Note: This article is being created as the start of a fresh overhaul of the way that magic is mechanically used within Lasair. It is intended to be "the new way it works", being written with the ideal of "how would I want magic to work if it wasn't married to the D&D rules". This means that there may be some cases where it won't specifically work that way if you're playing D&D, but Lasair is system agnostic and I'd also like to write some books set in it so I want the magic to have a character of its own rather than just being "we're playing D&D".
This means that this article will potentially contradict other writing that has occurred prior to this. I consider this to be a completely reasonable course of progress within what is currently a living and growing world! Thanks for your patience and understanding. -Jason
The Purpose of the Mages in Lasair
Before diving into the mechanics of
Magic as accessed by the
Mages (and to a degree clerics of
The Virtues ) it is important to discuss the core philosophy of the Mages and the reason for much of their policies and approaches to magic. Above everything else, starting from the first line of the
Lasair Compact, the Mages' primary focus is the
control of magic within human lands. Every element of their structure, whether the way students are selected for
Mage Schools, the very techniques of magical use as described in this article, or the tactics of the
Sentinels, is intended to guarantee to every degree possible that magic within the
City-States Region and
Fertile Lands is controlled entirely by their doctrines.
On the surface, this is all tied to the history of the
Dragonscourge. That long-ago confict that destroyed much of the human civilization at the time, and the creation of
Sorcerers that put dragon blood into the veins of humankind, certainly justifies a great deal. But that conflict was nearly a thousand years ago, and most of what is known about it is shrouded in the darkness of legend and ignorance. There are next to no actual historical chronicles of what actually occurred, and to most people on Lasair, the Dragonscourge simply exists as some dark age of a millennia past. To most people, the only relevance of that time comes from the (exceptionally rare) instances when a
wurmborn's powers begin to manifest.
In reality, the need for such strict control in order to safeguard human lands from sorcerers is fairly minor. Most manifestations are fairly minor and easily managed, and most wurmborn that survive their childhoods will attempt to leave the City-States in an effort to escape the
Sentinels, and the
Mages as a whole are happy to let them go (though some Sentinels take their duty quite seriously and will pursue sorcerers far into the north or the south).
Instead, the reality of the Mages' structures are to maintain control and ownership of magic within the realm. To limit access to magic to those that they choose to admit, or those who willingly enter into the even-more-structured life of the
Virtues. They are happy to live their lives of study, as the supreme power within the region, living above the day-to-day existence that all others - even the wealthy - must go through.
Another purpose is served by the
Mages' control of magic: it allows them to exercise enormous control over the ability of others to travel into and out of the
City-States Region. The Mages are nothing if not xenophobic, distrustful of any that might disrupt their control and lordship over the region. The
City-States Region is already significantly isolated by geography: travel to the south is extremely dangerous thanks to the
Shifting Jungle and the stormy weather around the
Tempest Reefs. The treaties signed with the
Orcs regarding the
Titan Wall make it illegal for humans to venture to the north into the
Savage Lands. Going to the east is technically possible, but venturing to
The Great Plateau can be expensive for common folk (the lifts are designed for cargo, and their owners charge mightily to carry people).
By keeping a tight rein upon magic, the Mages thus restict alternative ways that people could use to leave the region. And those same geographical limitations are imposed on beings from outside - the
Orcs have little desire to venture south, and the member beings of the
Korth'an Conclave know full well that humans would look upon them with fear and thus keep themselves far away. The only way that outsiders could easily venture into Lasair would be from the west, over the sea, and such travelers have not been sighted in centuries.
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