Arcane Magic

Vortex of Mortal Magic

Sorcerers, Wizards and Bards of the mortal races draw their power from an invisible vortex of energy that permeates the entire world of Avlis, called the Vortex of Mortal Magic. The god Andrinor is the only known individual to succeed in controlling the Vortex of Mortal Magic, and thus, it is now he who determines which individuals have access to it. As the god of magic, all mages acknowledge him as being in control, and most, though not all, ascribe loyalty to him because he is now the source of their power. Another deity, Angadar, is the god of Arcane Knowledge, and is credited with the power for Arcane advancement. It is Angadar who gives the ability for Mages to scribe scrolls, and to understand the scrolls' meaning. Wizards respect Angadar as their source of Arcane Knowledge.

Sorcerers

Throughout the history of Avlis, strange beings and forces have intermixed with the populace. The ancient Tanar'ri invaders, as well as the native spirits, have left legacies that exist in small pockets where this sort of occurance can be quite common. Occasionally, the blood of these beings resurfaces in one of their descendants who manifests their heritage through the powers of sorcery.

Sorcerers will embrace whatever religions prove worthy in their life experience. Those that gain their sorcerous blood from a living entity, such as a demonlord or deity, will often worship the entity who is responsible for their gift.

Wizards

At low levels, wizards are allowed to practice magic uninhibited. As they rise in power, they begin to gain the attention of the magical organizations that regulate use of the Vortex. If a wizard allies with one of these organizations, they are granted privileges, incentives, and extra abilities. Conversely, if a wizard chooses to be independent, they will be harassed and possibly even abused for their unwillingness to conform. At certain points in history, they have even had their powers curtailed.

Though wizards may follow any god, all of them acknowledge the divinity of two deities in particular -- Andrinor and Angadar.

Andrinor's Trust

Andrinors Trust consists of the reformed orders of the old Fold Of Nine, the High Mage Council, the Church of Andrinor, and the Academy of Mortal Magic. The seat of the Trust is in Visimontium

When Andrinor assumed control over the Vortex of Mortal Magic, he rekindled the interest in the arcane on Avlis through the creation of a magical maelstrom called the Vortex of Chaos. The appearance of the Vortex of Chaos led to the founding of the Ivory, Ashen, and Ebony Orders, which became the first Orders of Andrinor's Trust. The Trust is a place where mages can grow and learn from each other by interacting with other mages from all walks of life.

A mage that joins an order of the Trust receives a mark upon his or her right shoulder, a magical tattoo granted by Andrinor Himself. This mark symbolizes the mage's affiliation with the Trust.

For a time, only mages with the mark of the Trust could cast 8th and 9th level spells. This restriction has since been lifted by Andrinor at the request of the High Mage Council.

Orders of the Trust

See Mage Orders

The High Mage Council

The High Mage Council of Avlis was established early in the existence of Andrinor’s Trust, and is the ultimate ruling body of magedom upon Avlis, granted authority of all mortal magic by Andrinor himself. Formed to create and enforce the laws of magic, the High Mage Council forms everything from the policy that drives the Nine Orders of Magic, ranging from relatively mundane tasks such as moderating conflict between the orders, to setting the laws of the proliferation of magic, and greater tasks such as forming the general curriculum for the mage academies of the Trust all the way to regulating the creation and use of portals throughout Avlis.

The Council consists of three representatives from each order making up twenty-seven votes in addition to one Moderator of the High Council chosen amongst the representatives through a consensus spell, and rotated every ten years. Representatives are appointed by individual Archmages, though how these are selected differs between orders and often by archmage; methods range from everything from voting, to simple selection, to holding contests. Whatever the methods, the chosen representative usually holds their seat until death, though replacement after abdication or recall is not unknown. Membership in the Council is regarded as one of the highest honors bestowed upon mages of the Trust, and the representatives are generally accepted as being among the most powerful and distinguished mages of Avlis.

The Moderator himself holds no direct vote himself but maintains a great deal of influence simply due to the respect he commands amongst the mages of the Council. It is generally accepted that the holder of this office is the de facto leader of the Trust, and the office is one of the most strongly contested positions amongst the orders. Originally held by Melonius Mennallin, succeeded by the refounder of the Gold Order - Damar Ogdem, the current Moderator of the Council is Miette Hartley of the Blue Order.

Current Members of the High Mage Council: View list here

Angadar

Also of importance to many wizards is Angadar, the god of Arcane Knowledge. Angadar provides the ability to read and write arcane scrolls, as well as lording over other knowledge of magic. In the past there were hostilities between followers of Angadar and mages of the Trust, reaching their pinnacle in a great battle that took place in Visimontium. The two gods have since made peace with each other.

Divine Magic

Vortex of Deific Magic

Deities, clerics, spirits, and other divine beings draw their magical energy from the Deific Vortex. This vortex is controlled by no single god: Every cleric who wants access to such a Vortex will have to go through her deity. However, for cantrips and slightly more difficult spells, (Level 3 spells and under) there almost always is some other god who will hear your prayers as a deityless cleric. For more powerful spells, above level 3, a cleric needs to have a single specific deity. In game, this means there must be a (correctly spelled) deity in your deity field when you cast a spell of higher level than 3, and you must have exactly the same alignment as your deity. You can change your deity field either in game or at character creation.

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