Carthage Magician

A **Carthage magician** is a rare subset of magicians known for their striking physical characteristics and incredibly powerful magical skills. A Carthage magician is capable of using ether from their environment in order to use magic, and with their distinctive white hair and violet eyes, a Carthage magician is easily identifiable.

## History

The original Carthage magician is unknown. Fragmentary documentation in magical communities indicate that the first Carthage magicians appeared in the North African city-state of Carthage. Carthage seems to have had Carthage magicians throughout its history since its founding around 814 BCE as a colony of Tyre, indicating that Carthage magicians predate the city-state, but there is little evidence of the existence of Carthage magicians before the 9th century BCE.

One of the first appearances of a Carthage magician in magical history is the witch known only as Rho. Although she has withdrawn to the depths of the Rotten Labyrinth, past observations indicate that she has the white hair and violet eyes of a Carthage magician, and she is known to have incredibly powerful magic, though that can also be the result of the divine spirit within her.

Carthage magicians faced high levels of prosecution through to the modern day. Their distinctive physical characteristics make them easily identifiable as well as viewed as unnatural by mundane communities, and with the belief that a Carthage magician is cursed and detrimental to the magicians around them, magical communities often shunned Carthage magicians. Carthage magicians have been recorded as being abandoned as infants to die of exposure.

## Physical Characteristics

Carthage magicians are immediately recognizable by their white hair color and deep violet eyes. As Carthage magicians can arise in magical communities of any race, these characteristics can be particularly striking. These characteristics are present at birth.

## Magical Characteristics

The true power of a Carthage magician comes from their ability to use ether in the atmosphere to fuel their magic. Most magicians are unable to utilize ether for their magic and have to rely on their sources to convert ether into mana for use. This process takes time, effectively capping the total amount of magic a magician can bring to bear in a fight. Carthage magicians, being able to use ether in addition to their own mana, are able to use magic for much longer than a normal magician.

## Social and Cultural Impacts

Carthage magicians face a variety of social and cultural challenges as their condition is often a source of ridicule, discrimination, or fear and violence. Although the discrimination is reduced in mundane society, it is especially stigmatized in magical communities. Often Carthage magicians experience alienation, avoid social interactions, and are less emotionally stable. These impacts reduce the likelihood that a Carthage magician will finish their education, find employment in the magical community, or find romantic or sexual partners.

Many magical communities, particularly in Europe and the Americas, view Carthage magicians as sources of bad luck or curses. Carthage magicians are seen as violent people who are capable of causing massive amounts of damage to their surroundings. Standard magicians tend to avoid associating with a Carthage magician, apparently under some belief that the presence of a Carthage magician will reduce their own ability to use magic.

## Known Carthage Magicians

There are 3 known Carthage magicians in the Guild of American Magicians.

* Levi Redgrave (b. 4 October 1997)
* Viktor Kerensky (b. 31 July 1973)
* Ayanda Brandt (b. 12 March 1970)