Stories About A Cat Wizard

🍓“I’m fine with pretty much any physical contact from friends that isn’t sexual, yes, even with my ears.”

There actually sort of is, the Mental Plane, a strange world of thought seemingly without rules created by the collective thoughts of all mortalkind.  In the depths of the past, one of the first wizards, Porolion, sought to discover a higher plane and achieve enlightenment through meditation.  Turns out it was far easier then he thought and found himself exploring the Mental Plane within five minutes.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t all that much of value, just a jumble of subconscious thoughts and dreams.  Nor was there any way for someone to influence real world thoughts from within the Mental Plane.  However, the ability to affect the Mental Plane and create or do almost whatever you want with a thought was fun.  Ever since then, mages have projected their minds into the Mental Plane to get together and literally share their thoughts with others.  Ether has explored the Mental Plane, likely with friends, and left his mark on it, both for fun and to share his thoughts, memories, and whatever bizarre creation he can think up.

I’ll let Ether answer this one himself: “I’m not particularly feminine, nor am am I all that masculine. I’d say I’m pretty neutral in my mannerisms and tastes; I’m a guy who dresses like an average guy but shuns machismo and absolutely adores pretty things and would probably be wearing a pink shirt right now if I ever remember to buy one.”

🎈 Ether’s gender is male.

Nahro-Nahro’s parents are a rare non-anthro/anthro couple and were able to have a daughter with the help of magic.  Nahro appears mostly human, except has the tail, massive ears, and keen senses of a fennec fox.  She’s short and has sandy blonde hair that matches the color of her ears and tail as well as hazel eyes.  After discovering her lovely singing voice, talent at instruments, and innate magic reserve, she started studying at Duriel University to become a bard, though is far less outgoing than you think a bard would be.  She grew up being bullied for both her stature and being a hybrid; for instance, she was pushed into a puddle of mud and kicked while being called a "freak of nature."  This was far from the only occasion she was bullied, and as such developed some form of social anxiety.  To many she comes across as shy and quite, and has trouble forming relationships, but while on her own or with the few people she's truly comfortable around is a completely different person.  Nahro can be quite excitable and perky under the right circumstances, and luckily for her no-one treats her quite so poorly at Duriel.  Nahro adores small animals and gets along with them incredibly well.

Nifri-Often found painting around campus and responsible for most of the beautiful, elaborate murals that can be found on campus, Nifri is a freckled, red-haired half-elf with a reputation for being “that quirky painter girl.”  She most always wears her apron, collection of colorful charms, and is a mess of paint splotches.  She’s odd, cheerful, and seems to know at least a little bit about everyone at Duriel University.  She uses her paintbrush as a wand and can both cast spells based on what type of paint she lobs and can temporarily create objects or even summon monsters by quickly painting them on a small canvas.

Alvius-Before he was born, Avlius’ father, a human noble, saved the life of a captive fae creature, and in exchange was allowed one magical favor; he asked only for a blessing upon his then unborn child.  Little did he know this meant Alvius would be a powerful mage with control over nature, the ability to wield the power of the Fae Realm, and emerald green hair.  Alvius has always lived split between two worlds, that of the wild, untamed forest and that of proper, uptight nobility.  Alvius is perfectly comfortable in and appreciates both, as such he can usually be found in spiffy noble’s clothes or simple yet sharp outdoor gear.  Raised to be a proper gentleman, Alvius is handsome, educated, and polite, though a rampant if poetic flirt, regardless of species.  Most don’t mind, as he is not popular so much as a campus superstar.  One person who wasn’t so receptive happened to be Saydee, who got annoyed at Avlius’ flirtations and challenged him to an arcane duel to humiliate him in return.  She won, but Avlius put up such a good fight that he earned her respect.  However, during the course of the battle, Saydee name called Alvius, “fancy garden boy,” and the unfortunate nickname has stuck ever since.

-On cloudless nights, Ether oftentimes climbs up on the roof of the main hall at Duriel to go stargazing.

Earlier on Reddit I made a comment on /r/worldbuilding about magic dueling in my world in response to this prompt: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldbuilding/comments/5x3mh7/duels_in_your_world/ I figured I'd post what I wrote here: Arcane duels are quite popular for practicing magic, settling disputes, and even in some places entertainment. They are perfectly legal as long as they take place inside a mercy field, which is a specially constructed magic arena that redirects any physical harm onto itself. This extends to more than spells, if you get flung up into the air and fall back down from a bone shattering height or get stabbed by a regular old weapon, the mercy field will keep you safe. With no way to seriously harm the opponent, the victor is determined by who earns the most points, rewarded for getting the mercy field to activate when you attack your opponent. Usually, three points is the bar for victory, so three attacks that would've caused serious harm without the mercy field. This dueling arena will always have some indicator for hits, such as a Fire for each opponent that flares up when they score a point. Within a mercy field, almost any spells, tactics, or weapons can go. In case you are wondering why anybody at risk of assassination doesn't just live inside a mercy circle 24/7, they cannot be active for any longer than half an hour and can be disrupted fairly easily by someone who knows the right incantation. This is actually a fair problem in arcane duels, and under no circumstances is anyone allowed to interrupt the field while a duel is underway. Since a mercy field can absorb injury from any source they can be used for events such as regular old sword fighting as well, but mages typically have easiest access to and seem to gravitate towards them. Edit:I briefly forgot that bards exist and do in fact have music battles. These mages who wield power through music tend to be show-offs and over the top performers, and love challenging each other to contests at the drop of a hat. These can range from a simple battle of musical skill, a dazzling display incorporating flashy spells and other performers, or even actual duels in a mercy field where the power of their songs is used to harm. One particular type of battle is improvisational lyrics meant to brag about oneself and insult the opponent, which outside of a mercy field can be so vicious and magically charged they may even kill an opponent. Yes, my fantasy setting basically has rap battles to the death.

Vesnelev-Populated almost entirely by dwarves, Vesnelev is a cold, dangerous wilderness doted with imposing fortresses and stone cities both above and below ground.  In ages past, Vesnelev was ruled by greedy lords who sought only to fill their treasuries, until their subjects rose up, deposed their oppressors, and took ownership of the farms, mines, forges, etc. for themselves.  Since then the country of Vesnelev has been ruled by a series of councils and controlled by its hard-working dwarven people. Culturally, Vesnelevians tend to value comradery, industriousness, martial skill, faith, and a good bottle of Vodka.  They are generally open to outsiders, but slow to trust nobles and hate anyone they see as oppressors.

In a stone courtyard surrounded by a series of pillars, with battlemages engaged in practice bouts in a few places, Renalt was attempting to show Ether the ropes of sword fighting with a couple of wooden practice swords.  Ether seemed to be constantly on the defensive, desperately using several rudimentary blocks Renalt had demonstrated earlier.  Tail swishing with excitement, Renalt pressed the offensive, saying, “Good job there Ether, soon I might not have to go so easy on you!”  Stepping back quickly with his ears flattened in panic, Ether said between rapid breaths, “Easy my tail!  It feels like … you’re actually … trying to kill me!”  With that, Renalt lunged, knocked the startled cat’s wooden sword in the air, and caught it in his left hand on its way back down. With that, Ether stumbled backwards and fell flat on his back with a grunt.  Putting down his swords, Renalt gave a friendly smirk and held out a hand to his old friend.  Ether, panting, accepted the offer and pulled himself up, letting Renalt know, “I appreciate … the free lesson, but … I don’t think melee combat is for me.”  Patting Ether on the back, Renalt looked him in the eye and responded, “No one is truly good at anything their first time, I’ll make a legendary warrior out of you yet.”  Ether laughed nervously, “Hehe, maybe.”

It has warmed up drastically where I live (it’s February there should still be snow outside!) and that got me thinking about why I gave Ether ice magic, so I figured I’d talk for a bit about it. While being able to hurl icicles at stuff, turn any given surface into ice, and conjure/manipulate snow may be awesome, one other thing I find appealing is the ability to keep cool in the heat. Much like myself IRL, Ether cannot stand being hot, only exasperated by the fact he’s covered in fur. Luckily, he has the ability to lower the temperature around him and create a sphere that feels like a chilly autumn day. Conspicuously, people want to spend more time around him, as well as ice mages in general, in mid-summer. Ice mages are also the epicenter of the yearly Duriel University Snow Wars; take a regular snowball fight, extend it to include most every student and academic, and throw in every kind of magic that could possibly apply to a snowball fight. Come winter, campus is turned into a battlefield of snowball crossfire, spontaneously created snow forts, and animated snowmen. Combine that with other factors such as some participants’ ability to fly or fire mages’ ability to melt most incoming projectiles, and you end up with incredibly intense snow wars that rage for days and consume the campus; factions rise and fall, snowstorms rage, and a lot of people get very, very cold. Don’t worry, there’s free hot chocolate afterwords.

I said I Was going to make a post about Renalt, and here it is. Unlike a couple other characters I will introduce later, Renalt is not anyone's sona and is a completely original creation of mine. A quick heads up: Renalt's story ended up being sadder than I thought it would when I first wrote it. Renalt is a foxfolk, and like many of his kind is a survivor of the Burning of Andrithe Valley. For hundreds of years his people lived in the expansive, prosperous Andrithe Valley, a mostly peaceful existence aside from the occasional monsters, troublesome neighbors, and internal power struggles. All this changed when a company of Knights called the Order of Purity called up the Eighth Grand Crusade, this one upon the foxfolk for their crimes of "heretical nature worship," "diabolical scheming against civilized peoples" (a nonsensical rumor), and the unstated but understood crime of being non-humans. They drove the people, at least they fellow believers in the great god Arsalon, into a fanatical frenzy and led what boiled down to a mob into Andrith Valley. While the land was well protected and heavily defended, the foxes' forces were defeated by sheer numbers and good commanders. Renalt was ten years old at the time, with caring parents, good friends, and a protective older sister; on top of this he showed signs of the potential to become a powerful mage, opening up a bright future. When the crusaders fell upon the towns and villages of Andrith they put everyone to the sword and burned everything, down to the last building and the entire forest. Renalt, a scared child, watched his father, a simple carpenter, be cut down by soldiers utterly convinced of their righteousness. The survivors fled the valley en masse in all directions, including Renalt and his mother and sister, who along with a small band of other refugees found refuge in a human monastery. The monks who helped them were of the Brotherhood of Peace, a pacifist sect devoted to Arsalon, much like the Order of Purity; the monks were happy to treat the wounded, give shelter, and provide food, but were utterly shocked to hear of the atrocities committed by their brothers in the faith. Soon enough, said knights rode up to the monastery and demanded they hand the foxfolk over to them, only for them to refuse and curse the Order, the crusade, and the temples that condoned the shedding of blood, let alone that of innocents. In response, the Knights attacked the monastery, killing scared, wounded refugees and wise, peaceful monks alike. They pulled women and children from their hiding places and cut them to pieces, gave those that fought back a slow, agonizing beat down, and threw elderly monks praying for mercy into the fires of the main hall as punishment for their "heresy." Renalt's big sister managed to kill a knight trying to block their escape through sheer force of anger and a desire to save her family, but was mortally wounded in the progress; she died of her wounds as they fled through the woods at night. Her last action was to beg her family to move on without burying her, so that they wouldn't be caught. Eventually Renalt and his mother, burdened by unfathomable grief, found refuge in the city of Havenport, which was historically open to all. They were not alone, as a very large number of foxfolk ended up at the city, and quickly found themselves herded into a slum by the city authorities. Life was difficult and dangerous, and it was here that Renalt grew up. In his cramped little neighborhood he earned a reputation for standing up to and even fighting bullies, of which there were plenty, perhaps as a way to vent his anger while defending others. His mother worked herself half to death, and another quarter making sure Renalt got as good an education as possible. To her it seemed like every other day her only child came home with new cuts or a black eye from another fight, and it constantly drove her to tears with worry. However, exploring a nicer part of town, Renalt made a friend in Ether. They spent a lot of time together, watched each other's backs, and Ether even taught Renalt the very basics of magic he already knew. When both of them were eighteen, Ether brought to Renalt's attention that the university he was planning attending, Duriel, provided outreach for those disposed by the Eighth Grand Crusade, and so he could attend the same prestigious school at almost no cost. Now Renalt is a student at Duriel University, training to be a battlemage, so that someday soon he can protect his people and perhaps fight against a Ninth Grand Crusade, no matter what its target may be. On a side note, his mother has since moved out of the slums and now works as a servant at a large mansion, and visits Renalt as often as she can (which is quite rarely). Renalt is 5'10 tall and far stronger than his slender build would appear. His fur color, being a fox, is sunset orange and snowy white, and he has sleek, dark brown, shoulder length hair. He has a big, bushy tail, and a notch out of his right ear, a strong reminder of an old fight. He can usually be seen wearing a dark green uniform or, when training at swordplay, his mixed chainmail and leather light armor. Renalt has a forceful personality, not afraid to speak his mind and of facing problems head on. He has a fierce temper, strong sense of justice, and above all, hates bullies and wrongdoers. He regularly goes out of his way teach those who would hurt others a lesson, even if they have nothing to do with him. Do not mistake him for a mere brute, he can be cunning and quick thinking on top of fierce. However, there is a whole other side to him; he's sweet towards those he likes and deep down is still wrestling with feelings of fear and sadness.

Since I’ve already mentioned him twice, I’ll definitely have to properly introduce Renalt sometime soon; I’ve already got quite a bit written on him, so it shouldn’t take me to much time.