The Golden Family Magical Division

So magic has been a contentious issue in the islands for millenia. On the books it is outlawed, and overt use can be punishable by imprisonment or even death. But in practice no one can deny it's usefulness. Healers use it, crafters use it, and some of the powerful families depend on it. It can be difficult to sort out what is truly magic and what is just talent or a skill which has been developed, generally people turn a blind eye to it unless you do something very overt. Since the trade wars have ended people have had some time and money to devote to improving themselves and their worlds, and magic use has been on the rise. There is a strong sentiment among the people on the islands that magic should be legalized; but as the laws are generally not enforced except on the Golden Island no one has really gotten passionate enough to risk a full revolution. They can pretty much do as they want; if the revolution went badly they might lose this freedom and risk more intervention from the big island. The families are quite evenly divided on magic right now. They are divided as follows: Rockflint Fernleaf: against magic Granitehawk : against magic Pro Magic: Shaft Willowreed Violet Topaz Probably use Magic but secretly Oakenstaff Scion Foxglove Currently this balance seems to be working, magic is kept out of site and everyone pretends that it doesn't exist. But if Ashwind takes over and joins the pro-magic group, that would leave the Granitehawks as the only anti-magic family, and the Oakenstaff and Foxglove families might be willing to take a pro-magic stand. To change the laws they need 4 families to agree. The Willowreeds might worry about losing clout of magic is made more accessible to people, so may be hard to win over. The Granithawks spread a message of fear, that anyone using magic is starting a rebellion and can't be trusted. However, they are held somewhat in check by the Foxglove and Topaz families. This balance is precarious; changing the laws would mean working a lot to allign the pro-magic families, not only to admit they use magic but to allow others to use it. Some families fear that it would make their power vulnerable, others feel that it would help all citizens and enrich the islands as a whole.

Plot points/Scenes

1. Ashwind fears his father finding out how interested in magic he is, as his father might elect to have Seashard Fernleaf take over leadership of the family. 2. Granitehawk fears that magic would strengthen the people and lead to rebellion and chaos, they feel it is to be avoided using all means, including might. 3. Shaft Willowreed would in some ways like magic to be legal so that they could use more of it and enrich themselves; however they also feel that if everyone could us it, the playing field would be levelled and everyone would have the advantage they now enjoy 4. Violet Topaz: enigmatic, she doesn't give much away, but her family have gemsense and use it to harvest their gems. She is onboard with (and in love with) Ashwind and his plan to legalize magic; she's rich enough not to be worried, but also sees that benefiting the people of the islands would be good for everyone 5. Scion Foxglove uses magic to gain knowledge and control circumstances. The Foxgloves enjoy things they way they are now...they encourage magic use on their home island and those islanders are the most adept at magic. They don't strong object to magic being open to all, but they are not about to campaign for it 6. Oakenstaff: they Oakenstaff family uses magic to fight; they don't object to it and use it mostly for self-defence; like the Foxgloves they aren't opposed to it becoming more used, but they have concerns about their enemies gaining the advantages they have. Particular the Granithawks and the younger Fernleaf.

Plot type

Overview/Background

Parent Plot

The Golden Family Magical Division

Subplots