Information on Campaign World

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Mage Academy's Country Information:
Western, Fuedalism-style government. Most of the populace are still subsistence farmers protected by noblemen, though a middle class is forming of townspeople. The king has funded and created a magical academy that all countries are currently using to train their mages. Size is currently unknown and unimportant.

Magic Information: Primarily elemental in origin. Mages are those born 'gifted' with the talent for creating and controlling elements. Mages specialize in specific elements based in their natural affinity for it: they're born with a specialization. Elements include: Fire, Water, Frost, Lightning, Earth, Wind. Dual specializations are rare and result in unstable and dangerous people.

Religious Information: Deities are inactive in this world. Organized religion exists, but there is no direct evidence for divine or demonic beings. The only evidence of spirits or elementals relate directly to human meddling with the environment or magic-related mutations.

Mage Organization: Varies from Country to Country. No holistic organization exists, but the mage academy serves as a focal point for magic users to learn. It is also a university for research into magic.

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Purpose of the academy: to provide mages with the ability to control their powers and to provide them with job training that is beneficial to society, as well as a complete education. Literacy is required, and physical exertion and combat training are part of the curriculum as well. Training lasts for four years, starting at age 14, a year after powers normally manifest themselves.

Magical employment: Most mages either return to their old lives, now capable of controlling their powers, or they can seek employment as a magic-user. Typical magic jobs include hedge-wizards for a local village, diviners, weather-magi (very popular with farmers), bodyguards, research wizards and teachers. War wizards are emphatically NOT trained by the university, although some countries do employ war wizards in their military. These are rare and valuable resources to the country however, and are not a common sight on any battlefield.

[Sylvan]

Element Strong Against
Fire Ice, Earth
Ice Wind, Water
Wind Earth, Lightning
Earth Lightning, Ice
Lightning Water, Ice
Water Fire, Earth
Dark Light
Light Dark

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The King's Hand: Elite group of battlemages that serve in the King's army. They are a chivalrous order dedicated to serving the King of the country, and only accept the most powerful battlemages. They are addressed by the title 'Magister' if male or 'Magistrix' if female. To become a King's Hand battlemage, their application must come reccommended from another, more senior mage that has been training them in the arts of war magic. Since the honor of the senior mage is at stake in this application, applicants rarely come unprepared, but those that do risk losing their lives in the trials. Typical training time before application is at least 1 year, and most likely longer.

The trials themselves are a series of harsh tests that test the limits of the applicants power, cunning, endurance and loyalty. Applicants are expected to be able to demolish the gates to a castle on their own with no help from anyone else. They are expected to fight in the midst of hundreds of soldiers, all trying to kill them (achieved via powerful illusionists). One of the trials includes a siege that will last days on end. All applicants take this test together, and it forces them to work as a team to try to destroy a structure that is nearly impregnable. The final test subjects the subject to intense scrying and magical observation, where specialized mages probe the applicant's mind, searching for any thoughts of dishonorable conduct.

After this, a grand ceremony is held, welcoming the newest members into the elite order. The king himself knights new Magisters and Magistrixes in a ceremony very similar to that of creating a new knight, where the applicant swears eternal loyalty to the cause of their country, and the King in turn grants them nobility (if they did not already have it) and, upon retirement, land of their own.

The King's Hand trains daily with the soldiers so that the soldiers can get used to the mages they will work with, and the mages can get to know the soldiers. Battlemages have no technical authority and rank on the battlefield, but most soldiers will follow a battlemage if he demands it. In the command structure, they only are required to answer to the king. Many generals have discovered the hard way that King's Hand mages do not follow orders well, and instead fight on the battlefield as they see fit.

King's Eyes: While they don't have any official title, all battlemages know about the men and women in grey robes that roam the halls and test applicants. These specialized mages hold a dark secret: they're shadow mages that have had their element removed from them. They instead learn mental magics, focusing on telepathy and mind-reading. These mages are tightly controlled from the minute they enter their secret academy, and live a life of paranoia and secrecy apart from other mages. They are forbidden on pain of death to talk about their order, and most mages know enough not to approach them.

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Country Name: Velgarth.
Army Colors: Dark blue and white with silver accents
Capitol: Ostegrath

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Country at war: Karse

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Kodai Circle of friends at time of battlemage application:
Karrigan
Finnegan (Deceased)
Unnamed member who didn't survive the last trial.

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Karse view of magic:
Heavily centered around the concept of 'Djinni'. Magical ability is granted through gifts and pacts made with spirits called Djinni. Boys and girls are generally 'gifted' around the age of 13-14, and begin to learn about their spirits (always elemental in nature) from an older mage. Shadow mages exist in this society, though they are reviled, as do light mages. Most mages become involved in the military in some way due to the elemental nature of their talents, and the amount of mages in the army is far greater in Karse than other countries, although their 'battlemages' are weaker generally.

In addition to normal battlemages are those that give themselves completely over to the Djinni and summoning them into this plane. Such men and women are both respected and feared. They are called Majnun, and summon the elementals to wreak havoc on the battlefield, although they lose control. A lot of the training is teaching the elementals to harm the opposing side and not their own side.

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Kodai Background info: Kodai was born to a textile merchant and the daughter of a prominent blacksmith. While he learned the trades growing up, when it was discovered he had magical talent, he was immediately placed in the academy that would form the backbone of the rest of his life.

Fresh out of school, he won a position to a noble household as a battlemage. Not talented enough at the getgo to be a King's Hand, he honed his skills in that position. He also was approached by the noble's daughter, and became embroiled in a relationship with her. While he loved her, she treated him as little more than a boytoy, dressing him up and parading him around at various events. He eventually left the position and her, travelling to the capital to become a Magister at the age of 21. From there, he served a 2-year tour of duty, until he was 23. Tired of the military life, he took a break and accepted a job teaching young mages at the Academy, until he met Sylvan at 25. When she graduated, he followed her back to her homeland as her bodyguard and mentor, training her in the battlemage arts. He now fights alongside her in the 1st cavalry unit.

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