Magiocrats

As you may have noticed I have been pretty much inactive for the last few months due to a crazy period of work but I am happy to say that it's coming to an end and I will be able to put more time in developing Felarya again ^^
And I am going to start with the magiocrats . Yes at least ^^; they are among the most important figures of Negav and we can't have them just remaining blank forever. Lot of ideas piled up in my head. I'm going to put their bios here, please don't hesitate to tell me what you think of it :3

First come Baltazhar Gramon ( he is the one who made an appearance in the latest manga tome )



Baltazhar Gramon is a Ps'isol magiocrat. He is an affable-looking middle-aged man with a friendly and open face and buckled blond hair. He often wears ample robes and a large hat.

Gramon was born in the world of Mebron, from an humble family of farmers. He quickly showed an amazing prowess in magic in a world where mages are rare. He was only a child when he helped to repel a raid -the first of a long serie- from the Telks, a ruthless group of inter-dimensional pirates attacking and plundering peaceful worlds. His great talent at divination in particular worked wonders, making him able to tell where and when the enemy would strike. Gramon naturally became a leader for his people and led them through a series of victories. He notably managed to take advantage of the Telks' internal divisions, striking a pact with a clan against the others. He steadily grew in power over the years, becoming a formidable force to be reckoned with.

However, Gramon is a realist and quickly understood that despite those successes, the Telks were simply too well armed and hardened and that it was only a matter of time before Mebron would eventually become overrun. So Gramon started to seek alliances with other worlds, and one day met with an envoy from Negav. He traveled there and, after a long meeting with the Magiocrat Thelandros, signed a mutually beneficial agreement where Mebron would trade its surplus of food to Negav, in return for defense, weapons and training from the powerful city. Gramon became the ambassador of Mebron in Felarya, staying in Negav at first in order to make sure that the deal was properly applied. He started to develop a fascination toward the city though, admiring the strength of its people faced with such a dangerous environment. Gramon's easygoing conciliating and adaptive nature, his quick mind and his natural ability to forge friendships, along with his powerful magic made him an increasingly important player in Negav's politics. His influence quickly rose over the years and he eventually joined the Magiocrats.

As a politician, Gramon is confident and cunning, with a curious mix of frankness and stubbornness when his true nature surfaces. He doesn't like backstabbing people, even foes, and will often reach out to them and warn them with a disarming frankness about his intentions, politely but firmly advising them to not stand in his way. His excellent talent at divination has made Gramon very sure of himself over the years, helping him to always stay a few moves ahead of his opponents. A great orator, he excels at making inspiring, fiery and passionate speeches and is probably the most popular and the most visible of the magiocrats among Negavian people. He definitely has a high opinion of himself though and can be sometimes quite pompous and arrogant. His relation with Mebron has grown complicated; he still cares for his home world, but he can't help but think his people lack backbone and slightly despises them for that. His visits to Mebron have certainly become scarcer.

Gramon is in charge of relations with other worlds and other cities and races in Felarya. This role allows him to travel a lot which he adores. He has good relations with Vishmitals who respect him and supplied powerful weapons to fight off the Telks. He has a personal friendship with Lady Lesona, whom he helped out when she was still an aspirant.

On another note, Gramon's favorite hobby is cooking.

Ah It's good to see the Magiocrats getting some attention, the lack of detail on them have kinda always bugged me.

Will this just be for canonical character ideas only? or can other members post some character ideas here? Just for my own story I've roughed out a few ideas for some Magiocrats

I like it. You manage to give the character depth and personality while exploring his background. I'm in awe, as always, though that might just be me being a butt-kisser. ;3

I do wonder how divination powers would work with a capricious person like my OC Nyaha, though. The idea that he would see a variety of futures depending on what impulsive whim Naharou acts on interests me. :33

All in all, I like the character. If we're allowed, maybe I'll try thinking up a magiocrat or two while I attempt to pursuade myself to assist the development of the mountainous region around Frost Peak. That's another discussion though.

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Gramon was born in the world of Mebron, from an humble family of farmers.

Wait I thought beign a Magiocrrat ment you needed noble blood. You're telling me even a farmer can do it?

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e was only a child when he helped to repel a raid -the first of a long serie- from the Telks, a ruthless group of inter-dimensional pirates

Intriguing. Interdimensional pirates. They sound almost as interesting as him.

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He traveled there and, after a long meeting with the Magiocrat Thelandros, signed a mutually beneficial agreement where Mebron would trade its surplus of food to Negav, in return for defense, weapons and training from the powerful city.

Now that is interesting! Negav supplies other worlds with aid in exchange for trade? I never knew that. No wonder it's so big and powerful.

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As a politician, Gramon is confident and cunning, with a curious mix of frankness and stubbornness when his true nature surfaces. He doesn't like backstabbing people, even foes, and will often reach out to them and warn them with a disarming frankness about his intentions, politely but firmly advising them to not stand in his way. His excellent talent at divination has made Gramon very sure of himself over the years, helping him to always stay a few moves ahead of his opponents. A great orator, he excels at making inspiring, fiery and passionate speeches and is probably the most popular and the most visible of the magiocrats among Negavian people.

Dude! Why can't we have a President int he US like this guy? XD At least tell me he has his face on a Skevol.

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Gramon is in charge of relations with other worlds and other cities and races in Felarya.

So being friends with him could grant one acess to the interdimensional gates or at least buy someone support to use it to leave Felarya?


All in all I like it, but is this thread for discussion of Magiocrat characters or just ideas about them? If it's just for characters I would like to submit Mobius, Corena and Garth bios at least as they are important to my RPs and my future planned Felarya stories.

Thank you

jedi-explorer wrote:

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Gramon was born in the world of Mebron, from an humble family of farmers.

Wait I thought beign a Magiocrrat ment you needed noble blood. You're telling me even a farmer can do it?

Actually yes. The founder of the Ps'isol Thelandros is a firm believer that one's worth is measured by their magic. In his own vision, an humble peasant able to perform magic to make his crops grow for example is above a powerful noble without it.

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So being friends with him could grant one acess to the interdimensional gates or at least buy someone support to use it to leave Felarya?

Oh Accessing the dimensional gate is not that difficult actually. But being friend with him would certainly help a lot yes ^^

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All in all I like it, but is this thread for discussion of Magiocrat characters or just ideas about them? If it's just for characters I would like to submit Mobius, Corena and Garth bios at least as they are important to my RPs and my future planned Felarya stories.

It's more meant as a discussion. Magiocrats characters are a bit special.. There isn't a lot of them and they will have important roles to play later so I prefer to be the one to come up with them ^^; ( at least canon ones ). What I have is base concepts ( for example I wanted to have a "dreamer" among them and Lady Seluvine will be the one, I wanted a conciliator who will be Gramon. a "Magic rules all" guy who is Thelandros etc ) along with various ideas that have been piling up over time. So if you think a thing doesn't make sense or is inconsistent, of could be better, please don't hesitate to tell me
And of course we can discuss about the magiocrats as an organization too. It's time to flesh them out ^^

I like Gramon, particularly how he managed to go from humble farmer to a Magiocrat. I like how he doesn't stab people in the back. It's a nice change from the normal politician stereotype. Also, I like how you added the little extra fact that he likes to cook. I find that little things like that, stuff that don't really have anything to do with the story or a character's background help to make a character seem more...real. :3

The interdimensional pirates idea is pretty cool too. :3 They might be something to look at as well.

Also, his powers with divination are a good way to set him apart. Not many powerful mages/wizards/ect. go very deep into divination for some reason. I can see that really working to his advantage.

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Actually yes. The founder of the Ps'isol Thelandros is a firm believer that one's worth is measured by their magic.

XD Augh Mobius has the total opposite view. Does that make him less worthy to be thought of as Magiocrat or is it sort of like the whole "pure blood" issue in Harry Potter? Like how some Magiocrats believe that being born into a family of Magiocrats makes you more worthy and other disagree but it's more or less moot. Cause I thought being born into a rich and powerful family with a long history of members on the Council would make one...I dunno worth more politically.

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Oh Accessing the dimensional gate is not that difficult actually.

What! I thought it was. I thought one couldn't use it except if they had the blessing of the Council. Is there a thread detailing the rules on that i missed or is this something you have made a rule recently? I kinda need to know since sometime in Clare's Quest Kate wants to use the dimensional gate to go home and I had thought it would be simple. She'd ask the Council they'd say no because she doesn't have the money nor the real need to leave.

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It's more meant as a discussion. Magiocrats characters are a bit special.. There isn't a lot of them and they will have important roles to play later so I prefer to be the one to come up with them ^^; ( at least canon ones ). What I have is base concepts ( for example I wanted to have a "dreamer" among them and Lady Seluvine will be the one, I wanted a conciliator who will be Gramon. a "Magic rules all" guy who is Thelandros etc ) along with various ideas that have been piling up over time. So if you think a thing doesn't make sense or is inconsistent, of could be better, please don't hesitate to tell me Smile
And of course we can discuss about the magiocrats as an organization too. It's time to flesh them out ^^

Well my Magiocrats are mostly cannon to my own stories. I only have three Houses and three focal point OCs anyway. Others are just supporting cast or friends/ memebers of the family, Like Janelle Autero isn't techicaly a magiocrat herself, just a battle mage in training but she is the niece of Mobius Autero who, in my stories, is on the Council but mostly serves as a villain and antagonist for Clare's Quest. Corena is just nuts and a fun OC and Garth well he's mostly like a Noble in Star Wars. There to look cool and to fund my more broke OCs expeditions and adventures as well as be a total flirt.

As far as fleshing out their organization I am all for that. I've already learned two things more than I knew before. What I what to know is this. How many layers are there to the Council and does everyone who is a Magiocrat have a tittle and position?

Darth_Nergal wrote:

I like Gramon, particularly how he managed to go from humble farmer to a Magiocrat. I like how he doesn't stab people in the back. It's a nice change from the normal politician stereotype. Also, I like how you added the little extra fact that he likes to cook. I find that little things like that, stuff that don't really have anything to do with the story or a character's background help to make a character seem more...real. :3

The interdimensional pirates idea is pretty cool too. :3 They might be something to look at as well.

Also, his powers with divination are a good way to set him apart. Not many powerful mages/wizards/ect. go very deep into divination for some reason. I can see that really working to his advantage.

Glad you liked him ^^ Yeah Gramon is meant to be the nicer guy of that bunch

jedi-explorer wrote:

XD Augh Mobius has the total opposite view. Does that make him less worthy to be thought of as Magiocrat or is it sort of like the whole "pure blood" issue in Harry Potter? Like how some Magiocrats believe that being born into a family of Magiocrats makes you more worthy and other disagree but it's more or less moot. Cause I thought being born into a rich and powerful family with a long history of members on the Council would make one...I dunno worth more politically.

Mhh no, Thelandros is the founder and clearly an important figure of the council but he don't make all decisions by himself and most other magiocrats don't share that rigid vision. Not to his extent at least. To become a Magiocrat, one has primarily to be really a powerful mage but also to be voted in by members of the council. so yes there is definitely some amount of politics involved.

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What! I thought it was. I thought one couldn't use it except if they had the blessing of the Council. Is there a thread detailing the rules on that i missed or is this something you have made a rule recently? I kinda need to know since sometime in Clare's Quest Kate wants to use the dimensional gate to go home and I had thought it would be simple. She'd ask the Council they'd say no because she doesn't have the money nor the real need to leave

Ah no it's not something new o.o you can see it in that picture, I kind of hinted at it : http://browse.deviantart.com/art/The-walls-of-Negav-118803682
There is clearly check points and the like in place but it's not that difficult to get out. Although unlike the great dimensional gate of Ur-Sagol, it will lead to fixed places. I imagine the tensions would sky rocket if the magiocrats were preventing people from leaving.
Describing the couple worlds accessible from that gate is one of the next thing I'm going to do.

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As far as fleshing out their organization I am all for that. I've already learned two things more than I knew before. What I what to know is this. How many layers are there to the Council and does everyone who is a Magiocrat have a tittle and position?

I imagine there is essentially two layers. Ps'isol means "enlightened ones" so to become a Ps'isol mage, one would have to be an excellent magic user. Then there is the council layer where the council itself make the decision by some sort of votes. That means there is politics involved as well as being a really powerful mage.


Here is another bio, this time of Lady Seluvine, also known as "the dreamer" ^^

Myreli Seluvine, nicknamed "the dreamer" is one of the Ps'isol magiocrat of Negav. She is an attractive, tall, middle-aged woman with short black hair, a large expressive mouth and languid grey eyes. She wears elegant attire crafted in her home world of Plygell, with red being her color of choice.

Seluvine was born in a rich Plygellian family. She was a skinny, silent, independent and clever child, always seen to be daydreaming and lost in thoughts. Impressed by her strong affinity for magic, her parents sent her at an early age to the prestigious magic school of Veronis in the capital. Seluvine quickly grew to hate her new and strict environment, eventually coming to view it as a prison. With her reserved and distant character, she made few friends among the other students. As a loner, she relieved her boredom by using astral projection and roaming around in spirit form. The process was as natural as breathing to her. Little did she know at that time that it was considered advanced wizardry - much, much above her apparent level of prowess.

Seluvine was a mediocre student though, missing her tests on purpose, showing no interest in academic titles and just wanting to get out as soon as possible. However, she soon discovered that, no matter how badly she failed her tests, she always ended up passing them because of her family's influence. Once her studies finished, Seluvine then learned she was to be married to a powerful duke in an arranged marriage. She suddenly realized that, no matter what she wanted, her future was predetermined and she instantly hated her new husband for that, even though he looked to be a decent man. Despite him treating her with respect and care, she turned his life literally into a living nightmare, walking into his dreams night after night and haunting them with horrible visions. The poor man grew crazy because of the constant terror-filled nights and eventually died from a heart attack. Shocked and revolted at what she had done - she had never intended to kill him - Seluvine fled. She was soon chased by the duke's vengeful family, who deemed her running off to be an admission of guilt in her husband’s death.

Once a fugitive, Seluvine faced hardship and misery. She slowly began to understand the consequences of her actions. Remorse, however, could not undo what she had done. The duke's family eventually found her and although she tried to avoid it, she had to kill again in order to survive. Over time, Seluvine experimented with observing and then manipulating other people’s dreams. Unlike her unfortunate husband, she did not terrorize them to the point of death. Instead, she took great care to instill sequences of bad dreams that escalated slowly and, at an appropriate point, she would appear in person to offer her service as dream counselor. Her victims often lavished her with praise and fortune once she had “cured” them. That little trick allowed her to sustain herself quite well during this time. However, the duke’s family continued to send more agents to track her down. Seeing no other way, she killed each one and with each death, she grew more tormented and more unstable. Each attack forced her to uproot and relocate to a new location, leaving behind any friends or acquaintances and beginning anew.

Seluvine continued to experiment with dreams and to read books, learning new techniques and studying harder than she ever had. She eventually discovered a way to create a portal to leave Plygell but fear of the unknown and attachment to her home kept her for a while until one particularly bloody encounter with the duke’s men caused her, in desperation, to finally make the move. The experience proved exhilarating. Having escaped Plygell, she gained freedom she had never known before. Afterward, she spent long years traveling across different worlds, learning secret techniques to construct very complex dreamcatchers gaining extraordinary powers and knowledge. One night while dream walking, she learned of the existence of nemesises when she confronted one in another person’s dream and became thoroughly fascinated by the species. After intense investigation, she discovered to her dismay that the elusive beings were exceedingly rare. She then heard of the presence of some of them in a world called Felarya and eventually ended up traveling there. Because of the strong ambient magic of Felarya, she immediately felt at ease and found its dreamscape to be a fascinating place - vivid, beautiful, and ever changing.

She settled in Negav, first offering her services as a dreamcatcher crafter, then as a teacher of sorts for out-of-body experiences. Her talent quickly became noticed by Lord Teraph who offered her a post at the Isolon University of Magic as a teacher. She reluctantly accepted but, ironically, found she actually loved teaching and that the school environment was not so bad. Time and the freedom to do as she pleased had changed her outlook. Over the years, Seluvine quickly climbed the ranks of the university hierarchy, eventually becoming head of the university and, a few years later, a Ps'isol magiocrat.

Seluvine is a powerful mage with a great affinity for dimensional magic but she is clearly not at the level of the rest of the council in terms of raw power. However, in the realm of dreams, she is without peer. The dreamscape is her natural environment and she represents a formidable force there.

Seluvine is an intelligent woman - confident, cunning and sharp. Somewhat cynical, she loves power and can be ruthless when people stand in her way. She does not enjoy killing and avoids it where possible, but she is not above it when she deems it necessary. She sometimes displays odd behavior, muttering things to herself and she has a habit of yawning and falling asleep right in front of her interlocutors, after assuring them that she is still there and continuing to listen!

To this day, she is in charge of the Isolon University and all matters related to it.

Well, if I may, the following parts might need a bit of an explanation. I'll start with Baltahzar Gramon.

Karbo wrote:

Gramon was born in the world of Mebron, from an humble family of farmers. He quickly showed an amazing prowess in magic in a world where mages are rare. He was only a child when he helped to repel a raid -the first of a long serie- from the Telks, a ruthless group of inter-dimensional pirates attacking and plundering peaceful worlds.

There's... a limit to what you can do with the future you see. Attacking and plundering peaceful worlds is kind of a no-brainer, specially if, as per Mebron's entry, they don't have much in the way of tech, magic, or even sharp rocks. If the Mebronese were a fighter culture, maybe they'd be prepared to adapt in case of invader, but if it was the first raid ever, it's a snowball's chance in hell they could repel squash. Not saying it's completely impossible, but that'd be a hella tale to tell. I mean, maybe if the kid managed to evade captivity and then pushed so many buttons in the (skeleton crewed) mothership that the guys had to warp back to their home planet to figure out how to make the jukebox stop playing nyancat. Or maybe if he figured out how to use the mothership's comm systems to call for help from the Spehs Mahreens. Still, helluva long shot. 'Say how or it didn't happen' level of long shot.

Karbo wrote:

His great talent at divination in particular worked wonders, making him able to tell where and when the enemy would strike. Gramon naturally became a leader for his people and led them through a series of victories.

It's equally important to take credit for that. As a kid, maybe he could've repelled the first, but then he'd have needed time to get the credit for repelling the invasion, and then gathering some sort of force (as a kid!) to repel them the next time, and the time after that, if he wanted to be in any position to pact anything. So his divination would need to get somewhere in the meantime. Could be self-taught... but I'd recommend having him come across a book or two on the subject, if only to make it easier on the disbelief.

In fact, the fact he was a kid suggests to me that he'd need to somehow keep the Telks busy for as long as possible with that first blow (probably by convincing the first raiders that there was nothing edible in the planet, or that it was haunted by the ghosts of the previous raiders). I'm guessing he must've taken at least one Telk captive, or at least stranded him somewhere he'd end up handing himself over to the local authorities because his friends wouldn't come back for the dummy. At least, getting himself undeniable proof of the threat (even if it's a funny-sounding guy in a weird suit who yells a lot in a language you don't understand) seems like the easiest way to garner support for his cause. Past that point, one just wonders what did they fight back with- even Gram feels his people lack spine. No spine and no guns, no glory. There's gotta be something they used to fight back, even if it's just wild buffalo stampedes and directed locust swarms.


The rest, such as him having managed to take advantage of divisions between Telk clans, shouldn't really be much trouble once those are fixed and we have a proper origin story for this badass- which you could use in order to figure out other traits about him.




Myrelli Seluvine, now...

She used to moonlight as Freddy Kruger? I like that. What I'm not sure of is... well, even if the killers sent after her were just common street thugs, she was never pointed to be in top physical condition, and I'm sure at some point them noble folks would've sent some pro hitmen (and hitgirls, why not?) whom she'd have had to, pretty much, kill in their dreams for half a shot at it, given she's neither particularly powerful outside of dream magic and basically failed on purpose at everything else- which means her best bet was to avoid her killers all the time.

Killing them... other than in their sleep, well, would require her to ID them first. If she could visit everyone in their sleep, that raises the question of why not just tell the duke's family to back off before she got REALLY mad? After all, they were the only people she actually DID know of. Unless her dream magic allows her to figure out who's the would-be murderer. Or she has magic that puts people to sleep so she can haunt their brains out.

It'd be easier than say it got bloody... unless she's figured out a way to pull monsters from people's nightmares who do the bloody part. An even simpler alternative would be to say that she slowly got cornered: rather than having to kill a number of times, she'd have instead to lie, cheat and steal a number of times, doing a sloppier job and leaving more evidence every time, hounds at her heels all day and night, threatening to sniff her out and sever her throat near any nook or cranny she came by. I mean, you can only pull off that nightmare con so many times before you get a rep, and when the duke's family got wind of her reputation, she'd be quickly backed into a corner: it'd be easy enough to look for the rich guy with nightmares, and warn him that the witch ain't healing him, she's conning him, then warn the local authorities anywhere she might want to flee to that's her M.O. and that she's wanted for the murder of her hubby dearest.




You sayin' a Magic Über Alles kind of guy's on the works? There's a few things you could take into account with Lord Thelandros, then.

-What does he get out of leading the ruling council? How did he seize power? Who helped him, and why?
-How's he feel about magical animals? And fairies? They're magical, and they like eating mages; should they be allowed to decide whether people belong in or out depending on their magical ability?
-How does he feel about Ur-Sagol and its downfall?
-Does he make any interpretation regarding the magic of Felarya, or does he consider it a mere accident to take advantage of?
-Is his belief that magic must rule limited to the city of Negav, or does he believe everything should be ruled that way? If so, does he have any plans to expand the rule of the Magiocrats?
-There's always a bigga fish... how does he react to superior wizards who rule not much of anything? And superior rulers who don't enchant much of nothing? How about superiors both in wizardry and in rule?
-Now about this magic rules all attitude... I have a few possibilities you might want to look into.
1. -Does he perhaps believe magical might is, by itself, the basis of an inherent right to rule? If so, who did he get that from?
2. -Does he perhaps believe that the qualities that create a good mage are also the ones that create a good ruler, thus mages are the easiest to truly measure as people?
3. -Does he perhaps believe, just like some that you're not a proper adult 'till you hunt, or serve in the army, or get a degree, that a leader can't be fit until he's worked magic? If so, what are the virtues he sees in what working magic does to a man?
4. -Is he out to exclude nonmages from the decisions so as to improve his chances at finding common ground with the people he will work with? Maybe another selfish reason for that belief?

Here's to hoping it helps, Karbo.

well please keep these up, I will in particular find these useful.

Yes. these magiocrats are turning out to be very interesting characters.

Thanks !

Stabs : Thanks for the in depth remarks, that's going to be very helpful
You pose some really interesting questions here. And you are right, I will probably have to develop a bit more about Gramon and Seluvine's story.

Well is dream magic the only form of magic Seluvine knows? For example, if she knew a simple sleep spell, it might not effect the strong willed very well, nor effect a large group, but it could put a singular assassin at a rather distinct disadvantage. As for "professional" assassins, what of them, they have never been common, and most weren't really skilled, for most of history they didn't need to be, and finding some one who doesn't want to be found can be frankly difficult.

Most places in history, in most places in the world, never had much in the way of trained assasins, and they few people talk about were more myth than ever real. There are exceptions of course, such as those in the later part of the Fatimid Empire, but most like the Ninja were not at all what people tend to think.

Simple truth is, based on the set up of the culture she was from, avoiding assassins could have been a nightmare, or it could really have required little real effort, though it still could scare the hell out of a person.