The Great Arcanists of Ibar and the West
The Great Arcanists of the West, primarily Ibar, Trenta, The Great Forest and the Islands of the North.
by Jucocius the Learned
In this year, one thousand, nine hundred and ninety seven years after the Discovery, there are 13 wizards of Great Power active in the area of Ibar, Trenta, The Great Forest, the Islands of the North and adjoining regions. These wizards are of considerable note and their strength deters even the Inquisition from pursuing those among them whose arts are proscribed by Fuerza’s militant arm. As such the fiend consorters and necromancers among them operate more or less openly, or at least as openly as any other mage of this level of power. Great power can be understood as meaning the ability by these wizards to alter reality in at least a small way through the power of a limited wish.
I have divided them up by their specialisation, for none of these 13 chose the route of the generalist mage, and have included what information can be gleaned from those conversations with bards, wizards of lesser power and divinations granted to me that I have undertaken in the preparation of this missive. I have also not included those arcane casters of races other than the standard humanoids. Dragons, assuming that any are still alive, outsiders and elementals of various types and other creatures of magic have little direct impact on the world of men in this age, and as such have no place in this discussion. It is also entirely possible that there are other humanoid wizards of power greater than those listed here. However, if this is the case, then they no longer feel compelled to spend time on this plane.
Abjurers
Nestus of Reni
Nestus is the only abjurer amongst the Great. He is a hidebound man of tradition and keeps a toad as a familiar. He is immensely private and turns his art to protecting this privacy first and foremost. He lives in a small tower in the north of Reni, the northern most of the Islands of the North, also known as the Scair Archipelago. Due to his privacy little is known of his abilities although one lesser wizard I interviewed did tell that he has not heard of any whom have managed to scry upon Nestus for some decades, although many have tried.
Other abjurers of lesser note include Tatta of Anath and Veig Bluecloak.
Conjurers
Alresta the White
Alresta is a warm, good-natured woman who has constructed a tower south of Sonarty in Caselon atop an outcropping of rock. Her nature makes it somewhat surprising that she has reached the heights of power that she has, but it is believed that it is her essential laziness and cowardice in physical matters that has propelled her to excellence. It is these same factors which promoted her choice of specialisation, and she makes great use of conjured servants to do even the most basic tasks. Alresta is believed to have created several original spells for this exact purpose. She is known to not be able cast illusions, but other than that her strength is unknown.
Jerlin the Binder
Jerlin, a forest gnome outcast from his people, is expert at the ancient arts of fiend binding. A retinue of demons, yugoloths and the occasional slaad serves him, but a quasit by the name of Mismorgh is his constant adviser. He is also a resident of the Scair Archipelago, but Nestus and he avoid each other studiously. Jerlin sails as close as he can to the edge of the Injunction, but is to afraid of the others to risk breaching it. He has traded raw wizardly power for special abilities as a demonbinder, and this has earned him the derision of many of his compatriots. The local tribes people stay well clear of the cave complex he has made his home.
The temptations of conjuration are great, and many wizards aim to find a path to power through this art. Many however meet their end when attempting to deal with outsiders beyond their skill. There are many wizards of lesser rank who specialise as conjurers but the best known are Jel Fiendskin, Rornor the Angelic, Belavi the Lonesome and Sespaitius.
Diviners
Vennaeus the Godly
Vennaeus is, of course, the best known of all of the great wizards, especially to those of our order. I need not go into extensive details here, except to say that the name I have given above I have given out of no sense of disrespect, but only to record each wizard as he or she is known in their own community. Vennaeus lives in Aterare, where he serves His Divine Grace, and as far as is known, no wizard currently active in the world surpasses his power with the possible exception of Moshke the Dareco. It is said that there is no divination that he does not know. Importantly, he is also the foremost defender of the Injunction, using his divinations to watch for breaches and his over all power to encourage others to work with him in its defence. He sees this as a religious duty, protecting both humanity from magicians as befits a servant of Cerethas, and protecting magic from those whom would misuse it.
Glern
This satyr is reportedly much unlike others of his race – thoughtful, sombre and uncontrolled by base lust. He lives in a small tower in the east of the Great Forest, less than 50 miles before the beginning of the endless plain. He maintains relationships with both the elves and the local fae, but both groups find his rigour unsettling. He has a strong dislike for many of his colleagues, especially our blessed Vennaeus whom he regards as his foremost competitor.
Nossaril
Nossaril is an extremely secretive high elf who lives in a tall tower in near Tirell. Little is known about her except that she is extremely old, travels little if at all, and that she has been known to perform divinations for King Aravael.
There are many minor diviners in the world. In fact diviners are the most common sort of wizard. Divination of most sorts can be practised freely without fear of the Injunction, and the spells it deals with are of use to many academics, who choose to dabble in these arts. However, very few diviners, other than the three above, have dedicated themselves to the study of magic and the pursuit of power, and tend to spend more time exploring mundane matters as they do the valances of might. There are six others of note: Varro of Aterare, Airiel the Seer, Khizar of Alaglum, Itirit the Eye, Marlet Stormborn and Elitrosa the Ascetic.
Enchanters
Darolas the Beautiful
This grey elf uses his skills almost exclusively in pursuit of temporal power, although not political. He seeks to dominate and seduce merely for the sensation of such domination. He is enormously handsome by all accounts, but seems to have an extremely small-minded outlook on success. His familiar is a snake.
Prerancia
Prerancia maintains a tower in the centre of the Ampinio Mountains. She uses her enchantments primarily as a way to protect herself form her neighbours – mostly ogres, goblins and the occasional hill giant. She is engaged in a significant amount of magical research, and this is believed to be the reason for her remote location.
The legal status of much enchantment magic is a significant impediment to the advancement of this specialisation. There are three enchanters of lesser rank currently active in the area covered by this document. They are Illea the Nymph, Fertene the Charmer and Seonag of the Terisii.
Evokers
Arijn the Alembic
Arijn is a half-elf who specialises in electrical energy. His involvement with this form of magic has begun to turn him into an elemental, a process he has embraced wholeheartedly. He spends as much time as possible in the Elemental Plane of Air, but he still maintains an abode on this plane of existence in the desert near the ruins of Tir-a-Palentine. He is among the few of the great I have actually met but I found him to be a flighty person, prone to easy distraction from conversation, although he I obviously immensely powerful.
The nature of the Injunction that binds all wizards on the Prime acts as a break on the study of evocation, for while few wizards prevent them selves from learning these spells few wish to specialise in them either. As a result these is but one other evoker of any note, Mimal the Dwarf.
Illusionists
Emina
Emina is a hobbit and lives just north of the Pallia Mountains, in their foothills as they descend towards the Endless Plains. She is known to dabble in shadow magic to overcome her lack of ability with evocations, and this has lead to rumours that she has dealings with the inhabitants of Shadow itself. While this is a cause for concern, there seems to be no immediate fear from her. She also is an ardent protector of the Injunction.
Other illusionists do exist, although they are few and far between. The gnomish people boast many illusionists of small power, and these folk often combine an interest in other matters with their study of magic. Illusionists of note include Inva Burrowqueen and Kamrej the Umbral.
Necromancers
Ugrob the Deathtusk
The only of the savage humanoids to be among the great, Ugrob is a known crafter of magical items, and is tolerated by the others of this fraternity primarily for his willingness to undertake commissions and to trade. He is also amongst the most powerful of the great, being able to work clerical spells as well as his considerable wizardly arts. He has been known to protect himself by requiring geases preventing harm to him to be placed upon those he considers a threat as part payment for his work. His tower is nestled in a valley deep in the Locura Mountains. He does not associate much with his kin, but he is served by a number of the undead that, among their other duties, protect his manse. Rumours of unmentionable depravities are common place but without the employment of divinations one cannot be sure of their truth, and I am reluctant to tax His gifts to me for such purient ends. He is also known to have developed a method of enhancing the undead known as ‘spellstitching’.
There are some other necromancers, but not many, for while a necromancer of power can protect himself from the inevitable disgust that he arouses among his neighbours, a budding student cannot. In addition, there are the legal issues to contend with. Of note are Macintito the Black, Jelmano of Ailla and Caludius.
Transmuters
Moshke the Dareco
Almost certainly the most powerful mage currently active on the Prime, Moshke lives in a sprawling complex in the ruins of Tir-a-Palentine, a gesture which must be understood as being laden with symbolism. However, it is unclear what this symbolism is. Moshke does not seem a particularly religious man and while he has never evidenced the worship of Bahamut that characterises the social life of his people, he has also never shown any tendencies to any other kind of worship. He is arrogant in the extreme, and has next to know dealings with other wizards, although he maintains an interest in the protection of the Injunction, and has dealt with Vennaeus on the one occasion when there was a significant breach in their lifetimes. Moshke is known for his considerable wealth in magiked items, but he has not been known to trade these with anyone on the Prime for several decades. It is suspected that he now deals primarily with creatures from other realms of existence, and is mentioned here primarily because of his continuing residence in this area and because of his undeniable talents.
Bendolorilda
Bendolorilda is a changer of considerable strength, known to specialise in polymorphing. No one is entirely sure where she resides, as she has rendered it unscryable with protective magics, and has strenuously resisted any attempts to discern its location. It is believed she moves regularly. Of all the Great, she is the only who could still be described as an ‘adventurer’, with all that that title implies. Her companions are varied, but it is known that her constant companion is a drow elf known as Asoj. As a result of her consort’s physical limitations, their primary exploits have occurred far beneath the earth’s surface. Little is known of these affairs, but they have primarily concerned an on going war against the Lloth worshippers of Asoj’s people.
Transmutation, like divination, allows some room to move within the constraints of the Injunction, and similarly contains a large number of spells that are useful in a general way. As a result, there are a large number of transmuters active in the world. These include Turaz the Smith, Snadbog Filtheater, Serendil and Milvia of Ard.
Contrarily to the similarly-titled threads, I'm interested in individuals rather than generalities (although both can go together).
