I've been working on this story for some time. I thought I'd post a bit of a teaser.
Almost nine thousand years ago, the vast ancient kingdom of Osirion reached its peak. The God-Kings, rulers of Osirion and masters of the arcane energies of the ancient world, stumbled upon a discovery that altered the very fiber of the universe. Well versed in each of the eight arcane schools, the God-Kings utilized their vast knowledge to manifest Osirion power into the greatest civilization that has ever existed.
Magic was not a mystery, nor a reservoir of chaotic, untamed power. Instead, magic was a finely wrought tool—scrutinized scientifically for hundreds of years until every secretive fiber lay open, exposed. Every fiber that is, but one.
The God-Kings gloried in their power; their conceit lay in knowing the direct workings of the universe. The forces of the divine, however—outsiders with power so immense that many of the God-Kings secretly feared them—remained untouchable. The divine energies spun by clerics were as wholly unreachable as the stars themselves. The God-Kings’ own vanity and ambition prevented them from such access.
It was in this pursuit that the God-Kings discovered an arcane conduit to the divine. This conduit to the energies of the celestials gave mages control over the raw divine power of creation. The doors to the ninth school of magic-- theomancy-- had been opened. However, the celestials watched the power-hungry nature of the God-Kings in horror and denied them access to the divine source. Short-lived, theomancy was forsaken, eternally banned from the realm of mortals.
Many of the God-Kings went mad—a rare few who had grasped the primordial power of creation only to have it wrenched away survived physically whole or mentally intact. The God-Kings reeled from their folly. Clerics can access divine energies because through supplication they ask for permission for use of this power. Mages, on the other hand, do not ask for their power—they take it through sheer will. Mages force the energies of the cosmos to bend to their machinations through ancient arcana—words, gestures, and draconian components that bind the chaotic energies into a particular forum, submitting them to perform or behave in a particular manner. This forceful nature of arcane casting left the gods out of the equation—mages did not have to ask for the use of divine power, they simply took it.
Comparatively then, clerics are more humble by nature, revering and acknowledging a higher power through the simple act of prayer. Mages, on the other hand, need only acknowledge themselves. The lesson learned by the God-Kings cost Osirion dearly. The once grand civilization fell into chaos and barbarism.
Nearly nine thousand years have passed since Osirion was at its height and the God-Kings lorded over all by wielding both arcane and divine energies. The story regarding the existence of theomancy was all but lost to the shroud of deep time. All but lost until nearly one year ago.
Subject: Premise of New Campaign 
Fri Feb 05, 2010 12:09 am
