Relics are certainly great and powerful tools that have already changed and will continue to change the course of history. However, the greatest gift of the Everlasting, the one with the most profound impact on Agnar and its people, is magic itself. The pre-fall societies of Selejia heavily relied on it, much of their power was derived from how well they understood its fundamental principles and the mastery with which they wielded it. The Fall wreaked havoc with those fundamentals and destroyed most of the masters so that much of what was known was thought to be lost forever. In the centuries since, as the survivors coalesced into new nations, magic has been rediscovered and has steadily become more usual. That is not to say the practitioners of today have reached the same heights as the pre-fall masters, or that the common people have easy access to it, but the power to shape the world is ever more available, especially for those in power.

Introduction to Yarin Chronicler’s “Magic of Agnar”

Within the lavishly adorned halls of the Valcarist cathedrals or the austere keeps of the Knights of Charn, the Order of the Shattered Throne teaches their citizens about the magic of the world, a tool gifted by their Everlasting gods so that their chosen people could carry on their work. I first came into contact with these teachings in the free city of Waypoint, a city-state outside the official dominion of the Order, but that fell under their political influence during the Luminous Crusade and is now almost a vassal state. Even so, Waypoint is still officially independent and is the main commercial hub of the north of Selejia. This means that the Truth of Valcaris is still unknown to many of the people there, and although they’ve had great success converting the citizenry so far, their grip is not yet as unyielding as elsewhere. As a result, the Order is surprisingly tolerant of questions about their faith within the walls of this city. This proved to be immensely helpful as I was able to gather a verifiable treasure trove of information, biased as it may have been.

As the priests of the Order tell it, after the Founding, when the people of the world became aware of themselves through the blessing of the Everlasting, the mortals were given the Truth. This Truth was many things at once. It was a code of behavior, a divine mandate, the laws by which their gods had wrangled and bound the primordial universe. When the Everlasting were forced to return to their distant celestial realm, they would instruct their children to follow the Truth, for it would pave the way for their return. While others failed to follow the path, going so far as to betray the Astarian Paradux, the Lucidi of the order remained truthful to the will of Valcaris, the patron god of their fallen empire. They remain true still, and their powers are derived not only from the Shards of the Throne they carry but from their devotion and faith.

The Order trains every single one of its members in the art of making war against the enemies of the faith, but those who are magically inclined are identified and selected at a young age to join the Valcarist priesthood. Only high-ranking members of the Princept class, the nobility of the Order, are exempt from this, as their abilities may be used elsewhere in defense of the faith. Members of the knightly orders of Charn, for instance, are allowed to wield the power granted by the Truth of Valcaris to preserve the integrity of the realm and advance the reclamation of the continent. The priests are entrusted with the holiest of tasks, which even the Princepts are barred from doing without special permission. The Valcarist priests are responsible for the handling and safeguarding of Relics, for it is their ultimate goal to use these sacred tools to restore the Shattered Throne. Once a Relic is recovered, it must be handed to one of them, who will safely transport it back to the holy city of Tempras or the capital, Astaris. Those who have dedicated their lives to this purpose will divest themselves of their own names and identities, carrying on their backs reliquaries with which to transport these Relics.

According to the traditions of the Order, magic originates in a realm beyond the material, in the chaos that was left outside it when the Everlasting ordered creation. To cast a spell is to pull the chaos of that cold and distant place, giving it shape and purpose, guided by the instructions left behind by the Blessed Ones. To manifest a spell outside of these parameters is not only sacrilegious as a matter of dogma, it is to undo divine work and put at risk the Grand Vision of the Everlasting. The Truth of Valcaris is that of the rule of law, civilization, civic obedience, endurance, loyalty, ritual, tradition, devotion, and faith, and the wards and rites that the magical practitioners of Tempras and Astaris employ reflect that. Very seldom will a member of the Order employ destructive magic, preferring to use spells that will bolster their allies, protect them from harm, and undo the damage they have suffered.

The wards of the Order are also inscribed in their already prodigious walls and other fortifications. As a result, their cities have never been breached by outside forces (try as the clans of the Primal Blood might). Outside the borders of Dynas, the Order practices their magic as a means of supporting their armies during war and as of spreading their religion (an endeavor they view as simply a different type of war). In cities such as Waypoint, the Valcarist priests will perform their healing miracles to a captive audience that has probably never witnessed anything similar. They are also in the business of providing blessings to the newly converted faithful, with varying results. Of course, whenever one of the “blessed faithful” comes to harm, the priests are quick to point out how they have deviated from the truth. If nothing else, this has garnered a lot of goodwill towards the members of the Order, their values and teachings, and has made more progress toward their plans for annexation than any military action they have ever taken. 

Now, all of this is well and good, and considering virtually all of their magic is defensive, you may be forgiven for thinking, as I initially did, that the Order cannot use magic for… dubious purposes. The reality is that they consider themselves to be on a mission bestowed on them directly by the divine, which means they will stop at nothing to accomplish that mission. Even the law-abiding, tradition-bound members of the Order can find very creative ways of using their magic to detain and punish those it perceives to be in violation of those laws and traditions. That is made even more true by their rumored access to a very deep vault of truly unsavory Relics. The Valcarist Church has sponsored many expeditions to the Malediction. It has been doing so since shortly after the Fall and continues to do it today. In the past, these were very bloody affairs with most of the faithful sent on these holy missions never returning. They are now martyrs of the faith and the fruits of their labors are rumored to be stored deep within Tempras. They await there to be used against those who would dare question the motives or raise their voices against the Truth of Valcaris. Which should certainly give any writer on the subject some pause…

Anyway, much more can be written about this subject, but I do not wish to give offense to the esteemed members of the Order before venturing further into their culture and learning more about its intricacies. As I have traveled the continent of Selejia, I have witnessed many wondrous things and discovered that not only are several different traditions being practiced, but each of them seems to work from fundamentally different precepts. Nevertheless, all of them continue to work and this contradiction has so picked my interest that I have decided to pen this work on the magic traditions of the continent of Selejia and the little-known of the lands beyond. You can expect the future articles of this series to cover the magic performed by the other great nations of Selejia. This humble writer hopes that these simple treatises help to shed some light on the many mysteries of magic that remain unanswered.

Yarin Chronicler