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enamelity
Known Hero
You Misunderestimated Me
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posted April 17, 2010 04:21 AM |
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Edited by Mytical at 09:20, 11 Aug 2010.
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The Guilds
As the previous Guilds faction wasn't going anywhere, and I really didn't feel like writing it, I'm trying again with a completely different idea - though the name, perchance, remains the same.
The Guilds
AKA: The Triumvirate, The Plasmages
Colors: None Officially
Worship: Same As Wizards
Core Philosophy: Don't let anything obstruct the attainment of knowledge. Plasmic magic is superior to other forms of magery.
Country: The Mystral Isles
Capital: Cyruscinth
Symbol: The Plasmologos
Born in the Silver City of Yafiah almost two hundred and fifty years ago, Cyrus Denescant failed out of a wizards' academy and whiled away his years as a minor functionary. He is rumored to have invented some new method of magical manipulation, but this seems unlikely given his academic performance, and no records of this technique exist. In the chaos of the Purge of the Necromancers (751-770 YSD), he disappeared - a common enough ocurrence in those interesting times - and was presumed dead.
Of course, the Plasmages tell an entirely different account of his life.
Cyrus, a student at a prestigious magical academy, first stumbled upon the basic idea of plasmic magic through a leap of intuition. He promptly left school so as to devote more of his time to developing his theories, and revealed his discoveries only to his closest associates - those he knew would not ridicule him for his wild hypotheses. Eventually, he succeeded in making plasmic magic into a practical reality, and the ranks of the Plasmages - as they called themselves - swelled with rebellious academic youths eager to challenge their stiffly traditional elders.
Nevertheless, Cyrus and his followers were largely ignored by the rest of the Academy. Tensions between the Necromancers and the Mages were increasing dangerously, and that controversy seemed far more important than Cyrus' tiny group of students. Cyrus and his students continued their work unheeded and unnoticed, striving to make plasmic magic powerful enough to compete with contemporary magery.
When the Purge of the Necromancers finally began, and the Academy was thrown into utter chaos for almost twenty years, Cyrus decided that his homeland was no longer a safe place to continue his work. He took his students and his magic with him on a voyage east, to a new home free of oppressive elder mages and other distractions. His departure went unnoticed amidst the flames of civil war.
By this time, the Necromancers had already begun settling the poisoned land of Heresh, and so Cyrus sailed even further. He reached the island of Elmeriven in the year 760 YSD, or 0 LY (Landfall Years) in the calendar of the Plasmages. The self-exiled refugees founded the community of Cyruscinth, which grew into a sprawling metropolis - the capital city of a new civilization, a new race dedicated to knowledge, magic, and the Astral Plasm.
Islands of the Plasmages:
Elmeriven is the island circled in light blue
The Plasmages continued their work unheeded and undisturbed - as per their own preference. Two distinct variations of Astroplasm (Astral Plasm) were discovered and developed, existing alongside standard Astroplasm: Shadoplasm and Entroplasm. Nowadays, plasmic magic is divided into Astroplasmic, Shadoplasmic, and Entroplasmic Magery. Each branch of plasmic magic is overseen by a guild, and each guild governs a certain island or group of islands within the Triumvirate's territory
Astroplasm - Astral Plasm
 an Astroplasmic Mage summons an Astroplasmid
The original form of plasmic magic discovered by Cyrus Denescant, Astroplasmic Magery is also the most common and well-known. Astroplasmic mages learn to mentally access the Astral Plane - a world parallel to Ashan but consisting entirely of Astroplasm - and, from there, bring Astroplasm into Ashan in any form they choose, controlling it with their thoughts alone. Astroplasm is an extremely malleable, semi-solid substance with remarkably few constant properties - it can become almost anything its summoner desires. Nevertheless, this mental manipulation is not precise or powerful enough for combat purposes. Instead, for use in combat, Astroplasm must be shaped into some humanoid or animalistic form (or something in between) and given a limited form of independent consciousness, though still subject to the will of the summoning mage. The ability to grant summoned Astroplasm this independence is what separates amateur dabblers from true Astroplasmic Mages.
Extraordinary willpower is required to keep an Astroplasmid (as the summoned beings are known) in existence. The more complex, powerful, or independent it is, the more willpower is required. Summoning and controlling multiple Astroplasmids at once is possible but extremely taxing for most mages.
The Astroplasmic Guild - dominated by Guildmaster Rrinescev, an iron-fisted and iron-hearted old man - is the largest and most powerful of the three guilds, in accordance with Astroplasmic Magery's status as the most-practiced branch of plasmic magic. While the metropolis of Cyruscinth functions as the entire Triumvirate's capital city, it is technically only the capital of the Astroplasmic Guild. It is located on the southwestern coast of Elmeriven, the Astroplasmic Isle (circled in light blue on the map above) - a forested island with large urban expanses.
Shadoplasm - Shadow Plasm
 a Shadoplasmic Mage shows off
Conceived by Scynthis Devrill shortly before the Plasmages' flight from the Silver Cities, and refined during the exodus to Elmeriven, Shadoplasmic Magery is just behind Astroplasmic Magery in terms of popularity and political power. It is, to a large extent, based on Cyrus' discoveries; the primary difference is that Shadoplasmic Mages draw their plasm from the Shadow Plane - similar to the Astral Plane but composed of shadows and Shadoplasm.
Shadoplasm is less tangible, less solid, than Astroplasm, but requires less effort to summon and manipulate. Additionally, the summoning mage can easily decrease its density to that of shadow itself by a simple act of will. The combined result of these differences is that Shadoplasm can be used in combat without the creation of a plasmid (though Shadoplasmids do exist). Shadoplasmic Mages instead summon Shadoplasmic tendrils of varying size and solidity to misdirect, disarm, and harm their opponents, as well as to conceal themselves from view. Shadoplasmic Mages have a largely undeserved reputation for being untrustworthy and secretive; this is largely because of the way many of them use their magic in combat.
Run by the invisible yet omnipresent Guildmaster Iulliis, a small and shifty puppet master, the Shadoplasmic Guild manages the jungle-smothered island of Alistair (light purple on the map) from the central city of Devrillescin.
Entroplasm - Entropic Plasm
 a meditating Entroplasmic Mage
Codified primarily by Antthier Lusceth, Entroplasmic Magery is the newest branch of plasmic magic, as well as the rarest and least influential. It is considered the most enigmatic, mystical, and difficult form of plasmic magic; its combat uses are extremely limited.
Because Entroplasm is intangible and invisible, many of the more materialistic plasmages underestimate its capabilities. It is the plasm of the mind - the Entropic Plane has no physical reality, being a world of mentality alone. As Astroplasm and Shadoplasm are used to affect the physical world, Entroplasm can be used to manipulate the mind - Entroplasmic Mages find inner peace by modifying their own, or aid allies in combat by messing with enemies'. Most such uses affect surface thoughts only, and do not leave lasting changes; the most powerful Entroplasmic Mages, those who can effect permanent modifications, are under strict moral prohibition from doing so.
Entroplasmids, if they exist at all, have never been used by Entroplasmic Mages - at least, such use has never been documented.
An androgynous and ageless, but clearly human, figure known as the Tagatzung heads the Entroplasmic Guild from the tiny capital of Luscethisc, in the arid archipelago of Rouilh (dark blue) - though the Entroplasmic Mages, thinly spread out over the dry isles, expect and require little governance.
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Enamelity
Known Hero
You Misunderestimated Me
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posted July 12, 2010 05:37 AM |
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Mkay, I don't think I'll be able to finish this faction in time...
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flackmandan
Known Hero
Veni,Vidi,Vichi
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posted July 14, 2010 08:32 PM |
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looked promosing
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enamelity
Known Hero
You Misunderestimated Me
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posted July 25, 2010 02:52 AM |
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I'll save it for next ICTC 
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blizzardboy
Honorable
Undefeatable Hero
Nerf Herder
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posted July 25, 2010 04:49 AM |
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Feels too much like Academy Part 2 to me.
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"Folks, I don't trust children. They're here to replace us."
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