The Mages Guild Public Address

[Elindor 666]

In the Monk Temple Festival Grounds an organised gathering of Mages develops. With the crowd building, others come nearer out of curiosity.

A small elderly man picks a fairly central spot and pulls out of his robes a wooden box that seems far larger than what could physically be contained. Standing upon it he is not much taller than most in the crowd. He clears his throat and his eyes turn inwards towards his nose as one who has forgotten reading glasses may bring a book up close. The following is delivered completely cross-eyed.

 

The three ArchMages made a step towards turning this arcane institution back into a respected guild. But the eye of our enemy saw what would become of this guild if that purpose were fulfilled. Cruelly he has robbed us and attempted to slay us by severing at the head. But we are more than he bargained for.

 

Do not lose hope. Do not lose sight of the vision. What they set about to re-establish is truly our way forward, and we must embrace it and align ourselves with that vision. We are not a guild for the sake of inflating our own importance. We have not learnt to master magic for our own betterment. We are not a group for the sake of politics. We are strong. And wise. And more powerful than the sum of our parts.

 

 

Archmage Ceruberr was turned. We must consider him a traitor. Archmage Aluuvia was taken. We must consider her a traitor. ArchMage Crumena is… well currently I don’t rightly know the full story. But until we can have him cleaned of taint, it is best to assume that he may be traitorous also.

 

We greatly desire them returned to us. But until we can be assured beyond doubt that they are whole, restored, and freed from the clutches of Iblees’ dark whisperings, we must assume them a traitor and entrust them with nothing.

Iblees needed to fill his numbers. That is undoubtable. But those whom he has taken to do that is a personal and strategic attack upon us. But more than this, it poses a far greater risk upon this realm than if those two were any other two. If we can claim them back from Drauchreim and rob him of two powerful soldiers then we can sway things back in our favour.

 

Elindor pauses to clear his throat.

 

These events are proof that we have been ill prepared and perhaps underestimated the influence of our enemy. But that will not happen again. Now is not the time for complacency. Any lull that follows from this as Iblees takes time to regenerate his strength is not a time of rest for us. We must prepare ourselves. Weaknesses will be brought out either now, or by him. So do not hide your inadequacies out of fear or embarrassment. Bring them into the light now so that you may be made hard as steel against the temptations of Iblees. Where is your desire? Wealth? Fame? Power? Or even love? And what is it that you fear most? These questions you must ask of yourself, and have another to test you on. All weaknesses will be found out by the eye of fire, So we must all make preparations to guard against it. Do not be foolish on this.

 

We are to be one force. Not just this guild, but all those who would ally with us against Iblees and his army of corpses. If you find an outpost, or a portal, or a figure whom you suspect to be a worshipper of Iblees; any appearance of the mark of his eye, do not take action alone. For to boldly step out like that is not bravery. There will be no tales told of the one hero who journeyed into the Nether and suffocated from the miasma, or was fried by a Necromancer’s lightning. We must be clever and wise. We have seen before what this force is capable of and this time we can move strategically to counter.

 

Fear not for the future of this Guild. We are the oldest order and we will not be brushed aside so easily. After the incident with Ceruberr, a new Archmage was selected in the figure of Jack. I suspect he would rather not have what I know of him to be divulged, so his introduction will have to be somewhat mysterious.

Hopefully Crumena can return to us, as currently he is still an ArchMage.

And I have decided that such a time needs action from even the most unambitious amongst us. So I have chosen to remove myself from the shadows of the leaders of this guild and accept the third position. There is, perhaps, a target to be painted upon any ArchMage, so I wish not for that sacrifice to be put upon any other.

 

He turns to his right, though without his stare shifting it is difficult to tell if he intends to look at anyone in particular or if it is more for show.

 

Mages. Do not shy away from the burden placed upon you. We must all take a share of the yoke. Find clever and malleable minds to become your apprentices. Teach them first in the ways of control before the ways of power. Be wise in your dealings and think always upon the balance. Speak with your peers and the ArchMages upon anything you deem important. Do not hide your doubts about yourself, your apprentices, or actions that must be taken. If you feel you are alone then you probably are. And isolation makes you a far easier target.

 

Apprentices. Learn quickly. Power is of far less importance right now than control. All of you should also learn a few things about mental barriers. You do not need to comprehend mental magic to be able to recognise when a thought is foreign to you, and to cut it off. Know what is your thoughts and know what is your desires so that any intrusions upon it that may be the bait of Iblees can be removed far from you. You have a potential of becoming something great. Do not despise the testing placed upon you. Iblees’ tricks are cunning and his influence is already mighty powerful. We do not want you to underestimate him and end up a pawn. We need you. Athera needs you.

 

To all. You must likewise be strong. Seek someone to test you for weaknesses. Do not assume that you possess resistance enough to deny the very desires of yourself when they are offered before you. If you are against the Liar then you are with us, and we with you. Seek to use us and our people, as we will need you. You must have both a strong arm and a strong head. Look out for your fellow man and be watchful for the mark of the Eye of Iblees. For where it is found, trouble is just around the corner.

Elindor's eyes return to the group from being transfixed with the end of his nose. He remains standing in anticipation of any questions, and looks about the crowd for any who might speak.

If you are a mage of the guild and we may not be familiar with you, please make yourself known. If you are interested in joining with the Mages Guild then likewise, make yourself known. And if you are from another group, or even as an individual, and wish to address the crowd about dealing with our enemy; feel free to do so.

[Dromui 755]

Skale steps forth after a moment, offering a quick bow to Elindor. He clears his throat as he straightens, opening his mouth to speak.

 

"Greeting Archmage, I am Skale. To put is simply, I've been a member of this Guild since the Fringe, which is not long in the grand scheme of things. But, I intend to take an apprentice and aid our guild in this coming war with the Betrayer. My allies stand beside the Guild, just as I do. Thank you for bringing these truths forward to the public, many must know. Though, I would have a simple request. Crumena has done nothing for this guild for decades. it is time he be replaced with someone more capable. We cannot continue to reserve a spot as an Archemage for one who is incapable of handling the position."

[Booklight12 481]

Beranabus would walk out of the cloud temple tavern right after Elindor exits, and gets himself situated inside the crowd at a fair distance into the large crowd. He would nod and Grunt in response to many of Elindors words before looking around noticing he had gotten quite into the speech, before any word comes from his mouth he simply looks about observing what the others of the crowd have to say whilst thinking of what he might wish to say himself. 

[WuHanXianShi14 0]

A low voice...seemingly perpetrated by a mage...sounds out from behind them

"You have openly welcomed necromancers, shades and frost witches into your ranks. Remove them and refuse all further before any will see you as a respectable group."

[Mephistophelian 977]

Lorien steps from the anonimity of the crowd of mages, standing besides Elindor and raising a hand to usher them down, should they be speaking.

"Mages who are untrained, have not mastered the art of using magic in combat or who wish to perfect their art so that it may be used most efficiently in combat, I urge you all to send me a bird. I am Lorien Vesitza, and I have had my fare share of fights, and it is with the knowledge gleaned from these fights that I shall instruct you. You need not be my apprentice, you simply need to know how to use your own magic. In order to strike back, we need the skill, power, strategy and technique to do so.

As with what Skale has said...I do believe we require Arch Mages to replace those who have, most unfortunately, fallen. I see myself fit for such a position, but I leave this choice up to the discretion of my fellow Magi, and shall not speak more on that matter or boast my skills...as I believe actions speak louder than words.
Farewell, and remember to contact me should you require training."

As he finishes his small announcement, he steps away from Elindor, pulling out an odd keeper of time. It would appear this Mage had other places to be.

[Samson Option 9652]

 

He had been sitting off-center from the discussion. His two forefingers clasped together and balancing his chin as he heard the discussion draw on. His eyes darted and laid upon the beaming faces of individuals who asserted themselves as candidates for Archmagency. His form worn lithe, his desert robes gave lie to his thin figure underneath and flowed and crumpled along his crossed legs. The ascetic drew a deep and whistling breathe before interjecting:

 

"You who stand here and belie your egos through half-hearted humility, begone. You who whisper without your bodily presence, I cast you out like the sheep you are. No fledgling fawn nor cocky cockatrice will stand the test that is this Daemon. We have fallen by the wayside as the Ascended are said to have done in the realm of Aegis and we ought recognize that until we stand up and stop organizing these laughable discussions, that the true combatants against the Daemon Returned will care for naught where we stand. Cast aside your tyrannical selves and adorn yourselves in the garment of the Divine. We have a great capability if only we were thankful!

 

I have witnessed some of your faces as those who slung about fire with recklessness, spawned the thoughts of eros through your invasion of the mind so that you may lay in bed with whom you freely desire. I have witnessed this and much grievously more, so you must choose. Shall you master your lower self to attain the higher purpose and act or will we have a multitude more discussions, because we've already tread the wrong direction meeting here. You take the name Magi, act in a higher state of existence or begone!"

[Birdwhisperer 1174]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.