Namèm

The Estvoldian nation of Namèm is considered the birthplace of wizardry and possibly one of the first countries to have a formal system for studying and making controlled use of magic. Located in Estvoled's northern waters, this island is close to fellow northern islands Lovsti and Milastrov a little ways off the coast of Tumoria. Namèm's relative isolation likely led to it maintaining the traditional, possibly progenitor discipline of arcane magic that went on to develop into the modern methods popularized by Tumoria and its allies.
==Namèmite Arcane==
The traditional Namèmite sub-discipline of arcane magic has similarities with modern arcane teachings, such as having its magic-users specialize in a particular subset of spells and attuning themselves to the arcane in such a way that makes casting spells of an "opposed" set of spells more difficult. However, unlike modern arcane magic that divides arcane into various schools based on magic type and Chrono color, Namèmite arcane specializes based on the elemental affiliation of the magic and essentially focuses more on the resulting spell's effects than its base properties required to cast it in order to sort and categorize magic. The principle elements are fire, water, air, and earth, though over the years, other elements have developed specific arcane schools as well.
Namèmite arcane also focuses on familiars, which are regarded not as extensions of the wizard's will but as autonomous guides for understanding magic and, in effect, the wizard's own attunement to arcane magic. Young mages, after completing a series of trials meant to prove their readiness to continue their studies, are chosen by a non-magical animal that is drawn to their specific signature aura, whereupon the familiar is bound to them in a ritual that the mage prepares for in advance. Once the apprentice has become bound to the familiar, they are officially recognized as a wizard, and the familiar serves effectively as a firestarter for augmenting their weak abilities until they are strong enough to stand on their own. Even after "outgrowing" the need to use the familiar to cast spells, these wizards are meant to use their familiars to guide their study; Namèmite familiars, perhaps because their family lineages have been bred for generations to serve as familiars, can speak to their companions much earlier than familiars from elsewhere in Ealdremen, and they display a higher intelligence and even their own personalities much sooner in the "awakening" process of raising a familiar. They are inherently in-tune with the arcane even if they do not consciously recognize it, and they guide their wizard in selecting their elemental school of magic and to locations where they might advance their understanding of magic.
==Culture==
With the emphasis on their own specific sort of arcane magic, it is unsurprising that Namèm's culture focuses on wizards and the education thereof. Young children are tested both for their arcane aptitude and aptitude towards non-magical careers; by the time puberty begins, children have already been sorted into different career tracks based on these aptitude tests. Though the results of these tests can be disputed later in life, it is relatively rare for decisions involving those tests to be overturned. Those advancing in the "mundane" aspects of the world have generalized educations that become more specialized over time, as the child eventually makes their own decisions (guided by more aptitude tests) for what their eventual role in society shall be. Junior magic-users are called simply "mages" and learn the foundations of magic for years before they are permitted to cast even a single spell without supervision; this is meant to prevent arcane magic from having an ill effect on a still-growing child and to prevent instances of arcane-addling before the mage can properly respect the dangers of magic.
Mages are chosen by their familiar in a highly ritualized ceremony where, after they complete their basic schooling and pass trials and tests that judge their readiness, they enter into an enclosed garden where their future familiar waits somewhere within. An animal will be drawn to the mage, and the two leave to begin the lengthy bonding process of awakening an animal to becoming a familiar. Once they have their familiar, the mage is called a junior wizard, and they are allowed to cast low-level magic without supervision, as now their familiar will ensure their safety and continue to guide them. Because of the focus on familiars, wizards are expected to have personal attachments to the creatures, and losing a familiar is a traumatic, catastrophic event where the wizard will be expected to bring back the old familiar rather than seek a new one; in the case of personality clashes with familiars, senior wizards will universally deny requests for a new familiar, instead insisting that the two should learn to get along or that this is a trial that will overall improve the now-wizard's connection to arcane magic.
Challenges to wizards are generally deliberate on the part of their seniors; while libraries and repositories of common spells are easily accessible so that young wizards can be exposed to a variety of different types of spells, scrolls and tomes that contain these spells are generally hidden past constructed temples or other altered environments called arcane hermitages. Within arcane hermitages, the wizards must identify certain obstacles preventing them from accessing their goal or advancing to the next stage of the arcane hermitage's challenge. At the end of it, the wizard may claim the spell, though some arcane hermitages reverse the process in allowing the wizard access to the spell from the beginning and requiring them to use the spell to reach an otherwise inaccessible exit. Because of this, Namèm's wizards are reluctant to simply share their spells even with outsiders, believing that it undermines the learning process. The fundamentals of a discipline should be freely given, but advanced techniques must be properly learned through experience and only given to those that master preceding techniques. Giving advanced spells to another wizard or copying spells from a spellbook past a certain level is generally regarded as plagiarism and can discredit the achievements of all involved or face more severe ramifications such as expulsion from academies or being fired from one's job.
Wizards that occupy positions of government power also have their familiars considered part of the government, though those familiars tend to advocate more on the behalf of the animals they represent. It is rare for either one or the other to be in political power but not both; generally, a "discordant" wizard-familiar relationship where one cannot be trusted with power is considered grounds for disqualification in all but the lowest of government offices. In ages past, only those who could cast spells of a certain level could hold office, but especially since the Godbomb, a certain number of offices are set aside for those who cannot use magic specifically to offer different viewpoints and to represent the "non-casting" populace.
Within cities and other "secure" locations, the usage of magic is strictly governed, and those who wish to simply "try out" spells or experiment with magic must go into the "wildlands" far away from civilization, which are the small islands off the coast of Namèm. Other than small settlements around docks, the wildlands have little governance and bear the marks of errant arcane magic. Even the mere presence of a spell-user is sometimes enough for the magic in the air to react in the form of a spell. At times, the Chrono levels of the wildlands render them unsafe for practice, whereupon they are blocked off until the magic in the air is at a safe level again -- though some particularly inventive and foolhardy wizards may interpret this as a challenge and try to enter into the wildlands regardless. In cases such as this, depending on the level of Chrono saturation in the air, it is generally only safe for those not attuned to the arcane to rescue the missing wizard, as more powerful wizards entering into the wildlands might generate a reaction from the thick levels of Chrono.
Category:Ealdremen Nations
Category:Estvoled