Magicians

Magic exists as a response to sorcery. It is a practice only seen within the ɮudō species, and only came about recently. If sorcery among ɮudōju is seen as using and maintaining the connections between everything in the world, then magic is about breaking those connections.
Technically, all Magicians are Low Magicians- only the High Magician is different. In formal address, all are referred to as 'Low Magician X,' along with whatever other titles they may hold. There are no 'Middle Magicians.' In conversation though, they are simply referred to as 'Magicians.' They hate being reminded of their inferiority. The High Magician likes it that way.
Magicians are largely individualists- they break ties with everything and everyone around them and focus only on themselves. Their culture is centred on bettering themselves for only their own benefit. It is about their own success, power, wealth, knowledge, etc. They tend to remain in one place and hoard that which they desire around themselves.
This stagnation and individualism makes them the exact opposite of not only sorcerous culture, but the ɮudō culture at large.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Marazshu [ˈmɑɾəɮʊ] is the standard language here, with a heavy dialect due to its isolation from the rest of the continent. Still able to clearly communicate with others.

Shared customary codes and values

Individualism is highly prized. What you earn in life you must be able to earn yourself without any help. Needing help shows that you cannot do a thing by yourself, and is a sign of weakness. People work nearly exclusively for their own benefit. Helping others may show your own strength, but it may also give that other person a leg up to become your superior. However, it also puts them in your debt, and gives you power over them.
It is difficult to trust others, particularly the higher up the social or military ranks you go. At the bottom there is nowhere to go but up. There is quite a bit of I-scratch-your-back-you-scratch-mine, but that rapidly vanishes as you go up. At the top, there is nowhere to go but down. You must assume everyone else wants to be where you are and will do anything to obtain it. Friends are seen as reliance on others, and not common.
Everything is about personal power and benefit.

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Light is valued and praised here the way shadow is praised elsewhere. Magic uses light as sorcery uses shadow. Things associated with light are valued and considered good, though fire is not, as it is still allied with the elemental sorcery of the natural world.
Their culture is about being noticed and seen and superior. Light makes itself known. Magicians all strive to be seen as better than their peers and always try to outdo each other not out of friendly competition or a desire to learn, but out of a need to be validated as the winner. There can only be one winner and everyone else loses. Only one person gets the promotion or the reward, and everyone else gets nothing.
The Light That Brings No Healing drives itself as a knife into everything around it and that is how Magicians style themselves. They are strong and brutal and they cut deep.

Art & Architecture

All is bright and white. In the south there is a great deal of snow and ice, which is white and reflects a great deal of light, and its influence is seen in the architecture.

Common Taboos

Sorcery of any kind is outlawed here. Specifically the elements and shadow are forbidden. Any customs associated with sorcery are either discouraged or outright illegal; the laws are known to change at a moment's notice and many are imprisoned for slight infractions. Anything associated with the dark, black, and at times the natural world is given a negative connotation.

Historical figures

The High Magician is famed for their longevity, power, and rule. They are by no means kind but they are known. The High Magician rules the Bright Kingdom and enforces the practice of light as the only good practice. They are the only ruler of the Bright Kingdom that has ever lived; they founded it, and they still rule over it, all these hundreds of years later.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Anything associated with lightness and the colour white is highly prized. White skin, blonde/white/grey hair, light and desaturated eyes. Other than that, beauty standards follow typical ɮudō standards.

Major organizations

Most, if not all magicians have connections to the Bright Kingdom . The High Magician is considered to be the first great magician and so all those aspiring to greatness tend to flock to them. The Bright Kingdom is the only place where magic is not completely shunned, and is in fact even encouraged. Many join the Bright Kingdom in hopes of rising through the ranks and gaining power from the High Magician. Some even hope to eventually take their place one day.
Anyone hoping to attain any kind of power in the Bright Kingdom needs to have some magical ability. Every military officer- though not all soldiers- has some ability, great or small. All of the advisers to the High Magician, the nobles, and anyone else of high rank must pledge themselves to the kingdom by cutting off all their ties to the world around them. There is no going back once that is done. At least, that is what the High Magician wants them to believe.
This may not be the birthplace of magic, but it certainly is the birthplace of the modern practice as it is known today. This is the only ever known home of magic.

This is about Magicians and magical culture. For the actual practice of magic, see [Magic].

Related Organizations

• Bright Kingdom