Artis Mystiklan

I. Introduction

Hail fellow Aislings. Within this piece, Artis Mystiklan, Volume II, I hope to enlighten you in only a way that Deoch himself could. The path of the wizard, unquestionably the most difficult path one can embark upon in Temuair, is very trying. We lack the comfort of decent armor, seeing as the metals found in most of them, conflict with our ability to summon the essence of the elements; on top of that, most wizards are frail and cannot handle such equipment. We have no proficiency with weaponry, a Great Kindjal means about the same to us as say, a dulled oaken stick We have one true asset, one that when harnessed is more powerful than any weapon, can withstand more than any armor: our minds. Less we forget, the mind is what crafted these implements of protection and destruction, alike. A true wizard will not only master the elements, but attempt to perfect his mind. You cannot teach perfection, much less attain it; it is, however, a goal worth striving for. If the mind is strong, the rest of you will follow. You will attain grand strength with brute force, discuss grandiose matters with other mages and Aislings; you might even climb atop the political mountain to help your fellow citizens of Temuair. In all seriousness, the path of the wizard is one that will be well-trodden, so begin your journey cautiously.

II. A Wizard's Etiquette

Being or at least hoping to be knowledgeable, a true wizard thinks before he speaks and can legitimately support what he says with empirical evidence. In a matter of speaking, we are scientists. Granted, this does not mean avoid religious matters, as the gods are responsible for our abilities. Luathas is the patron god of the wizards, being the god of "gnosis" or knowledge. That of course, is history. The life-threatening research we conduct is a search for such knowledge. ((It should be looked at as more than a vessel for experience.)) There is much more to be learned outside of Dar's, than within his mildewed halls. (Sorry Dar.)

a. The Wizard Behind the Wizard

Though we are titled as wizards, there is much more to being a wizard than just casting spells and alchemy. You can always refine yourself, being just a wizard is a very broad term. I myself, am a Seer as well as a Mage.

I was taught by an older Seer, Velet Horidre, who adopted me as his son and took me in. His lessons, which expand far past what I can tell you in a lore piece, were geared towards one thing: awareness. Be aware of your surroundings, know them, understand them. Oft in attempting to understand, do we venture places that we may not necessarily want to go; as a Seer, however, your heart calls you to it. The Seer makes a good politician as he watches situations and disputes from as many perspectives as he can, to determine the proper action to be taken; s/he is the master of gathering empirical evidence. The Mage part of my being is simple in concept as well. I am always looking to better myself, to increase my skills, to discover new things. Practicing your spells without killing the creatures of the forests and the sewers is ok. Many prefer to use a kobold's head for a target, which is fine too if that is your desire. These are called Warlocks. The Warlock is somewhat like a warrior in spirit; a mage with a bloodlust if you will. A lot of wizards have explored being a Warlock, without even knowing it. Once again, whatever fits you is fine. I do not necessarily pray for the deaths of furry woodland creatures, but what you do with your business is precisely that. Lastly, which I also consider myself, there is the Tutor/Teacher. I believe this is self-explanatory. Wizards, who are sometimes selfish with their knowledge do not have to be. It is your job to make sure that younger wizards coming up have the same opportunities as we did. I had no mentor, nor a very "guiding" guide, but he was a great friend; shaman, that is. You can read up on teaching in Lethalia's and my library on the scroll about "Mentors." The Tutor shows students the ways of Temuair, not only of the path of wizardry. This makes way for a better Aisling on top of a better wizard to boot. Now, let's examine the woodland analogy from the four different perspectives.

A Seer: In the woodlands, would probably watch the creatures roam, defend himself if need be. He may study the culture, or watch Aislings interact with each other as they oft do in the forest. He also may question why the Aisling ventures into the woodlands to kill the creatures, wonders what purpose it serves, and what good really comes of it.

A Warlock: A Warlock would kill all the beasts. For glory, for fame, for experiencing the feeling of taking one's life; who knows.

A Mage: A Mage would stand in the woodlands, and chat with other people while practicing his spells. Uttering the arcane Graymayre is as effective as the Warlock's killing of a goblin; only it lacks the death in the after-effect.

A Tutor: A Tutor may stand, helping the younger Aislings find their things in the woodlands themselves. They may also give advice as how to approach combat, through specific techniques and tactics.

There are many different things to explore, embark upon one of these paths yourself. Maybe even make a new one. We have yet to see a true Necromancer here in Temuair, not that I'd want to, but we haven't seen one yet.

III. Getting Started

In the tutorial, it tells you the general description of a wizard. I will place it here for you as well.

Wizard: Master of Arcane Elements

Advantages:

Ranged elemental attack

Research, enchant items

Disadvantages:

Must specialize attributes carefully

Weakest armor. Most vulnerable to damage

All this is true, and somewhat spoken to already in the introduction.

The first step is exploring Mileth. It is good to know where you are and how to get around before finding a guide/mentor. This makes the job of the mentor/guide a whole lot easier as well as gives you a sense of adventure in exploring your new surroundings. Of course, you don't have to do it this way, the mentor should be willing to show you around. The place that you should be most familiar with is Dar's shop. This is where you will learn all of your spells as a young wizard. As you progress and age, you will find your spells in Undine and Suomi, which I will talk about later. You will recognize the wizards of villages by the green cloak they wear and their hidden faces. Also at Dar's, you will need to study up on the Graymayre, but you cannot do that until you are guided as a wizard. If you wish to read it, you can always visit Lethalia's and my library, once again, as it is transcribed there as well. The second step is finding a suitable mentor and a suitable guide. A mentor is not required, though I suggest it. The rewards in learning are as greater than those received when the mentorship is completed in a technical sense. Now, there is Lifelong Mentorship, in which a teacher is your teacher for life. This will also be helpful, as many new things will arise later on in your lives, and a person that is bit more knowledgeable that is willing to help will be very useful and convenient.

Now you have a teacher and you know where you are, sort of. This is very good. Your first armor will be the Gardcorp. The gods have chosen some of the strangest looking armors for wizards, but then again, they aren't really 'armor' which is probably why they look so "unique."

All the armor is found in Lethalia's and my library, along with memories of them and their defense statistics. So, you've donned your big yellow sweater, read up on the Graymayre, and are chatting up about arcane things with Dar.. and you think that makes you a wizard?! Of course it doesn't, but it sure is fun. Still want to be a wizard? Alright then. You will not be able to do much in regards to research/enchantment yet as they are done at higher insights when your mind is more capable of withstanding the stress.

So, you will probably head over to the Mileth Crypts or the Wastelands of the Eastern Woodlands. Your mentor should show you where these places are. The Crypts look like a large rock that rose out of the ground, with dragons' heads sitting on top of it and the entrances cut into the rock; here you will find mice, spiders, and centipedes.. Oh my! Avoid the centipedes, similar to mantises until you are sure that you can handle their deadly sting. The wastelands are directly to the east of the entrance to the Eastern Woodlands; here you will find vipers, mantises, and wasps. Avoid the mantises until you're positive you can handle them and have honed your spells, because they pack quite the wallop. A bit of advice if I will; always hunt in groups. Wizards are extremely ineffective alone, unlike the monk or the warrior, the rogue, or even the priest with deo saighead/naomh aite/mor cradh/pramh. So you still want to be a wizard? You should hunt down some vipers for their glands, and take them to sell at Cian's, the alchemist that works next door to Dar. He pays nicely for such things, and will tell you what he needs; he also buys rotten fruit. We have yet to figure out precisely what he does with these items, similar to Dar and the wings of bats... who knows. Either way, you will need one viper's gland to hear either your mentor lecture on the elements, or Dar himself.

There are 6 elements, 4 which the wizard can master.. I've appealed to the gods to master all 6 as that's all wizards CAN do.. Light, Darkness, Creag, Srad, Athar, and Sal. Out of the Graymayre, into more everyday language they are Light, Darkness, Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. As stated previously, wizards must specialize their attributes. The need to master the elements, are precisely why we must do so. Creag requires constitution, which in turn gives you a great deal of health. Sal requires wisdom, which in turn gives you a great deal of will (mana). Srad requires strength, which allows you to do your best to fight with a weapon though using one depletes your will and sort of negates your magehood. The spells of srad are more ranged than that of creag and sal, because the rewards you receive are not given by strength. Athar requires dexterity, which allows for the ability to dodge proficiently; similar to srad, the spells of athar have a wider range. The elements are all related in one way or another. Srad and creag are sibling elements as they both have an affinity for strength and constitution as you will see later. Sal and athar are the same, both requiring wisdom and dexterity. This means that you will gain minor benefits from the sibling element of the one you choose to study. For example, an athar wizard will have a bit more will than srad and creag, but will still be weak like a wizard of sal. From these choices, you must decide upon an element to study. It is very hard to master more than one due to the specialization of elements, therefore you must be SURE you want to use the one that you end up choosing; otherwise, in the long run you will most likely be disappointed and desire a change, and it might be too late. So now, you have your Gardcorp, your first spell, a bit of insight under your belt.. So you STILL.. Oh wait, you're a wizard now, and there's no turning back so enjoy it.

IV. The Knowledge and Wisdom of the Wizard

I think this is obvious. Our minds, being the most important thing to us - apparently knowledge and wisdom wouldn't be very far behind. Knowledge is most often found in books, wisdom is found in experiences. Wisdom is more important to the wizard as it is what guides you in effective use of knowledge. To obtain knowledge, find books, works (like this one) about anything and everything. Wizards are by nature striving "know-it-alls" so live up to your reputation by Deoch. Good wizards will know about the hunt, about all the other professions. They will know about themselves and others like them, as well as the Aisling race and the history of it. Finally, they will know about Temuair and its inner workings, its depths (because it has many) and existence in it. There are many people that have written for the libraries of Temuair, however there aren't enough wizards doing so and they should be the main ones! So, write something! Now, to gain wisdom. No one can teach you to be wise, like previously stated, only experiences can do so. You cannot have experiences without interaction. I do not mean, stay in the woods constantly and interact solely with the group of people standing in front of the entranceways to the more dangerous areas. I mean, read the boards, post your opinions, join a religion, commit to Fae love.. All of these things provide experiences and all can teach you a whole lot about Aisling life.

a. Mastering the Elements

These are some simple tables I've put together that tell you what you will need to train in to be able to learn certain spells.