Laws of magic

I have been working on something on the backburner for years.

The original idea came from Greg Bear's Songs of Earth and Power. It is for want of a better name a Unified Theory of Metaphysics. it borrows from many sources from RPGs and fiction to real-world sources on metaphysics.

Many RPGs have rules and various explanations as to the how and why of magic and related phenomena. I began to see a common thread between what is spelled out and what is implied. What follows is what has come together and I have started to use in one form or another in many of my games for when characters decide to dig into such matters.

I apologize in advance if the examples I give offend some closely held beliefs but please remember this is intended to be applied to fictional work, not real life.

All magic is essentially one differing only in application and detail. Under it all are some basic principles that apply to every manifestation of the gift or power. By the definition of magic I am using this applies to all directed supernatural manifestations from traditional spells to miracles.

Magic requires 3 elements to function. The sources of these elements may vary and a deficiency in one element is often countered by greater strength in one or more of the others but all the elements are present when the magic works.

The elements are Will. Belief, and Ritual or Formula.

Will powers the spell. Belief prepares the place for the magic to work, something like fertilizing a field before planting. The formula gives shape to the power applied.

In a traditional spell, all these elements come primarily from the caster though others input on the first two elements can also affect the spell. The caster must, first of all, believe he is capable of casting the spell. Doubt will sabotage or completely derail his attempt. He must apply his will through attention and concentration to draw in or cast forth the power needed to drive the spell. And finally, he has to give his effort form through the use of a formula to give it shape and direct his power in the desired direction.

For prayers or miracles, it gets a bit more complicated. Belief comes not only from the enactor of the ritual but also from those around him. Their belief makes the environment around the enactor fertile for the desired results. Likewise, the will of the enactor is sustained and supported the believers joining in the prayer. In this case, the prayer itself is the formula that focuses the invoked power into the miracle.

The belief by a group or congregation an also works in the other direction. A location consecrated against "magic" is in itself a form of magic focused towards suppressing or deflecting other magic. The ritual of consecration gives it form focused on the location powered by the collective belief of not only the congregation present but also by all those who believe in the source of the consecration. Thus while the will may come from those present at the point of consecration it is sustained by collective belief and can actually become stronger over time as more people attend adding their belief in the original ritual.

In a fantasy setting these become easier for the casters as the entire world/realm is made fertile by the "common knowledge" that magic exists. In a modern arcana setting the worldbuilder has to decide how much of the common belief or lack of it defines the difficulty faced by those who wish to draw on magical power.

Since much of my mental work on this came from my development of a modern fantasy setting inspired by Songs of Earth and Power by Greg Bear I will give you some examples of how I applied these principles in the setting.

The quick and dirty synopsis of the setting is that far in our past humanity were the slave race of the Fae and our connection to magic came about primarily due to interbreeding between them and humans. On the flip side, Fae who have human blood in their ancestry are more likely to be able to access the High forms of magic while all human casters can cast both forms. The Fae all are capable of casting the low form as their birthright. We eventually drove them from Earth but the realm they retreated to has collapsed and they have returned.

Within this setting, magic comes in three main forms. Also in this setting belief comes both from conscious and unconscious sources. The hereditary nature of magic is sustained by rituals that were enacted when both races were young that spelled out our strengths and encoded them into our fundamental beings on the level of instincts. While most humans have some trace of Fae blood in their far ancestry some cultures and bloodlines do seem to have a stronger link to the arcane.

First, is traditional magic divided into High and Low forms but essentially working in a fairly recognizable form with the 3 elements primarily supplied by the mage.

The second form is known as Haloka or the Inner Fire. To use it one must have some blood connection to the fae races. though this is also a requirement for any human who wishes to practice traditional magic. In this form, the mage directs his inner fire to sustain him physically enhancing things like speed, endurance, strength, and even his resistance to weather and poisons. An advanced adept is literally able to run at incredible speed, perform superhuman feats of strength, and even stand naked in a blizzard without sustaining harm. In this form Belief and Will are paramount as a shortage of either can be fatal. The formula is very much internal and more a matter of personal perception as no two practitioners seem to use identical techniques to direct their power, in fact, some individuals are able to perform techniques that elude others with much more time and effort invested in the discipline.

The third form seems to defy the rules but remember what i said about racial instincts and ancient rituals. The third form is known as the Wyrd and is unique to each race that has contact to magic in any form. The Wyrd is part of these rituals and is made up of charms and rhymes that allow each race to command spirits, creatures, and elementals to perform certain tasks. All one needs to know is the proper charm and to have the proper blood tie. What this means is that any human who performs a human charm will get results whether he even knew what the charm did prior to doing it or even that it was magic in the first place. This also means that most magi can draw on both the Human and Fae Wyrds. The will and belief elements are instinctual and are backed by the entirety of the race involved.

There are rules about misuse of the Wyrd in each case but they are more serious for the Fae Wyrd than for the Human Wyrd. This is because the Fae had a hand in the creation of our Wyrd and it backfired on them. It was their intent to assure we would not be a threat to them by "helping" the humans who enacted our ritual to write our powers to be limited and to ensure those who knew the charms would have little reason to share their knowledge by making those who were initially taught the charms responsible for all those who used the Wyrd. In comparison in the Fae Wyrd, each individual is responsible for the consequences of their own use of the charms. What the Fae did not realize is that each race is allotted an equal measure of power and by trying to short change Humanity they made our charms much more flexible so we are the only race who can create new charms for themselves. The classic example of how this has worked is the story of how the Chestnut charm came to be. the story goes that a woodsman returning to his home in the dead of winter encountered a group of Redcaps who had lost their way in the forest and were on the verge of dying of hunger. In return for a promise to cut a cord of wood for him, the woodsman gave the Redcaps a barrel of chestnuts he had set aside for his winter provisions. In the process of the transaction, the wording fell into enough of a ritual on both sides that it locked into place as part of our Wyrd. So today someone who knows the charm and has a measure of chestnuts can summon a group of Redcaps and get a service from them proportional to the size of the offering.
While all of this grew out of an attempt to explain magic for my modern arcana setting I have since found myself using it to implement arcane phenomenon in other settings including my far future campaign.

The Nine and the Scions of Ar-Live

Deep in the darkness of Sorcerak resides an ancient edifice known as the Altar of the Forgotten. While there has been much speculation as to the identity of who the Forgotten were it is commonly believed that this shrine is the entry to the presence of the entities known as The Nine who sit in Darkness. 
While scholars have speculated that there is a connection between these entities and the Judges of the Change who oversaw the stabilization of the world after the Journey no one is truly certain of who these beings are or their purposes and goals.
Several things are known:

By some means they have sealed the the world from the direct manifestation of divine or semi-divine creatures. Simply put any god, demigod, or fiend must invest themselves into an avatar to enter the world, otherwise they must work through their representatives to accomplish change on Ar-Lon.

They have warded the approach to the Altar but they may be sought out and petitioned for aid or knowledge. In addition there is evidence that individuals who successfully reach them are granted minor immortality by the Nine. This is hard to verify since few who make the attempt live in a style that makes dying of old age a worry to begin with.

No one who has visited the Nine agree on their appearance other than to confirm that they appear in a darkness that cloaks their features even from elven sight and true seeing. It is thought from the varied desciptions that the perceptions of the Nine are influence by the viewer's expectations.

The Nine are served by a group of individuals known as the Scions. These individuals are believed to each represent one of The Nine and travel the world pursuing the purposes of their masters. from time to time there have been stories of these agents working at cross purposes or coming into direct conflict with each other so it is doubtful that they exist as a unified organization. Some of the agents work covertly while others are fairly well known.
Among the know Scions are the halfling known as Brian Burrfoot, the Great Druid Morgan Greyoak, and an enigmatic wolfen known as Garok the Wanderer. Others who are suspected members of the group include the Guildmaster Greywolf and the Archmage of the Citadel.
The make up of the Scions changes from time to time and through the history of the valley its roster has included individuals whose names have gained fame and infamy. 

Talismans of the Orb

One of the oldest wonders and mysteries to surface from the mists of time is the group of artifacts designated "The Talismans of the Orb."
The earliest mentions of the term is in records dating beck to just after the great movement. Eldren records speak in passing of a group called the Judges of Change who were tasked with stabilizing the world in the chaotic aftermath of the Great Journey. The passage speaks of the Judges making decisions as to certain items of power that were brought to them (at their bidding?). Many of the items were set aside and spared due to "deep purposes vital to existence." Collectively these were referred to as Talismans of the Orb.
Strangely no further mention is made of the Judges nor any mention of what the Orb was or its significance.
Over time a number of other artifacts have been added to the list of know Talismans. How they were designated is unclear, but each item signified as such has demonstrated powers at key times that have proved pivotal and not within the recorded abilities otherwise demonstrated by the items.
The best known example of this phenomenon would be the Lords of Lightning. These weapons are known to be forged from the shards of a greater blade known as Georgemael that was created sometime before the movement by a Ya-Wen archmage. The blade was one of the items brought before the Judges who judged it too powerful and dangerous to be allowed in its original form. It was divined that the blade had, however, a vital role to play and thus could not be destroyed. The Judges thus shattered the blade into 5 parts and rewove its enchantments so that it could be reforged when the time was right. From the shards 5 blades were forged and scattered to the winds.From time to time the blades have reappeared in the hands of various heroes and villains of legend, but rarely have more than two of them seemed to reside in mortal hands at any one point. In the 550th year of the Council the War of Three descended upon Ar-Live and in command of one of the three invading armies was a demonic creature known only as The DarkLord. At a point when this creature was thought to be unstoppable heroes bearing all five of the Lords appeared upon the battlefield. The close proximity of the Lords in one place woke the enchantment placed upon them and Georgemael reformed with the heroes likewise fused into one and took up the ancient weapon to defeat the Darklord and banish him back to the dark plane he had been summoned from. Once finished the blade once again shattered and laid waste to everything within a league of the battle destroying much of the army that had followed the creature. When survivors of the defenders armies investigated the battleground all that remained of the Hero was a single Lord of Lightning grasped in the hand of his blasted skeleton.
All the Talismans have similar tales and destinies woven into their substance. To hold one is to literally become an instrument of Fate itself. But those are the tales of another night and another fire. Both this fire and its storyteller fade in equal measure and thus bid you a good night.

The Soulforges

Of all the discoveries to come out of the ruins of the Yawen the most influential and devastating was the soulforge.
The first soulforge was an actual artifact but in the same ruins were found the instructions to build more.
The soulforge was a device that allowed the construction of items of incredible power by binding the living essence of a being into the item, the more powerful the donor the more power that could be bound to the item. With this some of the most powerful and famous artifacts known were forged binding great elementals and in some cases, it is said, gods.
The list of artifacts that can be traced to one of the forges includes many items blessed and infernal. The sword Retaliator was forged from the greatest Paladin of the age to allow him to continue to fight after a grievous injury. Kravensbane was forged for a warlord who was renowned for never retreating from battle. With this art the Dark Lord built the Hellsgate to build his armies. And out of the forge came the mysterious blade Woodsheart.
While both magi and priests embraced this art as a means to power and glory there were many who felt the cost was too high and counciled setting it aside lest it lead to ruin. In the end the opposition to the soulforges became the spark that started the inferno that was the great purification and changed the shape of magic in the Empire.

Dragonflight and the season of fire

After the last of the dracon had passed beyond their descendants, the dragons, remained reclusive in the northern mountains only venturing forth to feed off the migrating herds that populated the plains, much to the orcish herdsmen’s irritation.
This changed abruptly.
One morning, several years after the war between the Dark lord and the dwarves had ground to a series of raids, the skies darkened with the shadows of a vast migration of dragons. Red and gold, black and bronze, all were tearing up the air headed south with all the speed they could muster. There was no clue as to what had driven the draconian host from their lairs but whatever it was it was more urgent than the racial infighting that had come to characterize dragon society.
The host passed out of the valley and into the world beyond scattering to the far corners of the world. In this way it came that dragons are known to almost every culture in Ar-Lon.
The wonder and fear caused by the dragonflight was quickly replaced by panic. In the wake of the migration the north seemed to catch fire. A great bushfire swept the northern plains driving the herds and other creatures before it. Monstrous beasts known only in the tales of the most determined explorers came swarming down into the dwarven kingdoms. As the dwarves and their orcish allies attempted to stem the tide of monsters to the east stranger matters were afoot.
An emissary of the spiderfolk appeared in the elvish capitol of Elven-Dar and asked to be admitted to the royal presence. He brought tidings from Melianthia his queen of a great fire that was sweeping the woodlands of Delarnia and threatened to spread to Sorcerak. The emissary spoke of their common interest in keeping the ancient forest intact and offered a suspension of their hostilities in order to deal with this mutual threat. It was with grave reservations that the elven king accepted the alliance and gathered his hosts to drive north.
For close to seven weeks the two races battled to control the inferno and in the end most of Delarnia laid a burnt ruin denuded of its vast woodlands.
The blaze extinguished the elves searched for some clue as to what might have started the inferno. Their search revealed two shocking discoveries.
They found what appeared to be a battlefield at the foot of the eastern Dragonreach Mountains. Scattered and broken on the field were the bodies of thousands of elves, but elves unlike any that they had ever seen. Dark of skin with armor of harsh cruel design these elves appeared the complete opposite of their common kin. Crossing the battlefield they came to the remains of a colossal demon, its head split by the weapon still embedded in its skull. The weapon was Skycleaver, lost since the departure of the first king Alaine, and still gripping its shaft was the charred corpse of an elf unlike their dark cousins around them. Fair of skin and noble of bearing the unknown elf had died in the same blow that dispatched his foe.
Thus in the remains of this great battle the world had its first glimpse of the dark and twisted race man would call the drow. Skycleaver passed into elven hands for a time though eventually it would again pass out of mortal knowledge.

The Age of Great Magics

As time progressed each of the races found their niche magically as well as economically.
The nomadic orcs turned their attention to the world of spirits becoming powerful summoners and shamans.
The elves continued delving into the secrets of nature becoming masters of shape shifting and healers without peer.
The dwarves’ talent for engineering and crafting was reflected in their arcane endeavors, as they became artificers producing many wondrous works from their workshops.
Man started as the jack-of-all-trades of the arcane world but finding links between the other race’s lore he began breaking new ground becoming the first called wise ones or wizards.
The gnomes in their practical homey ways never really took magic seriously except as entertainment. It is not surprising that the most renowned magi of the gnomes were illusionists.
Three major events marked the transition into what is commonly called the Age of Great Magics.
The first occurred as one of the orcish herdsmen, following some strays wandering far into the north, were caught by a freak blizzard. Wandering in search of shelter he came to what he assumed was an overhang from a rock wall. Using this shelter he settled in to ride out the storm. As the storm passed and a new day arose he found his rock wall was actually one of a pair of huge statues. As he stepped back to take them in he made another discovery, the land as seen between the statues was different from the rest of the tundra. Walking between the statues he found himself on a vast windswept plain under a burning sky. Far in the distance he could make out a tall tower silhouetted against the horizon. As he traveled north to the tower it became clear that it was higher and farther away than he first thought. After three days travel it became apparent that it was not one but two twin spires that rose from the vast plain.
Out of supplies the herdsmen turned his path south and came again to the statues and eventually back to his tribe. Word of his discovery soon spread and in short time groups of explorers headed north to seek the secrets of the spires.
Eventually the spires were reached and found to rise almost two miles upward from the plains. Fierce winds swept the higher reaches of the peaks making it impossible to ascend by magical means. A vast complex of tunnels and traps honeycombed the base of the mountains and many scrolls and tomes were discovered hidden within. The greatest treasure though was found in a central chamber of the right hand mountain, a passage to the summit of the spires. There was found a bridge spanning the gap between the peaks and what appeared to be a sealed temple on the far side. After many years and countless lives had been sacrificed to the task the seals were finally broken and the inner wards passed. There within the temple were found three great artifacts known only in the most ancient records of the El-Dren.
The first was a huge crystal set in a mithriel base. When invoked the crystal allowed the user to view any place in time he might desire.
The second was a pool where one could cast his perceptions to any point in the world with the slightest thought.
The last was a vast throne set with gems and covered in forgotten runes and glyphs. This last was the most important for from the throne one could summon the very essence of the world’s life to do his bidding. This power manifested as a blazing sword spoken of in the El-Dren legends as Ar-Live. The Sword of Ar-Lon.
The names of the explorers who achieved the shrine are lost to history as they also discovered the risk in using Ar-Live. The more they used it the closer they came to being consumed by its power. And in the end they departed this existence in a massive fireball that killed them all.
In time other explorers would find smaller towers and fortresses dotting the vast plain and these would reintroduce the magic of the Ya-Wen to the world.
The second event to herald the age was the rise of the dwarven kingdom of Kanathar. Already prosperous from the reserves of precious metals buried deep beneath their realm the kings of Kanathar sought to bring greater glory to their realm.
Already gods from all over the cosmos had been attracted to Ar-Lon and every changestorm brought new races and with them the belief that allowed new deities access to the world.
One night the king of Kanathar had a visitor. Passing all his guards and coming to the king’s inner sanctum the visitor laid a proposition before the dwarven lord. Many of the gods had recently fought over a far world all but destroying it and the people they had wished to convert in the process. These beings were so shaken by the aftermath of their war that they sought to prevent it from occurring again. To this end they would put forth a proposition to the dwarven lord. He would build a vast city of temples where any god might be worshiped and all could vie without bloodshed for followers. In return the gods would bless Kanathar for as long as they maintained the city and turned no cleric away and denied no gods their temple within the complex.
The king saw at last the great work he had sought for his realm and swore himself and his line to the pact. As he spoke the words a great earthquake shook the land and continued for several hours. As it subsided the dwarves witnessed a marvel, in a single night the top of their highest mountain had been sheered off and a vast mesa was left in its place. Here the king revealed all that has passed in the night and set his people to the building of the temple city.
In time clerics came from all corners of the world bringing their faith and seeking a place in the new city. And as promised, peace reigned within the city, even between orders that had sworn to eliminate each other.
And so one of the great wonders of the world came to be, the Great Temple City of Kanathar.
As the city grew so did Kanathar’s influence until most of the kingdoms of the valley did at least lip service to the dwarven throne. Eventually in the second century of the city the king began using the title of emperor and the Empire of Kanathar was born.
As Kanathar arose men from the outside world began returning to the valley bringing news of a human empire that ruled beyond the barrier range. First came clerics seeking a place in the temple city. Soon traders and eventually settlers followed them. In time the imperial settlers claimed the lands closest to the great passes and the beginnings of a city arose from the trading post that the early merchants had built. In time this would become the city of Urf Durfal and the main stronghold of the Empire in the valley.
Unfortunately not all that came with the settlers were good. Among the earliest travelers was a young mage outcast from his order and hunted by the imperial legions for hideous crimes. He traveled far to the north first to place as much distance between himself and the empire as possible and then, hearing of the discoveries from the northern regions he set out to find some relic or knowledge to defend himself from his pursuers.
No records tell of what passed in the northern wastes but some 20 years later the orcish tribes tell of its aftermath.
Riding out of the wastes on a great beast the mage came to the grasslands south of the western Dragonreach Range. Here he began a terrible ritual that blackened the skies for a full month. When the sun once again broke through a great lake was revealed and a large island ringed by a vast wall lay in its center. No sign of the mage was to be found but great clouds of black smoke rose from within the walls and anyone foolish enough to attempt to cross the lake were set upon by great beasts residing within the waters. In time the orcs steered clear of the fortress and guided their herds south giving it a wide berth.
Aside from the endless smoke nothing came or went from the dread fortress for almost 10 years. Then, in a single night, a bridge appeared linking the island to the shore. Across the bridge poured a terrible army of infernal creatures driving all before them as they swept out onto the plains. The orcs were caught unprepared for the onslaught and fled as best they could to the east and the relative safety of Zirkast. In less than a single season the orcish tribes were decimated with more than 7 in 10 either killed or captured by the infernal horde.
The pursuit of the tribes gave the dwarves and humans time to rally their forces and in the fall of that year they met the horde on the northern plains of Zirkast. A mighty battle ensued and in the end only the intervention of the priests from the temple city turned the tide and sent the horde back to the dark fortress.
Though battles would be fought on and off for years the horde would hold the northern plains and the range of the dwarven mountains would prove the barrier to their advance. The captured orcs were either sacrificed or converted by the Dark Lord and soon formed the core of his army much to their cousins’ sorrow. Much of the bad reputation orcs have developed over the years goes back to this time.
Over time the fortress became known for dark magic and bloody rituals. Many times during the years armies would march north to lay siege to it but it was never to fall. Even at the end of the age the only reason the Dark Lord fell was because he was caught outside of his Citadel of Blood and slain.
These were the events that opened the age and lead to the greatest discoveries and feats of wonder since the time of the Movement. In the next few posts I will look at a few of the high points before dealing with the events that ended this age and set the stage for the times since.

Of the Free Races

 After the war with the elves the free races began looking for lands to settle, each according to their nature.
     The orcs went north past the central mountains and found there a vast plain populated with elk and oxen. While a few small groups began to clear land and build farmsteads the majority began to follow the herds and organized themselves into nomadic tribes. In time the farmsteads would grow into communities and it would be here that the dwarves would come to trade.
The orcs ranged far and began mapping out the northern plains.
To the west they found the northern reaches of the elven forest and the great barrier range as it drove north. Following the range they came in time to a secondary range of mountains running south and east from the barrier. This range was dotted with the smoke of geysers and volcanoes. Several days travel brought the tribes to the foothills of the range and they continued their drive north. The vast plains slowly gave way to tundra and the orcs interest gave out as they reach the northernmost limits of the herds range.
Eastward they ran into the great river and a great lake that extended from the northern ice fields that were its source.
The nomadic life of the orcs shaped their culture and they developed a deep strain of independence, not building cities or recognizing a central chieftain or king until well into the Age of Great Magics.
The dwarves were drawn to the central mountains and it was here they made a major discovery. Following the natural caves into the depths they came into a vast complex of halls and vaults built by some unknown hand.
The scale of the construction suggested that the unknown builders were themselves huge as the smallest of the passages rose almost 100 feet to its peak. Exploring the passages gave the dwarves no clue to the builders but did confirm that, whoever they were, they were long departed.
The dwarves began settling into these halls and as they delved downward they came to the remains of ancient excavations. Most of these were long since collapsed but the dwarves began the long task of clearing the mines and eventually discovered that most led to rich veins of metals and gemstones.
The dwarves overjoyed at these discoveries were faced with a problem, as rich as their new home was, other than some fungus growing in some of the caves and the occasional bats and such they had no way to feed themselves.
Emissaries were sent north and south to speak with the other races. They found that their neighbors had settled into much more pastoral pursuits and a solution presented itself. The dwarves turned their efforts to the making of those tools that they could trade for food from their friends. So began a cycle of trade that would sustain the three races through much of history. Eventually the dwarves learned to cultivate the various fungi that populated the depths and would discover other animals in the depths but the majority of their diet would continue to come from above ground.
The dwarves began to group themselves according to the resources that they found in the various mines and in time three major centers of activity began to develop.
The western mines were rich in gemstones and copper; this region that came to be called Krasnia drew gem cutters and coppersmiths.
Iron was the principle resource of the central mines and to this community came the blacksmiths. In an unimaginative bent this region became known as Ironhome.
The easternmost mines were rich in gold and silver but as they began to delve deeper the dwarves found something much more precious, mithriel. Only the most skilled miners could draw the ore from the depths and the smelting was a secret that very few of the dwarves had been entrusted with by the elves. Those who had the skill rushed to bring forth this new treasure regardless of clan alliegence. So it was that Kanathar, as this settlement came to be named was less ruled by clan politics than their cousins.
The last dwarven kingdom grew not out of resources or skill but of hate, hatred of their former masters the elves. After the Eld-Nar passed over the river the dwarves who had gone forth to drive them out set up an encampment on the shore of the river to watch against their return. In an example of the determination, and some say downright stubbornness, which has come to be the hallmark of their race the settlement remained long after anyone else would have concluded that the elves were not coming back across.
This encampment became a fortification. Then farms were started to feed the fort. Step by step the fort became a settlement and eventually, as the it became evident that they had grown into a true city, the military commander took the title of king and the last dwarven realm came into being, Zirkast, named for the first king.
     The dwarves of Zirkast not having the vast resources of their cousins turned their talents to the task of engineering. In the years that followed marvel after marvel came out of the workshops of Zirkast. Keeping an eye always on the possibility of a return of the elves and the need to defend themselves the dwarves of this realm developed bigger and better fortifications and siege engines until, in the latter days before the Age of Magics most of the other races were commissioning them to build castles and engines for them. They were also the first ones to seriously begin designing boats to ply the river. After several abortive attempts to land an army on the far shore ended in disaster the dwarven shipwrights began teaching their art to those humans willing to learn the trade and aside from a small group of traders gave up on the enterprise.
     Of the three great races humans had the hardest time settling into their new lands. While the land was fertile and game plentiful there was one major problem that did not become apparent until several years after war. The central plains were subject to seasons of what came to be called “changestorms” after the effects they wrecked on the human settlements. Seeming to originate mainly in the great swamp to the south these massive storms would sweep the central lands sweeping anything not rooted down away and leaving people and things from other worlds in their wake. As it turned out the elves had known of these storms from the times after the movement and had placed enchantments about their forests to protect them. But that protection did not extend to the central lands and so about every 15 to 25 years a season of storms would come. The immediate effect of this was that after each season more humans would head south seeking safer lands. Those that remained tended to be stronger and eventually began to find means to safeguard themselves from the storms. Since solidly rooted fortifications seemed to be immune to the effects this caused humanity to go into a building frenzy and those who could build the biggest fortification became the leaders and eventually the nobility of the region. To a real extent the lord’s ability to protect his people from the storms was a bigger factor than his skill at arms. In time these settlements needed goods they could not grow or make for themselves and trade began with the dwarves for those items. For a time there was also a trade route north through the region that would become Zirkast trading horses for oxen to the orcs. As the dwarven king began to expand his influence the trade dwindled until it was given up rather than paying a tax to the king to continue.
     This was how things remained for the most part for many long years, each race growing in population and skill until they gradually came into that age of history commonly known as the Age of Great Magics, that is the next topic to be covered.
     But not today.