It's the first Monday of the month, so we bring you a new glimpse into the world of The Broken Hourglass. Learn now about the elitist Adepts of the independent island nation of Argoniss and their down-home spellslinging counterparts, the Mageborn.

Magic, Mageborn, and the Island of Argoniss

The nearest neighbor to the Tolmiran Empire is the independent island nation of Argoniss. Argoniss is, in no particular order, home to the region's finest magical scholars, a chain of mostly inactive volcanoes, and lush plant life. In the Empire itself the use of magic is uncommon and not studied or cultivated with any degree of formality. On the other hand, the people of Argoniss are entirely devoted to the development of magic and mages. It is commonly believed that the vast majority of human Adepts are concentrated on the island of Argoniss, though the truth of this may be exaggerated. The mages of the island have limited contact with the outside world, usually limited to trading magical services and items for supplies from Tolmira. Goods are often teleported directly to and from the island, as no outsider is allowed to set foot upon their shores--ships which approach find that the winds and currents turn against them, and are sometimes sunk to the bottom of the sea by storms that arise out of nowhere and fade just as quickly.

Only prearranged passenger ships carrying adepts and students to and from the island are spared this mysterious prohibition. Officially, the birth rate on Argoniss is zero, as Adepts are firmly discouraged from producing children during their training. Therefore Argoniss replenishes its numbers by searching the mainland for youths that show the great mental potential required to master magical disciplines. Many within the Empire disapprove of this practice, believing that the mages are stealing away the best and brightest, and there are unsubstantiated rumors of the midnight abductions of those who won't go along willingly. The training of those invited (or taken) lasts for as long as fifteen years in some cases, and many are unable to take the strain and isolation. These washouts are returned to the mainland, sometimes establishing themselves as hedge mages and alchemists.

Those who complete their training are free to leave, and often spend several years upon the mainland, revisiting the places of their childhood, sowing wild oats and exploring the world. They often become adventurers or mercenaries for a time, but most eventually return to the island to take their place within the mageocracy. Those who do not sometimes take on their own apprentices, a practice that has resulted in a small number of mages trained and cultivated on the mainland. Without the resources of the island behind them, these small magical encampments rarely last more than a single generation. They don't often fade entirely, however, and one can occasionally find an individual capable of casting a few simple cantrips, brewing up potions and crafting good luck charms. Known among the common classes as the "Clever Folk", these minor mages have managed to master the most basic spellcasting methods, though they rarely understand the true nature of the power they call upon.

Visiting adepts and their independently-educated apprentices make up a minority of the Empire's spellcasters. For some, magic is an innate gift. These Mageborn are likely to live and die in Tolmira without ever seeing a glimpse of Argoniss methods--the educators there traditionally shun natural magical talent as impure and dismiss its wielders as lazy and untrainable.

Most farming communities contain or contract with Mageborn capable of bolstering the crops, either directly or through manipulating the weather, soil or other factors. These Mageborn are commonly known as cropsingers, and like most Mageborn their powers are often passed down from parent to child, often resulting in something of a "family business." The Imperial government trains and employs a number of these cropsingers, deploying them where they are needed in lean times.

Many communities also have long lines of healers or seers-- though these are as likely to be simple herbalists, apothecaries or outright shams as anything. Telling a true Mageborn from an impostor is not an easy task for a layperson, and fraud as well as abuse are common where magical services are concerned.

Larger cities actively seek out and train those with divinatory abilities for service in the guard, using them to aid in the investigation and prevention of crimes. People with these capabilities can also make a good living, working freelance as security or bodyguards to wealthy merchants or on the other side of the law as criminals. The most talented among them are rumored to be employed as secret police by the Empire.

Not all inborn magic is beneficial or even subtle--there are those born with great destructive capability, being able to call forth blasts of flame and lightning, weaken or debilitate those around them, or drain the life from other living beings. Mageborn with these abilities often have a harder time integrating with society than their less dangerous counterparts. Their first manifestations are usually traumatic, often resulting in the destruction of property or the injury or even death of those around them. They remain dangerous to those around them until they have learned to control their abilities, and even the most well trained firestarter can lose control under extreme duress. All Feyborn are also Mageborn, a factor which only further alienates them from mainstream society.

For those who are willing, however, it is possible to make a good living from lighting people on fire. The vast majority of military mages are Mageborn, and the army's impressive training program is often seen as the best place for a young firestarter to learn to control their abilities.

 Whatever the scope of their abilities, no one knows exactly how Mageborn are "made", as it is a rare occurrence on the grand scale of things. Many, but not all, children of Adepts are Mageborn, although evidence also suggests that mothers who conceive or carry children in locales near strong magical influences are also prone to give birth to Mageborn. Most children born on the island of Argoniss are Mageborn, hence the general Adept aversion to reproduction.

The Mageborn are not the only ones born magically aberrant, however. Born under the same unexplained circumstances as the Mageborn, there exist individuals who are magically "dead"--incapable of either working or succumbing to magic. Known as Cold-Iron Births, these individuals are thought to be rarer than their counterparts, but this is likely because the majority are never discovered--their talents are much less conspicuous, after all.