02 - Iron Kingdoms W.. - Captain Spud Is Amazing

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28 Iron Kingdoms
the hands of mortal men so that they would not require
the aid of the gods in defeating their enemies. Orgoth
pogroms undermined the aid Menoth, Morrow, and
Thamar were capable of providing, and while the
churches and cathedrals of Morrow remained safe
havens, Morrow’s clergy dared not risk inciting their
oppressors for fear of the harm that might come to
the populace. Indeed, the Menite clergy did not seem
to take much action either and stayed cloistered in
their temples.
In 137 BR the first known sorcerer, a young girl
named Madruva Dagra, manifested the ability to
throw fire from the palms of her hands when angered.
She defended her sisters from Orgoth soldiers,
slaying three of them before fleeing into the woods.
In retaliation, more Orgoth soldiers slaughtered her
entire bloodline in the village of Tarna in northern
Thuria and left the corpses for the ravens. In the years
following more sorcerers appeared. Wherever they
surfaced the Orgoth would cull the bloodline and put
the location to the torch. This reaction was so swift and
brutal it almost seemed fearful.
At this time the now-legendary Sebastien Kerwin
began studying the phenomenon of sorcery. Based
on his observations Kerwin began to construct a
model for arcane science, or “wizardry,” theorizing
that magic was a force that an individual could
learn to harness whether or not they were innately
gifted. Kerwin went on to publish his Dissertations on
Thaumaturgical Formula (96 BR). It was a study of the
practice of harnessing arcane power with alchemical
formula by creating a closed circuit of mystical energy
that one could shape with material, somatic, and
verbal components. Revolutionary at the time, the
book was the first attempt at a unified magical theory
stating that anyone with the proper discipline and
talent could harness the power of magic.
Over the next years Kerwin published many famous
texts: The Essence of Divine Magic (90 BR), Principia
Arcana Magus (73 AR), and the revolutionary work
Synthesis (64 BR) among others. Modern arcanists
consider Synthesis one of the most important texts
of all time. Within its pages, Kerwin theorized the
existence of an alchemical means to capture and store
arcane energy. His theory of energy accumulation in
an alchemically stabilized matrix spawned the first
arcane accumulators, and the rune plate, a sheet
of alchemically sealed glyphs, was also a concept
originated within the tome.
With his writings, Kerwin attracted many devotees.
The Orgoth had not yet suppressed the practice of
alchemy, and Kerwin’s travels were under the auspice
of the business of alchemical manufacture. The plight
of western Immoren was vividly apparent, and Kerwin
formed a cadre of students that he tutored individually
in secret. In 81 BR this group formed the core of a
society known as the Arcanist’s Academe. The society
practiced and taught magic in the catacombs and
tunnels beneath Ceryl. Kerwin himself organized the
students to oppose the Orgoth by teaching battle
magic and defensive wards.
In 69 BR Dominic Cavanaugh, a disciple of
Kerwin’s, led a raid to rescue over three hundred
people claimed in a slave tithe. Knowing the slaves
were to be sent to a location from which none had
returned, Cavanaugh acted without thinking, for
his wife and daughter were among the slaves. He
successfully rescued his family, but the cost was high.
Many slaves and a few wizards died fighting Orgoth
soldiers guarding the slave pens. Among the slain
wizards was a devoted lay cleric of Morrow, a man
named Jeredon Tauthis. It had an extreme impact.
The Orgoth identified Tauthis, and assumed the
raid was the work of divine agents. The Orgoth Prelate
of Fharin ordered the execution of every priest in the
city. The Vicarate Slaughter, as it came to be called,
spread to several other towns, and by the end of 69 BR
the Orgoth had slain over 500 Morrowan priests and
clerics in Fharin, Corvis, King’s Vine, and Caspia.
Such atrocities made a mark on Kerwin. After
learning of Cavanaugh’s actions the tone of Kerwin’s
writings changed. Now 62 years old and powerful
beyond the measure of all of the other Immorese
wizards combined, Kerwin and his students banded
together. Unified in purpose, the group formed the
Oath of the Circle and vowed to stop the Orgoth at
all costs.
About a year after the Circle of the Oath formed,
spies discovered the Arcanist’s Academe and Orgoth
forces launched a massive surprise offensive in
Ceryl. The pitched battle culminated beneath the
city streets in a showdown in which Kerwin was
slain. Firsthand accounts claim that the wizard took