Long ago, in the Age of Legends, the first mages learned the secrets of harnessing the powers of water and fire. With their knowledge they founded Fire Clan and Water Clan.

It was not long, though, before disagreements began to arise. Some mages in Water Clan preferred a system of Order; they opposed those in Fire Clan who preferred Chaos. The two break-away factions became the Ice Water Clan and the Chaos Desert Clan, taking their followers as they did away into the neighbouring lands. Of those that remained, some preferred to remain as true to their element as possible, forming the Great Sea Clan and the Burning Hill Clan; others investigated the power of corruption within their elements, forming the insidious and mistrusted Poison Water Clan and Dark Wood Clan.

Each of the six clans took up residence in a homeland, but the strife was not yet over. War broke out, a war that was only resolved by the creation of the Book of Mages. All the clans agreed that instead of waging war against between clans, disputes would remain individual and be settled by challenge. Each mage would have their name inscribed in the Book of Mages, and might challenge a higher ranking mage at any time for their rank, status and power. The most mighty of all the mages would be the known as the Great Mage and would have the final say in any matter. With this method of resolution in place, each retreated to their own lands. Over the centuries many Great Mages rose and fell in their turn.

But now war once again threatens to overwhelm the clans. The current Great Mage, Battlebeard of Chaos Desert, has vowed to achieve dominion over all mages, not merely a leader but a tyrant. His Black Mages have been sent to all the clans, with orders to command mages to swear allegiance to the Great Mage and kill those who do not obey. Now the clans are once again divided; the Dark Wood, Poison Water and Chaos Desert clan leaders have sworn their allegiance and taken on the mantles of Black Mages, whilst the Ice Water, Burning Hill and Great Sea clan leaders are declaring themselves to be White Mages, having raised their own candidate for the position of Great Mage, Burninghost of Burning Hill.

So far, many mages remain neutral in the conflict and the traditions still hold for all of the clans. It is only a matter of time, though, before the tenuous peace falls apart...and it is in these Dark Times that the Young Mage’s competition is about to take place.



The Clans

Ice Land Clan

In the northeastern reaches the bitter tundra gives way to sheets of ice. It is within these frigid lands that the Ice Land mages reside. Trading furs and gold with the other clans in return for the vital supplies they need to survive, most Ice Land people live either in the Ice Caverns in underground dwellings built from ice, or in frontier trading towns on the tundra. Those without the Gift serve as hunters, warriors and traders of a hardbitten sort. With the Ice Land clan’s emphasis on Order, most Ice Land people are both rather blunt and hard to get to know. A child with the Gift will be taken away from it’s parents as soon as their power is discovered, to live apart from the rest of the clan with their fellow mages.

The combat style of Ice Land mages is to leave their opponent numb and blue, too cold and shivering to call up shielding spells and unable to bring their defences to bear effectively in time. Their colours are white and blue.

Great Sea Clan

Along the northern coastline the first leaders of the Great Sea clan founded the White City, a beautiful creation of whose stone walls eternally withstand the crash and spray of the waves without. With many lesser towns built on piers or struts on the sea itself, and one notable village built on rafts, the Great Sea clan has come to a rather peaceable outlook and a tendency toward philosophy. The tidal plains neighbouring it’s seaside settlements are rich and harbour many farmers. As a result, the White City harbours the Senate, whose unGifted members organise the day-to-day running of civil affairs with democratic freedoms unknown to the unGifted of any other clan. It also houses an Academy, and the Great Library, a scholarly centre of enlightenment and learning open to both mages and non-mages. Most Gifted children remain with their parents whilst studying, or at least have regular contact with their families.

The combat style of Great Sea mages is to watch their allies batter uselessly against their defences, whilst draining their opponents mana until they are unable to cast spells at all.

Poison Water Clan

In the murky swamps of the Poison Water lands, the majority of people live in crude wooden huts and many children die early from the foul miasma continually rising from the dank waters. Those that survive may be lucky enough to be born with the Gift, taken from their kin into a secretive society for whom treachery, deceit and scheming is a first recourse. Those that are unGifted are doomed to spend their lives eking out a miserable existence on the edge of starvation, gathering what little there is in the swamps and meres of the Poison Water lands for the use of their mage overlords. Their lives are made tolerable only by recreational toxins and the promiscuity that follows naturally from such high death rates. On the few solid mattocks at the edge of the swamp the settlement known as The Snakes has been founded, the centre of all Poison Water clan activity.

The combat style of Poison Water mages is to poison their targets early on, then defend all the while as their opponent steadily sickens and weakens.

Chaos Desert Clan

In the endless wastes of the Chaos Desert, the searing heat leaves bones bleached and animal carcasses lying where they have fallen if the waterhole is not reached in time. The shifting sands and ever-changing water sources are second nature to anyone of the nomadic Chaos Desert clan. There is just one permanent settlement, without even a name - it’s oases and great tents the sole stable region in an otherwise treacherous and dangerous land. The clan itself is no less impermanent. Here in the desert, the ferocity of warriors is valued, and the first allegiance anyone has is to their kin. The tribes rise and fall in turn, feuding constantly and led by their mage-sheiks who rule with absolute power.

The combat style of Chaos Desert mages is to overwhelm their opponent with a shower of strikes, each one more lethal than the last.

Burning Hill Clan

Towards the far end of the Chaos Desert, a chain of large hills and mountains runs from north to south. One of these hills is the legendary Burning Hill, an active volcano. Set on the side of the Burning Hill, and with the same name, is the clan’s citadel. The land surrounding the hills is scrubland, poor but capable of pasturing goats and similar, and with olive groves and orange trees further down. Though the mages rule, their rule is not particularly onerous and it is not unheard of for an elder to approach a mage in a crisis asking for aid or advice, especially if the mage came from their own village. When Burning Hill erupts, as it occasionally does, the carefully crafted channels divert the flow around the city in lava streams which, once cooled, must be mined out both to clear the channels and for their sulphur.

The combat style of Burning Hill mages is to overwhelm their opponents by sheer raw power. Their colours are red and yellow.

Dark Wood Clan

The twisted, gnarled trees of the Dark Wood seem to watch the observer, and it is well known that beneath their shadowy eaves the unwary traveller might well lose their lives. This, then, is the home of the Blood Mages, whose power over fire has been honed to that fire which burns in the human veins. The Blood Mages are taken from their kin when their Gift is revealed and taught their clan secrets in exchange for servitude. Their wretched unGifted counterparts labour ceaselessly as slaves for the rest of their bleak lives to gather the food required by their masters. The greatest pleasure a Dark Wood clansman can have is to see another grovelling in fear or pain, the exultation of the victor over the vanquished. There is only one settlement in the Dark Wood, a collection of shabby huts within a large clearing known to outsiders as The Grove.

The combat style of Dark Wood mages is to weaken their opponent’s strikes and smother their power.

This is a game with duelling, so there is a combat system. Please read through the Laws of Magic for a brief overview of how magic works.

You'll need to make a Character Table - read the top section of the Combat Rules - and send it to me in a PM. You can leave off reading the rest until you have time or skim it, it won't be important until later. I know it's a lot all at once!

Quick Reference: How To Write A Combat Post

When you post a combat post, you and your chosen opponent take it in turns to post. There should be four parts to a well-structured post.

In part 1 you write your rp of your RIPOSTE from the previous round and then write what Basic Spell you are casting in response and your Power. In part 2 you should write your Resistance, Mana and Channel.

In part 3 you write your rp of your TURN and then write what Basic Spell you are casting and your Power. In part 4 you should write your Resistance, Mana and Channel.

You'll also need to create a character persona. Read here for what I'm looking for in your app.

Finally, here's a Map of the Clan Lands.

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