Sunday, October 09, 2005
Tower Critique: Warlock Caste
10/09/2005
Dhe’nar Warlocks are handpicked at a young age by the “Shadowy Conscriptors,”
Also known as the “Spooky Guys”.
a special sect of the magi who have a unique talent for detecting those with strong magical auras. This elusive group of magi travels from clan to clan among the Dhe’nar with the sole purpose of recruiting the young into their ranks so they might begin the training process. Most of those selected are male, as woman showing magical aptitude are mostly likely to follow the path to become a priestess; however there have been several female magi among the Dhe’nar over the centuries.
Many fear the Conscriptors. Once selected the youngsters are taken away to the secret academy, where they are stripped of name and clan, never to return to their families.
Not likely, since the official histories talk about how much the Dhe’nar revere family.
No one has heard the Shadow Conscriptors speak…
Okay, is it “Shadow” or “Shadowy”? In the span of two paragraphs, you’ve already changed the title.
...they simply travel from place to place, on occasion pointing out those they have “chosen”. The “chosen” are then put into a deep magical sleep and taken away. Those who watch these proceedings know that they dare not say a word in protest, lest they be burned on the spot by magical fire.
‘Cause they’re EEEEVIL. Sure, it doesn’t make any sense, but it’s EEEEVIL. Hey, why don’t they just find everyone with magical aptitude, and just train them? Why the theatrics? Are all Warlocks failed drama majors?
Once selected the “chosen” are brought deep into the caverns of the Great Mountain. Somewhere within the twisted maze of tunnels and caves lies the Academy; here they will begin the lengthy training process. It is rumored that very few who are selected actually survive the training…
Oh GOD… Just like EVERY OTHER ritual described for the Dhe’nar. Only one out of every hundred children must make it to adulthood in this culture.
...however this is hard to judge as no one outside the Warlocks’ circle is privy to what goes inside the walls of the Academy, or even how many Warlocks actually exist. The first step of training is the “conditioning”. During this process it is said that the chosen are taught to forfeit their feelings and emotions, the first of these being the feeling of pain. Many Dhe’nar warriors, who are famous for their high tolerance of physical pain, would shudder and cry to think of the tortures the students must endure before they are taught to write their first rune.
So I guess the Dhe’nar Warriors are famous for it for no reason, since the Warlocks are better at it…
The conditioning process takes approximately a decade to complete. During this time the student undergoes both physical and mental tests. The trainers and teachers are relentless; to be weak is to fail, to fail is to die.
Oh, of COURSE. And then they take their SATs… If they get below a 1300, they get pencils jabbed into their brain. And then they learn CPR… and if they don’t save Resusci-Annie in time, they get disemboweled. And then they play tic-tac-toe, and if they can’t win in three tries, they’re thrown off a cliff… God, GIVE IT A REST. Nobody would train people like this! Murdering your children if they don’t meet impossibly high standards only ensures that your people are dead within two generations, tops.
Only the strongest and most dedicated make it through the conditioning, and even fewer survive with their sanity intact.
Oh, so not only do few children survive, but some that do are insane. Great. Even fewer to continue the culture. Maybe if elves bred like rabbits this would almost make sense… but they don’t. So it doesn’t.
Rumor suggests that those who go insane are turned over to other magi for experiments, where they are transformed into mindless, horrible aberrations and used for shady purposes.
Such as? The vague spookiness thing does nothing for me. How about some details? A little coherent thought? Internal consistency?
Never mind.
Throughout the conditioning, several basic Dhe’nar principals are taught over and over again to their students. Recited constantly in the minds of the students are the ancient phrases of the Warlock: “Power is Everything” “Emotion betrays Truth” “Truth is Knowledge” “Knowledge is Power” “Power creates Magic” “Magic creates Truth” “Truth is Knowledge” “Knowledge is Power” “Power is Everything”....
This is very bad, means nothing, and sounds like a 13 year old’s attempt to write poetry for his English class. Condense this, or choose another set of mantras.
Those students who survive the conditioning now begin the next step in their training. Here they gain access to coveted Libraries of Sharath.
Wait, don’t tell me - Before they can get their library card, they must hunt and skin a dragon...naked!
Very few people know that these libraries even exist, even fewer have viewed the literature held within. Written documentation is forbidden in Sharath, its practice taboo to all but the Priest and the Warlock. Within the libraries the students are taught not only the histories and philosophies of Dhe’nar people, but also the histories of the known world, the elven nations, and recently the histories of the human empire. Students are also taught politics, etiquette, religion, science, and philosophy, as well as the art of runes and the mechanics of elemental magic.
So only Warlocks are given a basic education? Do the other castes just learn to play checkers for a couple decades? Non-Warlocks are all morons?
One must have knowledge to have power, and possess power before one can use magic;
So… neither knowledge, nor magic, are power. Okay.
...it is only after the students are well versed in the ways of the world and their people that they may advance to the next step of their training, apprenticeship.
The apprenticeship begins when each student is sent off to study with 3 different masters, assigned by the Academy. During this time the student is in complete custody of the master, and is sworn to obey each of his master’s wishes. As payment for this servitude the master shares knowledge with the apprentice. The apprenticeship lasts 20 years. The first 10 years are spent with a master mage, who instructs the students in the ways of elemental magic as well as continuing the apprentice’s historical and philosophical studies. The next 5 years the apprentice is sent to train with the warrior class, where their master trains them in the art of physical combat as well as teaching them strategy, war history, and battle tactics. The final 5 years of the apprenticeship are spent at the temple, where the priests and priestess teach religion, philosophy, and the art of seduction. During the apprenticeship the student has no name, no face, and no standing within society. No one speaks to or even acknowledges the student except the master,
I actually like this paragraph. Why can’t the rest of this make this much sense?
who refers to the student only as “q’hali”, which translates into something between “animal” and “slave”.
Ugh… well, except for this stupidity.
When the 20 years of apprenticeship are passed, provided the student did not displease his masters, the apprentice returns to the Academy. At this time the student spends between 2 and 5 years in study and meditation of their own accord, after which they must stand before the Council of Magi and the Great Warlock to be judged. When the student is brought before the Council they are given the Test. The Test is never the same; it differs for each student. The student will face fear beyond imagination and pain beyond comprehension to a point where each skill learned during the last 4 decades will be stretched to its limits. During the testing process, the student must prove his power to the Council; failure to pass the test means death.
AGAIN with the deadly test for no reason! I SAID STOP IT! BAD CULTURE! BAD! NO TREAT!
Upon completing the test and being deemed worthy by the Council, the student is given a name.
But if it’s a bad name, he’s killed right?
This is the last time in the young mage’s life when a decision will not be his own. Once one is a Warlock in the eyes of the Council, he is above all Dhe’nar law and proceedings, save that of the Council itself.
And if the council sees him sneeze, he’s killed!
From here there is nothing more to say; the legends speak for themselves. Dhe’nar Warlocks know no equal. Their sheer determination in their quest for power, coupled with willpower tougher than rolaren bound glaes has led them to victory time and time again.
And after every victory, they’re killed!
You know, ‘cause it makes them stronger and stuff.