Setting:Mosaic/Classes

This article is related to the Mosaic project.

Glyph Carver

The Glyph Carvers are probably the oldest type of runic user, people with the ability to draw energy from divine as well as natural sources to channel magical properties into the seals and forms they draw. It was this magic that allowed the Njord to build their majestic monuments and construct war machines of such complexity that their enemies would fall to their knees in awe.

Method: Enchantment of items and mastery of Matter. Relying on enhanced items like the Graven Blade, but less of a combat character.

Sigilist

The second group to emerge among the magic-users of the Njordic Empire, the Sigilists were radicals. They had an insight into the fabric of magic that their predecessors could never hope to achieve, and with the new forms they developed, they saw no need for the outdated method of Glyph Carving. Though the Empire managed to stave off any outright wars, the two groups of magicians were keen to outdo each other on the battlefields - leading to destruction on a frightening scale more often than not. Where there today are lakes and valleys, there used to be opponents of the Empire.

Method: The Sigilist prepares Forms in his spellbook, and is then able to call upon them in battle, projecting magical power over distance.

Marked

In the days when the Sigilists were just proclaiming their abilities, the Emperor of Njord was quite intrigued by the inherent power the Sigilist could draw upon, and the potent forces one could unleash. He was a schooled Glyph Carver, however, and quite set in his ways but none the less, he was intrigued. He called his best acolyte and explained a plan he had devices to tap into the best properties of both schools - Runemarking. Together, they devised Sigilist Forms which were inscribed on the student’s very body, allowing him to use the reliability and versatility of Glyph Carving to form the potent spells of a Sigilist. While the new path performed well, the idea of self-mutilation for a chance of competition appealed only to a few entirely devoted souls.

Method: The Marked use runes and Forms inscribed in flesh to facilitate casting of spells.

Graven Blade

Essentially a school of Glyph Carving, the Graven Blades came from the ranks of the Empire’s Legions, where the power of the mages had long been awed and feared for the risk that the army be made obsolete. The Emperor had similar fears of his own, with growing factions of barely-controlled sorcerers sprouting around him faster than he could handle (even the Marked had slipped from his grasp, near-fanatic as they were), and decided to personally teach a small cadre of soldiers the secrets of Glyph Carving. He gave them the tools to enchant weapons, shields and armor, producing for himself an elite guard of soldiers that could protect him even from the Imperial Mages. This unit of soldiers was dubbed The Graven Blades, and sustained themselves until the present day. The remaining true Graven Blades guard the fortress of Ordii, but the name has taken its own life among the young kingdoms as numbers of magical soldiers rise again.

Method: The Graven Blade uses physical Forms on his equipment to confer magical abilities to help him in combat.

Somat / Dancer

It was clear that magic had permeated all of the Empire then even the dancers could use it, some joked at the revelation of bodyforms - the shaping of runes without carving or drawing. The magical institutions were in uproar, however, as no-one had any idea how this development had occurred without their knowledge. It was clear that the Emperors had wanted to break the schools’ monopoly on magic, but to give it to the public was unthinkable. It all became clear when the Emperor at the time was assassinated during a dance recital by a world-renown traveling troupe, that the magic of the plebs was not from within the Empire, but from without... and that was an even more frightening revelation than the mages had hoped for. Though few sources on the events are available on the mainland today, it is known in certain wizard circles that bodyforms were not of the Njord, but rather from an outside power, or perhaps of the deep woods...

Method: Forms are composed through body movement, allowing inconspicuous use of magic.

Runefist

As the Empire reeled from both the death of an Emperor and the revelation that the Empire was not impervious to outside threats, its inside threats grew extremely interested in this new type of magic. As magic was forbidden to be practiced without an Imperial sanction, and all previous forms of magic had been extremely obvious to even an untrained eye, the opportunity to covertly harness these energies was too much to pass up. As the Imperial Mages were imposing martial law in the cities of Njord, dark cartels and mysterious orders alike were mustering their forces of new secret warriors - using the recently-revealed bodyforms. Once the fighting started, things quickly escalated. Imperial forces were pushed out of the regions around Sarasso’s Sea and Gotia, and commanders willingly abandoned those enclaves to assist back home. The long civil war sent many fleeing Njord as its cities burned themselves, and when it ended fully half of the Empire had been lost. The Mages were desperate to get the final word and set about searching for a key to restore their power in the world.

Method: Like the Somat, the Runefist uses Bodyforms to cast magical abilities, but focus this power into close combat abilities.

Bloodscribe

The final form of rune magic had existed in the Empire for some times in closed cabals, but never achieved any sort of popularity until the civil unrest that the magic wars brought. Throughout the history of the Empire, the boon of god-hood had been a well-known fact. Several Archmages, Philosophers and Emperors had shed their mortal coil by complete mastery of the greater runes, and though they were usually quite content with their small groups of self-harming devotees, the Gods saw that the living mages were headed down a path that could only end in death and destruction on an unprecedented scale. The deities more or less flat-out explained to their disciples what was going to happen, which led to hundreds of apocalyptic prophecies being heralded on the streets as the Fall neared. Many ranks swelled and several orders survived the Fall of Njord to start anew on other shores.

Method: Uses the Forms as a conduit to his god, who then carries out the priest’s requested miracle, if the priest can offer something for it...

Mimic

No-one knows when the Mimics really turned up. As far as is known, the Njord have no records of their rise. Considering how little is know about them today, it’s possible they simply slipped through the cracks of the old bureaucracy and lived without knowing their gifts. However, It is difficult to ignore the fact that there are no records of them before the Fall of Njord.

Method: Not a Form-user per se, but capable of countering and modifying Forms woven by another person. A Mimic draws upon the skills of characters around him to perform abilities.