Fel Magic

Example

## Common Knowledge

In 10,015, an enormous green tear cut through the skies and unleashed monsters of green fire and corruptive magic onto Temporis. These Fel Demons and the Warlocks who walked with them wielded a new form of magic, one which had never been seen before. Though the green tear and portals closed shortly after, highly-corruptive Fel Magic still continues to exist.

The Fel are led and controlled by a Hierophant, who until 10,019 was a warrior-mage in K’Vesten. A unified international army, spearheaded by select members of the Binturian party, attacked the Hierophant’s keep, dealt a crippling blow, and killed him. Some say there is a new Hierophant, a pirate captain from Calahay.

## Affected Regions

The Fel Invasion and emergence of Fel Magic coincided with a positively massive assault on the Abyss, the home plane of Demons. Much of its populace were killed, or consumed and transformed into Fel Demons. In order to save her children, Velka the Goddess of Sin split off a single layer from the rest. That layer would become Narak, a shell of its former self, and the remainder became the Mordant Realms, the home domain of the Fel.

K’Vesten, a country ravaged by civil war and strife for centuries, was overrun by the Fel. The Hierophant, Xaoc, violently overthrew the original government and established himself as its new dictator. He was slain in 10,019, but civil unrest followed shortly after. The legacy of Fel on K’Vesten may never disappear.

Before the tear was sealed, the Fel dealt a crippling blow to the Binturian party by annihilating the town that had been their base of operations for years: the town of Veridae. The ruins of Veridae later became the capital of the United Sanctuaries of Orelisle.

## System and Usage

### Basics

Like all traditional schools of magic, Fel magic relies on the magic language. Neither the knowledge of, nor the writing of, a Fel magic spell is inherently corrupting. Unlike other schools of magic, however, the use of Fel magic does not require a focus at all, except perhaps for the casting of rituals. The capacity to cast Fel spells does not necessarily limit their ability to cast spells of other schools.

The inherently corrupting nature of Fel magic means that not all people are physically capable of containing its power within themselves, at least not without proper preparation and training. Most warlocks either willingly accepted this power when it was offered to them or were infused with too much Fel magic to avoid becoming a warlock.

### Fel Corruption

The threshold for Fel magic’s concentration before it becomes dangerously corruptive is significantly lower than that of the more traditional schools of magic. Additionally, a sufficient influx of Fel magic into a person’s body can override their will, even if only for a moment, making them a Warlock. Though sapient creatures can resist the deeper effects of this corruption, non-sapient creatures are sometimes consumed by a desire for violence and chaos. Like other forms of magical corruption, Fel corruption can be removed by ritual, but is significantly harder to remove (e.g., the magic is itself “stickier”).

### New and Enhanced Abilities

When a person accepts Fel magic into them, becoming a warlock, the roiling magic lies at rest in their body. The more that person casts Fel spells, the more that level of magic within them increases. Upon reaching a certain threshold of Fel, a warlock temporarily gains access to a deeper well of Fel within them. This well can fuel many different abilities, and has changed greatly in the years since the first appearance of Fel magic, but at its most powerful could temporarily transform a creature into a powerful Fel Demon.

### The Hierophant

The Hierophant is the unquestioned master of Fel magic. The Hierophant acts as an anchor point for Fel Magic on a given plane, granting them immense magical power and functionally elevating them to the status of a demigod.

Though there were originally three Hierophants, for as long as Fel magic continues to exist there must be at least one Hierophant. When a Hierophant dies, the power of the Hierophant may be channeled by ritual into a specific person, but otherwise it will simply “pick” someone at random until it finds a host which can withstand its power.

As the master of Fel magic, the Hierophant wields great power and influence over Fel Demons and Warlocks. The Hierophant can, if they so choose, take direct command of the bodies of all Fel Creatures on the plane and direct them to some purpose of their own choosing. The previous Hierophant, Xaoc, called upon all such individuals to defend him at his keep in K’Vesten during the Fel War in 10,018.

To some degree, this functions in reverse as well. The Fel Demons of the Mordant Realms have largely been reduced to mindless engines of violence without the presence of a Hierophant on the plane to unify them.

The current Hierophant is a pirate captain named Suuzi, who bases her operations out of the port city Calahay. Unlike Xaoc, who was chosen by the architect of Fel Magic, Suuzi was chosen by the Binturian Party as the most viable candidate for the title.

## Related Groups and People

* The Demons of the Abyss were forced to flee from their home during the initial Fel Invasion, and it was later destroyed to become the Mordant Realms.
* Fel Demons are Demons fully exposed to and corrupted by Fel Magic during the Fel Invasion. Though they have Fel magic within them, those who dwell on the Material Plane are no different than other demons (excepts perhaps slightly stronger)
* People who use Fel magic to cast spells are called warlocks.
* The Hierophant, as discussed above, is the leader and ruler of Fel magic and its ilk on the material plane
	+ Gethin and Atro, two former Binturians, were dominated into becoming Hierophants during the Fel Invasion, but were cleansed and had their power stripped before departing for parts unknown.
	+ Xaoc, the former Hierophant, was a tyrannical dictator who enslaved the populace of K’Vesten from his massive obsidian fortress. He was killed by a joint effort between many nations’ armies and the Binturian party in 10,018/
	+ Suuzi, the current Hierophant, is a pirate captain who fought against Xaoc in the final assault, and was chosen to take on the mantle. Currently, she has positioned the Fel to be a semi-nationless political party, dipping its fingers into many different pies.

## Importance

Fel Magic, by its very nature, is a corrupting force. Its influence draws in those who would sacrifice their very being for power, and in turn empowers them. This can create powerful warriors, cunning diplomats, and otherwise gives an edge to those who would use such power to benefit themselves. The Hierophant also wields great economic, political, and magical power, and ought not be trifled with.

## Social and Cultural Impact

Fel magic, like other schools of magic, is so widespread that many different cultures react differently to it, ranging from accepting such powers with open arms to attempting to purge it from their society entirely (or even all societies, in the case of more militant groups). At the very least, most pragmatic rulers may keep an expert on Fel magic on-hand to advise them on such matters, much like a court mage.

Additionally, the Fel Invasion and Fel War each caused a great deal of devastation and death.

## Origin and History

Fel magic was created some time between winter 10,014 AB and the summer of 10,016 AB by the vanquished sorceress Vierfrynn. Using her arcane reserves, and her limited control over the Void, she imbued her fury into a new form of caustic but empowering magic and prepared to unleash it unto the world during an event known as the Fel Invasion. After successfully executing her plan to conquer the Abyss and open a rift into the Material Plane, Fel magic began to proliferate throughout reality.

## Further Information

* The Abyss
* Darkfell
* Demons
* Fel Demon
* Fel Invasion
* Magic
* The Mordant Realms
* United Sanctuaries of Orelisle
* Void Corruption