History

[magicademymods]

History A Mystery of a History To attend Diatu Magicademy, you must first create the universe. This universe began with a great and proud civilization -- one ancient, learned, powerful, and vast. It stretched across the continent, encompassing every inch of it, and it seemed like it would last forever. Humankind does not record this civilization’s name. They know only its people: dragons. Dragonkind did not rule because of the size, strength, and physical power of dragons (all of which are substantial), nor their intellect (not to be scoffed at), nor their cookie recipes (chocolate chips in everything, it’s crazy). Dragons ruled because of their magic. What they willed, they created. What they desired, they achieved. Dragons wielded magic the way humans use their hands, versatile and instinctual. To go against one was to go against a hurricane, or the sun itself. Not only pointless, but impossible. Perhaps needless to say, being human kind of sucked during all this. Dragons enslaved them, out of principle and the general opinion that no matter how easy it is to accomplish a task, it’s still easier to make someone else do it. They served as menial laborers, unwilling magical assistants, and occasionally chew toys. Despite the ratios involved -- for every dragon there were at least one hundred thousand humans -- the dragons were simply so superior that their reign could not be questioned. Humans had magic in those days, but it was wild, uncontrolled, and almost impossible for the vast majority of people to effectively wield. Dragons are creatures of magic, but humans are not; for them, trying to cast spells had much the same effect as flailing in the ocean to try to get water to go in the direction you want. Nevertheless, some rare humans managed to make magic work for them, and when they did, they often became rallying figures for rebellion. In response, dragonkind created the Gaole, an island mine and quarry more interested in making the humans working at it suffer under backbreaking, miserable conditions than it was actually producing anything. It was a tool of vicious punishment and deterrence, doomed to fail because dragons simply could not grasp the nature of humans. So long as their enslavement continued, rebellions would never stop; indeed, despite the threat of the Gaole’s tortures, they grew larger and more frequent with each passing year. After one particularly widespread one, dragonkind decided they had to go a step farther. The Scourge of Gaole. Dragonkind seized the entire living bloodlines of everyone responsible, locked them in the Gaole, then engaged in gruesome magical experimentation -- or just plain fun, at the expense of the humans. When they finished, a process which took several years, not one human was left alive inside, and the Gaole was stained permanently red. Even now, centuries later, the blood has not washed out. The message was clear: you cannot oppose us, and you will suffer if you try. Satisfied, dragonkind went about its business… leaving one lone dragon questioning just what his people had become. Ire was not powerful, nor knowledgeable, nor of any import as far as dragons ranked these things -- but he was proud, and he was principled, and in that moment, he felt his people had gone beyond the pale. No longer could he believe that dragons had inherent right by superiority to rule and dominate others, when they had behaved no better than beasts. Knowing full well it would cost him everything, Ire betrayed his entire kind to a human wizard by the name of Anastara Diatu, by teaching him the principles of Codification. The First Codification codified Codification, which is exactly as paradoxical as it sounds and why Ire needed to get involved. Only a dragon’s inherent mastery of magic could accomplish something like that. The Second Codification set out exactly how to kill dragons. It was not complicated, it was not difficult, and it was totally useless if a dragon had the slightest idea that maybe they should prevent something vaguely like it, and so for years thereafter the knowledge slept, slowly being passed around in the greatest secrecy, until the time was right. On a bleak winter day ranging from afternoon to bright morn, depending on exactly where one was on the continent, humanity killed every dragon. Every. Single. One. Except for Ire, whom Anastara Diatu personally spared in secret, bidding the dragon hide and fervently praying that he would not regret his choice. The Second Codification would never work again. With freedom granted, Diatu quickly moved to found the Magicademy Order and assemble the most intelligent and wise minds for what became known as the Grand Codification. Over the course of a few years, the schools of magic were codified into the forms they more or less are in now, the Magicademies were founded, and humankind began its own path free from draconic tyranny. From now on, the people vowed, it would only be self-inflicted! (They probably didn’t actually vow that, but there’s a reason the Tenscore Kingdoms are so named.) The Advent of the Sundered A couple of years ago, a strange thing happened: people from other worlds started appearing in the Tenscore Kingdoms. No one was sure why, or how, except that clearly Sundering magic was to blame by definition; thus, these people became known as the Sundered. Their potential for magic burned so brilliantly it threatened to explode out of them, probably fatally, and so the Magicademy Order took three steps: granting them a place to stay and learn at Diatu Magicademy, unbanning Sundering so wizards could research the problem without being jailed, and then researching the problems. Wacky hijinks ensued, as was to be expected. Around the same time, a mysterious ghost dragon appeared in the caverns beneath Diatu Magicademy, for reasons that surely had absolutely nothing to do with certain Sundered accidentally screwing around with a necromantic ritual. Simultaneously, the dragon Ire found himself welcome at the Magicademy after forming bonds with certain other Sundered. And that was how the stage was set for the Three Dragon War. The ghost dragon had a name: Grieve, the Wizard, whose title human magicians had adopted for their own simply because Grieve had the greatest magical prowess of any dragon, ever. Enough so that when returned as a ghost, resurrecting himself was no problem at all -- nor were his efforts to send the Sundered home, which he embarked on without warning one dark winter morning to rid himself of these questionable variables in his plan to conquer all humanity once more. In a blink of an eye, he had sent three-quarters of them back to their homes, and would have swept through the remaining fourth if not for the appearance of ANOTHER dragon. Mournless, the Necromancer, revealed himself with a withering blast of decay and death that did nothing to Grieve, and a cold fury that did indeed profoundly distract the dragon. In this moment, the truth came free: the Sundered were Mournless’s direct attack on the Codifications, their bizarre powers and natures designed to break human magic apart, and also Grieve was screwing the whole damn plan up. And forgetting about the humans entirely, as both of them still viewed the species as a lesser race, the two launched into combat for control over those Sundered that remained and the world at large. Ire’s role in the Three Dragon War was far less notable than perhaps the name and the tales thereof would have it seem. Massively outmatched in magic by both the dead-come-living dragons, he mostly ran around shielding Diatu Magicademy and Anastara from collateral damage. Still, considering the sheer number of lives he saved, he might be forgiven for not diving in and mixing it up. The humans of the island certainly appreciated his efforts. The ‘War’ lasted about twenty-two minutes before Headmaster Camillah Birony rolled up her sleeves, waded right into the scrum, and was promptly disintegrated by a stray bolt of magical energy. This seemed bad, but then her voice shouted something about them triggering a trap card, and both dragons just sort of disappeared. Headmaster Birony promptly stepped out from a nearby tree and explained she’d used the magic energy something Modification something something reverse-time Sundering something something wacky aside something anyway, they had both been stuffed back into the spirit world where Mournless’s soul had dwelt all this time, and yeah, that wasn’t going to last at all, so they darn well had better figure out how to deal with immortal dragons for good. Definitely not ominous, and humanity definitely hadn't come within an inch of doom only to be saved by the Sundered accidentally jamming a dragon's epic master plan with ANOTHER dragon. An emergency meeting of the Magicademy Order quickly worked on revising the codifications of Sundering, which was all well and good, except… well, it turns out, they couldn’t stop the Sundered from showing up here. They did manage to write in some contingencies and a way home, but until they can figure out a way to seal the hole that Mournless had stretched in their magic, looks like that problem is here to stay... Main Community  Network Community  OOC Community Premise  Rules  Game Guide and FAQ  Reserves  Applications  Taken Magic  The Six Houses  Diatu Magicademy  NPCs  Familiars Anastara    (First Ring    Second Ring    Third Ring) Adventures  Classes and Student Teaching Hiatus/Drop  Suggestions and Feedback