The Mage Hunters and Council

[Scorchys]

The Mage Hunters of Arania

"Cleanse the taint in your blood"

"The heretic must be purged"

History: During the times of the Great War, e’er longer than any living man can recollect, elves taught humans how to access the leylines and use them for the magical power therein. They believed that the quick breeding men would be wonderful soldiers with the application of magical energies and, in a way, they were right. Humans took to magic quickly and fairly easily, learning how to drawn upon the power of the leylines and the etherium and with it, assisted the elves in defeating both the dragons and the napishtim.

What the elves had not predicted, unfortunately, had been the wickedness and greed that burned within mens’ hearts like coals. When the last of the angels had been chased off and the final dragons cast down, men immediately turned upon their pointy eared friends. In no time at all, humans used their numbers and magical might to crush the armies of the long-lived elves upon the field of battle, quickly rising to dominance.

Their abuse of the power of the leylines was not without consequence, however, for as men would soon learn, everything has a price. The use of power had left the world off balance and the energies ran amok. During this chaotic time, two opposing factions arose: the Magifactorum and the Malmagica. Both agreed that mages and the abuse of magical power had been at fault but were at odds with what should be done about it. The Magifactorum believed that mages should be taught to control their power, to nurture it and not use it recklessly. The Malmagica, on the other hand, believed that mages of all nations and creatures were a danger to the peoples of Shinma and should be kept under control, by force if need be.

In the end, the sides could not come to an understanding and so they went their separate ways. While the Magifactorum would eventually come together as the first Council of Magi, members of the Malmagica would search for ways to suppress mages. This discovery would come from the norther part of Arania when a metal was found that could stop a mage from casting their spells when in its vicinity. The leaders of the Malmagica named this metal Tetherium, partially as a mockery of the Magifactorum’s etherium designation, and began applying it to several different pieces of equipment. Over time the Malmagica would arm themselves similarly to a true military, though acted with more authority whenever mages were involved, and restructured into what is now known as the Mage Hunters.

Typical armaments include a longsword, broadsword, one or two handed crossbows, shortbows, longbows, tetherium tipped arrows, tetherium explosives, tetheron nets and tetheron handcuffs.


Perks: Mage Hunters are equipped with magical devices that enable them to not only detect but to suppress magical energy, enabling them to combat the people that they hunt.
If you wish to start as a Mage Hunter you get a level 20 character on start and must have a approved tier one and two Power.

[Scorchys]

"We protect our own from the dangerous, uninitiated masses."

History: During the times of the Great War, e’er longer than any living man can recollect, elves taught humans how to access the leylines and use them for the magical power therein. They believed that the quick breeding men would be wonderful soldiers with the application of magical energies and, in a way, they were right. Humans took to magic quickly and fairly easily, learning how to drawn upon the power of the leylines and the etherium and with it, assisted the elves in defeating both the dragons and the napishtim.

What the elves had not predicted, unfortunately, had been the wickedness and greed that burned within mens’ hearts like coals. When the last of the angels had been chased off and the final dragons cast down, men immediately turned upon their pointy eared friends. In no time at all, humans used their numbers and magical might to crush the armies of the long-lived elves upon the field of battle, quickly rising to dominance.

Their abuse of the power of the leylines was not without consequence, however, for as men would soon learn, everything has a price. The use of power had left the world off balance and the energies ran amok. During this chaotic time, two opposing factions arose: the Magifactorum and the Malmagica. Both agreed that mages and the abuse of magical power had been at fault but were at odds with what should be done about it. The Magifactorum believed that mages should be taught to control their power, to nurture it and not use it recklessly. The Malmagica, on the other hand, believed that mages of all nations and creatures were a danger to the peoples of Shinma and should be kept under control, by force if need be.

In the end, the sides could not come to an understanding and so they went their separate ways. The Magifactorum gathered all the mages from around Arania together and they set about setting up the rules that mages would need to live by. These mages set up bylaws for what was expected of mages and what was unacceptable, that mages would need to stay largely in the academy or tower, except when being sent somewhere for an assignment, etc.

Regrettably, mages are not fond of rules due to having so much power and whatnot. Oftentimes, when mage hunters go after especially difficult rogue magicians, mages from the council are sent with them in order to combat the rogue. Other times, mages will serve as advisors to the king of Arania during difficult times and, on rare occasions, mages will serve as soldiers on the field of battle. This is one of Arania’s favorite uses for their mages.

[Scorchys]

Mage Mark

Concept: The Mage Mark is an advanced method of branding a mage with a soul-bound controlled substance which allows the mage hunters and the mage council the ability to control and monitor all whom are Etherium touched. When the Mage Mark is completely applied to a mage, it cannot be removed by normal means, even through the burning or erasure of the mark’s surface location on the skin. Once applied, special practitioners of the council can use the sigil originally used to create a mage mark on an individual in order to track the flow of mana being accessed across the marked individual. This sigil can show when a spell is being cast and its connection to the mage mark allows trackers to follow the signal and find the individual if they are engaging in illegal activity. In some instances of the mage mark, it can even suppress the amount of mana the spell-caster is able to push through to cast a spell, restricting their ability to cast powerful spells based on the level of influence.

---

History: Due to conflicting interests, the Magifactorum and the Malmagica groups split into their separate organizations known respectively as the Council of Magi and the Mage Hunters. While both organizations had the same agreement, that mages and the abuse of magic power were at fault for the major disasters of the past, they had split decisions on what to do with the problem. The Malmagica sought ways to suppress mages since fighting magic with magic was only going to cause problems. They believed that they had a breakthrough by using old traditions from the trappers of old brandishing a special kind of metal known as cold iron, but it had limited success since it only worked on magical beasts of very specific kinds.

The alchemists of the group sought a new material that would become magic’s bane. One of the alchemists, named Husil Palesquo, made a discovery: an exact combination of minerals mined from the far north seemed to have some kind of damping effect on magic, but only the rocks deep within. It was also a weak effect, but Husil believed that with some refining he could strengthen its qualities. Forging the rock by itself lead to a more pure product but it didn’t seem to enhance the weakening effect and the rock became very brittle afterwards, it needed something more. It needed a metal to mesh with its properties. Working with one of the local smiths in Arania, Husil was able to buy a few different kinds of metal bars to experiment with the rock substance in chemical compositions. Cold steel produced the most non-volatile results. In the upcoming weeks the alchemy team under Husil’s discovery worked tirelessly to mesh the earthen mixture with cold steel. It only partially succeeded until the group discovered that the actual source was a rare trace of metal mixed within the earth. An alloy was created, and its finished bond strengthened the anti-magic property of the trace material.

The result was known and named as Tetherium. In solid form its anti-magic properties were stronger, able to purge the mana flow within a mage’s body. In powdered form it was even more powerful, but the application was difficult since the physical body only has so much connection with the inner soul. Husil’s name would never go down in history since the Hunters kept the creation a secret within their ranks, but the name Tetherium would be known throughout history as the start of the anti-magic military.

The council caught wind of this new metal being used on rogue mages and a meeting of the two organizations took place once again. Through many trials, tribulations, and a few demonstrations, the groups together created something even more world changing: a formula that could control the magic dampening like one could control the amount of alcohol poured into a mug. The mage mark system was born, a rare product of the two ideologies that sought different paths. The compromise created this system that allowed rogue mages to exist in society and make their decision to abide by the council of the magi’s or be punished by the full force of the hunters association.

---

Creation: The Mage Marks are an advanced method of control for those whom have been Etherium-touched, originally developed a suppression method thought to erase the powers completely when applied but ended up with much more utility and control than a simple on off switch. The ink of a Mage mark consists of powdered Tetherium mixed with several alchemical reagents, raw powered Etherium, and a crushed quartz crystal that contains the mana of the marked one. Pre-made Mage-mark inks are composed of everything but the quartz, which is said to be carried in special vials by those allowed to administer the mark, as well as carry the quartz and grinders for its application to any mages to turn themselves in willingly or not.

While the application is akin to a tattoo using a special sigil stone-needle, the mana-bound quartz binds it to the very center of the mage’s connection to the weave making the powdered Tetherium act as a suppressive buffer that dams the potential of the mage’s mana flow connection. Each of these inks have different strengths and aptitudes to allow different flows of mana to pass through while locking down any amount that is beyond the threshold of powdered Tetherium used similar to a dam opening or closing to water. Once applied to a person, removing the skin or even the limb/body part the mark is attached to will not remove the residual effects of the mark. Due to the way that mana flows through the body and the way Tetherium reacts to magic, the mark may just reform elsewhere or worse, continues its effects without a physical mark present.

Licensed practitioners of the mage hunter and council keep the methods of replacing the mage mark or removing them off the body a long-kept secret. Even the individuals whom have had the mark changed, adapted, or applied are typically lulled unconscious by a sedation drug to miss the process of application or modification. Because of this nature, applications are strictly done within mage hunter and council buildings under supervision and the individuals that know the methods are kept hush hush by everyone in these societies aside from the highest-ranking order.

In reality, the Mage Mark is a two-part system, not just the marking within the person but the unique sigil needle that is used to create the tattoo. The special sigil needle can be used to draw out and resurface the full marking of the Mage Mark anywhere on the body in order to edit its “level of influence”, a term used to determine the strength and amount of Tetherium present within the mark’s system. This sigil needle is kept in the archive room with the other sigil needles from every marked mage that facility has taken care of in this form. While there are, of course, thousands of these sigil needles, it is extremely easy for anyone who works for the council or hunters associations to identify whose needle is whose as the individual signatures of each mage’s mana is iron wrought into the sigil via the crushed quartz used in the marking’s foundation. The needles will glow every time the mage casts a spell and the signal from mark to sigil can be traced by anyone within either order that is good at following an Etherium trace. Often enough, these sigils are given to a hunter or council mage if the marked mage has been proven too troublesome to keep alive or free. The given sigil, is, of course, simply a copy in case they are halted in their search by means of an ambush or other such dangerous in the world of Shinma.

---

Levels of Influence: Each Mage Mark can be edited to be stronger or weaker by increasing or decreasing the amount of Tetherium with the accompanying sigil needle. These are the Levels of Influence.

• Level 1: Tracking only: this level is the weakest, only allowing the tracking of the mage. Often used for mages who are out on a dangerous mission that can be trusted with such a level of influence or during war time.
• Level 2: Restricts the highest magic and mana embracing but still allows for the rest. Used for dangerous missions or aids to nobles and royalty but keeps the most dangerous of magical spells from being cast for their safety. ((Keeps Rank 5s from being cast))
• Level 3: Restricts the exponential spells that could affect their surroundings and cause harm to many people around them. This is the most common mage seal for mage council magi that are not of the top, as well as for those sent as messengers to check up on rogue mages, but not necessarily fight them. ((Keeps rank 4’s and higher from being cast))
• Level 4: Used for Mage guards or those learning within the tower whom are not ready to control their magic. This is the most common level of mage mark given to the general populous who have not become trustworthy enough for anything more. (Keeps rank 3’s and higher from being cast)
• Level 5: Used for recently captured rogue mages or new inductees into the academy and tower. A high level of Tetherium keeps the mage from casting all but some of the most basic spells for self defense in case anything wild or monstrous attacks them while learning when traveling outside the tower or academy. (Keeps rank 2’s and higher from being cast)
• Level 6: Only reserved for the most dangerous of rogue mages and often put on them unwillingly, these Mage Marks are put on every dangerous mage criminal who has not simply been executed for their crimes. It keeps them from using all magic turning them into ordinary people. (Cannot cast any rank spells at all.)