Magic in Laeryk's Proving: Part One

Most fantasies have some form of magic, and Laeryk's Proving is no exception. In Laeryk's Proving, magic comes in a variety of forms. The most common magic in the world are the magical "Gifts" practiced by humanity. I'll be making separate posts for each of the various types of magic, but today's post will concern itself more with who is practicing magic.

The largest organization formally practicing magic is the Triumvirate, an association Gifted humans who police the world of Laeryk's Proving to make certain that the Gifts are not being abused, and to make certain that the servants of the entities known as the Surok'tarn are kept from returning their masters to the world. The Triumvirate is based in the nation of Fardan where it maintains its Academy. In several nations, including Fardan, Deldanare, Coribhal and Haddar, many children undergo testing at an early age to identify whether they possess any of the three Gifts. Children identified with sufficiently strong Gifts are often recruited to come to the Academy where they are trained to master their powers. In Fardan, where the Triumvirate wields extreme political power, even those children with weak Gifts are often sent to the Academy, where they are trained to become the Triumvirate's Legionnaires, the armed muscle of the Triumvirate.

The Triumvirate is ruled by a single Gifted, the Arakon. Each Arakon possesses all three of the Gifts (whereas few Gifted have more than even one Gift), and is tasked both with leading the Triumvirate and with maintaining a constant vigil to watch for signs the Surok'tarn are returning. Each Arakon lives until their successor has been found and trained to assume their duties, no matter how long this process takes. The current Arakon is a wizened old man named Alchamedus, and has lived for over three hundred years, far longer than any other Arakon before him. Alchamedus appears to have lost interest in directly leading the Triumvirate, concentrating all of his energies on his vigil, and leading the Council of Three to rule in his absence. The Council of Three is made up of the three leaders of each of the Gifts in the Triumvirate, and traditionally only act as advisers to the Arakon. The current Council of Three appear to find Alchamedus' absent quite to their liking, and some wonder if they would return power to the Arakon if he demanded it.

While the Triumvirate makes up the bulk of humanity's Gifted, it has found itself unable to infiltrate into the land known as the Sharynwyn Marshes. The Sharynwyn people are ruled by their so-called Witch Queen. Each Witch Queen is a powerful Gifted in her own right, and has always been adamant that the Triumvirate stay out of the affairs of the Sharynwyn Marshes. The Witch Queen's most loyal servants, warriors called the Hunters of the Slain, are a match for the Triumvirate's Legionnaires; the Triumvirate respects that the losses it would incur should it press the issue of the Sharynwyn Marsh's independence from its direction is far more than they consider reasonable. Meanwhile, no one, not even the Arakon, knows what goes on inside the borders of the Sharynwyn Marshes. Whispers in the halls of the Triumvirate say that the Sharynwyn had discovered Gifts no one else has ever dreamed of. If this is so, the Witch Queen keeps it hidden.

Next Time: Part Two will cover the first of the magical Gifts, the Saritar Gift.