CERVID

Permission from the GM is required to play a Cervid.

THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE

 The Olagot’Thalan that became the Cervid of the pre-Sundering isles had a policy of neutrality with all the other inhabitants of the isles whenever possible, and they used this to keep access to Grey elven ruins in the territories of other tribes by providing magical services, trade goods, and courier services to their neighbors. They treasured magical knowledge then as now, with a focus on the magic of movement which they used to travel between the structures they built over Grey elven sites. Gate magics and rituals were at this time considered the highest form of magic among these wild elves, and a Gatefather or Gatemother would have a herd form about them and guide them on their travels throughout the land, shepherding their charges through large ritual portals that could handle three wagons abreast. This knowledge of Gate magic was essential to their ability to bypass hostile lands and frozen passes in the winter, but despite this the mages were not yet the leaders of the society as the pre-sundering Cervid ancestors also treasured art, music and sport. The nomads would meet once a year on the plains of Pesegam (Peh-ce-gam) to share their knowledge and conduct trade. Pesegam was the only permanent encampment of the Gatefathers, and it was a city in which one could find anything, for the right price. During times of trouble, the Gatemothers would retreat to Pesegam to convene and discuss the best way forward for their people, and disputes were settled with debates before a council of peers (magi before mages, artisans before artisans, etc.)

During the beginning of the Sundering, which the Cervid refer to as the Deluge, the Cervid almost all returned to Pesegam via their Gatemothers/fathers as a reflex of terror. When the island shattered tidal waves swept in rapidly, and only those closest to a Gatemother or father could be saved, with many families opening gates to return to Pecegam even as the waters claimed it. In less than an hour from the first rumblings of trouble, the plains of Pesegam were on the bottom of the sea surrounded by what are now known as the isles of Nitrem, Sordestead, Zenithstrand and Acasa. The surviving nomadic pre-Cervid were merely a remnant, scattered and diminished, and suddenly the Mages were the most important people in their communities by far. In the shattered lands they were scattered about their previous neutrality was meaningless as the peoples of the isles struggled for survival. The bulk of the wealth of their people was on the bottom of the ocean, and while their neighbors were sympathetic, survival was paramount and the Gatefathers and mothers were often hurried along lest they be too much of a strain on the local food supply. 

In the years immediately after the Deluge the tribe formed and the Cervid began a march towards their current Magi-dominated state. An artisan MIGHT be able to sell goods to a settlement, and trader MAY be able to locate goods someone would trade for, but a Magi could ALWAYS provide an escape route and was always a factor in scaring off or destroying scavengers who hoped to pick at the weakened Cervid herds. As such, the belief that a Magi grew a stronger magical Spark the more he or she could cast flourished, and all mages sought the brightest Spark. Within twenty years the herds focused everything they had on magical learning and power accumulation, augmented by their knowledge of and ability to utilize some Grey elven relics. During these lean times each fragment of the once-unified society began to take on unique characteristics and habits to survive in their own unique situations. For example, the Cervid who followed the Gatefather Kanthacar Tsuj learned Elemental Magic, Healing magic, the creation of Golems and Gate travel as those were his specialties, while Gatemother Branna Heskellith dabbled in Witchcraft, Psionics and Nature magics in addition to Gate rituals and founded a school tradition in those magics. Some groups, such as the Vapiti, were small but aggressive and dedicated to pure magic, while others such as the Sipep association retained several artisans and focused more on the manufacture of magical items enhanced with Enchantment, golems, and a Gate nexus used for transferring goods to fund a small settlement on what are now the Fingers of Zenithstrand.

Within a generation the Cervid of the Sipep association had made contact with most of the other descendants of the Gatemothers and Gatefathers in their trade travels and the again-unified people gathered on what is now Zenithstrand, but irreparable damage had been done to their society. Where before the groups would debate to discuss and mend differences now the Mages formed schools or associations of like minded individuals who became paranoid of the others, with each school focusing on the magics of their saviour mages and building defenses for their own centers of learning and experimentation while trying to access the lore of their rivals. Soon enough, Magi was assassinating Magi, and their non magical sect members were dying in droves, caught between warring titans of Power. This lead to the creation of what has been described as both the greatest achievement of the Cervid, and their greatest error. To stop the destruction of what little was left the Archmagi of the various regions of the isles tapped into the remains of the Library of the Grey Elves and built anew upon it. Making a great magical network to store memory itself so that nothing more would be lost, the Magi would ‘copy’ portions of their memories so that should a rival murder them their sect, family, school or association could access them. At the same time, due to a loophole in Cervid legal proceedings, many mages would cut memories completely from their minds and store them in the Library in order to pass a Psionic ritual interrogation had they done something… questionable. Once the Magi saw how effective depositing memories and mental processes could in avoiding thinking about dangerous or problematic memories the Healers among the Cervid began storing the trauma of their people in the Library, ending the nightmares of children drowning, homes lost and a people shattered. And VERY shortly thereafter, eager Magi were cutting out their fear, apprehension, caution and in some cases conscience in order to advance in their powers more quickly than their rivals. This led to increased conflict among the Magi, and severe punishments were put in place to rein in or punish the most aggressively advancing Magi, and in the chaos even the heads of the most power Magi associations sought to go back to the old, peaceful ways they dimly recalled thorough the intervening years of trauma. For a time the Cervid tried to go back to the old ways of trade, neutrality and mutual aid which gained them some allies in the Isles, but it was a doomed exercise. For only a generation the Cervid managed to hold onto their memories and dreams of living as in Pecegam in their past ways before the habits of the Magi destroyed the balance natural to their society once again. The Magi became jealous as they were expected to share power, and were so powerful and arrogant that they began to take slaves as payment from other peoples of the isles for their magical services and goods. Needless to say, this was somewhat unpopular with the other peoples of the isles, especially as slaves were considered ‘safe’ subjects for experimentation as even should they die no further Cervid blood would be lost. Therefore, the Cervid Magi caste forged close ties with two tribes of the isles, the Jacal whose use of Necromancy made them feared, and the Thorn tribe, who were respected as one of the tribes closest to Coa herself.