Mayakara

**The Mayakara** are the order of mages operating in Suldura. Their leadership is centered in Seaspire Keep and the majority of Mayakara can be found along the coast of the Thelwyn Sea, but they have small schools in every major Sulduran city, with the exception of Deep Harbor. An organization that can trace its roots back to the Age of Legends, the Mayakara were significantly weakened following The Calamity. While they have rebuilt a degree of their power and influence, they are still significantly diminished compared to their height.

## History

### The Calamity

Because The Calamity began with a magical war and many of the scars wrought upon Gavelor were the result of battlemages, this period in human history also represented a turning point in popular opinions on magic. While mages had always been regarded with reverence and awe by the common folk of Silduras, these feelings turned quickly to fear and distrust. There were uprisings across the nation against village druids, small town wizards' colleges, and other mages. When these mages fought back, the flames of fear and hatred were only fanned.

Many of Silduras' mages were killed in the years following The Calamity, and many of the rest retreated to the larger cities, such as Kainen's Hollow, Westmarch, and Harrenridge, where they were more welcome. The largest refuge for magic users was Seaspire Keep, where the main college of the Mayakara, although diminished, still stood. In constrast, the city of Deep Harbor became the largest city to officially outlaw magic, demolishing the Mayakara college that had previously stood there.

### Sulduran Unification

In 421 AC, King Cassius Falkenried was wed to Elandoris Tavore's elder sister Mylaina, sealing the alliance that their fathers had begun to forge. Shortly after the wedding, Elandoris and his brother-in-law began plans to reunify the human kingdoms under the name *Suldura*, a bastardization of the original *Silduras*. Cassius agreed to give up his crown and become the Margrave of Falkenried in exchange for an expansion of the Falkenried borders.

In 422 AC, Elandoris and Cassius began their campaign of conquest. Of the conquered kingdoms, only Seaspire fell without a single casualty. After the capture of Hale, Arch Magus Verin Lestronne traveled to Elandoris' war camp and personally negotiated with him in a secret meeting. The details of the meeting are unknown, but ultimately, Verin gave up any claim to monarchy while the Mayakara were still permitted to operate as a semi-independent entity and Elandoris agreed that each King of Suldura would choose a Mayakara advisor.

### Siege of Westmarch

The Siege of Westmarch demonstrated to the world the power that Mayakara could have in allowing even a much smaller force to challenge a larger one. Not only were the mages on the Westmarch walls able to cause severe casualties in the assaulting forces, but Guild Mistress Nilene Guinevra's healers significantly minimized the casualties taken by the defenders, and Mayakara druids were able to magically repair Westmarch's walls, reducing the efficacy of the Inquisition's siege weapons.

### Malkin Civil War

Following their victory at Westmarch, Margrave Tiberius Falkenried made contact with his cousin, King Artorin, and Nilene contacted Seaspire Keep, both of them sharing the details of their success. Between the two of them, they were able to forge a reconciliation between the Crown and the Mayakara, repairing a relationship that had been severely damaged when King Artorin ejected his Mayakara advisor Godfrey Belzamor from Crownport. With the relationship repaired, the Mayakara and the Crown's army joined forces in Malkin against the armies of Kainen's Hollow.