Salam
Titles: The Magician, Warlock
Domain: Magic, Knowledge
Symbol: A Spellbook or Tome
Sphere Granted: Light
To know the god of magic, one must first learn of the origins of magic, as the two are intricately tied together. While most believe Ll’yandra, Malagant, and Roland were the first gods to make their presence known on Arthos, in truth the first god was the Warlock. It was a time before time, when all the realms and planes existed as one, overlapping harmoniously along the branches, roots, and bark of a colossal living tree known as the Dreamleaf. Runic magic, the true source of almost all magic, flowed along the Dreamleaf like rivers of water. From its branches and roots the magic flowed, encircling the realm in a protective net, high above the sky.
When Salam arrived at the base of the Dreamleaf he saw true evil. The Firstborn Doranth, Dragon of Magic, hoarded the Dreamleaf’s power and severed it from those that could benefit from it. Salam had witnessed such suffering and pain that he knew he must act. He seized the power of the Dreamleaf by entering it directly and in doing so, became near omnipotent. While touching the true source of magic, Salam understood all things in both the past and the future, but due to Doranth’s greed this gift was short-lived. The firstborn, ever so selfish, could not suffer another having this access to his horde of magic. He exhaled his mighty breath and filled the tree with anti-magic, destroying the Dreamleaf. It scattered the planes to the very edges of the roots and branches. The protective netting of magic fell from the sky, covering the realms in fractured lines while those who lived on the tree itself were cast away into the various planes of existence. The god Salam, meanwhile, suffered a fate worse than death. His body and spirit were shattered and he was dispersed along the magic of the ley lines as they fell towards the multitude of planes. This single selfish act by the Firstborn of Magic destroyed the Dreamleaf. Today, the remnants of that great force of nature exists as but a shadow of its former glory called the World Tree, the Tree of Life, or Yggdrasil. The World Tree still holds the realms together, but the potent magic that once flowed through it is all but gone. Salam however, was not.
It took eons for the Magician to reform himself on the mortal plane. Much had changed. The gods had populated the Arthos, while the Dragons made their homes where they landed after the Dreamleaf’s sundering. Salam found himself lost, with no memory of his former celestial glory. In his absence, a new god of magic had usurped his throne and it was only with the help of the mortal Ajaunti clans that Salam managed to defeat his foe and take his rightful seat. There he worked towards the collection of magic and lost knowledge so that he might some day rebuild the realm as he first found it, to bring back to life the Dreamleaf and the unlimited magic that would provide. He knows the knowledge is still out there and his faithful work diligently to collect it.
Salam is the newest, but most controversial member of the Church of Light. Salam’s power of magic is far greater than any other Celestial and he has been known to outfit, create, and distribute his vast allotment of magical items and ritual enhancements to the other light gods. Many whisper, although never publicly, this is why the Church of Light often overlooks his more questionable tenets.
Salam claims to have once had access to the truest source of power, Runic magic, and with it the ability to heal the Arthos and it’s shattered planes back into a single harmonious realm ruled by him. He has, however, as a result of the interference of Doranth, forgotten this crucial information. Salam claims the secret of gaining access to this truest source of magic lies in the shattered remnants of magic that ebb and flow through the ley lines. He seeks this knowledge and commands his faithful to aid him, slowly gathering forgotten lore as he pieces together what has been lost to him.
While magical knowledge is paramount, the Warlock also commands his followers to seek knowledge of the mundane so that he may know what they know. This collective collection of lore is the primary focus of those that worship him. Salam believes that is best cultivated through the establishment of civilization and organized structure. As such, his followers are most prominent in large cities, building mage guilds that effectively act as churches in his name. In the past, the Church of Salam actively sought out young children thought to possess magical aptitude from less traditionally civilized locations, and had them brought to his cities under his watching eye. However, since joining the Church of Light, this practice has ceased. It is unknown if this practice was ended by Salam himself or by demand from the other Gods as a requirement for Salam’s acceptance into the Church of Light. Given Salam’s questionable ethics surrounding the acquisition of “magic by any means,” the latter is suspected.
Contrary to popular belief, it is not only mages or scholars that worship Salam. Knowledge and lore in all forms is useful to the Warlock. Wizards are often fragile and institutions of learning must be protected from harm. Many warriors and men at arms join the ranks of the church, championing into ruins and forgotten temples for lost lore to return to the church of Salam for rewards of magic and power.
Contents
Appearance
Salam is an exceptionally tall Ajaunti man with rich umber skin and piercing green eyes. Upon his hairless head and across the right side of his face are glowing blue arcane symbols, whose purpose and meaning are lost on even the most scholarly. Salam wears around his body a multi-coloured prismatic robe, said to be able to absorb any spell cast in his vicinity. In addition to his own unparalleled arsenal of magic, The Warlock can pull any spell from those whom he favours, to use as he desires.
Tenets
Five things a Salam follower should do:
- Seek knowledge, magical and mundane, in all its forms. Knowledge will aid you in higher pursuits as well Salam in his quest to regain access to true magic
- Create and use magic or protect those that do. All magic, blessed by Salam, extends his influence.
- Teach the ways of learning to those that earn it. Take in apprentices and build institutes of education to further the pursuit of knowledge.
- Push the boundaries of magical knowledge and experimentation. Only through great risk can greater power be obtained.
- Liberate magic and knowledge from those unworthy. Those that do not respect Salam’s power cannot keep Salam’s power.
Five things a Salam follower should not do:
- Allow anything to hamper the pursuit of magic or knowledge, including morality, mortality, these tenets or Salam himself.
- Destroy magic or magical knowledge for any reason. Lock it away if you must.
- Cap your ambition; instead strive to replace Salam as the god of magic. Let nothing stand in your way.
- Disrespect your masters. Those of greater knowledge still have much to teach.
- Tolerate the existence of those that horde magic away from Salam or those that destroy or consume magic.
Celestial Heaven: Arcanium
The Celestial Heaven of Arcanium is raw arcane power given form and shape. Mana is not just merely infused into the land; it is the land. All that is, from the smallest insect to the taller mage tower, the essence of raw magic solidified by the directed thoughts of those mages who possess a strong will. Some mages are more creative than others. While some merely seek to replicate the environment of their mortal life, others use this opportunity to form entirely new fantastical lands from half-remembered visions and dreams. Where there is no will to oppose order, the mana of Arcanium bleeds together into a swirling intangible mess of brilliant, roiling colour waves. These scenes are generally only common on the periphery of Salam’s Realm, as even the most dimwitted of its Spirit residents will unconsciously shape the mana into the ground beneath their feet.
Those Spirits who are capable of great feats of “realm-shaping,” as it has come to be called, often draw schools of followers to them. These new followers, in turn, often turn their own wills towards shaping the smaller yet still important details, thus freeing the presiding Archmagi to focus on the bigger picture. Once an area has essentially been completed as it were, these mage communities often turn towards what motivated them in life. The study of magic and the acquisition of arcane power. Surrounded solely by their peers and free of all physical needs, most mages are happy to devote themselves entirely to their work. Furthermore, casting spells is nearly effortless in Arcanium. Once a spell has been removed from your memory, all it takes is a simple act of will to draw upon the raw mana of the Realm to restore the power you had just lost.
While main mages are content with their own individual or community studies, most eventually realize that their skills and knowledge will eventually plateau without proper instruction. The University Arcanium awaits those few with the command of the arcane necessary to pass their entrance exams.
Realms Within Arcanium
- University Arcanium
For the vast majority of mortals that study magic, the finality inherent in mortal existence will mean an end to their magical ambitions. Disease, violence, or simply old age will eventually put an end to their growth in matters of the arcane.
Those loyal to Salam in life get a second chance to resume their studies in death. Set atop a massive skyborne island held aloft by one the mightiest examples of spellwork in Salam’s Realm, the University Arcanium is quite possibly creation’s single-most extensive repository of magical knowledge. Interested Spirits can enroll as students where they are instructed as one might be in a terrestrial university. There are lectures, laboratories, final exams, and so on. The difference between this institution and its mortal facsimiles generally is the quality of the instruction and the knowledge available. In the University Arcanium, a Spirit can count on being taught by some of the wisest and most powerful arcanists to have ever lived and to have nearly every spell or magical effect available for study. Outside of a select few taboo subjects, nearly anything that channels mana can be learned here.
While Salam rarely teaches classes himself, he does visit the University frequently to keep an eye on things and to observe this year’s most promising students. Every so often, a student will rise head and shoulders above their peers, and to these Spirits, Salam extends an invitation to his inner sanctum, The Forbidden Tower.
The Forbidden Tower
The Forbidden Tower is thusly named because it is the repository for all things arcane that are either too dangerous or too ethically questionable to be entrusted to the greater populace of his Realm. There are no limits upon what magic or enchanted items can be found within this crystal spire, primarily because Salam has long refused to place any limits upon his acquisition of magical knowledge. While he generally refrains from working with the darker magics in the public eye to mollify his compatriots within the Pantheon of Light, here, in his inner sanctum, he places no such limits upon his work. There is no spell he will not cast, no ethical boundary he will not cross if it means that doing so might draw him closer to that perfect moment of arcane clarity he achieved long ago before the accused blue dragon Doranth ruined everything.
The most valuable of treasures stored within its confines are not the piles of rare grimoires, nor can they be counted amongst any of the world-shattering artifacts in his possession. No, those treasures for which any mortal arcanist would likely commit unspeakable crimes to obtain pale in comparison to what small, fragmented Axioms he has managed to secure. Even the God of Magic himself does not fully understand the arcane science that governs these foundational universal laws, and he has long since accepted that he alone cannot piece together the knowledge he once momentarily possessed from the pieces that remain. Thus, Salam has come to rely upon his most brilliant students to help bridge that gap. There they work day and night, on the bleeding edge of magical research in the hopes that one day they might be able to make the last Axioms whole again. With those, it might be possible to restore the Dreamleaf, repair what was lost, and free his brother Dunarthos from the confines of the World Tree.