Two hundred years ago, a relatively new group of Mages from the Mages College at Atmara managed to finally defeat the dark god that had been plaguing the area for 500 years, ending the problems it caused for good.  Since that time the College has moved away from its historical traditions a bit and become a bit more modern.  While traditionally you would need to impress a former graduate by demonstrating strength of Will to join, now they will test you to see if you have it.  Traditionally they accepted newcomers in groups of seven, then sent them out in a group, believing that one person representing each element would give them greater mystical strength.  In modern times, however, they will teach any number of people, without a need to balance the elements in their classes.

Once you are accepted, whether by impressing a former graduate or by passing their test, you are taken to a room where hundreds of clear crystal necklaces sit on shelves.  You are told to take the one that calls to you and, when you find the one that draws you to it and pick it up, it becomes bound to you, aligning itself with your energy.  After that it will make it easier to feel and manipulate your Ki so that you can learn to use it for magic.

You will then be trained in basic martial arts until you instinctually learn to draw on your Ki to make yourself stronger, faster, and more durable, and to tired more slowly.  Eventually you will reach a point where you use a Ki strike, a move where Ki energy leaves your body and strikes your target, acting as a second attack.  At that point you will be grouped with other people and be sent to the bottom of the canyon behind the school on an elevator, where you will  be tested by the monks there and given a crystal for the element which runs counter to your personality, the one which will teach you the most.

That crystal will be used to build a gauntlet, a magical glove which can store elemental energy and release it at the will of the user.  They are used to teach new mages to control an element, and provide a concentrated source of the element for a mage to use if they need it.  You will use it to learn the basics of your element, then be sent on a mission with your class.

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If the RP lasts through all of that, then I'll create a mission for you.  The tech is roughly 1600s level, with dirigibles and wagons being the standard way of getting to Atmara, as it lies in the middle of a plain, surrounded by ranches and open ground.

[hider=The Magic System]
Magic requires a person to focus their energy, their Ki, and to turn it into an element.  For all but a master of that element, this conversion requires a crystal attuned to the element.  The crystal absorbs the elemental energy, and releases it, converting some of the person's Ki into the element.  The better they are, the more efficiently the Ki is converted, and the less of the crystal's elemental energy that is used.

The elements are:
1. Fire
2. Ice
3. Lightning
4. Light
5. Dark
6. Life
7. Death

There are also other elemental crystals, such as Earth, water, and air, and rarer and harder to use, crystals, such as spirit, mind (Telepathy), and movement (Telekinesis).  These are generally only seen in places where the gods, good, neutral, or evil, have done powerful works.

Magic is taught at the college through the use of Gauntlets, gloves which contain magical devices to channel the element into the crystal when a suitable source is found, and to limit the output so that those in training don't lose control and deplete the source crystal.  In a pinch, a person's Ki can also be used to recharge the crystal by holding the effect of the magic in their palm for a few minutes, though this weakens further uses of it due to the energy being impure.  The crystal must be depleted and recharged from a pure source to remove this weakening.  Gauntlets are also designed to be specific to an element, so switching the crystal out to a different element doesn't work.
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Long ago, the gods also walked among men, befriending them, ruling over them, even marrying them or breeding with them.  It has been a long time since they were seen, though, and the bloodlines of the god-born have grown quite weak.  Many even believe that the gods have abandoned us to our own devices.

[hider=Character Sheet]
Name:

Age: 

Appearance:

Personality:

Bio:

Skills:

Equipment:

What element will you be assigned to teach you balance?:

Why did the monks assign you that element?

Story of your recruitment:  (sample post)
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[hider=The Mentor's CS (if you impressed a former graduate)]
Name:

Animal Name: (based on their personality, they will give you their amulet to prove you impressed them.  It will look like this animal.)

Age:

Personality:

Skills:

Equipment:

Magic type(s) used:
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