Spellsters and Magic

For centuries, the presence of spellsters has long since been a tumultuous one, with the trend of those wielding magic and political power in equal measures going back as far as the ancient, and long-since-fallen, Domian Empire. Possessing magical talent means different things to those who have it. Some consider it as a curse, others see it as a gift, and a few look upon it as a divine calling. All agree that it makes them dangerous. As they should, for magic has the potential to destroy as well as heal.
Whilst the distant origin of such abilities is a hotly contested topic, it is widely accepted that they are passed on through bloodlines and a lot of countries have a phrase that amounts to the same thing: spellsters breed spellsters. Dwarven records state no manifestations of such power until the arrival of humans to the continent many hundreds of years ago. The same is recorded as being true of elves.
Much like breeding strong animals together gets a slightly stronger offspring, so is it with spellsters. But where certain traits can skip a generation, the same cannot be said to be true of a spellster’s magic, even Nulled Ones are a mere, mostly unwanted, product of spellster breeding. This has led to an uneven spread amongst most populations, with those or noble lines or in positions of power often having the upper hand. This is especially true throughout the three empires.

Manifestation

Whilst not all those with the power dedicate their lives to mastering their abilities and unlocking their full potential, spellsters of any great degree of power are generally born with the instinctual ability to conjure magic. Newborn abilities are limited to what seems to be a typical reaction to a hostile environment, such as a barrier briefly cast in the presence of pain. Often this magic isn’t strong enough to be destructive until early childhood, with the average age of wilful control being five-to-six years of age. Although, there have been many reports of babies causing a house fire or the death of a non-magical parent.
Other abilities can become innate through training. A prime example of this is healing, which requires years of learning how the body works and to do otherwise a spellster risks killing themselves or their patient. If they continue to train, they reach a point where the body will heal itself without active thought. The drawback to this being that it can no longer be controlled on the self and their magic will attempt to fix a severed limb or a simple pinprick with the same urgency.
Because their energy comes from within, spellsters generally devour a great deal of food to fuel themselves. Those who routinely fail to consume enough will find first their magic waning, then their bodies. A process that quickens in those who’ve learnt healing and find themselves stuck in a vicious cycle of their magic trying to heal the damage whilst simultaneously causing it.
Whilst a spellster can have the visual appearance of a person younger than those of a similar birth age who do not possess the gift, the magic plays no part in assisting when it comes to stretching the boundaries of life. However, this absolute alters once a spellster trains in the healing art where, once a certain degree of knowledge and ability is reached, their magic will assist in intuitive healing. These spellsters have been recorded to live well beyond their hundredth year. However, it is also to be noted that most of those cases are within certain kingdoms, such as Tirglas and Demarn—both practising the tradition of imprisoning their native-born spellsters. Other kingdoms where spellsters are largely in power also have a greater chance of falling to political enemies.
Those with moderate magic and below seem to have a normal sex drive, but spellsters with high levels of magical energy also have a tendency to possess hyperactive libidos with there being a direct correlation between the strength of magic and the level of desire.

Sharing Magic

Often confused with siphoning, the ability for spellster to share the magic with another is not an intuitive ability, but one every spellster is capable of once they are shown how.
The process is severely intimate, and not only due to the requirement of physical touch. Where healing permits a spellster to delve into the body’s innermost functions, sharing magic is more akin to caressing the core of what makes a being. The recipient of the extra magic will often find themselves in a bliss that mimics an orgasm, with the strength of this sensation dependent on the amount of magic gifted. Because of this, it’s considered unseemly to attempt it with a minor. When it comes to consenting adults, it isn't unheard of for spellster couples to engage in such transfers to enhance their pleasure during certain activities.
Whilst this power can also be shared with people not magically gifted, few spellsters are willing to do so as most beings are incapable of withstanding raw magic for long. Nulled Ones are, as expected, immune to this ability, although the few who have spellster lovers are aware of any subconscious attempts being made during intimacy.
Sharing magic was also once used as a means to bolster specialists in times of war, where those with great power would cede their raw magic to those with little power, but refined skills that required a lot more in the moment than a specialist usually could do. This often left the specialist dazed after the fact as though they were heavily drunk, this meant it was typically used as an emergency measure or for important targets.

Schools of Magic

It's widely held that there are five distinct schools of magic: Mental, Healing, Barrier, Ground and Aerial, which can be further split into Wind, Energy, Fire, Earth and Water. These are the base five points that all types of magic stem from.
In Udynean academia, these points are considered to be linked with the body: Mental/Mind, Barrier/Heart, Healing/the right side, Aerial/the left side and Ground/Legs.

Meanwhile, Demarn's Spellster Tower teaches her spellsters only three schools of magic, with mental completely absent, whilst aerial and ground are merged into elemental (the former severely curtailed of any skill that may harm their King's Hounds).

Localization

Despite the similarities, treatment of their magic-wielding citizens can vary wildly from country to country…
Demarn — The kingdom contains their spellsters in a single tower complex. They are either born within the walls or escorted there by the King’s Hounds. Outside of the tower walls, the people are widely fearful of magic and those who wield it. For the past hundred years, selected spellsters are leashed and ushered to the border where their army attempts to hold back a Udynean noble seeking to widen the borders of their estate.
Obuzan — Obuzan has strict laws regarding magic and any spellster unfortunate enough to be born in this kingdom must swiftly learn how to suppress their magic or run the risk of being caught by the Priesthood of the Great Judger and burnt at the stake. Strangely, those same priests allow the caravans of the elven nomads to pass through their lands even though they must surely know such clans have spellsters in their midst.
Niholia — The nobility of Niholia is made entirely of spellsters. They consider it as a gift and a blessing of their lineage. Only those of noble blood are allowed to opening practise magic and many a commoner has found themselves enslaved by the local noble upon displaying such a talent.
Udynea — Like Niholia, the nobility of the empire is spellster-based. Unlike the smaller kingdom, the court takes great pains to match their heirs to strong magic bloodlines in an effort to create even stronger children. Doing otherwise is seen as a wasteful use of god-given powers. Common folk are able to use their magical talents, providing those efforts are no directed towards the nobility.
Talfaltan — Akin to Obuzan’s no-magic law, spellsters found amongst islanders are slain, often via torture to ensure there are no others.
Heimat — Whilst little more than conjecture, the easy presence of spellsters within their nomadic clans suggests they are common-place in the elven kingdom.
Dvärghem — Due to the wholly non-magical properties of dwarven blood, any spellsters discovered within the boundaries of Dvärghem have come from elsewhere. Records state that the few Coven-sanctioned attempts to breed magical dvärgar has only resulted in half-breeds that display the normal amount of non-magical talents. Whether the chosen spellster is of human or elven origin makes no difference.
Cezhory — For the most part, spellsters born here are encouraged towards a hermitage lifestyle. It could be because they are rarely found and the common folk tend to prefer they live apart from the people, providing that the spellster doesn’t attempt to live as part of the society. In times of strife, one of these people is sought out to give advice and, occasionally, lend magical aid in affairs.
Tirglas — Tirglas is perhaps the only place where spellsters are given near-priestly stance. Although they cloister any person caught using magic, it is not quite the prison sentence of a Demarner, nor the freedom of a Niholian lord. They appear to dedicate themselves to a lifetime of study to the ways of healing and are sent out, at the crown’s request, during epidemics or major battles to use these talents. Independent Isles — The Isles keep very close-lipped with outsiders on a number of subjects and the status of their spellsters is one such topic. Given that they do not show any distaste towards a spellster upon learning of their presence, one can assume they are accepted, or at least tolerated.
Stamekia — Strong spellster bloodlines are highly prized, especially amongst the nomadic herders, so much so that those without it are typically shunned and those born without magic to herders don’t generally live past their fifth year. There are less stringent ideals along the coast and near the borders, although part of that may be due to outside influences rather than local feeling.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane