Wizards, Mages and
Sorcerers
Workers of Magic
Wizards, Sorcerers, Mages, Witches, good or
evil beings of legend and myth; many of them controled
entire towns, cities, or even kingdoms through black and
arcane arts. Their powers ranged from Dark Sorcerers
with the ability to raise terrible demons of destruction to
simple hedge witches, who could make it rain when the crops
were in danger.
My personal theory on magic is that it is
power like any other. the energy itself has no good or evil
tendancies, the only difference is in which properties it
is given one person to use, and what that individual does
with them.
As varied as their powers, are the stories told
of them.
Sorcerers and
Sorceresses
Although there are exceptions
to every rule, for the most part Sorcerers and their female
counterparts are portrayed as evil beings. Often, their
power is said to come straight from the devil. These beings
are inevitable beautiful; on occasion, their stories center
around methods for obtaining or retaining that beauty.
These methods range from stealing youth and beauty from
their victims to horrible methods of killing in order to
provide power from the blood of others.
Wizards, Witches, and
Warlocks
Wizards are the scholars of Magic. they spend their days
examining the properties of Magic and concocting spells to
experiment with. Once in a while, however, someone in need
will bring to their attention a problem intruiging enough
to carry them away from their books. At least as long as it
takes to find an answer or right an injustice. Although it
seems, at least to me, that the injustices are inevitably
righted by the Wizards' apprentice, rather than the Wizard
himself. A Wizard is generaly portrayed as an old man with
a long white beard, garbed in flowing robes, and frequently
with an odd looking pointed hat. There are, at least to my
knowledge, no female Wizards.
Witches, and their male counterparts, the Warlocks, appear
to be divided between good and evil almost at random. These
particular workers of magic are the traditionaly closer to
the common man than any of their collegues, oftentimes
working and living in small villiages where they were born.
The Witches power runs the gamut from the insignificant
hedge witch, who manipulates the power of the land, to the
terrifying all-powerful withces who share many of the same
powers as Wizards and Sorcerers.
Although the Witch gets the majority of the fame, mixed
blessing though that may be, the Warlocks appear to be at
least as, if not more, powerful. These men seem more often
portrayed as evil than good, when they are portrayed at
all.
Mages
The most
generalized of magicians, a Mage can weild any sort of
magic, with or without a master. Appearances vary, but most
are young, or at least appear to be young. Enigmatic and
reclusive, they rarely associate with men at all. They
emerge reluctantly from wherever they reside only long
enough to save the world, or worlds, and then they return
to their solitude.
Mages seem to live hard lives, filled with pain and
sorrow. Loved ones die, friends inevitably betray them, and
they are rarely trusted by anyone. Understandable, then,
that they do not with more harm, either to themselves or to
others, so they remain hidden from sight.
Priests and
Priestesses
Priests gather their
magic from the Gods of whatever realm they inhabit. Often,
they use these powers to destroy the followers of rival
gods. There are some who are permitted to use it only with
their benefactor's permission. Where their God or Goddess
decrees, they may use their power to help or to harm other
beings. Still others, and my favorites among the stories
told, coexist among many gods, with many different orders
of monks. working together in times of crisis regardless of
doctrinal differences.
Elves and Other Magical Creatures
Elves are traditional workers of Elemental Magic. They lack the ability for the truly spectacular magics, such as transportation and the magics of war, but they have the ability to manipulate the power of the Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water.
Other creatures, such as Fairies, Sprites, Dragons, Unicorns, and the occasional Phoenix, are Magical creatures in and of themselves. They exist because of magic, but it is uncertain whether or not they retain the ability to wield magic.
