods within Sihir. Not strictly limited to bottles, magical pipes of arcane-enhanced smoke can be found in taverns throughout the city. Within the bottle market, the phrase "buyer beware" rings true as untested alchemical potions can be found in many of its shops. A number of planar scions disowned by their families often end up in Ouja serving as apprentice alchemists when unable to afford admission to the Acadamae Arcane. The air in Ouja is notoriously terrible, as is the purity of water from outside the Oathwood. The High Magister of Abjuration spends a great portion of their time creating wards against the ash from the Charnel One's domain and the harsh winds of the Hyksos. Exposed to the harsh air however is the Charnel Colosseum. Built originally as a form of entertainment and spectacle for the goblins of the region, it has recently been used to settle grudge matches between alchemists. Its use has since expanded further to allow foreigners to settle conflicts in the arena, which the Knights of Nova Brigodia have been quick to utilize.
The Proving Grounds: Sihir is hardly a safe place for mages to experiment or practice magic. Rather than risk the cities populace, the proving grounds forest is used by both the Knights of Nova Brigodia and the mages of Sihir to train in relative safety and seclusion. Unfortunately, a number of arcane experiments have gotten loose within the forest over the years, and more than one first year has been killed by a conjured imp who broke its summoning circle. The beasts within are smart enough to stay within the forest's domain, and have shown the ability to cooperate to hunt vulnerable knights and mages, which the Sihir instructors allow to ensure only the strong advance. .
Raba: A small border town existing on the old imperial road to Qut Hyksos. Raba is known primarily as a place where guides and rangers can be found to navigate north into the badlands. Away from the mages of the capital, people here are more in touch with the land. Tamers of the savannah's wild animals can be found here, and a few such beasts can even be sold to outsiders. A young wizard named Timescape also has set up a school here dedicated to Dunamancy, intending to prove through experimentation that her school should be acknowledged by the Mages Council of Matanga.
Sihir: Sihir exists on an isolated granite base connected to the rest of the rocky mainland by a long sliver of road at low tide. While the levels of the tide are easily predictable to those who live within the city, to outsiders it creates an obstacle that must be dealt with to enter the city by land. The city of Sihir is relatively small in circumference but makes up for it with buildings rising high into the air. Many great towers exist within Sihir with bridges that travel between them. Below the city streets are the remains of an ancient ruin called Cassadega, which existed since before the first mage wars and is Nioman in design. Much of this ruin was used to construct the original base for the goblin peoples of Sihir.
Within Sihir, many who do not attend the Acadamae Arcane or who cannot afford to instead apprentice themselves to individual masters or artisans within the city. The Academae Arcane and the Librarium Caelmarath are both off limits to those who are not students or teachers associated with the school. As a general rule, the higher you get within Sihirs tower systems the more magical things become. Many-non magical individuals live on the bottommost levels of the city, along with a large number of shops, inns and monuments. The uppermost terraces however are often reserved for individual mages, and may possess their own enchanted defenses and wards displaying great wonders to outsiders.

Military

Sihir relies upon its allies in Nova Brigodia for military protection, however since the Silence the Order of the Comet have served from Sihir itself. These knights are elite warriors and paladins who are each bonded with a specific mage from the Acadamae Arcane. Together the two form a bond stronger than a geas to allow each to know each other's status and location at all times. They represent a deadly force upon the battlefield, their bond allowing them to work nearly telepathically in tandem to defeat abominations, bandits, or whatever threat avails itself.
City guards are often trained by the High Magister of Abjuration in anti-magic specifically, and a number of golems from Bartsama have been commissioned to deal with magical threats. Individual mages of Sihir are also extraordinarily deadly, and due to the Geas placed upon them, each may respond to a crisis in times of extreme threat.

Religion

The worship of divine magic is banned within Sihir. There is too much fear that the worship of Eldritch Gods could become commonplace to allow for practiced worship. Only communion with nature and other forms of druidic animism is permitted, and then only in select places.
This has not stopped people in Sihir informally worshiping in secret. Chohar as the god of justice, loyalty and work is well respected by the common people. Many in Sihir venerate Kalekot as well as a protector of secrets, for the magisters have plenty. Few worship Lamashtu, seeing the horror the deity has caused on the rest of the continent. Given the rigid structure of Sihir, the worship of archdevils is not uncommon, Asmodeus and his followers have much to potentially offer the mages of Sihir.

Foreign Relations

Sihir maintains a military alliance with Bartsama and Nova Brigodia that has lasted over a thousand years. That alliance may soon crumble however with Nova Brigodia in a state of civil war and unable to reliably defend the border.
Sihir is officially neutral towards the cities within the Hyksos, but in actuality openly trades with them using the old imperial road. They similarly maintain a friendly neutrality with Zir, but are sworn to defend Bartsama if Zir were to ever launch an invasion.
Shujaa remains a bitter enemy of Sihir's mages. The old clerics of Shujaa remind the mages too much of their former oppressors in Sosso, and Walkena's desire for expansion is directly in conflict with Sihirs isolationist aims. Minor conflicts have broken out between the two nations in the past, but a large territorial divide between them has limited conflict for now.

Laws

Punishment in Sihir is typically harsher than it is elsewhere. Imprisonment is common, as are gibbets for minor offenses. Spellcasters convicted of serious crimes are often sent to a demiplane of pain for punishment, or sometimes offered to take an "expedition" into the Eldritch Scar to avoid sentencing. Execution is reserved for murder, or for treason against the high city. Notably this is a law that is applied even to the highest levels of authority. High Magisters have been executed multiple times for conspiring against Sihir, and their geas commands help make it clear when such deceptions are occurring.
All mages in Sihir are placed under geas to protect the city and its people and to never betray it without exception. Even visiting mages serving in the city, or those who learn within its magical academy are subject to the same rules. Similarly, the Knights of the Comet from Nova Brigodia are placed under a special type of geas to protect their bonded wards and protect them from harm. Such magic is extreme, but deemed necessary to avoid a potential repeat of history.

Broken Chains, Unbound Arcana

Founding Date

3128

Alternative Names

The Magocracy

Training Level

Semi-trained

Veterancy Level

Trained

Demonym

Sihirans

Government System

Magocracy

Power Structure

Unitary state

Economic System

Command/Planned economy

Location

The Eldritch Scar

Neighboring Nations

• Bartsama
• Nova Brigodia