Mages

Everyone who possesses the Gift of Magic can be called a Mage. This includes a vast array of different forms of magic users over all different cultures and species in Illangar.

The Gift of Magic

The ability to sense and manipulate energies surrounding oneself is dubbed the Gift of Magic. Not everyone is born with this Gift and not everyone is born with the same potential to realise it. The Gift of Magic becomes apparent to most during childhood and has to be realised and developed. If not further developed, it might fade again or remain weak. Most of those who are gifted possess only weak abilities troughout their whole life and only a fraction of a fraction might become truly powerful mages.

The Gifted Ones

Every species and every race has members, which are gifted yet the extent of their abilities and their potential to be gifted varies. The Gift is not hereditary and does not discriminate for gender, yet some species possess different innate abilities than others. It is noted that Elves are more frequently born with higher potential than Humans. Yet both also differ in their attitude towards those gifted. Elves developed much earlier schools of magic to train those possessing the apparent Gift.

Physical and Mental Attributes

Mages are capable of sensing and controlling the energies around them and use this ability for various purposes. However it can be subsumed that this takes a toll on the mage. Like any physical activity is this mental activity exhausting for the mage. How much a mage affected by this depends on their own capabilities. Some mages cannot do much more than move small objects around or ignite a candle, while others move mountains. Sooner or later every mage will pay a price for using their abilities as much as any physical ability requires effort. Overuse of magic can end fatal and especially mages involved in combat are very likely to die in combat. Fights between mages end almost always lethal for one side. On the other hand are mages capable of modifying their own bodies to suit their needs. They can manipulate their muscles and physical strength, thus many legendary warriors are also mages, without being regarded Sorcerers. Other mages focus their powers on prolonging their own life, often extreme lengths. Elven mages have perfected this, with some living up to several thousand years. Once a mage lives over a thousand years, they earn the title Undying One from their peers. The price they pay is that they have to spend often long periods of time in deep meditation to preserve energy. In this age only a few Undying Ones have survived. Most of them are of the nation of the Yupanki. Neither dwarves nor humans have had a tradition similar to the Undying Ones. Some humans schooled in elven magic, like Dauler the Great have prolonged their life, in his case to live up to 205 years of age. The oldest human in existence is Maimin Rawa 956.

History

It can be assumed that the Gift of Magic had always existed and there had always been some gifted individuals. The first to actually think of mages as professionals, who could train and master their abilities to become ever more powerful were Elves. The legends tell of an individual called the Old Master, who was the first true mage. He gathered around him those gifted to train them. Yet one pupil overshadowed all, called the Empress of Eternal Spring. She clashed with her master, as she believed that those gifted should guide the course of history. Later she killed him and every other student who opposed her. Those who joined her were called the Guardians of Eternal Spring, who together established the first true Empire, which lasted for four thousand years.

Traditions of Magic

Every culture has their own tradition of magic. An elf would not be limited to elven magic, these are simply the terms used to describe the prevailing uses of magic among one people. Yet as the Gift becomes apparent in childhood and mages are trained from thereon, it becomes harder for adult mages to learn another type, as they have ingrained in one already. Some especially powerful mages however to aquire a vast array of techniques and styles during their life. The various styles of mages are called Sorcerers, Shamans, Druids and so on. Some, like even mages separating in further subdivisions, such as Pyromancers, Hydromancers, Biomancers and so on.

The Second God

All these traditions of magic have one thing in common. The Gift of Magic is innate and it draws from the powers of the mages themself. Thus there is always one repercussion, the abilities are limited by the powers of the mage and draw from their lifeforce quite literally. An overuse can therefore be taxing, if not damaging or even outright dangerous for the mage. Yet there is another source of power, provided by the Second God. This being is as old as the world itself, but it had not been recognised until after Elves professionalised magic. They knew from the beginnings their own limitations to them. When they discovered the Second God, they saw a way out. This being was so strange to them, that they saw it as an anthesis to all life they had known since then. Drawing powers from the Second God enabled to the feats previously thought impossible or limited to only a very few. However they were decieved and soon they noticed that they were becoming dependent on the Second God, furthermore trough their actions they allowed the Second God to grow. They saw the changes its influence had on existing lifeforms and were horrified by it. Yet those mages who had tasted this power had become dependent and soon conflict arose between the elves. This conflict came to be known as the War against the Second God.

Mages and Society

Mages have always been few, but had been valued or feared by their surrounding societies. Early elven mages more capable and numerous than among other species soon took over and became leaders amongst their people. Elven mages too were the first to life up to extraordinary lifespans, those living more than a thousand years were called the Undying. These elders claimed supreme rule over their nations, becoming the defining factor of any elven society. Due to their long lifespan they deemed written language unnecessary. Mages never had such a prominent role among human and dwarven societies. In the past mages had been both outsiders and people of power, but most of the time they were solitary. This changed during the Age of Dauler when humans overtook many elven ideas and established schools of magic, while slowly abandoning their own primordial traditions of magic. Nowadays mages are found in various roles in human societies. Most have gone trough training and schooling. In the Daulerim Empire they are mostly independent, while in the Empire of Illodia they are subserviant to the state. They are advisors to lords and kings, but also provide paid services to their communities, such as healing and fighting.

Type

Arcane

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