The Witch Son
and a swift justice to those that got away with it
- Houses of Dorelith --------------------------------------------
- Languages -------------------------------------------------
- Titles -----------------------------------------------------
Apostles
They are the priests of the mercy of Aule, ordained by the messiah herself to spread the word of Aule’s mercy and lead prayers and congregations.
Inquisitors
A special Order of Apostles created to root out heretics. They only answer to their queen.
Iron Thrall
You don’t want to be sold into thrallhood, from there your life is certain to be bloody and short. The most you can hope for amongst the thralls is public glory as the fickle cheering crowd screams for your victory. Even then, you can’t entertain them forever, the pits are not kind to the aged and luck is never on your side. They call you iron thralls for how close the accursed word thrall sounds to thaler, cheaply made iron coins, your master might have bought you for silver or gold but your life in the end will barely be worth iron.
Iron thralls are bought and sold human livestock, trained to fight for a crowd’s enjoyment in the pits, and maybe a fancy arena one day if they’re good enough. Be a winner, maybe your life is easier, maybe your master will give you treats and let you sleep on plush cushions and send pretty women to your bed. Maybe, maybe, maybe it will feel like you aren’t owned for a moment. Be a loser, an alive loser, and you get to sleep in the cells with everyone else. Where the shackles do a good job of reminding you where your place is.
Rebellions, big and small, used to be a problem amongst masters. But masters, in the many years they’ve been honing their craft, have gotten smart. Every few years a grand competition hosted by the masters is held for thralls of a certain skill and popularity to compete. In these competitions each round is a death match, only one may survive, and so on and so forth until there arises a victor. This victor wins his or her freedom. Their master gets to take home the prize coin. It’s considered good etiquette to send off the newly free victor with some of that coin but especially greedy masters are not unheard of. This competition does three things for the masters. Firstly it clears out the old stock of champions to make way for the new ones. Secondly, it gives thralls that smidgen of hope they need to obediently fight ferociously. To think that they, one day, could be lawfully free. Thirdly and lastly, it keeps the thralls competing with each other, because nothing is more dangerous than a horde of warriors you trained uniting against you. After all, they outnumber you.
- Currency ---------------------------------------------------
Gold: Nobles deal in gold pieces, as do the merchants that cater to them, though those are few and far between.
Ducat: High rolling slavers and nobles deal in these silver pieces.
Heller: Common folk and traders deal in these copper coins.
Thaler: Cheaply made iron coins. What most common folk deal in, that or direct trade is popular especially outside of any cities. Touching these coins is considered ‘dirty’ by the upper classes, as their view of commoners includes poor hygiene.
- Magic System -----------------------------------------------
In terms of power, there are 3 main types of magic users born. These are their classifications, first in Arcane, then in common tongue.
There is one type of magic user that is not commonly spoken about, unless one so happens to exist.
Sources of Power
There are ways to harness one's power, for more complex tasks and spells. These are used by all types to varying degrees.
Types
Although magic users are intertwined and how you use magic is widely varied, there are certain trends and styles that have become common to magic users of a certain social class, education, and way of life.
Witches: This magic style tends to be imprecise and strange compared to Mage magic. Almost exclusively composed of commoner Nells. Witches are considered low class and even evil due to their more unsavory methods, rumors about them are common and only true in varying degrees. They tend to hide.
Sorcer(esses)ers: They take magic with a scientific and academic approach. The most influential ones play their part in society by doing things like crowning new monarchs. Or serving on the crown’s council as a representative of their mage school. The majority of Sorcer(esses)ers are of noble birth. They commonly perform:
- Brooke: Big lake.
- Sigil: White Swan on Blue
- Castle: Brightwater
- Motto: Truth Clear As Water
- Stryder: Lots of forest.
- Sigil: Grey Wolf on Green
- Castle: Greenden
- Motto: Howl Together
- Woodville: Lots of forest.
- Sigil: Purple Griffon on Red
- Castle: Greenperch
- Motto: Fly High
- Day: Family is into Astronomy.
- Sigil: Yellow Sun on Purple
- Castle: Starsight
- Motto: There Is Always Light
- Corbyn Agriculture hub.
- Sigil: White Lion on Black
- Castle: Whitehall
- Motto: Noble Are We
- Stoneway: Mines.
- Sigil: Blue Bear on Red
- Castle: Deadstone
- Motto: Steady As The Mountain
- Goodwyne: Agriculture hub.
- Sigil: Black Unicorn on Yellow
- Castle: Rosehall
- Motto: Reap What You Sow
- Rowen: Founded by the seventh son of a seventh son. This family has never produced a mage, but it is thought its members have properties about them that counteract magic.
- Sigil: White Rowan Tree on Grey
- Castle: Seventhson
- Motto: Never Forget
- Grimald: Militarily inclined house.
- Sigil: Black Stag on Blue
- Castle: Cailmair Keep
- Motto: With Valor and Glory
- Drakan: Royal family, biggest city in Dorelith located near castle.
- Sigil: Red Dragon on Black
- Castle: Blackgate
- Motto: Pride Honor Justice
- Winder: House of Knights. This family has no heirs.
- Sigil: White Mountain on Grey
- Castle: Darendale
- Motto: Steady With the Winds
- Languages -------------------------------------------------
- Arcane: An ancient language whose written form is called rune.
- Mage schools purposefully guard knowledge of arcane language from non mages, and horde texts and scrolls containing arcane from competing schools. Despite this, commoner mages do learn arcane phrases and/or runes and pass them down by mouth.
- Common tongue: What everyone generally speaks.
- Knowing how to read and write is not common, some lords set up schools for commoners but they’re not seen as necessary.
- Titles -----------------------------------------------------
Apostles
They are the priests of the mercy of Aule, ordained by the messiah herself to spread the word of Aule’s mercy and lead prayers and congregations.
Inquisitors
A special Order of Apostles created to root out heretics. They only answer to their queen.
Iron Thrall
You don’t want to be sold into thrallhood, from there your life is certain to be bloody and short. The most you can hope for amongst the thralls is public glory as the fickle cheering crowd screams for your victory. Even then, you can’t entertain them forever, the pits are not kind to the aged and luck is never on your side. They call you iron thralls for how close the accursed word thrall sounds to thaler, cheaply made iron coins, your master might have bought you for silver or gold but your life in the end will barely be worth iron.
Iron thralls are bought and sold human livestock, trained to fight for a crowd’s enjoyment in the pits, and maybe a fancy arena one day if they’re good enough. Be a winner, maybe your life is easier, maybe your master will give you treats and let you sleep on plush cushions and send pretty women to your bed. Maybe, maybe, maybe it will feel like you aren’t owned for a moment. Be a loser, an alive loser, and you get to sleep in the cells with everyone else. Where the shackles do a good job of reminding you where your place is.
Rebellions, big and small, used to be a problem amongst masters. But masters, in the many years they’ve been honing their craft, have gotten smart. Every few years a grand competition hosted by the masters is held for thralls of a certain skill and popularity to compete. In these competitions each round is a death match, only one may survive, and so on and so forth until there arises a victor. This victor wins his or her freedom. Their master gets to take home the prize coin. It’s considered good etiquette to send off the newly free victor with some of that coin but especially greedy masters are not unheard of. This competition does three things for the masters. Firstly it clears out the old stock of champions to make way for the new ones. Secondly, it gives thralls that smidgen of hope they need to obediently fight ferociously. To think that they, one day, could be lawfully free. Thirdly and lastly, it keeps the thralls competing with each other, because nothing is more dangerous than a horde of warriors you trained uniting against you. After all, they outnumber you.
- Currency ---------------------------------------------------
Gold: Nobles deal in gold pieces, as do the merchants that cater to them, though those are few and far between.
Ducat: High rolling slavers and nobles deal in these silver pieces.
Heller: Common folk and traders deal in these copper coins.
Thaler: Cheaply made iron coins. What most common folk deal in, that or direct trade is popular especially outside of any cities. Touching these coins is considered ‘dirty’ by the upper classes, as their view of commoners includes poor hygiene.
- Magic System -----------------------------------------------
In terms of power, there are 3 main types of magic users born. These are their classifications, first in Arcane, then in common tongue.
- Noram, the Mundane: They will largely go through life having nothing to do with magic. The magic in them is only their life force, and though they might fall victim to other magic as a result they can not control or manifest that magic in them to any degree.
- Mundane comprise roughly 70% of people.
- Nell, the Mage: The average magic user is born with a certain pool of magic within them. This will determine their power and their abilities. Some may use some magic (commonly called “tricks”) at will, but most have to use other learned methods to harness the pool of magic in them. Nell of noble standing are sent to mage school by their parents. A commoner Nell doesn’t have the money to see the inside of a mage school. Commoner Nell, if they learn, learn from other commoner Nell.
- Nell comprise roughly 25% of people.
- Azanthiel, the Gifted: There are those whose magic is open to aggressive growth, should they have the will to dedicate themselves to the study. They often end up famed individuals and are the pioneers of magic craft. Kingdoms compete to house and fund them and no matter their born social standing they are accepted into any mage school across the land.
- Azanthiel comprise roughly 5% of people.
There is one type of magic user that is not commonly spoken about, unless one so happens to exist.
- Mau, the Omen: Few Mau have ever existed according to texts, people with a power both vast and effortless to use. Each coming of a Mau is marked with either terror or greatness, but never with peace.
Sources of Power
There are ways to harness one's power, for more complex tasks and spells. These are used by all types to varying degrees.
- Incantation: Most common is through the incantation of spells in arcane, arcane rune works similarly. Incantations focus and collect magical energy, their effectiveness depends on the source fueling them.
- Cooperation: Another common method, mage guilds or witch covens will pool their magic to perform bigger spells.
- Artifacts: Can bestow more power on their wielders, be catalysts, or give their wielder certain specific abilities.
- Places: Certain special locations serve as an amplification for any rituals conducted there.
- Time: Either of the day or of the year, what time you perform magic can amplify spells or rituals, such as Sabbath.
- Numbers: For example, the seventh son of a seventh son receives powerful immunities to magic, and witch covens must usually consist of 3, 7, 13 or 21 members.
- Demons: It is highly dangerous to invoke these beings, the lesser ones may prove useful minions but any respectable mage school will teach you this is a fool’s errand.
Types
Although magic users are intertwined and how you use magic is widely varied, there are certain trends and styles that have become common to magic users of a certain social class, education, and way of life.
Witches: This magic style tends to be imprecise and strange compared to Mage magic. Almost exclusively composed of commoner Nells. Witches are considered low class and even evil due to their more unsavory methods, rumors about them are common and only true in varying degrees. They tend to hide.
- Vectors: Due to a lack of formal education, different vectors and ritual methods are used in place of extensive arcane knowledge.
- Herbs/Minerals: Certain plants and minerals have magical uses, and some even counteract magic.
- Blood: The blood of humans or magical beings is especially valuable, animal will suffice. It is a myth that the blood of a virgin is powerful, there are certain types that hold extra power. The blood of the seventh son of a seventh son for example. Royal blood is another example.
- Bone: Thumb bones are most common. Skulls are also popular, though less convenient. Best taken fresh. The bones of children or powerful magical beings are the best source.
- Familiar: Many use them to snoop around and gain information, for gossip or as scouts. Familiars choose the Witch after performing a ritual and tend to be a defining trait in Witches. Their bond connects both living beings intimately, they can share things like moods and energy. They can also communicate.
- Cannibalism: Draining the life-force from their victims to power their spells. This sometimes involves eating parts of their victim. This practice especially is what horror stories are written about.
Sorcer(esses)ers: They take magic with a scientific and academic approach. The most influential ones play their part in society by doing things like crowning new monarchs. Or serving on the crown’s council as a representative of their mage school. The majority of Sorcer(esses)ers are of noble birth. They commonly perform:
- Enchantments
- Elemental: Fire is an especially holy element to the disciples of Aule.
- Healing
- Transfiguration
- Scrying: Specifically attempt at foresight, emphasis on attempt. The use of crystal balls, water, or tarot cards is more for showy court glamor than actual effective foresight. Only people born with foresight can actually see into the future.
