The Laws of Magic

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The View of Magic 

Magic remains a divisive element among the people of Thrella. Most are wary of mages and their mystical arts, looking to them with derision and fear. The horrors wrought upon the world by the Coterie and their ritual slaughter of innocents are still fresh the minds of the denizens of Thrella. Even the Abreans, who once embraced magical study have begun to distance themselves from mystics in the wake of the war. Magic use is outright banned in Therin and looked down upon in Astilon. Even in Goldcrest, mages are strictly supervised by the Enclave with rules enforced by the Order of the Chevaliers.

Magical ability is not a learned skill. Its users are 'chosen' to wield such power at birth, though to fully realize their capabilities, intense training is required. An untrained mage is a risk to themselves and anyone around them as their mystical energies swirl around them unchecked. Mages who refuse to bend to the will of the Enclave are hunted by the Chevaliers and given the choice to enlist or face incarceration. Those who leave are considered rogues and, upon their capture, are subject to immediate execution without trial.

The Enclave

The Enclave serves as a place of learning and study for mages. They are independent of any government organization and thereby walk a fine line between embracing their mystical natures and keeping themselves out of the public eye. The Enclave is led by a council made up of the masters of the three proper schools of magic and work alongside the Accord Nations as well as the governor of Goldcrest to maintain order.

Mages in the Enclave live modest lives.  Their days are spent studying and training in order to better control and harness the power they wield.  They are taught magic as a last ditch option to be used when all other courses of action have been attempted.  Fighting or unruly behavior is strictly forbidden and punished by loss of privileges (i.e. being denied permission to leave the Enclave to venture out into Goldcrest).  All mages are given chores to be performed daily, such as cleaning, tending to gardens or working in the kitchen.

The Enclave is self-sufficient and secretive.  Only mages and Chevaliers are allowed entrance into their campus with violation of this rule considered an arrestable offense by the Goldcrest City Guard.  To help finance the Enclave's operation, mages are often commissioned out to various governmental agencies.  Many mages fall under the ranks of sailors, guards and political aides.  In recent years the Enclave has begun to offer mages to ambassadors of the Accord Nations to fill various roles.

The Order of the Chevaliers

One of the agreements to allow the Enclave to continue its operation in the post-war era was the advent of the Order of the Chevaliers.  Less than a decade old, the Chevaliers' duty, as it stands today, is two fold.  Not only to the Chevaliers act as the enforcement arm of the Enclave, keeping a close eye on the mages living there, but also to protect the law-abiding magic users from harm themselves.  Chevaliers are just as likely to come to the aid of a mage in peril as they are to hunt down rogues.

Upon their enlistment, Chevalier candidates are subjected to a rigorous martial training and selection process.  Those who successfully complete this course are initiated into the order through a brutally painful ritual that binds powerful anti-magics into their very beings.  The ritual is dangerous, having claimed the lives of more than a handful of potential recruits.

Once recovered from the ritual a newly inducted Chevalier becomes a powerful tool in the constant battle to regulate the use of magic.  Even the most inexperienced of Chevaliers are able to cause a mage's spells to sputter and fizzle with ease.  Even if caught off guard, Chevaliers are remarkably resilient to magical effects, including those of the elemental and forces schools.

A little known, yet still vital role of the Chevaliers involves the investigation of illegal magic use.  Teams of Chevaliers will be dispatched to follow or hunt down rogue mages and those suspected of dabbling in the dark arts.  Chevaliers have been sent to all corners of the known world, evoking a recent amendment to the Argent Accord allowing them to operate within the nations for the purpose of performing their duties.

The day to day life of a Chevalier is modest, at best.  They, much like their magically inclined counterparts, live within the Enclave, assisting with the daily chores and upkeep of the campus when not on duty.  Unlike their charges, however, a Chevalier isn't afforded nearly as many freedoms.  They are not allowed to own land or property beyond a handful of personal possessions.  Alcohol consumption is strictly forbidden, as is travel outside of Goldcrest not sanctioned as Chevalier business.

Choosing to leave The Order when age, injury or other trauma that would hinder a Chevalier's ability to perform their duties is not a factor is a perilous concept.  Under many circumstances a Chevalier can be denied the right to leave and those who do so anyway, or purposely fail in their duties can be tried as a criminal and incarcerated or executed.

Rogue Mages

An untrained mage is a dangerous, volatile individual.  Control of the chaotic energies flowing through the veins of  the magically adept is a vital component of Enclave training.  Those who have actively avoided, or never been subjected to formal training of this nature find themselves as wielders of unpredictable power.  While the untrained mage cannot hope to achieve the power of an educated apprentice, there volatile nature of their magics can make them far more dangerous than their specialized counterparts.

With no formal training to rein in their mystical energies, a rogue mage is capable of tapping into any of the schools of magic, even those that have been banned by Enclave law.  This volatility can lead to wildly unpredictable results whenever the mage attempts to tap into their magic as any number of mystical effects spanning the length and breadth of known magic could occur.

Magic Items

Magic, at its very core, is a rare and chaotic beast reviled and feared among all but a few in Goldcrest and the surrounding nations. Magic in all its forms is miscast, misunderstood and mistrusted by the overwhelming majority despite the usefulness of the skill. This public derision extends to magically imbued objects, concoctions, tomes on the subject and all the way to the mages themselves. Magic is not something seen on the streets and its use has recently been outlawed in the nation of Therin while remaining frowned upon by the rest. 

Items carrying magical properties are even rarer than mages themselves. Since magic is tied to the very essence or life 'energy' of the caster, the necessary rituals needed to imbue an item with magic requires a certain 'sacrifice' of this very precious and personal energy. Yes. In a sense, every magic item created costs a small piece of the caster's very being. Because of this, as well as the overall lack of acceptance of magic, and the arduous, involved ritual involved makes finding the mage willing to undertake such a task nearly impossible and someone willing to actually make use of such a foul, dangerous item even rarer still. This includes any and all products of magic. From weapons and tools, to clothing and armor and even potions or chemical concoctions. 

The Order of Chevaliers is tasked with policing magic as a whole.  This extends to the product of magic creation as well as the mages themselves.  Possessing an item imbued with magical energy of some sort could draw unwanted attention and raise some harsh questions from people most would rather avoid.

Schools of Magic

Elemental: Harnessing the power of the four, basic elements (fire, earth, wind, water) is among the most common magic practices on Thrella. While the foundation of learning each element remains the same, being able to manipulate these forces on even a rudimentary level is a daunting task. Elemental mages specialize in a given element with only the most powerful of magi capable of mastering more than one.

Forces: This school places the unseen forces of the world at a mage's fingertips. A force mage is capable of moving objects without touching them, striking at a foe with invisible energy and advanced practitioners have even been able to knock arrows from the air with the wave of a hand.

Life: The energies of life are a precious commodity. Although the most difficult (and thereby the most rare) school in which to master, life mages are among the most coveted magi due to their mastery of the very essence tat gives beings life. They are also the only mages capable of infusing their magic with alchemy, crafting salves and balms that can heal wounds or cure disease. While life magic can bring someone back from the brink of death, they are incapable of resurrecting the dead as that involves toying with forces that fall well beyond the scope of allowed study.

Outlawed Schools

The Enclave has outlawed two distinct studies of magic for their corruptible and dangerous nature. The Coterie were the most well known practitioners of these arcane arts, leading to their outright banishment by Accord Nations as well as within the walls of Goldcrest. Any mage found to be practicing these dangerous arts are subject to immediate execution at the hands of the Chevaliers.

Entropy: Decay, corruption and destruction are the meat and drink of practitioners of this dangerous magic. Not limited to simply destruction by physical means, this art can also corrupt the minds of otherwise good and just individuals, pushing them to madness and depravity. This corrupting affect will slowly bleed into the user, as well, twisting their mind as they fall into a downward spiral of insanity.

Necromancy: The most reviled and feared of all the arcane arts. Necromantic magic has been used to not only raise the corpses of the dead, but also in the creation of horrific creatures crafted from the flesh of beasts and man alike. Tugging at the strings of the dead is a dangerous and volatile path for one to undertake. A necromancer is often subjected to the whispers of the damned as unsettling beings that lurk beyond the veil see the mage as a door to the land of the living. These whispers grow stronger the more the mage delves further and further into the world of the dead and madness is a constant threat for even the most strong willed of practitioners.