Who discovered magic?
In the time of Ceratharidoun, before the cataclysm [1] destroyed the Elves' homeworld, each of the two worlds had its own sort of magic shaped by the world's nature and the races that arose there.
On their world the Elves first discovered magic when Ceratharidoun gifted a tiny sip of its power to the most devout worshippers. These priests-turned-magi became the first clerics. In time they formed sacred orders, split over disagreements, and reformed again and again. Different paths of worship evolved. Some chose to study their power as an intellectual pursuit, shaping it and discovering new uses for the raw divine power that was gifted to them. Always this power came from Ceratharidoun, regardless of what form it took or how it was used.
On the other world, the world of Dragons, magic took on a distinctly different form. With no all-powerful deity to beseech for power the Dragons has to look within themselves to find it. Centuries of introspection and study gave rise to the first magi among the dragons. Over centuries cunning dragons honed their natural affinity for magic into a fluid, expressive art and with it each mage could shape the world to his or her own taste. This expression has a cost, though. Just as one muscle can be over-trained at the expense of others, many Dragons followed their natural affinities to far. They fell from a vibrantly varied and colourful race into ten ideologically-stagnant camps, so separated and overspecialized that their bodies began to change into the Dragon "races" we know now.
The Coming of the Elves
When the first Elves arrived on the Dragons' world, they found that with Ceratharidoun dead and the Hebdomad missing they could no longer use magic as they were used to. It was not until their first encounter with Dragons that the Elves ever dreamed there could be magic from a source other than a god.
Life on the Dragons' world was not peaceful. For generations the Elves' growing nation of Tan'Rar was constantly besieged by the Dragons and their minion races trying to wipe out these otherworldly invaders. It was at some point during this conflict that scholars studying the Dragons finally learned how to use magic in the new world. These scholars became the first true Wizards and in time they trained others who continued to study the world's magic. With this new power the Elves of Tan'Rar were able to fight the Dragons to a stalemate. For the first time since the cataclysm Elvish civilization truly prospered.
Discovery of the Mana Well
During the Golden Age of Tan'Rar, Elvish scholars began to come to grips with what had happened to their homeworld and study the very nature of the multiverse. They learned of the great magical current that flows through every world and how to shape it to their will. They learned how to store raw magical energy in crystals for later use. And they learned how to trace magical currents back to their source. Eighty years of searching the great seas of the new world yielded a single point where magic was stronger than anywhere else: The Mana Well.
The Elves who stayed to study this well soon became imbued with leaking cosmic power. By studying the few remaining texts saved from the cataclysm the researchers at the Mana Well rediscovered Divine magic an brought the discovery back to Tan'Rar. To this day magic retains this dichotomy: arcane power from within oneself, and divine power from the Void.
[1] See previous blog post, Origin of the Elves
Next post will talk about the continent of Teredahar itself. I'll have a map of some sort to show you.
No comments:
Post a Comment