T.Q.Q. for [My] Campaign Setting (4)
Continuing the trend of answering the twenty quick questions for your campaign setting. Previous questions answered:
I've come to the conclusion that I have, in essence, approached the first question incorrectly. These prompts are meant to demand simple, straightforward, and most importantly gameable answers for folks at one's table. Now is the part where I transcend from misunderstanding to intentional error. As mentioned previously, I refuse to answer these questions quickly, as they generally inspire me to think more about my world. Herein lies even more of the semi-navel-gazing worldbuilding which I love to do. More to come!
Who is the mightiest wizard in the land?
The titular wizard, of Warlords & Wizards, is the "name-level" title granted to 9th-level characters and above. Given this fact, the number of magicians of this caliber is expectedly miniscule, even more so considering the dangers associated with outward fame. Thus, some of the wizards or wizardlike figures described below are indistinguishable from myth.
Haalimarcoinderion Aelsinarius
In terms of pure power and arcane ingenuity, Haalimarcoinderion Aelsinarius is far and away the most singularly impressive magic-user to have ever lived. Among elves he is a legendary figure who delivered the Uurnish elves from their apocalyptic home continent of Laiafa in a ritual lasting upwards of 300 years. At the time, elves were more humanesque, and Haalimar himself was graced with a sallow olive complexion and a coarse head of brown hair. He foresaw the doom approaching and feared that his lifespan would not be sufficient to complete the ritual of transportation, of which he was the inventor (not to mention the sole living magician capable of guiding such a spell).
His solution was to commune with the trees, who in Laiafa were known for their weird whispers, and a hollow chanting emanated from the wood, and with their advisory meld himself with one to increase his longevity. This was a success, and the modern elf descends from those Haalimar guided in the process. Multiplying his remaining lifetime nearly tenfold, Haalimar completed the ritual and lifted the whole of Ifreamea, city of the elves, across the glittering sea south to what is now called Uurn.
In the thousands of years that have passed since his birth, elfish tongues and naming conventions have transformed drastically, with names like his passing the lips of contemporary elves only in storytelling. What stories remain about the legendary Haalimarcoinderion catalog his deeds and triumphs, and no definitive story regarding his final resting place, or his life in Uurn, survives today. Some hold that he attained immortality in the Brass King's Holy City, or gave over to his bonded tree, residing permanently in the dim forest surrounding Ifreamea. He was last claimed to have been sighted by a woodsman by name of Iccuvlas Jackson nearly 500 years ago.
Akmaln, the Desert Fox
Of the great wizards purported to be currently living, Akmaln is assuredly the most elusive. Residing in the scorched saline waste, the Desert Fox is a weird, tricksy sort, who claims to have a perfect vision of one's aura and intentions. If they judge you to be trustworthy and reasonable, they have been known to lend their services in exchange for unusual payment, in form of personal secrets and bespoke songs, or in one instance the mere dissemination of a rumor that the desert holds vast treasures (this is almost certainly false).
Reports of encounters with Akmaln from living persons are slim, but exist. They are reported to wear a floor-length gown of hempen weave, its natural beige hue stained dark with sand and likewise stiffened with the salt of the desert's dry basins. Their dress, however, is secondary in comparison to the headdress—a bulbous, spherical thing, with two large domes resembling the eyes of an insect, themselves with even smaller domes dotting the surface in an array, and so on with a third level of domes. The result is a severely top-heavy appearance, but the Fox moves with unnatural grace considering their garb's apparent unwieldiness.
Not all is whimsy and wonder, however, and should one encounter Akmaln, caution is advised. If has an inkling that the Fox would deem one unworthy or otherwise morally reprehensible—though the Fox's sense of "morality" is itself inscrutable from eyewitness reports alone—it is best to beat an immediate retreat. Survivors of such events return to civilization reporting various arcane maladies including, but not limited to:
- Spontaneous hair loss, hair growth on the soles of the feet, or heightened hair awareness,
- Sunburn of the internal organs,
- Permanent reversal of handedness,
- Enhanced receptiveness to the color of certain gases in the air,
- Persistent feeling of freefalling while on solid ground,
- Or the inability to breathe, blink, or beat one's heart subconsciously.
From the above, it would seem that Akmaln has a supreme command over the language of magic, or the derivation of new words of power. Thus, their inclusion on this list.
The Eternal Pilgrim
Across the wilderness of Uurn the Eternal Pilgrim is said to wander endlessly. Many tales of the Pilgrim's origins exist. All Uurnish cultures, excepting of course the dwarfs, have some sort of myth claiming the beneficent Pilgrim as one of their own. Most humans claim he is human, half-humans half-human, elves elvish, and so on. None, however, endeavor to explain from where the Pilgrim came, or when—only that the Pilgrim comes to those in direst need.
Eternal Pilgrim sightings most often occur at night, or in the long hours of dusk and dawn. Travelers report the man sitting or standing by their fire, having fallen asleep on watch, or just prior to the fire raging over its pit to the surrounding wood or grassland. Each time, the Pilgrim saves the witness from some unforeseen calamity.
All known accounts of encounters with the Eternal Pilgrim report a male of slightly above-average stature and portliness, with neatly cropped black hair and a similarly tidy beard. Specifics of the appearance are down to the experiencer—specific details of the Eternal Pilgrim's appearance tend to match or complement the person making the report. The Pilgrim does not speak, though appears to comprehend any language spoken to him, and typically appears instantly from nothingness, as if by teleportation, if his arrival is witnessed. Reports never include how they parted ways with the Pilgrim, and it is thought that some sort of memory charm is employed, though nothing nefarious transpires.
Some speculate that the Eternal Pilgrim is not, in fact, a magician, but instead a minor deity or otherwise divine being. Some fringe worshippers of the Cosmic Harmony count the Pilgrim among their gods, though this cult is sometimes dismissed as lunatic "pilgrimites" by the faith at large. Cosmic Harmony theologians and archaeologists agree that there is no substantial proof of the Pilgrim's divinity, though the Harmony freely admits to his benevolence and upholding of divine values.
Tinker Lomonon
Tinker Lomonon is one of the eminent archaeologists of the Cosmic Harmony, whose specialty is the discovery and usage of magic objects. She is a sturdy, determined human of middle-age, who wears the typical functional garb of Harmony archaeologists, being a simple set of brightly-dyed trousers, accompanying blouse, leather vest, and belt with several trinkets and pouches affixed at all times.
Tinker Lomonon is Uurn's foremost expert on magical devices, and has the evident ability to intuit their precise capabilities upon a momentary touch, including any curses or hidden afflictions. Her magical capability is not known—as of this writing, she is nearly two decades into a vow of mundanity, an act of humility in worship to the gods. The vow stipulates that the vower cast no magic, however, Lomonon continues to make extensive use of magical objects, some of the more powerful of which the church organization permits her exclusive personal use.
Among such objects are the Ever-Seeing Scope, which allows one to see as far as a clear sightline allows, the Bag of Holding, essentially bottomless, the Baker's Bread, which can never be fully eaten and is always delightfully warm, and other such curiosities. Perhaps her most recognizable possessions are her maroon Longstriding Boots, which allow her to walk at twice the rate of a sprint without breaking a sweat, and which she used to great effect to escape the great green dragon Kyzal. The remainder of her dig team were not so fortunate.
Maethus Ilrak, the Betrayer
The list of Uurn's most powerful magicians understandably ends with Maethus Ilrak, the most unabashedly evil elf to have ever set foot upon Uurn. Legend states that upon his birth, he knew immediately the tongue of chaos, using it to rebuke his own mother. As a child, he seldom spoke, and his first learned fluency is said to be in the language of magic. From upon his high tower in the barren north of the new Ifreamea, one can hear the composition of songs in power words, sickly-long spells whispered so quietly as not to be cast, raining down upon the fields like acid torrents.
To be spoken to directly in such a way is certain death for the recipient.
His undisputed skill with magic is augmented by his skill with martial weaponry. The Betrayer is a battlecaster, who wields an empty sword-hilt named "The Blank Blade." Using his command over magic, he can harden air into a needle-like, razor-sharp filament and bind it to the hilt. Thus, he fights invisibly and with uncanny speed. Once, a mighty challenger by name of Duncan Escaraad offered a duel for his tower and its lands and was subsequently slain in a single blow, as Ilrak laid on the ground and his Blade fought for him.
His typical garb is a vest and skirt of black-dyed cotton, his skin with the mottled appearance of the ebony tree, so that he appears to blend with the clothing in areas. Above the cotton, he wears a glimmering gold chain shirt, which is said to reduce approaching metals to their molten forms.
The Betrayer came upon his title by way of experience. In his youth, he traveled with a group of adventurers named the Flat-Blades, committed staunchly to non-lethality against thinking creatures. They were patronized by some Geeron Lowery of Clearwater in search of the great Brass Periapt, said to be fashioned of the eyeball of the Brass King. Maethus, as you may guess, held no such pacifist ideals, and upon the group's success summarily sealed the entire cohort in the Periapt's vile dungeon, stealing the artifact for himself. This was 300 years ago, beyond elves' average lifespan, so it would seem that the Periapt remains in his possession.