Newrp Content Added! 6

The setting expands. It is the sixth time it does that. C'mon setting stop eating this much! Just kidding! Who's a cute little chubby setting? You are!

You, attendants of the setting, are warmly invited into the Arcana Academy of Arcrius. A longstanding, prestigious and credibly competent institution, this, is Balen's first and foremost magic schooling institution, that has brought forth the greatest of magi, the world has ever seen even to this day.

It was them that codified the means of spellcasting, the way a spell is formed, not to mention so many other treaties and conventions of magic. It is them that brought upon the main classification, into the Arcane, Natural and Evocative magicks. It is them that have perfected these, and it is here, that the deepest secrets of magic lay. And you are to be shown them.

First of all, the academy itself is located in a slightly isolated area, a bit further from the capital. Reaching there, one needs a special permission, and their aid can only be cavalierly summoned by the greatest of powers, such as say, the Emperor of the Irail Empire, the directors of the Order, and even then, only Enail of the Magic Knights will be allowed immediate permission. The leader of the Order as well is one such exception.

It is said that even old and powerful spirits seek the knowledge and power hidden within its vaults. But none have ever succeeded. For the Arcana Academy stands strong, and their magic grows stronger with each passing days. As said before, it is home to three main groups of spellcasters.

The first, the Arcanists are those who shape the pure, raw essence of mana. It is these who have truly mastered the "Blue power". Mana itself is a resource foreign to the world of Balen. Long ago, a powerful space spirit, the dragon Sarkath, also known as Sarkath the Immortal, or Sarkath Spellscale, picked it up from a very dark, and fearsome location according to words.

Some have thus, been lead to speculate it was the silence that brought him, and mana to power. But through the years, the magi of the Academy have clarified the subject's innate obscurity. It was a place beyond Balen itself, and beyond the Silence. There is nothing to be brought out of the Silence itself, but black power.

It stands to a point however, that Arcanists purify their mana from a more faint, softer blue, to a darker one, moving closer to black as they keep purifying. It has thus brought up another discussion. Is the magic in its innate form, dark, or does it become dark when it  is subjected to vast empowerment and refining? Arcanists thus, have divided their main form of spellcasting into several subschools, or Arcana.

The Magician. One of the more ubiquitous forms of magic, and of mages. Magicians use mana to simply expel it. One can form up pulses, bolts, spheres, or even shapes of any kind. But in the end, it is simple, raw mana. Which is on the other hand one of its main selling points. Unaffected by most forms of defenses or existences, raw mana will bypass and interact with almost everything, making a Magician work in almost any situation.

The Hermit. An alternative, that opts for gathering their power on the go. Hermit arcanists possess a powerful repertoire of spells, especially through their speech. They possess knowledge of powerful words, or incantations that have an immediate arcane effect. It is a well known fact, they are known for possessing powerful mental faculties as well. A Hermit is often one of the most enlightened mages.

The Fool. Adventurers, and tricksters. The Fool is a simple class, mostly intended to teach the base use of mana. They have little up their sleeve, but simple tricks, and general ability and knowledge of the arcane. It is where most starters are placed, but it also acts as a "generalist" class for those who do not desire a specialisation.

Justice. Justice, in this case, stands for rune users. Their power involves balancing out the flow of magic in an area, and then channeling it through a rune. Think of it, as building up your own spell. You pick the pieces that you wish, and then bring them together, akin to a puzzle, forming out a rune. The rune has to be placed somewhere though and it is difficult to use it without proper positioning or terrain available.

Strength. Strength users involve the practice of enchantment. They add, onto an object a quality, bound to the mana flowing through it. As long as mana flows through the object, it becomes "enchanted, being able to interact magically with the world. That is, through its enchanted attribute or otherwise. Some enchantments are going to be more effective on some things than others.

Natural. Natural magic users are powerful masters of the arcane. They hold the belief that nature is there, for things to be added and removed onto it. They deeply respect the original establishment of the world, and they make it clear what they are doing is but in passing. They simply elect to take something out of nature, or give something to it, but it will have to be given or taken back in order. They have several sub-schools.

The Wheel of Fortune. Inscribed with the power of earth, fire, water and air. These magi are the basic elementals, possessing prowess in the manipulation of what is readily available. Either vastly capable in one, or somewhat mediocre, in two elements, or even further, having naught but below average passive effectivity in three of them, they are never out of what to use for a cast.

The Stars. The power of light, but also of darkness. These magi manipulate the forces of brightness, and the lack of it when they cannot. Shedding light, and using its pure radiance to unveil any ploy, as well as strike with the unstoppable speed and force of light, or perhaps devouring things they wish to protect in the belly of darkness, or even worse, having the cold, indiscernible dark devour their enemies instead.

The Moon. A degree of magic practiced mostly in Enai. These are people who seek to reach out onto the Vast Dream and manipulate it. They are some of the few people who bend something otherwise known as the purple resource.. A power they "bring down" from the dreamscape, into the real world. Nobody really knows what these mysterious fellows do, or how their magic works. It is a well preserved internal secret.

Temperance. The power of nature itself. The power to manipulate vegetation and wildlife, as well as speak to animals, and require their aid. Some people even have evolved it into binding to these creatures so far, they can adapt parts of their bodies. It is Temperance, the source from where Spirit Sabers evolved into form. Shapeshifting fits here as well.

Evocation. Evocation is a complex thing. Summoning is simply too little to call it. It involves calling things...whether it is energy, beings or objects. And once called, they attempt to manipulate these things to their best effort. Spirits are the only thing they cannot access.. For that is the domain of Summoners, who in essence are simply, evolved evocation users.

The Chariot. The branch of perhaps, the most frightening magi. They unload all of their mana, onto shaping out a mount. They are the "cavalry" of the mages this way. Each mount is unique, and it is them that the Orun Riders have "copied". The greatest power of these riders however, is their resilience. The rider is immune to magic, due to disallowing mana into their own being, whereas the mount is impervious to physical damage.

The Lovers. The lovers are a simple thing. A pair of wizards, who become bound for life. Their magic is unrefined at first, but as they make the bound, they develop a power. A special ability, an unique, possibly uncommon magic...split in two components. The Lovers are able to teleport to each-others locations, and communicate telepathically, but without words... Mostly with messages and "signals" but these are usually perceived pretty well. (You cannot form Lovers with a npc unless specifically allowed. It requires two players.)

The Tower. Dungeon makers. These are the furniture magicians. They do not rely on power coming from themselves, but they take it, and shape up a proper dungeon, shelter, home, castle, dwelling... A place. Their power, comes from it. They fill it with traps, and its growing, symbolizes the mage's own growing. A great, strong dungeon, of course, means a great, strong mage!

The Emperor. A magus born of immense power. Emperors can, within a range, make someone a "beacon" of their powers, meaning their spells can be cast from wherever this person is. This, effectively expands their range. The more they do this, the more their range increases permanently, and eventually, they will be able to cover whole battlefields without needing to make subjects for expansion, but they still could, within their range, to further influence things. Emperors possess powerful abilities to bestow mana upon others, manipulate space, as well as gravity, not to mention their portal opening.

An emperor eventually, can ascend into a body of pure arcane energy. It is now, they can summon creatures from afar, using their portals. They no longer need subjects to be present, for they make their own. At this point they can no longer be called a "human" or even an "emperor" anymore.

The High Priestess. A most powerful evoker, the High Priestess has achieved ultimate understanding of the world of spirits, and thus... Has mixed her own mana, with white power. The High Priestess can protect against any psychic assaults, curses, continued effects or prolonged exposure to varying arcane phenomena. She can weaken enemy mana and abilities as well, passively.  She can free any summoned, controlled or possessed being as well, unless it is possessed of white power as well. With more power, she can turn them on her side as well. The peak of these magi, is the ability to turn a foe, into their own side, by imposing their mana, upon that of said foe.

But is it all the academy has to offer? Nay, the classes and studies are one thing. The hectic search for the arcane another... And the fabled Vaults are something completely different. A secret, rumored to lie within the Academy, the Vault was a place where five "Keystone Artifacts", powerful objects capable of saving, or sundering Balen on their own, and all the other relics gathered by the Academy, were stored. Once upon a time, five Vault Keepers guarded it. The Sun, the Empress, the Hierophant, Death, and the World, were their arcane designations. One for each horror since the dawn of mankind. One for each keystone, that needs to sit in place.

Other than this, the Academy is also a museum of sorts. Displaying all sorts of ancient civilization remnants,  as well as more properly historically documented subjects. It is a function of it one does not want to miss, especially since a lot of the mages studying or teaching there prefer to taking a joyful ride out, into the lost ruins of ancient realms. It is thus, a richly filled compartment of the Academy itself.

Make sure to not touch anything though. The things in there have been examined, and found to be safe. The unsafe ones, are taken by the magi at the head of the Academy itself, into the Vaults. But who knows. Protocols neglected, testing forgotten... Some of these safe artifacts may not be as safe, as you are lead to believe.

So there you go. Hopefully, you will enjoy your visit, and perhaps stay a while. Learn something about casting a spell or two.