Post by Eloell on Jul 18, 2022 14:08:34 GMT -5
MAGIC IN LORENDALE
GIFTS
The magical strain found in Lorendale is referred to as a 'gift' or being 'gifted.' It is when a citizen has the ability to perform a magical task that is unique to him/her. Gifts can be any one thing. For example, a gifted can communicate with animals, be a water elementalist, have the ability to become invisible, etc. A gifted cannot both fly and have laser vision, as that would be two separate gifts. Of course, a single gift may have many different manifestations, such as a gift of fire manipulation looking like shooting fire balls or creating a fire wall or simply lighting a candle. All gifts are balanced, possessing limits and weakness. No gifts grant unusual skin color or hair growth or anything that would prevent you from using a face claim to represent your character. Please reference our Library of Gifts for a look at what gifts are currently played on the site. Possessing a gift is a biological inheritance, passed through the blood. A gifted mother and father will almost always produce a gifted child. One gifted parent typically results in the children being 50/50 for gifted and non gifted. It is possible for a gifted to emerge from a family that has no apparent history of gifts, because it is possible for the "gifted gene" to remain dormant, or for individuals to never discover that they have a gift. GIFTED HISTORY IN LORENDALE
Gifteds have been in Lorendale for as long as anyone can remember, and they have been feared and even hated for most of that time. In fact, they were originally referred to as the afflicted, and discretely snuffed out. Rather than embracing the small yet growing magical population, citizens of Lorendale rejected and despised them, considering the magic that they could wield as a threat rather than a blessing. An affliction rather than a gift. They were forced to live in hiding. As more gifted individuals stayed under the radar and made it to marital and reproductive age, so began the spread of their gifted blood. There emerged several families who dedicated their lives to the preservation and continuation of their line, encouraging new generations to marry young, often with cousins or even other siblings, and bear as many children as possible to increase the likelihood of new waves of Gifted. Under the rule of King Julius I, as a direct result of oppression and persecution, an eruption of violence between Gifteds and non led to many innocent bystanders becoming casualties. The fight started small and personal, but before long the Royal Guard was involved, along with Lord and Lady Marshals and their armies. The magical abilities of the Gifted gave them an edge, and the outcome was uncertain until the gifted Eldouir family, under the headship of Malachi, made a deal with the crown and switched sides to join the armed forces in bringing the Gifted under heel. Who knows whether the families would have overrun the ranks of men and began an era of Gifted ruling, but with the aid of the traitorous family, every last rebelling Gifted was put to death. With the help of the Eldouirs, the crown emerged victorious. The Eldouirs were put in magic-controlling collars, courtesy of Arynn Frey enchanters, and became weapons of the kingdom. Julius I declared the afflicted to be renamed gifted at this time.
All gifteds were, essentially, slaves. Their magic was controlled, their ranks and lands were stripped, and those non-Eldouirs who were discovered were sold into slavery (if they weren't first killed by Eldouirs). Lorendalers much preferred magical humans that they could control. It was a hard life of oppression for the gifteds, until Nya Rainecourt, a young queen, liberated them. She created a process for the collars of gifteds to be removed and for those in hiding to come forth. All were able to reclaim titles and attempt to step back into the society that had ostracized them and their families for generations. The catch? The entire process was governed by the Eldouirs, who could indiscriminately decide who got their freedom and who didn't, all while registering each and every gifted that came forward. Following the death of Queen Nya, Iliana Rainecourt became the queen while yet a child, thus her gifted mother, Marjolaine Teake, ruled as Regent for a time. Under Marjolaine's rule the gifted population saw more royal favor than they ever had. They were given seats on the royal court and positions of power in the Lorendale military. Needless to say, for as many gifteds as there are that are happy about these changes, there are many more nongifteds who are displeased with the state of things. A bitter contention exists in Lorendale today between gifteds and gifted sympathizers and those nongifteds that cannot trust those with magic and prefer the brass collars be returned to their throats.
OOC/Face Claim Note: Red hair is not a trait that occurs naturally in Terra Nova. Only Eldouirs have red hair; there are Eldouirs without red hair, but there are never non Eldouirs with red hair.