Noxis Maleficarum
“Do not trust the mage, for the Dark Arts corrupt and taint all those who engage in its devious and unnatural practices.”
Words that ring in the ears of all men and women who serve the Al-Father. These are the words of Ulver, as given to him by the All-Father. Magic is an evil practice, and those who use it should be feared. But not all fear it. One of the lordships, those of Hure have started using it as a weapon, institutionalizing it as part of their army. While there is no doubt it has proven to be a great advantage, I wonder if it is worth the price of their souls. I have spoken to a few mages, some who simply practice the Old Arts of the Elves. They claim magic itself isn’t evil, it just depends on what you use it for. But I’ve seen mages raise the dead, created hordes of undead soldiers to fight and kill for them. How could you possibly consider that good?
The few mages I’ve spoken to claim that magic feels like warm, running water, over your body, under your skin, and through your bones. The more power you summon, the warmer this water feels. They call this “backlash”, and they say that if a mage uses spells to far out of his level of expertise, they can suffer burns, as the magic becomes too powerful to control. If you ask me, I think it’s no different than playing with fire. They shouldn’t be surprised when they get burned. They claim some mages have been so burned that some are permanently disabled, some even die. The mages tell us that the elves first taught humans magic long ago in the Age of Legends, when humans and elves first met, and the world was much more peaceful. However, even though the elves taught the humans pure, natural magic that was used to bring life and inspire compassion, a group of human mages learned to use it for other purposes. To turn into powerful weapons, weapons that inspire fear and chaos. They used the magic to raise corpses, making them move again, but not alive. They corrupted the Old Arts, turning it into something dark, and evil. The Dark Arts were rooted out by the Church long ago, to help protect the people from those who would use magic to undermine humanity and the faithful. Since then, most mages keep to themselves, and avoid revealing themselves.
Words that ring in the ears of all men and women who serve the Al-Father. These are the words of Ulver, as given to him by the All-Father. Magic is an evil practice, and those who use it should be feared. But not all fear it. One of the lordships, those of Hure have started using it as a weapon, institutionalizing it as part of their army. While there is no doubt it has proven to be a great advantage, I wonder if it is worth the price of their souls. I have spoken to a few mages, some who simply practice the Old Arts of the Elves. They claim magic itself isn’t evil, it just depends on what you use it for. But I’ve seen mages raise the dead, created hordes of undead soldiers to fight and kill for them. How could you possibly consider that good?
The few mages I’ve spoken to claim that magic feels like warm, running water, over your body, under your skin, and through your bones. The more power you summon, the warmer this water feels. They call this “backlash”, and they say that if a mage uses spells to far out of his level of expertise, they can suffer burns, as the magic becomes too powerful to control. If you ask me, I think it’s no different than playing with fire. They shouldn’t be surprised when they get burned. They claim some mages have been so burned that some are permanently disabled, some even die. The mages tell us that the elves first taught humans magic long ago in the Age of Legends, when humans and elves first met, and the world was much more peaceful. However, even though the elves taught the humans pure, natural magic that was used to bring life and inspire compassion, a group of human mages learned to use it for other purposes. To turn into powerful weapons, weapons that inspire fear and chaos. They used the magic to raise corpses, making them move again, but not alive. They corrupted the Old Arts, turning it into something dark, and evil. The Dark Arts were rooted out by the Church long ago, to help protect the people from those who would use magic to undermine humanity and the faithful. Since then, most mages keep to themselves, and avoid revealing themselves.