The Second Aeon: The Age of Enlightened Magic
And so the gods continued to slumber and the worlds continued to turn.
The State of Magic
The Magic of the Krys
With so many ways of drawing magic made available to mortals, it was inevitable they would dabble with these physics defying powers. Monmagi, polar trees, ley lines, mana meteor belts, the sources were plentiful.
Foremost of the magical practioners, though most of the races did not realize it, were the Krys. Natives to Celestia and born into a life where mana literally flowed around them, the Krys had an abundance of magic to draw upon and little else to do with themselves since they fed off of sunlight. Given this bounty of time and resources, it was unsurprisingly they came up with a vast array of magical works. Their magic was one of flash and designed to impress, they did not have any real needs that required fulfilling so magic in Krys society was a mark of prestige. Those who could conduct the largest and most awe inspiring spells were viewed as the greatest. Their yearly magical competitions had become the focal point of their whole society, there were hundreds of entrants each years and the who event lasted two solid months and culminated in a grand face of between the two most skilled practitioners.
Of course, this society centered on a single tournament also came to be rich with politicking. A magical test resolved by 'awe' was hardly a subjective measure, thus it was common knowledge that tailoring spells to the tastes of the judges was sure way to find more favorable results, as was lavishing them with praise and compliments (There wasn't much else in their society to use for bribery.) Thus sometimes the competition winners were rather underwhelming, but they knew that the only audience that mattered were the judges. But despite all this, teleportation magic remained king of the field, for they had remembered their dictate from Ferenghir and they still strived to reach the blue planet in the sky.
Shaman of the Wilds
Aside from the Krys, Oceaus was the other hotbed for magic. The Aspiring had been gifted with the knowledge of shamanism and over the years it had spread to other societies through the centuries as the Aspiring were open with their teachings. Those who studied shamanism tended to be nature lovers, worshipers of Savios and Vaunht, they loved the wild places of the world and they often lived reclusive and simple lives. They used magic sparingly for while shaman loved nature, they did relish the idea of losing their minds and becoming a violent part of nature. Those that did use their powers typically did so to help cultivate forests or raise rocky edifices, these were the works of the young, as they got older and their skin hardened to stone and fires lit in their bellies they learned to better respect the cost their powers entailed.
The Outlawed Magic of the Quajril
Along the costs of Uguay fed by the monmagi, the Quajril continued to have a rocky relationship with arcane power. In response to this, secret societies sprang up throughout the Independent City States, each was self-contained and unique, some had less than a dozen adherents, others numbered nearly a hundred. Despite their wildly different traditions and practices they all shared one passion, for studying magic. These Secret Societies became both romanticized and villained in Quajril society, plays and novels came to permeate the City States. Certain cities cracked down on these societies harsher than others, in some cities raids were common place with doors being kicked in during the middle of the night and suspected mages being led out shackled and with bags over their heads, in other cities arcane practices were open secrets with members wearing their symbols as cuff links and button fasteners.
These Secret Societies tended to take an esoteric view on magic, while they occasionally employed their spellcraft to studying to solve mundane problems like washing the laundry and enchanting water to constantly be hot, much more often Secret Society practices were geared towards just that, secrets. They devised ways to hide codes in plain sight, deliver ghostly messages to one another and shroud their headquarters from both authorities and rival societies. The secrecy and espionage of their societies was almost as great a draw as the magic itself.
The Enlightened Schools of Arcane Inquiry
By far the most serious practitioners of magic were the Enlightened. Designing proper courses and schedules, they made magic into a science. Filling entire books on practices and observations and dissecting all the ways in which magic could be practiced and refined. Despite the dangers that Yazul and Gael magic posed, nothing was off limits, in fact each branch of mana was given its own branch of arcane study.
The Silver College was the largest and most open for applicants, it studied the safer and most reliable Celestia Mana. Some were trained to be practical mages, others studied theoretical magic, or arcane law. The topics were diverse and only half the students there actually engaged with mana.
The Institute of Yazul was dedicated to studying its mana namesake and was seen as a sort of applied magic course, they had found Yazul magic was particularly good for ensnaring minds, changing memories, making other compliant, so its practioners often were employed for criminal reform. (And less well know, they had also used their magics to twist a few minds in Independent Cities to get support for anti-god laws.) The Institute Mages were known for being severe and had a well earned reputation for being manipulative.
Lastly, there was the University. It was not given any more descriptors and only well regarded mages from either the College or Institute were allowed to join its ranks making University mages significantly older and well indoctrinated into the Enlightened philosophy. This was for good reason. They delved into Gael mana and only the most dedicated of souls could stomach the stuff that occurred within those walls. The University had found that Gael magic was most reactive to physical form, it contained highly metaphoric traits and was wildly dangerous, it was common talk around the lunchroom to ask who had died that week. Those that survived were often changed, they wore thick robes to cover these mutations, but were not deterred. Thus they continued to create monsters in the depths of the University, or became monsters themselves.
The Longroes of Niman
Lastly, the Longroes had also been dabbling with magic. With the crystals they found they liked to create colors. Over the centuries huge colorful work had been etched across the plains of Niman. Like the Krys, the Longroes had few other wants and this lack of needs meant they did not push the boundaries of their powers.
The Schism of the Amarok
Related to magic, the Amarok continued to exist apart from the other races. Part of this was their heat intolerance, designed for frigid temperatures, they died quickly in the hotter climates, so their race remained contained at the poles. There they wandered the frigid plains with their domesticated salu serpents. They too might not have changed were it not for the mana infused Nor'dryssal and Sol'dwyd. Those that routinely used the trees to teleport were gradually changed by that mana and over the centuries those changes had compounded. These frequent trips have led to dramatic changes.
Now called the Travelers, this group of Amarok look wildly different from their white furred and lithe kin. Their is now patchy, replaced by leathery like patches, their eyes glitter with colors like the mana-infused moons and their bodies are no longer uniform reflecting the warping influence of Gael mana. The Travelers a have natural ability to wield magic even without needing mana from the trees as its become infused into them over countless generations. With this power they've rebelled against stagnation, this rebellion takes the form of 'tests' they bring to their natural kin. Sometimes a Traveler child will pretend to be lost on frigid tundra wastes to see who comes to help, other times Travelers will steal away all of a tribes food, or they'll enter another Amarok tribe and demand hospitality. Passing or failing these tests seemed to matter little, the Travelers would grant blessings or curses seemingly at random regardless of how the other Amarok responded. The term Traveler soon becomes synonymous with being capricious and unpredictable and the native Amarok drive off their kin with frigid stones or salu serpents, but the Travelers remain a constant thorn due to their guile and tricks with magic.
The Arrival of the Krys
Finally, the moment comes that Ferenghir had implored the Krys to fulfill countless centuries ago. A Krys mage named Kaedrik manages to formulate a teleportation spell strong enough to reach Oceaus. The spell is monumental on scale. The mage in question stands on a lake of mana to fuel his spell and after following the proper rituals and practices for several hours, there is a great flash of lake. The entire mana lake is left dry and barren, all of its precious power used to fuel this great spell. With a similar flash and boom, the Kaedrik arrives on Oceaus.
In awe he explores this alien world, so full of life and diversity that is unheard of on Celestia. He meets the peaceable natives, Quajril first as they're the most prolific, who share his sentiment. He's surprised to find these strangers also practice, but far more crudely, save for one area. These mages of Oceaus are far more efficient with their use of power, on Celestia the Krys had such ample magic available to them they never learned to be economic with their spell design while on Oceaus mana is a precious substance called down with some difficulty from the heavens, every drop is precious and scarce so they've learned to use it carefully. That's when Kaedrik realizes his vast repitorre of spells don't work on Oceaus, all of them require amounts of mana that are nearly unattainable on Oceaus.
This knowledge, and loss of power he'd worked so hard to refine over his lifetime, pushes Kaedrik to seek a replacement source of power. His search drives him towards a source of power long overlooked, the leylines. Less potent than mana, they offer a constant trickle of power which offsets their weaker charge. Kaedrik soon makes himself a home along one Leylines and his work their opens up the eyes of the natives to Oceaus of yet another source of power.
The Boom Rush of the Tectonic Plates
With this new era of artifice, civilization and construction there has been an ever increasing demand for metal has also pushed mortals to find new sources of this precious substance. That's when a long forgotten land returns to prominence. The Tectonic Plates, an ancient land of churning earth and spewing lava, have long been empty as their shifting nature made them inhospitable for settlement, but now they offer something precious, an easy and plentiful source of metals and gems. These precious substances rest right on the very surface as they're constantly churned up. Several City States have mineral procurers all of whom enter a race to claim the bounty of this land. Agraciada are ridden back and forth to and from the continent, boom towns spring up, send out shipments of iron, copper, diamonds and rubies, then are swallowed up by tragedy only to repeat again. Heading to Tectonic Lands becomes a way of saying you're seeking your fortune. Many never return home, those that do come back fantastically wealthy.
The State of Religion
Lastly, as the new Aeon begins to dawn, religion has spread and formalized. All the gods have found faithful who gather to their names, drawn to them by their actions. Some gods resonate more strongly than others and have larger followings, but all find faithful amongst mortals.
Masmorda, Osalus Arcturus
Cults of the Makers
The Cults of the Makers are a loosely affiliated group of individuals who revere Masorda, Osalus and Arcturus seeing these are primal gods of creation. Masmorda the Worldsmtih is the largest figure of these cults, they see her as being a goddess of greater vision than a single world. Arcturus is the dark figure of this religion, one they worship out of equal measures fear and respect, they see Arcturus as bringing balance to the seas through the violent predators it spawned. Lastly, Osalus is loosely affiliated with the Makers, his works at fashioning Air and the Archipelago of Osu aligned him closely enough with Masmorda that it fit. Most Osu'ixie follow these cults, as do a number of residents of the Mirror Island.
Rhullarrk, Kargous
The Holy Nation
The most formalized religion on Oceaus, led by Spes this ancient religion and empire, for they are one and the same, worship these two gods who saved them from extinction. Rhullarrk is often depicated as a guiding light or dream in their art while Kargous is depicated as a smith at work in the forge. The Holy Nation pays lip service to every other god, but these two are venerated above all others.
Savios, Vaunht
Way of Green
Devoted to Savios and Vaunht, the Way of Green is another religion dedicated to nature, but rather than the primal aspects of nature like the Cults of the Makers, the Way of Green follows life and trees and growth. Most of this religion is found on the fringes of the Yondi Forest despite that also being a headquarters of the Enlightened. Many Aspiring and shaman are within their ranks, they tend to espouse views of balance with nature and take time planting forest, bushes and grasses.
Eregor, Savios, Ferenghir
Path of the Higher Mind
A largely Quajril religion, though a fair number of Aspiring also join this fold, its center of practice is the divine city of Ethaestra. Mortals found these three gods to be ones who promoted learning rather than granting knowledge. This religion is less cohesive than many of the others because its tries to encompass both learning and magic into the same religion. As such its practioners try to focus less on how they devote their learning and more on the shared act of learning itself. Establishing a number of religious schools, they are often in competition with the Enlightened.
Narcissa
Keeper of the Ice
Then there was the Amarok. They hold only one god in reverence, their creator Narcissa. At one point Fereghir was held in esteem, but as the Travelers became more twisted by magic the Amarok's love for the arcane fell away and worship of the gods of the moons fell out of practice. Now all Amarok worship Narcissa, they carve ornate shrines of ice to her where they stop in their travels and as a nomadic people they leave these sites of worship all across the northern and southern poles as they travel.
And so the gods begin to stir. It has been a tranquil time for the Void. Changes have occurred, mortals have become wiser and more refined, but the balances of power that the gods left have not been greatly disturbed. While there is conflict, there are no great plagues or famines and war is an alien concept. So the gods start to rouse.
OOC: The Aeon will open on 5/19 and gods will begin with one Act.