[b][center]TALES OF BRILLIANCE[/b][/center]

The world of Glazend was overall a tranquil one… mostly because 80% of the world had not been explored yet. Nautical navigation was not advanced enough to handle the rough seas and unknown territory. Nothing beyond the sole continent of Sephira had been thoroughly mapped, so no sea dog worth his salt wanted to venture into the open waters with no way of knowing when they would possibly reach land. Whatever civilization existed was all on Sephira, a landmass equivalent in size and appearance to South America.

Sephira was divided into three nations; Sord in the far south, Zenterr in the middle, and Boreas to the distant north. Again using South America as an example, Sord would cover Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and the Falkland Islands. Zenterr had the largest landmass, which would cover Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. The remaining northern countries from Ecuador to French Guiana would be Boreas, making it the smallest country.

Each nation also had their unique cultures. Sord followed oriental traditions such as kimonos, cherry blossom viewings and public hot springs, but it was the least developed in technological advances. Sord was stuck in the era of steam, windmills and hard manual labor, so the other nations joked about Sord being a backwards steampunk country. In contrast, Zenterr had the highest level of development, utilizing magitechnology to replace gasoline-powered engines and wind-operated turbines. Thanks to the royal family’s desire to have their country be the shining example of what the future was like, Zenterr prospered as a result, making it a hub for educational and magic-researching institutions led by a non-political organization of magicians called the Sect of Maxwell. Then in Boreas, technology was somewhere in the middle. Sadly, it was the most barbaric of the three countries because it was led by the High Elven Council. The council was an oligarchy of wealthy elves that saw their race as the most superior over all others, and they sanctioned racial violence to quell the population of Humans and Half-Elves in Boreas while granting favor to pure-blooded Elves.

Why did the council want to commit such genocidal acts toward others? They felt that their magical ability was the strongest, and in Glazend, magic was everything. The council felt that Sord was just an outdated hick country that could easily be overtaken, but Zenterr was a huge obstacle towards taking over all of Sephira and stamping out non-Elves. The council also felt that Zenterr had stolen their magitechnology through espionage and subterfuge, so some Elves would be scrutinized if they were suspected of betraying Boreas.

Indeed, magic was a huge part of all three nations’ cultures. Thanks to the Sect of Maxwell’s ability to set up temples and research facilities all across Sephira, everyone was taught how to use magic. Regardless of race, gender, age, social status or upbringing, all people were granted two out of ten mysterious glyphs called Thauma (pl. Thaumae). Each Thauma could control a specific element, so people were able to use two at any time. The glyphs were named after the highest Summon Spirit of that particular element, which were the following:

Undine Thauma (water)
Efreet Thauma (fire)
Sylph Thauma (wind)
Gnome Thauma (earth)
Celsius Thauma (ice)
Volt Thauma (lightning)
Rem Thauma (light)
Shadow Thauma (darkness)
Martel Thauma (nature)
Lorelei Thauma (sound)

Every child would undergo the Blessing of Elements by a priest from the Sect of Maxwell (named after the king of elements). A type of magician called a thaumaturge - from which the Thauma were named after – could do the blessing as well, but most families didn’t want their children exposed to folks who commonly wore [url=http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/103/3/2/steampunk_plague_doctor_by_cthulhu_great-d61hv9y.jpg]plague doctor outfits[/url] to denote their profession. Either way, the blessing would determine what the child’s strongest elemental affinity was. From there, they would go to a nearby temple or Sect facility to graft the child with two Thaumae most suited to them. These Thaumae remained with them for life, and no more than two could be grafted onto a person. Their new control over two elements could then be used for practical purposes or for combat, combining their regular attacks with magic powers.

In a similar vein, magitechnology was the process of grafting a Thauma to an object rather than a person. A Sylph Thauma could keep a windmill running even on a day with no breeze; an Efreet Thauma could keep the coals lit in a train; an Undine Thauma could be installed on a weather balloon and have its power summoned by a thaumaturge to induce rain during a period of drought; a Celsius Thauma could be planted inside a snowman figurine and placed inside houses or institutions to create air conditioning during scorching hot days. Such clever applications were commonplace everywhere except for Sord, and that country’s citizens were rallying for such advances.

Magitechnology wasn’t well researched in military applications, but Sord and Zenterr were concerned that Boreas could turn its attention in that direction in the near future. But even if Boreas wanted to develop military magitechnology, the Sect of Maxwell’s most fervent supporters in Sord and Zenterr wouldn’t allow it, and the Sect’s official facilities in Boreas would threaten to abandon Boreas if the council demanded military applications for Thauma. Without the Sect’s influence, Boreas would easily collapse in the face of Zenterr’s technology, so the High Elven Council had to keep quiet.

This was the complex state that Sephira was in – a false peace that could easily shatter if any country made a wrong move. Everyone expected Boreas to be the aggressor due to the council’s genocidal tendencies, but Sord’s citizens wanted better technology while Zenterr was stuck in the middle micromanaging the other countries while ensuring its own prosperity. It was possible for Sord or Zenterr to make a critical mistake as well. The Sect of Maxwell remained in the sidelines, maintaining the peaceful use of Thauma while researching new advances. Did that mean the Sect was an entirely innocent organization? Some dissenters didn’t think so, especially those who escaped from Boreas’ tyranny and testified to being subjected to hideous experiments in some dark, mysterious places. The Sect denied involvement, but some accounts detailed the vividly creepy costumes that thaumaturges were notorious for wearing.

What was going on here? Was the Sect of Maxwell kidnapping people for forbidden research? Were there madmen pretending to be Sect followers while performing these ghastly horrors? Was Boreas’ oligarchy hiring rogue Sect followers to develop forbidden technology? Or were either of the other nations hiring these people to try and lay the blame on Boreas, thereby creating a reason to go to war? Nothing was certain. The only fact was that people were suffering in the name of science. Coupled with the fragile peace that Sephira struggled to maintain, it would only be a matter of time before something catastrophic happened…

**

[b]Melvin – outskirts of Izumo[/b]

A temple nearby the sleepy fishing village of Izumo sat upon a hill overlooking the ocean from the south and the rolling plains that stretched far into the north. Izumo was the southernmost town in the entire continent, resting right at the tip of Sord’s southern coast. This was as far away from Boreas’ political control as one could get on Sephira, and Sord’s own government didn’t enforce too many policies upon its citizens aside from typical curfew bylaws and encouraging everyone to stay inside at night. Even so, the Sect of Maxwell still maintained its presence here by installing small roadside temples that also doubled as boarding lodges for tired travelers.

Right now though, the temple closest to Izumo was on the verge of catching fire. The small blaze started on the south side of the building, but spread quickly over the old wood cabin and tiny chapel attached next door. A young man wearing a thick coat and hood stepped back to briefly admire his handiwork before retreating into the darkness. He ran as fast as he could until he reached a simple horse-pulled hay cart with two other accomplices sitting inside the cart awaiting the arsonist’s arrival.

He climbed into the cart just as the wheelman commanded the horse to move. As they sped across the bumpy road, the young man peeled off his hooded coat and gasped, “Damn, this thing is just too stuffy for my taste.”

“How did it go, Melvin? Were you able to burn that house of heretics down?” one of his accomplices asked.

“The place is burning as we speak. I don’t know if anyone is still inside, but if a thaumaturge or two is killed, that would be awesome.” Melvin leaned back, his knee-length lavender hair rushing in the wind of the moving cart.

Unlike the other two accomplices, his eyes had black sclera and slit purple irises, making him look like an alien. He didn’t wear a shirt, exposing the world to the many cuts and scars on his upper body and arms as proof of his difficult life up to this point. Melvin also had his Efreet and Lorelei Thaumae tattooed on the right side of his body from his cheek all the way down to his right foot. Otherwise, he just had a purple hakama and traditional oriental sandals, with a pair of short twin axes attached to his criss-cross belt.

Melvin continued, “Tonight was a smashing success, but don’t let it get to your heads. The Sect won’t give a damn about losing some backwater temple. Before you know it, another one will spring up to take its place. We just need to keep this pace up. Soon enough, our efforts will be rewarded.”

“You sure that little strikes like these will make any impact? We might just be common thugs to the common populace, but how is that going to inspire anyone to ask questions about the Sect?”

“I don’t bloody care if we’re seen as terrorists. What we want is for people to ask [i]why[/i] we’re attacking. There’s no doubt that some folks will want to ask what our purpose is. When they do, that’s when we can tell them what we went through at the Sect’s hands. We might be branded as villains, but everyone already hates us just for our races. As far as this society is concerned, there’s no worse sin than existing as someone who’s ‘different’. There’s nothing we can do that would cause society to hate us even more, so we might as well lash out against the real enemy and expose their crimes to the world. If anything, it will inspire some folks to think with their heads for a change.”

“I know what you’re saying, but society is very difficult to enforce change upon. We can’t force others to think the way we do. If they don’t accept our opinion, it’d be easy for them to just ignore us.”

“I get that,” Melvin nodded contritely. “But while opinions can be ignored, the truth is absolute. If the masses don’t respond to the truth, then maybe this world is better off heading towards death and despair. Yeah I say that, but I really don’t want that to happen. I want to do what I can to open everyone’s eyes to the Sect’s activities before it reaches that point. If I become Public Enemy #1 for it, then so be it. At least I can finally live my life the way I want to, not how the Sect and a bunch of stuffy politicians tell me to.”