Magical Traditions

General
The title of Mage has been a matter of debate since the days of the first seers, in common vernacular however it is used to identify individuals with sufficient understanding and control of the arcane arts as to manifest their will into reality in the form of spells. Depending on how they came upon the necessary knowledge and skill to weave spells they are split into the five traditions that form the conclave of mages.

Hermetic Magic
The Hermetic tradition teaches the ways of weaving and transmutation of matter, energy and space. Its adepts are scholarly spellcasters who study magic not as an art but as a science with rigid and time-tested methods that have proven themselves. They rely heavily on magical theory for their practices, using geometric shapes and inscriptions as tools. The effects they can conjure vary greatly, but usually deal with the fundamental forces of the world in their more pure forms. It is the study of structure and change, the application of willpower to shape the world in one’s vision. Sciences like astronomy, alchemy and mathematics play a vital role in the tradition, unveiling the underlying order and powers of the universe. Common sources of energy they tap are ley-lines, celestial alignments and personal mental reserves.

Hermetic Scholars
The primary and most numerous path of the Hermetic tradition, with members of the nobility and academia among its ranks. Hermetic scholars are masters of ritual magic, able to use the ambient magical potential to supplement their own power instead of relying on alchemical reagents to fuel their magical creations

Hermetic WarMages (Mage-Knigths of the Silverfire Order)
A variant of the hermetic tradition was conceived by Draquelien during the first scourge invasion to provide the mortal races with a weapon capable of defeating the scourge. Today these teachings survive in the Silverfire Order among the Mage-Knigths that have dedicated their lives to protecting the realm from the ancient threat entrenched beneath the soil of Aeonia

Dark Thaumaturgy
The body of apocryphal and sometimes deemed unsavory knowledge of magic. The study of the dark arts and their implications. Dark Thaumaturgy is the passion and obsession of the inquisitive minds that are ready to trade limb and soul for power and knowledge. Its practitioners exercise caution and a healthy dose of paranoia when talking about the subject, immersed in a web of ancient forces and delicate balance, they witness atrocities and delights beyond the scope of mortals and shape just as much as they are shaped by the perverse reality of the dark corners of the Veil. For all this they have faced persecution across the ages, not entirely unjustified but most times driven by fear and hatred.

Goetics
Daemon summoners, worshipers, binders and consorts, each Goetic has made a deal with a daemon, promising their soul in exchange for the opportunity to ascend the chaos ladder, wield otherworldly magic and peer into the depraved soul of humanity. Tricked, seduced or searching for it the goetic is reborn into a new state of being when the blood they signed their dark contract with dries.

Necromancers
Away from prying eyes in crypts and towers hidden and forgotten by the living, the scholars of life and death toil away, searching and experimenting, perfecting the union of flesh and spirit. Madness and obsession, companions of such arcanists that have unlocked the secrets of the boundary between the two fundamental states of existence.

Sorcery
To wield magic is not the same as being magic incarnate. That is the clearest distinction of Sorcerers to the rest of the traditions. To these spellcasters, magic is an extension of their life, an ever present force behind their every action, its manipulation comes as naturally as breathing. This harmony and connection to the underlying forces of magic lead its practitioners to contemplate magical theory on different terms, and their spellweaving is cleaner, purer and more elegant than even masters of other paths can match. Sorcerers often boast of practicing magic the same way seers did, with a poise matching the Hubris necessary.

Elven Arcana
The striding city of Kyrthomir and its elven jade crystal heart had been a beacon of civilization and magic since the first days of the seers. It is no wonder that High Elven Sorcerers would be exceptional among those imparted with the gift of Wild magic. Their use of Elven Crowns and ability to blend magic with all other arts, from music to warfare, makes them quite adept with whatever they try their hands at.

Wild Magicians
By blessing or curse, bloodline or deed, some mortals touch the essence of magic and are forever changed by it, weaving themselves into the grand tapestry. Those innate users of magic learn to use magic intuitively using a technique called the seer's eyes that allows them to see and replicate the ripples of mana another mage causes when casting spells.

The Enligthened
The art of spell weaving is an exercise of will that requires a guiding conviction. Seekers of the enlightened paths hold this, exaltation of the soul, to be the origin of thaumatugry and the conduit to a great power from above (Path of Light) or Within (Emerald Path). The enlightened, aspire to a purity of though and spirit to do what is required of them in order to shape the world in pursuit of its ideal form. Spiritual leadership has often fallen to the shoulders of these mages throughout the centuries, especially in times of darkness and uncertainty and many religious movements, cults and covens have counted among their members enlightened leaders, scholars, priests and champions.

Path of Ligth


The Twin Paths of the Emerald Way
