A Historical Overview of War Magic - Volume 1

A Historical Overview of War Magic Vol. I From Notes and Lectures of Miette Hartley, Compiled by Jacksen Aiken.

In the Fifth Hundred year measured prior to the Orcish Destruction, it is generally accepted that the Nine completed the creation of their races throughout Negaria. Spreading out amongst the continent from their points of origin, the mortal races began laying the groundwork for the rest of coming history. Amongst their discoveries of course would be the remnants of the world as the original spirits knew and lived it; the keys to the mortal use of Arcane Magic.

Interesting to note is the degree to which the mortal races took to deciphering these components, similarly curious minds banding together, and forming the early institutions of what we would come to know as the Fold. Only a handful of human generations would pass, or approximately one hundred years, before we generally accept the Fold as a fully blooming entity - and a year later their first university would be founded in Le'Or'T'Nanshi at the Tower of the Nine. Just over twenty years later a second institution would be opened in Kairuet, Dobrekon. Large facilities intended to teach generalized magic, the both of them.

Around this time as you would imagine, is where we begin to see the practice of magic looking familiar. Prior to the Fold truly solidifying, the magical incantations known were closer to today's cantrips in scope - really more curiosities and explorations than any effects of actual use. Records attributed to the Archmages of the time in fact indicate that the first aims of the Fold's magic were geared toward the engineering of civic projects amongst the blossoming points of civilization.

The first real implementations of magic in the context of battle would come from the saemilist sects of the Burning Page, and not from the Fold of Nine and wizardry.

The Burning Page The Order of the Burning Page were a group of arcanists dedicated to the use and development of saemil, believing the act of bodily saemilism an avenue to subjegate magic and the Vortex. Essentially, by their reckoning, a means to enslave magic to an individual. The group gained its name from their disdain toward the use of spellbooks, eschewing them from their number entirely. A dedication to studying the arcane in such a manner, rather than enslave it, was seen by the membership as a symptom of weakness.

The actual numbers of the Order would grow as mercenaries pledged their allegiances to the arcanists in exchange for runework that would provide them advantages in combat. The original experiments for developing saemil would take place on their skin - and it is important to note that the triggering of these saemil did require a great deal of physical effort, and took a serious toll over time on the user. These experiments would evolve the practice over time, and the arcanists themselves would learn to deal with the physical tolls through various alchemical innovations.

The runes began simple enough - physical enhancements to the user's musculature, reflexes, and accuracy with weapons. All providing a basic edge over the mercenaries' non-enhanced foes. Gradually through the Binders, as the mercenaries would be known, and continuing self-experimentation, the triggers would develop into far more elaborate effects. Lightning lancing from fingertips, immolating opponents in towers of flame, and chilling foes to the bone with a touch - as examples. What had once been a more constructive tool for civic projects in the hands of the first mages, began to see use as a weapon upon mercenaries. This in effect, was the first known use of mortal magic as a weapon of war.

The Art in Conflict Multiple issues would arise between the saemilists and the Fold of Nine of both a philosophical, and then physical nature. The Fold believed that the members of the Burning Page were a danger, due to their attitudes toward magic - their particular practices being unrestrained by study, and lacking a respect for magic. While a saemils construction was a difficult process, weilding one was not nearly so - and as most Binders had little or no connection to magic before their inductions, they embodied this lack of proper respect, weilding it carelessly. To their number, the concept of magic was almost exclusively as a weapon, with little to no value outside of that.

The issues between the two would intensify as the Burning Page launched a crusade in turn to wipe out the practice of the Art, the Binders becoming weapons trained on the Fold of Nine. This transpired around the year Three Hundred and Sixty, three decades into the Fold's existence - and they were not prepared. The Burning Page's first attacks were met by disorganized groups of mages, all of whom primarily focused their efforts on magic as a way of life, rather than combat. The first war mages were not avid volunteers, but saw the need to defend themselves; organized perhaps surprisingly by a feyan Silver mage, Cassandra Starfire - the first amongst the Art then to establish a coherent program for developing war magics. To defend themselves, they came to believe in the necessity for understanding the full extent and power of magic - the way of life, as well as the way of conflict.

As the conflict carried on, adjustments were made by Magus Starfire and her cohorts as they entered continuous skirmishing with the rival arcanists and their Binders. Numbers became the greatest disadvantage for the Fold - often finding themselves outnumbered a combined five to one. This was compounded with the fact that a Binder was easily replaced compared to the years taken to competently train an order mage. The number advantage of their foes and the dangers involved in closely grouped formations - considering both the larger targets created for ranged weapons, and the relative lack of any Fold members with the ability to stand in melee with the Binders - were the main impetus for Magus Starfires reorganization of the battle magi. Each order mage was then made into the core of a unit, with five apprentices around them - all armed with appropriate wands to provide sufficient screens against the mercenaries.

Many of the spells developed during this conflict in fact have survived to this day - fireballs, ice storms, and the like were designed with the idea of fighting a great number of Binders and their masters at range. While magic missiles, lesser orbs, and electric loops, et cetera, were designed to be easy enough for apprentices to use in their screening function, bolstered by various summoning devices.

The reformations of Magus Starfire, as well as the ability of magi to make use of augmenting scrolls, rods, and wands in their casting would gradually allow the Fold to push back and ultimately defeat the Burning Page in the climactic Battle of the Barrowood, located near the Blandenberg Protectorate of the modern day. The contributions to the beginnings of the Fold's battle magi by Magus Starfire and many others, however, would be cut short that day in the effort.

In the aftermath, the Fold of Nine was quite thorough in it's appointed task - ensuring that no semblance of information on saemil creation survived, going even so far as to forbid it's keeping in an archival form.

And yet, despite the conflict between the Burning Page and the Fold of Nine - technically none of what transpired is considered warfare. As noted, they engaged in many battles and skirmishes, but they did not fight over territory, nor were the battles between national armies. The nature of the tilts were not really meant to be sustained engagements involving magic, but this would begin to change, as two nations began drawing magi into their ranks.