THE VELICIUM

The school behind the school...

THE VELICIUM There is a secret school, behind the benign facade of the Colleges of Wick. The interior of the Velicium, where truth is told to magic. The Colleges normally and nominally cater to the image of simple magic, harmless magic. But we all know there is no such thing. Magic is dirty, It is ugly and dangerous. That would not be prudent for the crown to know, however. So the Colleges continue on their merry way, pushing forth a new crop of hedge mages and simple tricksters every semester, while holding back those of greater power, those who could expose them for the dangerous beasts they really are. The Velicium is known as a temple to music. A place where magical tradition holds court over aspiring musicians and their professors. The magic is in the notes, they would say. Innocuous. Only there to enhance the experience of the listener. Their music heightens emotions. Strengthens the bond between art, the artists and the patron. None think of it as a conduit for any real magic, any of the dark arts with a capitol A. Some know of the actual tradition behind the facade. Those of the Order. The Order of Mages. The organization set to control the dissemination of the arcane throughout the civilized west. The practitioners of such magic are not bards or minstrels. Tricksters or charlatans. They belong to a class all their own. The music of life and death. Magic that can both give and take life. Music that can instill a soul (or some facsimile of life) into automatons of clay, wood and steel. In the wrong hands, the misuse of such magic can be catastrophic in both effect and scope. The big secret of Wyeth hangs , at least partially, upon the seclusion of the Lyric Mages. Cantimancy. Lyrimancy perhaps. Ballamancy. Ariamancy. DREEVA VAELESS & THE VELICIUM Dreeva Vaeless thought to follow in his father’s footsteps. He attended the Velicium based upon the relentless work of his mother. Here, he learned of his lack of necessary talent. He believed this is why he was cast out. But hewas actually sent away because they saw the truth in him. But why did they brand him? The Professors brand all those who are deemed unworthy, to shame them and to block them from further magical enterprises. Did he see something he wasn’t meant to see? A glimpse of himself perhaps. One he can’t seem to fully remember. That is the price you pay, the price all accept, when they enter the college. When they pass beyond the outer halls of deception, and into the inner sanctum of truth. The rites of lyrical magic are perhaps the most difficult for mortals to endure and convey. The Order is constantly searching for those who can further their ends in such matters. They have to let the students in deeper, exposing them to secrets dangerous to the Order if they were to be revealed. Sometimes, even after this degree of indoctrination, a pupil fails in their attempts to make good on the promise of their blood. In certain ages, these students, these acolytes would be destroyed, in order to preserve the secrets of the Order. However, these are more enlightened times, and murder is not really on the menu. It hurts Dreeva now to play music. It sometimes hurts him to simply hear it.