War Mage

War mages are users of d'qiarsea, the Damaskian energy of conflict. Many war mages supplement this with other magicks that help them in war.

Esoteric Conflict

The main source of d'qiarsea is any kind of conflict. When two opposing forces interact, d'qiarsea arises from the background shebv heya. In order to generate d'qiarsea and use it, war mages must perform combat rituals and use special weapons that are able to contain the energy. Unlike the ritual conflict used by weaponmasters, war mages act alone and draw the energy from special performances of conflict, dancing with their weapon in a display of their skill with it, then striking it to the ground as hard as they can.

Weaponry

Weapons for war mages must be made of appropriate materials. Basic steel and oak are the commonest, though they do not bring any special bonuses. Zuinande metal, samayagliheya clay, jarabjarg stone, ulaantsus gems, sainjeyanja magma, Hynofian wood, and the bone, hide, or other remains of any living thing killed in combat are best. Different war mages specialize in different kinds of weaponry:

• Swords: the most common weapon is the sword, which becomes a vessel of power for the war mage, akin to a staff for other mages. Though they can use their swords as normal weapons, they usually use them to focus and channel magic, carve symbols, or draw power from opponents.
• Arrows: war mage archers build up a supply of arrows that they can turn into magical projectiles that can be fired without any bow or other device.
• Other weapons: war mages who use other weapons will vary greatly based on the weapon used, but other weapons do not hold d'qiarsea as well or as long. Usually, they will have limited use, maybe one specific kind of spell.

Absorbing Energies

Attacking with the weapon and spilling blood, especially killing, absorbs d'qiarsea, if the proper ritual is done first. It can only do this for one attack, however. To store more without using it, they must keep doing the ritual before each bloody strike.

Blood

Blood is a powerful fuel for war magic. It is through spilling blood that a war mage can create ozuye, the fire form of d'qiarsea, or ayanga, the lightning form of d'qiarsea. It may be the blood of the opponent or the blood of the caster. Spilling blood unleashes d'qiarsea that can be absorbed via the weapon used by the war mage.

Spells

The most common spells include

Ozuye

Ozuye is the most powerful weapon of a war mage. It clings like napalm, can burn stone, and needs no fuel. To use it, the mage must generate a great deal of d'qiarsea, so it is reserved for the most dangerous or desperate situations. The mage must have a charged weapon which they can perform a specific movement with. The movement varies by weapon, but it is the trigger for releasing the d'qiarsea as ozuye. Once unleashed, the fire cannot be controlled.

Ayanga

Ayanga is a red lightning blast that expels all of the stored d'qiarsea that a war mage has gathered, providing a single, extremely powerful blast that is almost impossible to dodge, deflect, or defend against. In order to use it, the mage must have a very powerfully charged weapon which can be pointed to direct the lightning. They must then perform a ritual movement that triggers the release of the d'qiarsea as ayanga. Once it is unleashed, the lightning will flow out in a single powerful blast that cannot be stopped, using up all of the d'qiarsea.

Barriers

War mages can create powerful protective barriers by discharging their stored d'qiarsea into magical circles or special marks. These barriers are formed by striking the circle or mark with the weapon, and the barrier lasts as long as the weapon and barrier are touching - and as long as the stored d'qiarsea lasts. Each round, a little bit of d'qiarsea is used up, and every strike on the barrier takes up even more.

Siege Magic

War mages are most potent at sieges. Along with ozuye and ayanga, they can use their magic to draw power from the siege and break it brutally. They do this with seven spells:

1. Wallbreaker: a blast of ayanga so powerful, walls shatter. This spell is achieved by a war mage who wields a siege engine or cannon, using ritual conflict to draw power from slaying defenders, then unleashing a blast to destroy the wall.
2. Return missile: a barrier spell that causes missiles fired at it to rebound back at the defenders. This is done by drawing the blood of defenders or volunteers from the army to use as fuel, creating a massive mark to form a barrier, and having seven war mages empower it at once.
3. Flame of deprivation: a volley of ozuye that seeks out food and water to destroy behind the walls of the defenders. This is done by seven siege mages acting in unison after drawing the blood of 50 defenders.
4. Fiery core: siege missiles filled with d'qiarsea fire explode upon impact with the defenders' fortress, formed by war mages using the same ritual as for the wallbreaker spell, but for a catapult or trebuchet or similar.
5. Rising blade: a war mage marks the weapons of many warriors and draws upon d'qiarsea to make their blades fly up into the air, to the top of the walls. The warriors hold on for dear life and then take the walls at the top.
6. Wave of power: a war mage takes the return missile barrier and turns in instead into a wave that flows outward by using a warhammer or other blunt instrument to trigger it. This causes a wave of intimidation to flow over the fortress.
7. Red key: a sliver of ayanga that opens gates, created by using a spear to unleash the ayanga instead of a sword, but empowered by the blood of over 100 defenders.

Boosting

War mages can take the d'qiarsea they have gathered and apply it to other warriors by placing a special mark on a warrior then pressing the flat of their blade or the handle of their warhammer to the target. They can boost any combat stats or skills - PRO, ATH, STR, toughness, perception, reaction, archery, tactics, etc. Or they can mark a weapon or armor and do the same, improving its stun or wound rating.

Moving Armies

War mages are common parts of many armies, and they have developed the power to help direct them by marking every soldier with a special mark. With this, they can move whole units at a time from one place to another. This is dangerous and complicated and requires massive amounts of power, usually developed by slashing volunteers from the army in rituals.

Specializations

Some war mages take on specific roles:

• Combat medic: a war mage who uses their boosting power alongside basic medical skills to heal warriors during battle.
• Ginklu prekeivis: a war mage who uses their boosting power to enchance weapons and sell them. An arms dealer.
• Glazbenik: a war mage who uses a fife-and-drum as their "weapon", drawing upon d'qiarsea and then using their instruments to make the fires dance.
• Iyeya: a war mage whose role in the army is to investigate war crimes and internal military issues.
• Lulya: a war mage who uses their boosting powers during the process of making weapons. They are often a variant of shimisi as well. Their weaponry is some of the finest in the world.
• Siege engineer: a war mage who studies siege engineering in order to improve their siege magic, or vice versa.
• Umqailisi: a war mage who uses their magic in acts of terror, usually in order to start wars.

Societal Role

War mages are much sought after in most class societies. They are heavily restricted in socialist ones. Non-class societies fear them.

Skills

Common skills include

• Siege engineering
• Tactics
• Strategy
• Weapon care
• First aid
• Smithing
• Animal care
• Survival

Stats

The average war mage has these variations on the base stats of their nation/species:

PRO +3
ATH +2
STR +3
AWA +2
WIL +4
STH -1
PRS /