Riven Wight

Of Science and Magic

Mages and Scientists. Scientists and Mages. The battle between science and magic is one that has been waged since the beginning of time. One believes in the sacred, mysterious aspects of magic, while the other longs for answers, to have control over what they see around them through scientific means.
Nearly two hundred years ago, these two elements collided in the largest series of wars the world had ever seen.
The Sages—the eldest, wisest, and most powerful of their kind—of the Scientist struck first. Having grown tired of those of their study being shunned, imprisoned, and, in the worst case scenarios, killed for their attempts at placing the future of humankind in their own hands, the Scientist’s Sages, accompanied by their strongest fighters, attacked cities with the greatest population of Mages.
The Sages of the Mages quickly retaliated. For nearly five years, the two groups fought relentlessly, millions of commoners getting caught in the crossfire. Their wars ravaged the land, spreading fear and panic.
At last, as the fifth year came to a close, a battle ensued that ended with no small amount of causalities. While many creatures of magic had joined the cause, aiding the Mages, it was with the help from werewolves—man-beasts who have been questioned whether they were created by science or magic since the discovery of their race—that the mages were capable of defeating the Scientists, forcing them to either hide or die. From then on, the Scientists’ ideals were banned, and any caught practicing were to be sentenced to death.
Over time, these wars became known as the Sage Wars, a title that wound transcend through the ages.

A clean-up followed the Sage Wars. The werewolves went back to taking care of their own. The people were terrified of both Scientists and Mages alike; while the Scientists had wreaked the most havoc, the Mages had played their own part. So, the Mages did everything in their power to regain the peoples’ trust. A group of Mages found a land unclaimed by any ruler where the Scientists’ machines and deadly concoctions had not hindered plant growth, and built a city alongside many of those who remained loyal to them.
The city prospered. Word of its success spread quickly, and people flocked there. The population quickly expanded, and trust and reliance slowly returned to the Mages. The city quickly expanded into a vast kingdom, which the Mages named Altreiah, a word from the ancient Magi language that roughly translates into “Prosperous peace.”
Recognizing that the city and kingdom would need a ruler, someone that even those still wary of Mages would follow, they entrusted the matter to one of their most trusted human families, who had a diluted Mage bloodline: the Althane family.
As the Mages had hoped, the Althanes gained the trust of the people, and the land continued to flourish. The Mages regained their high standing among all the world’s kingdoms. Scientists became little more than the occasional nuisance, if even that. With a painful slowness, everything returned to normal. At least, for nearly two hundred years.

Magic. Enchantments. The world, known to its inhabitants as Salvus, has relied on the Mages and their magic for many centuries. Through the Mages’ various talents, the world has thrived, gaining many things those of us on modern Earth take for granted. Only, they have used magic instead of science.
Mages, often born into large families of their own, are often superstitious people who cling to their customs like a lifeline. While there are those who grow to become Mages without any evidence of being a descendant of one, such cases are rare in the grand scheme of things. Either they are born with magic, or they are not, most often to a family of Mages. The magic a Mage uses often varies from one to the other. There are Mages who work in weather or predictions, who are skilled in defensive magic, while others are more offensive. It is rare for even the smallest of villages to not have at least one Mage in their midst, making sure that things run smoothly.
Because of how much they contribute to the society, Mages are held with high regard, often having more sway with people than the kings and queens themselves. In many cases, most royals have a Mage or two as an adviser or else somewhere else within their council.
After the Sage Wars, Mages doubled their efforts to keep the world safe from Scientists, though they doubted they would resurface anytime soon. Alas, their efforts have since grown a bit lax in this, with sightings of Scientists few and far between, but still they remain on the lookout.

Facts. Experiments. Two things Scientists thrive on. On Earth, we know them as innovators, as the people who have made all our modern commodities possible. But to Salvus, a world run by magic, Scientists and their methods have been forbidden for centuries. To their world, Scientists are unorthodox, unholy people who threaten to upset the balance of the world.
Consisting of those with an innate curiosity and ability to find the logical reason behind things, to figure out how something works and manipulate it with their own abilities instead of through magic—something that only those it chooses can manipulate—Scientists are always hunting for ways to improve what the Mages started. In many cases, they want to bring what Mages have to the rest of the world, to all those without powers. They wish to eliminate the need for the Mages, to make everyone reliant on themselves instead of solely on magic. But only in some cases. While there are also those who wish to live in harmony with Mages, living side-by-side in their methods, many of the current Scientist's Sages and their followers simply seek the power Mages have over Salvus. They have grown greedy and enraged in the depths of their indignation, wanting revenge for what has been done to their people, and the compensation for it they believe they deserve.
The Scientists were exiled nearly two-hundred years past, and the order to kill any on sight still stands. Since then, with a few Mages on their side, they have created a few small cities, each hidden in plain sight through both science and magic. Despite the presence of magic in some concealment methods, inside their bounds, scientific and mechanical devices rule, and any Mages not known to be supporters of their cause are captured and often killed.
Unlike Mages, Scientists are both born and made. Anyone with the right mindset and IQ can become a Scientist if they study hard enough, but only the most elite gain the privilege of being considered a true Scientist, while the others are either rejected and ousted from their community, or forced to remain within their city bounds.

After the Sage Wars, the few remaining Scientists began work to prove to the world that magic and science could live together in harmony, toiling to combine methods of both into a single creation to prove their theory. At first, their attempts were innocent enough, experiments done on animals for the purpose of being capable of coming out of hiding. But as the years went on, and the reigns passed from one Scientist Sage to the next, over the next two centuries, the innocent attempts took a turn to the power hungry.
When the noble mission fell prey to corrupt leaders, Scientists—with the aid of a few handfuls of Mages in agreement with their cause—began work on a device that could bring about the destruction of magic and Mages who opposed them. Once activated, it would give the Scientists the power to rule even magic, ushering in their reign.
Alas, only upon completion of the device—an object created through an equal mix of magic and science—did they realize that it would take someone likewise with equal parts magic and science.
Not wanting to wait the eons it would take to create even a prototype of something matching that criteria from scratch, a small group of the Sages took the experiments of their predecessors to a new, unspeakable level; they began their experiments to combine the two elements on humans, who were believed to be creations of neither, yet both science and magic. But all their tests failed, their subjects’ bodies incapable of handling the mix, and their attempts all ended in an agonizing death and failure.
That is, until they kidnapped the princess of Altreiah.

Even with her escape and a werewolf—a race rumored to be capable of being the deciding factor in the Scientist's plot, if only they could find documentation on how they aided in driving the Scientists out—who has suffered at the hands of Scientists working against them, should the Scientists and rogue Mages get their way, there would be no hope for not only Altreiah, but the rest of the world.
Unless Mages, Scientists, and the denizens of Salvus can realize that they can live together, that magic and science are not two separate entities, but one whole creating two different sides of the world, then the downfall of Salvus has been centuries in the making. And if two young royals cannot come together and overcome their own fears and weaknesses to bring down and destroy the device the Scientists have created, then magic and the people will fall to the Scientist’s cruel mercy.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

Elayra snorted. “Fine by me,” she snapped.
She took a breath, trying to calm her impatience and worries. With Ghent’s eyes closed, she tried to think back to the first of the few, more official lessons in magic Drust had given her, and of the various bits and pieces she had picked up in between.
“Magic’s all around us, it just exists on a plane all its own, so most people can’t see it. But a lot of us can feel it, if we try. If we reach out to it first. Once you’ve found it once, it’ll be easier to find it when you need it. So.” She uncrossed her arms and leaned back against one of the benches. “Clear your head, then imagine the energy of magic flowing around us. Once you can feel it, command it. For now, use focus words. The one for a basic shield is tuito. It’s a good one for a beginner.”
She stared at him intently, for the first time that morning not paying her surroundings much attention. She took a slight step away in case he managed to mispronounce the command, her eyes never leaving him, fearing the worst, but hoping, despite her better judgment, for the best.

Melodramatic Deities and an Ageless Taste for Pizza

Oh boy. That’s a difficult question for me to answer right now, in all honesty. I don’t like gore just for the sake of gore/hack-and-slash, but lately my tolerance in general has risen, so I’m not sure exactly where that’s at right at the moment. I don’t mind blood, and admittedly love torturing characters. Not sure if that helps any. Would it be possible to just go with it, and if it hits a point where I’m like, “Whoa, that’s a bit too over-the-top for me,” I let you know? Or do you have an example of a worse-case-scenario?

So, a pocket of the magic of the universe meshed with human forms created by Pahn from an agreement, thus creating the beings that became known as Titans, as well as, to those few who knew the truth, Guardians? That all sounds pretty great to me, though the last sentence was a bit confusing, with the “less bound to the earth.” But that might be because I need more sleep. Would I need to change anything with how I’ve been playing her powers, then, or would that particular element mix (light and shadow) in combination with magic in general allow that to stay the same?

Oh, yeah, I HATE truly invincible characters. I do believe I used some form of “nearly” when I mentioned it. Throw in magic and who knows what else from other worlds, and you’ve got potential weaknesses to work with when in that form. I’d be good with someone weaker than that being capable of taking them down if they have the right means of doing so.

By the way, wow! You really took the writing suggestions to heart. I’m impressed! :-D Also, before I forget to ask (if I haven’t forgotten that I already have asked), do you mind at all that I'm writing in past tense here?

Melodramatic Deities and an Ageless Taste for Pizza

Noticing his attention on her, Anora’s eyes shifted to look to Odin, unsure whether it was more or less unnerving than Pahn’s lack of attention was infuriating. But at least he seemed to have some sense of urgency about—or, at least, an interest in—the situation, whatever his reasons may have been. One side of Anora’s mouth pulled down irritably when Pahn at first answered only the rhetorical question of her series of inquiries.
Her brows rose at him being ‘troubled with leisure,’ the way he worded things striking her as bizarre and making her wonder how long 'many moons' was.
“I never would’ve guessed,” she said sarcastically as he sat back.
Her gentle, relieved sigh at the news his life was not in danger was drowned out and cut off by Odin’s. She blinked at the giant blue man as the gentle billowing of her hair from the warm breath settled back against her face. She blew a stray strand out of her eyes, then turned her head back toward Pahn as he continued.
“Oh, only that long, huh?” She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows as Pahn adjusted himself. She chewed on a cheek for a second at his question, then nodded slowly.
“So, basically,” she began once he had finished, “with you out of commission, your regalia’s as good as stolen, and if whoever it is you suspect’s after it gets it, Earth, at the very least, is doomed. And you’re just sitting here, eating pizza,” she gestured to the boxes of pizza with increasing anger at his apparent lack of action, at his callous show of impassiveness at the whole concept, “while the world’s at stake. Isn’t that just fantastic!” She placed a palm on the side of the booth to lean as close to Pahn as she could, still incapable of getting to the table with Odin sitting in front of it.
She glared at Pahn as she continued, frustration mixed in with her intense expression. “You might not care about this place, Pahn, but it’s my home. If this regalia of yours is really that powerful, shouldn’t we be going after it to get it first, or something? If they know where it’s at, you could move it, keep them from finding it until you’ve got your strength back.”

Schooled in Magic

@OfWindAndRain
Looks good to me! :-D *Gives a thumbs-up.* I'll get to a response as soon as I am able. Busy week and weekend this week!

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Izzy took a breath as Blake answered her, trying to at least appear calm. She grabbed a roll of paper towels from the counter, tearing one off as she tried to remember if Trevor had given her any names. Alas, she did not remember him doing so, and the White Wolf could have attacked any number of people close to the park.
“Yeah, well.” She wiped up the orange juice, not looking to Blake as she spoke. “Be careful, would you? Unreal as it is, there’s someone crazy lurking around who can take out a karate master. Don't try to play hero. Avoid the park for a while. Don’t go out after dark. Yadda, yadda.” She waved her hand almost dismissively, then wadded the paper towel up. “Leave that to the police.” She looked to him with a new worry for their parents. “Thinking of, know who’s been put on that?” She held her breath as she awaited his reply.

A Land of Wonder and Nightmare

With the gentle pattering of the rain echoing around them and off the slightly vaulted roof, Elayra’s eyes narrowed when Ghent questioned her order. She gave something between a growl and a sigh.
“Basically?” she replied curtly. “Yep.” She glanced up to the shield, now unneeded beneath the protection of the pavilion.
Looking from it, she let her mental hold over it and the magic drop. Without her will to command the magic to take form, the shield burst into a glittering, dusty film that vanished in the span of a blink.
Elayra uncrossed her arms and rested her left hand leisurely on the hilt of her sword, her intense gaze returning to Ghent.
“You’re Hatter Madrail’s son. The only ones remaining of the Vinifcium--a race of powerful sorcerers and fighters,” she elaborated with an irritated air, trying to answer an inevitable question before he could ask it to save time. “In theory,” she spat the detested word, “you’ve inherited their connection to magic. And that’s what we need. But you didn’t even believe in magic until yesterday!” She snorted, throwing a hand in the air exasperatedly and again wondering what kind of world taught that there was no such thing as magic.
“So.” She took a threatening step toward Ghent and crossed her arms once more over her chest. “Mouth and eyes closed. We’re going to see if you get along with the magic here.”

To Cure a Curse

Rayadell’s attention shifted to Calanon when he moved, her grip on the staff habitually tightening. Her cool eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the recognition that crossed his face, a recognition she was unsure was toward the curse alone, or of something deeper. Her back stiffened at the thought; had that simple action shown him more than she had intended?
She raised her chin in acknowledgement of his show of thanks, but made no move to return it. She watched the Elf reach into his pack, and glanced toward her shoulder with a quiet sigh, wishing she could remove her own pack without unveiling her draconic characteristics. The tip of her tail curled and straightened beneath her brown cloak in irritation, making the fabric ripple slightly.
Rayadell looked back to Calanon when he pulled out a small parcel wrapped in large laves, and readjusted her grip on her staff. She glanced to the trees when the misty form of the tree spirit reappeared, jumping to a tree closer to them as if curious as to what the package contained.
She glanced between him and the leaves, her expression aloof, before slowly kneeling down and taking it with cautious slowness. She unwrapped it, glancing a couple times to Calanon as she revealed the pleasantly browned cake.
Her chest rose gently with a “huh,” motion, and her brows furrowed fractionally at the show of kindness.
She sat the cake and leaves on the ground between them, and carefully tore the cake in two, the honey filling oozing from the center in all its golden sweetness. The sight made her taste buds prickle, and stomach remind her of its existence and need for food. Placing both halves back on the leaves, she nodded to it for Calanon to choose a half, her watchful gaze on him.

They Live Among Us (Vampiricchild x Siaya)

“I'll take your word for it,” she grumbled, as Alex stepped to the window, then leapt out. She closed her eyes with a gasp, her hair flying about her head for the short couple seconds they were suspended between ground and sky.
She kept her eyes closed for a moment after she felt him lightly land on the sidewalk and release her legs. She slowly opened one eye, then the other, blinked once, then stretched her feet to the ground before unwrapping her arms from his neck.
“That was… anti-climactic.” She cleared her throat. “And to think you were afraid.” She straightened out the bottom of her shirt, then walked past Alex, before stopping and turning back to him. “I, uh, have no idea where we are. So…” She gestured, embarrassed, for him to lead the way.

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As Blake spoke, Izzy reached into the fridge and grabbed a jug of orange juice, but nearly dropped it when he mentioned not running into a monster. “Uh, yeah...” She quickly grabbed a pack of hotdogs as he went to get a glass. “Unless you want to count the creepy shirtless guy I saw on the way back,” she added, placing the items on the center island before following Blake to retrieve a cup. “He was pretty hairy. Could’ve been Sasquatch in disguise.”
She returned to the island as Blake started telling her about his sensei. She offered him a smirk at the irony of it as she started pouring juice into the glass.
“He started telling people he got attacked by a werewolf..”
Izzy’s hand jerked as her attention snapped to him, trying to suppress her shock, and splashing a bit of juice on the counter. She quickly caught herself and turned the jug upright.
“Well, a karate master getting mugged. Can you blame him?” she asked, doing her best to sound casual. Was Trevor’s so-called dad her brother’s sensei, or had there been another attack? “Any idea where he got attacked? And what was his name again?”