Divinity/Humanity OOC

[Cainesland]

I used the liberal arts there as a base with grammar at the start, then logic and then rhetoric. The approaches offered by those influencing the other subjects. I took away music and astronomy because other deities had those.

Home life, according to the 1912 book I took it from, has from September to June:
Kindness to little children
Kindness to animals
Generosity
Peace and goodwill
Our family
The golden rule
Good deeds
The coming of spring
Kindness to the sick and old
Cheerfulness

To me it seems like a 30 minute class at the start of the day or maybe once a week where the teacher will tell stories to help convey concepts and lessons to the students. It does not appear to be something like cooking and sewing lessons.

Edit: I was assuming that everyone went to school, even if that wasn’t the case necessarily in the medieval period. Maybe not from age 5 to 17, but at least age 5-13 as apprentices may start at 14.

[Nations United for Conquest]

My thoughts on some of the topics presented are as follows:

The travelers order - Not exactly the direction I thought it was going to go, but I'm fine with it. They're leaning a bit closer to the Mercenary side that I had imagined, but again, I'm perfectly fine with such an interpretation, Cainesland, so just keep doing what your doing.

Gold - I think looking at an RPG in terms of realism is largely misplaced, but that aside, that normally existed to give the player a sense of accomplishment, as whilst 1 and 100 probably have the same true value, earning 100 gp sounds a lot better than 1 gp per kill. In our case multiple levels of currency sounds like a decent idea, but there's no reason to go crazy. We're not managing the logistics for a Crusade out here. Well, at least not yet.

Relationships - Seem pretty solid to me across the board, including my own. One point of note though would be Fas as the patron deity of the Kingdom. I don't think that's necessary. She's probably important to nobles and the ruling family of the Crown, but not at the point where she needs to be like Athena to Athens or Ares to Sparta. Also to be noted, the Capital along with pretty much every major city has a Guardian Spirit there as well so there's that to keep in mind.

[Canis Rex]

I like the idea for the simple money system. Would be part of the world and makes sense.
A language for the deities does sound fun too. As for teaching it to humanity, maybe they gave them some bits and pieces just to see what people would do with it and how they would think it worked? Or maybe humans can't use all of it and what they don't know would just sound like distorted noise to them?
For schooling I like a public type system. Not exactly accurate to medieval times but I do want to separate Dystrairia from Earth a little and while we're taking plenty of inspiration from RPGs I don't think many address an education system. Could be a way the kingdom tries to instill the traits they believe the deities favor into their children as well.
Also, NUC, you may have just run into something. I hadn't thought of doing it before but how would everyone feel about having a 'crusade' type of arc? Like if our characters can find and protect the moon child long enough, help the kingdom stabilize, then when they're older they start actively hunting the bigger threats and reclaiming territory that's been lost?

[Nations United for Conquest]

Ah, so I was extremely tired when I wrote that last post yesterday so I forgot to address the issue of language:

So, since someone was worried about Merlin's ability failing by the wayside, this is my proposal. So any one country will likely have a common language used throughout it, especially in things like administration and trade that people in those professions learn, but each region of the Kingdom likely has its own dialects and on top of that it's own accents. Modern day Ireland, as small as it is, has three distinct dialects and around 24 differing accents. We're working with a kingdom the size of France if my memory serves me correctly, so we have much more room for this kind of thing. I'd propose this for languages:

~Imperial~
- The "proper" language of the Kingdom. Spoken by nobles and those in high ranks as a second language. [sort of how like how all royalty in Europe would learn French during the height of France's power in the 1800s] It's a privilege to learn and how high society chooses to speak

~Celestial~
- An ancient language that humanity may have used at one point, but is mostly reserved for the members of the Pantheon to use. Demigods could even have partial, but not full, understanding of it. Maybe

~Central~
- The dialect of the Common Tongue that is found in the Central Region [IE Capital] of the Kingdom. Whilst many who live in the capital and the surrounding area speak it, outside of the Central Region/Realm, it is almost solely used by Merchants and Artisans when dealing with trade, education, and governance. Very few who are not of these trades, scholars or positions of power are taught this language

~The Common Tongue~
- The main language spoken by the people of the Kingdom. While each region/realm of the Kingdom [and there could be upwards of ten of these] has their own take [dialect] on the language, the core is the same. This means that while a person from X region can not fully understand someone from Y region, there's enough in common that you can get a basic understanding. Coupled with accents where there might even be tens of them, there will be a fine bit of linguistic diversity. Therefore, all of our characters should be able to understand and talk to someone born in another region, but any sort of extremely detailed or meaningful conversation will be more difficult.

However, due to Merlin's ability, he'd be able to speak easily with anyone from any region, as well as artisans and tradesmen with no problems; something many of our characters, especially those raised in the wilds or poorer situations, will struggle with if not be completely unable to do

~Caevenese~
- The language spoken by the people in Caeven's Grove. The language is an old as the people who live there and only carries trace similarities to the common tongue. It's thought to be the closest known language to the ancient humans and possibly even the form of celestial man may or may not have known at some point

---

I think something along a Crusade Arc does have potential, but it's probably best to see how the current threats play out before jumping on anything of that scale. But, there does exist a pretty good cause for there to be some point during the line where all of our characters gather up all of our allies and resources for some sort of great final battle/journey to be undertaken. But that's a bit down the line, considering not even all of our characters have yet to meet

[Canis Rex]

Hmm, the language ideas could mean something for Armir's ability to communicate since he would have learned by mostly listening to people rather than being taught. So he would pick up pieces from every language but not have a true understanding of any. He would still be able to talk fine with Merlin but I wonder how he would do with everyone else then.

And yeah, crusade would definitely be something way off and not to be looked at in depth right now.

[Cainesland]

Proposal
Finance and Insurance in Reme, Rone and Burford

Within the Ayrtican Kingdom the port cities of Burford, Reme, and Rone have the most developed industries in the realm of Finance and Insurance. Their history of sea trade providing the opportunity for this development.

I tried to borrow from historical events in Venice, Burges, and Genoa. I also removed the dates to allow for more flexibility in the setting.

The Order of Travelers establishes currency for note exchange traveler program
The kingdoms earliest known currency exchange contract appeared in Burford.
Reme saw the founding of the first bank in its walls.
Reme started requesting voluntary loans from its wealthy residents with fixed interest rates of 5%.
Reme starts forced loans and establishes a loan repayment program.
Burford establishes tradable government bonds with variable interest rates, usually around 7%.
Reme saw an active secondary market for the forced bonds appear.
The first stock exchange opens in Rone
The Chamber of Assurance is established in Rone.
Insurance contracts appear in Burford
Sinking funds appear in Burford
The first state-bank of deposit appears in Burford
Marine Insurance develops in Burford with premiums based on risk
The lottery becomes popular in Burford
Word policy for insurance contracts become standardized

While the finance industry is likely facing high levels of trouble, similar to other sectors, it might help explain why the kingdom has not gone bankrupt. It has a well established finance system that helps it have a mountain of debt and still keep going. Where as other states might not be able to face troublesome circumstances, such as 12 years of recession, without collapsing from economic disaster.
_________________

Edit:
Proposal 2:

I tried drawing a map with cultural regions. I would be curious to see what your thoughts are on it. Feel free to add to it if you’d like. In green there is the south west and central clans of Irish influence, in blue there is the North east clans of Scottish influence, in yellow there is English influence, in red there is of welsh/Arthurian influence, in orange is Belgian/Dutch influence, purple Roman/Byzantine/Swiss influence, light blue and the remainder up for grabs. Likely the site of large feudal holdings before pretty much everyone died there. The major cities have circles around them to show their territory within the kingdom.

With the king being an absolute monarch, and the Tara river being similar to the Nile, I wouldn’t be surprised if that central stretch of river between purple and yellow was considered the personal fief of the Crown. Providing revenue and resources to the crown before everyone died.

It seemed like it might be interesting to have regional variance within the large kingdom. Although if you aren’t interested in that that is fair enough as well.

Edit 2: This regional idea seems like it would probably complement the regional dialects idea proposed earlier.

[The H Corporation]

Expect my RP post to be done this weekend, right now I am busy

[Cainesland]

Expect my RP post to be done this weekend, right now I am busy

Fair enough. Take your time.

[Canis Rex]

Proposal
Finance and Insurance in Reme, Rone and Burford

Within the Ayrtican Kingdom the port cities of Burford, Reme, and Rone have the most developed industries in the realm of Finance and Insurance. Their history of sea trade providing the opportunity for this development.

I tried to borrow from historical events in Venice, Burges, and Genoa. I also removed the dates to allow for more flexibility in the setting.

The Order of Travelers establishes currency for note exchange traveler program
The kingdoms earliest known currency exchange contract appeared in Burford.
Reme saw the founding of the first bank in its walls.
Reme started requesting voluntary loans from its wealthy residents with fixed interest rates of 5%.
Reme starts forced loans and establishes a loan repayment program.
Burford establishes tradable government bonds with variable interest rates, usually around 7%.
Reme saw an active secondary market for the forced bonds appear.
The first stock exchange opens in Rone
The Chamber of Assurance is established in Rone.
Insurance contracts appear in Burford
Sinking funds appear in Burford
The first state-bank of deposit appears in Burford
Marine Insurance develops in Burford with premiums based on risk
The lottery becomes popular in Burford
Word policy for insurance contracts become standardized

While the finance industry is likely facing high levels of trouble, similar to other sectors, it might help explain why the kingdom has not gone bankrupt. It has a well established finance system that helps it have a mountain of debt and still keep going. Where as other states might not be able to face troublesome circumstances, such as 12 years of recession, without collapsing from economic disaster.
_________________

Edit:
Proposal 2:

I tried drawing a map with cultural regions. I would be curious to see what your thoughts are on it. Feel free to add to it if you’d like. In green there is the south west and central clans of Irish influence, in blue there is the North east clans of Scottish influence, in yellow there is English influence, in red there is of welsh/Arthurian influence, in orange is Belgian/Dutch influence, purple Roman/Byzantine/Swiss influence, light blue and the remainder up for grabs. Likely the site of large feudal holdings before pretty much everyone died there. The major cities have circles around them to show their territory within the kingdom.

With the king being an absolute monarch, and the Tara river being similar to the Nile, I wouldn’t be surprised if that central stretch of river between purple and yellow was considered the personal fief of the Crown. Providing revenue and resources to the crown before everyone died.

(Image)

It seemed like it might be interesting to have regional variance within the large kingdom. Although if you aren’t interested in that that is fair enough as well.

Edit 2: This regional idea seems like it would probably complement the regional dialects idea proposed earlier.

I'm not going to pretend to have any clue on how large financial systems work, but it is really nice that you worked on one and I'm guessing it doesn't have any issues that would harm the story and so should be good.

Agreed, the ideas sound like they work together.

[Cainesland]

Cool. Thank you .

[Canis Rex]

Anytime

[Flohaland]

I have some questions.

About the education system, do you mean that there is universal elementary education? Or just that there are publicly funded schools? And what is the literacy rate?

Is the Kingdom feudal or absolutist? Is there some sort of Landesfrieden or is feuding aloud?

Is there some nation over the sea that the coastal cities trade with? This is important because it makes the difference between the cities being small fishing villages or rich centers of trade.

[Canis Rex]

I have some questions.

About the education system, do you mean that there is universal elementary education? Or just that there are publicly funded schools? And what is the literacy rate?

Is the Kingdom feudal or absolutist? Is there some sort of Landesfrieden or is feuding aloud?

Is there some nation over the sea that the coastal cities trade with? This is important because it makes the difference between the cities being small fishing villages or rich centers of trade.

I think the idea was the first, a public school system with an established curriculum. Literacy rate would probably be pretty good given how important religion is, and since there's lots of deities there's probably been plenty of writing about them. Magic would probably lots of text as well to teach.
Absolutist. The monarchy does allow cities a fair amount of freedom but when the king/queen does say something it is the final word on the matter and they maintain military power to enforce it if need be(the knights, mages, guards, etc. are all sworn to the monarchy rather than a particular city, they have their own troops in the capital as well of course, and they have monopoly on the Purgist Knights).
No other nations are alive at all. The Ayrtican Kingdom is the last of humanity on the planet.

[Flohaland]

So is literacy 40%? (The highest estimate I have seen for the middle ages) or closer to 10%(The mainstream estimate bis 5-10%)? 10% would probably mean that most of the city dwelling people are literate and the rural dwelling people are not.


A follow up question about magic, how many people practice magic? I mean if every kid learns it in school, then everyone is a wizard, right?

Regarding trade, before the crisis there was overseas trade right?

[Cainesland]

To my understanding before the crisis there was trade by Sea. There was a Hanseatic league type entity in the North which now only operates by land. Rome, Parston and Reimchester are the last members.

I don’t think everyone would be a Wizard. While everyone would be introduced to magic, and might learn some spells and magic history in grade 7 and 8, I am guessing that a fair amount of people would go onto apprenticeships at age 14 and not continue with formal education. Although I could be wrong. Of those who continue with formal education it is possible only a small group would pursue magic instead of another major area of study, such as law, theology, medicine, or other subjects.

[Barapam]

Kaledora, I sincerely apologize, but I'll be unable to make a reasonable post for some time (personal reasons). It's not what I wanted, but things happened. Feel free to use Julia as an NPC, or however you choose to continue.

I hope to be able to rejoin this rp in the near future.

[Flohaland]

To my understanding before the crisis there was trade by Sea. There was a Hanseatic league type entity in the North which now only operates by land. Rome, Parston and Reimchester are the last members.

I don’t think everyone would be a Wizard. While everyone would be introduced to magic, and might learn some spells and magic history in grade 7 and 8, I am guessing that a fair amount of people would go onto apprenticeships at age 14 and not continue with formal education. Although I could be wrong. Of those who continue with formal education it is possible only a small group would pursue magic instead of another major area of study, such as law, theology, medicine, or other subjects.

So what level of magic would they know? What would be a typical spell that they would learn?

[Cainesland]

I’m unsure, and would be interested in getting others thoughts. One option could be, using dnd 5e, as an example, learning 2 cantrips and 1-2 first level spells. Maybe something like find familiar and unseen servant could be interesting. I could see it being a mix of spells, probably more utility to save labour, but an offensive spell could be there as a self defence against monsters angle.

Edit: I could see a cantrip to clean and a cantrip to mend being popular, and find familiar being a popular option.

[Nations United for Conquest]

At least so far in what I've been posting, at least related to Druidism, it's been a much more natural and free form process. But then again that's also how I sort of saw Druidism in my head as well.

I see magic as something more akin to a muscle. The more you train it and use it, the more proficient you can get. Not sure if it's established everyone in the world has magically ability in some form, or if it's only something some people possess whether through bloodlines or random generation. But just like in real life sports, not everyone is built the same or for the same thing. Some people are a better fit for defensive line in Football while others are track stars on the 100m sprint. Sure, if you train super hard you can go from playing Center to running the 100m dash, but it's going to take a lot of effort and there's a good chance you'll never really be more than slightly above average at it.

I've mentioned refined magic in my post, namely because the magic structure is still up in the air. I saw this as the most typical and common type of magic there is that is akin to the typical elementally based magic we see in many RPGs and Fantasy genre works. It's probably mostly elementally based, either around the four basic elements [Fire, Water, Earth, Air] or perhaps something a bit more unique like the Anima triangle in Fire Emblem [Fire, Lightning, Air/Ice], or whatever we may decide on. It'd likely also include enchanting as well, or at least a uniform and basic version of it. Young kids learning magic, whether through academies, tutoring, or simply due to public education, are probably given the basic understanding of the refined magics and simple enchanting. Likely they learn a one or two simple spells from each [like a weak basic fireball, or an enchantment to mend clothes or heal a minor scrape]. Every kid probably takes strongly to something, like fire magic, or healing, or basic enchanting, and probably learns more of it. By the time they are to end their public schooling, those with an aptitude for a certain kind or multiple kinds are offered the chance to go off to further schooling or apprenticeship/tutoring. Sort of like how only a few people who play a sport in High School or College actually end up making a career out of it.

Therefore you're left with a lot of people who can use magic, most of which is mundane since a great many who lack funds or aptitude would settle for simply things on the enchanting side, or simply generation of elements, since that can help in daily life or work. Those with potential go on to become well versed magus who lead the next generation in whatever field they decide to study, but are mostly in the minority. Like maybe only 2-5% of your class actually manages to get further magic schooling.

Magic itself, at least the refined version, could run off a constitution system, sort of like an Mana bar in RPGs, but not as game-y. Using magic degrades your physical constitution and/or mental ability [Not in the way of making you dumber, but breaking your concentration, headaches, and effects like sun-stroke or dehydration where you slowly begin to shut-down before collapsing and need time to recover]. The higher level magic you cast the more it takes away, so you either have to end up casting a lot of low level shit, or a few high level stuff. You can improve this, much like a muscle, by strengthening you mind and/or body [depending on what magic usage effects] like increasing stamina or concentration, allowing you to enlarge your invisible Mana bar.

Due to the drain it has on a person, using magic with traditional fighting isn't the most popular of things, and practiced by very few as it can often cause someone to become a glass cannon if done wrong. Most people who use magic are either Magus or some variety of Mage, title dependent on field, that focus all their attention on their magical ability and very little on physical prowess aside from basic strengthen. Why waste time learning swordsmanship when that can be spent strengthening the mind to cast more spells. Those that use it in combat only every use the most basic of spells or enchanting in order give them a slight edge in combat, but aren't going to be going around throwing around a blast of lightning between every swipe of the sword or they'd collapse in a few minutes.

So I go into my post thinking like this;

~Refined Magic~
- A well versed and practical form of magic widely taught and practice. Centered around a basic elemental system [Insert system here], it ranges from simply summoning a small amount of said element to using it to attack and provide other such abilities. There are increasingly niche fields of study as one advances, such as Archaic Magics and even darker arts, or even spiritual arts centering around creation of familiars. While basic at first, the many fields of study allow for a wide range of abilities to be explored, though it is usually more beneficial to stick to a single type of magic and follow the branches up towards it's advanced forms, rather than jump from track to track.

~Enchanting~
- An umbrella term for the schooling of magic that deals with people or physical objects and affecting their properties, often called transmutation or alteration. Basic enchantment range from repairing rips in fabric to healing minor wounds, but when well practiced can create grand effects like increasing strength or the cutting power of a weapon beyond what can be achieved through mortal means, or imbuing magical properties on objects. Use of this either comes in a lump-some expenditure of energy when the initial enchant is cast, or as a cost over time on an enchantment that is continually active, such as increasing strength.

~Runic~
- What is thought to be the early form of magic from which Enchanting was eventually derived. Originally Runic magic was centered around an alphabet of runic symbols, many of which have been lost to history, that when written call forth certain effects as indicated by the sequence of runes assembled. While the effects that can be caused by Runic magic are more limited than enchantment, due to a rigid alphabet, the output is known to be more raw and powerful than that caused by Enchantment. Due to the simplicity of the alphabet it is also quicker to cast than most enchantments. However, it is an art that is difficult to learn and enchanting and object or a person requires for it to be carved or imprinted [such as tattooed] on them, respectively. It's drainage on a person acts the same way as Enchantment and much like it, for inscribed magic to activate, innate magic has to be supplied by the wielder/caster at the time to activate

~Druidism~
- A special an ancient type of magic that is said to be more of a state of being rather than a practice of magic itself. Usually only taught by a master to their apprentice, it is a type of magic that ingrains the belief of being one with the world around you to the greatest extent possible. Understanding how to live among the land and coexist with nature and world itself are paramount in understanding and wielding this magic. The exact extent of the magic is unknown. A good portion involves the training in the art of Runes but there are also less understood and harder to understand. Some are said to be able to become Sooths with enough time and training, while others still gain the rough ability to understand the patterns of the world and gain slight foresight towards what may come. Most of the benefits of Druidism often come in the passive effects such as being better attuned with nature and the world around oneself, making traversing the wilds that much easier, and even possibly some minor ability to influence the natural area around oneself. Runic magic under Druidism acts the same as it would for a none Druid. Other abilities of those versed in Druidism are almost always active, drawing a largely unnoticeable amount of stamina from the user, however, some of the more advanced arts, such as soothing may cause major drains on a person that can only be used once in a long while lest death be risked, but much of it is hard to understand and takes years to perfect.

~Blessings~
- The results of being blessed or born to a certain God allowing for one to have increased competence and ability in a given field of magic. One with relations to Eir may excel in healing or enchanting magic, whilst a child of Cosain may be better suited towards destructive or dark refined magics or that of Druidism.

[Canis Rex]

Kaledora, I sincerely apologize, but I'll be unable to make a reasonable post for some time (personal reasons). It's not what I wanted, but things happened. Feel free to use Julia as an NPC, or however you choose to continue.

I hope to be able to rejoin this rp in the near future.

Hope whatever is going on works out for you and if the rp is still going you're always welcome back.

[Canis Rex]

So is literacy 40%? (The highest estimate I have seen for the middle ages) or closer to 10%(The mainstream estimate bis 5-10%)? 10% would probably mean that most of the city dwelling people are literate and the rural dwelling people are not.


A follow up question about magic, how many people practice magic? I mean if every kid learns it in school, then everyone is a wizard, right?

Regarding trade, before the crisis there was overseas trade right?

Possibly higher than 40%. Maybe not quite as high as modern times(which is apparently almost 90%) but I think with religion, magic, trade, and recording information about the monsters to figure them out would probably make a majority literate to some degree. Not everyone would be a scholar but if you gave most people a book they should be able to understand it.
Judging from previous ideas, I agree almost everyone will have some understanding and maybe be able to do at least small spells. Could be most simply don't have the aptitude to get much better or it would be a huge struggle to end up even average compared to those who have talent for it and learning something else is simply more worthwhile. Honestly the whole discussion makes me think I should probably try to set up some frame of a magic system, I admittedly did not have too many details in mind on the subject when I started. Runes have so far been shown to be used(by the Purgist Knights) and obviously their weaponry went through a process to be able to 'devour', but I think that's the most magic detail we've had so far that didn't come from one of the children(which would possibly be exempt to most rules given where their gifts come from). I like some of the suggestions so far and I'm going to see what I can do.
Yes there was overseas trade before everything went downhill.

[Flohaland]

I think a spell to clean would be pretty powerful. I am not sure how it would be done. I see one option being that dirt is removed. In which case the spell is destroying matter. The other option is something like The Magicians Apprentice, where the mop moves magically and basically has and of its own. I guess it could be a spell that just organizes items, like in Mary Poppins. However, if it is possible to use magic to move an object, then the simplest version is move object.

I also think magic should be relatively rare, because that is how we have written it so far. For example, when someone does something magical, the other characters have reacted as if it is unusual.

With regards to education, I guess the question is what is the purpose of the education? In Europe, Grammar schools were mostly for preparing kids for a higher school, (even if most didn't go on to one). After the reformation, reading became more important because of theological reasons. However, what is the religion in Ayrtica? What do there texts teach that the laity needs to know?

[Nations United for Conquest]

-Snip-

So I see a bit of a worry, but something like a cleaning spell would fall under enchantment, the umbrella term for most supporting spells and the classical non-elemental based magic. In my proposal it's a large school of magic which deal with influencing your environment and changing it in a more detailed way, rather than simple manipulation of the elements or other forces of nature. Enchantment is more akin to a science than a mystic art when compared against Refined Magic and Druidism. While yes, a {Cleaning} spell could be done in a variety of ways; removing matter, restoring the previous version of said area/item, etc. you have to note that it is specific. Most enchanting originates from Runic Magic which was strict in what could be accomplished due to the runic alphabet where each rune had an effect and chaining them together changed what happened. In my post Tilian used two runes; disruption followed by flow/air. The result, there was a disruption of the flow of air in that general area [How exactly that was caused I'll leave you to guess, whether it was the creation of a vacuum, an increase in air, or something different], yet it was wild and uncontrolled. He could do little but choose where it would happen and the intensity and hope for the best. Enchantment is like that, but much more detailed. Enchantment, much like it's ancestor Runes, relies on being detailed in your wishes for the magic to work. You can't just move the rock, you need to know how far and how you want to do it. Where as a refined magus could probably just blow it away with wind or possibly teleport it a short distance.

There's a fundamental difference between attempting to remove some dirt from existence and attempting to remove a rock. That's part of the balancing, as you can't simply just do away with matter in a general sense [unless you study a particular field of Refined magic], you have to be specific with what your trying to accomplish. Also, to be noted, is that under what I've proposed, those who don't outright study magic are probably left with only a few very basic spells, and due to the fact that they're now stuck in a work force, they likely have little time to strengthen their ability to use magic, and it'd still likely be worthless because they only know the basics. So something like a cleaning spell for an experienced and trained magus is probably simple enough, but for a common person with little training, it's likely extremely draining. It wouldn't be something they do everyday before going to bed, but only for special occasions or emergencies.

As for how our characters perceive magic, I'm fine with either. Having magic, at least larger scale be rare is fine by me. From what I've seen a few characters at least have an understanding it exists, if they themselves aren't proficient in it already, but finding someone competent is a bit more rare. In that case, whilst everyone probably has some magic potential, it could be a measurable thing, where only those who innate ability actually manage to get anywhere, whether that is through schooling, apprenticeship, tutoring, or self-teaching. Keeps magic rare when cast, but still well known enough that it's not like we're native americans seeing guns for the first time.

---

Also, in my own opinion, I think we're beginning to make some mountains out of mole hills in the world building. Whilst education is certainly important and a good way to understand the state of the world, it's a weird hill we're all deciding to die on one way or another. This is a story about a bunch of children of literal gods going on an adventure to find their lost "family" and attempt to prevent the quite literal and tangible end of the world. We're on an epic journey, not filling out an application for a job or college. Education is something that doesn't really need to be brought up, at least in such a fine detail. I personally think it's something that can be hand-waved off. Our characters can speak and read, both of which are necessary to journey the world. How they got there matters little. Sure, saying someone like Merlin or Saoirse has a high education level because of their backgrounds is fine, but not something that needs to be weighed on a scale and measured out to the millimetre. If you really want an answer besides "It's necessary for the plot to take place" than perhaps we're all literate because one of our parents was an actual god and they probably wouldn't want an illiterate bum walking around trying to save the world and bring them honor.

[Flohaland]

Personally, I thought we were going to much into unnecessary detail even before we started discussing what the curriculum for elementary schools is. However, I think that literacy rate and magic proficiency rate are in fact big picture things. Especially if we were imagining it so differently. I also think that the more people know something, the more important it is. The difference to between a society with 50% and 10% literacy might be not show up in the story, because in both cases it is plausible that all the characters can read.

As far as magic, if the baseline magic, is being able to do a spell, poorly and with a lot of effort. Then not every sign of magic is suspicious or exciting. It is commonplace.

This effects how I use my character. He wants to hide that he is special, and even though he doesn't know magical beings are being hunted, it matters that they are. Now if Azron changes his appearance, so that he looks 10 years older, is that a giveaway that he is special, or just a parlor trick? Nephele has already begun to suspect that Azron might be a demi-god, and the men at arms ran away in large part because he was clearly magical or divine.

As far as our characters all being able to read and write, Azron can do neither.

[Cainesland]

It seemed like teaching some magic in school before people go off for apprentices or higher education would be important. That way the population is somewhat better prepared when encountering monsters, but also more familiar with magic in general and can make a better judgement call when encountering magic users. They won’t need to jump to conclusions and say “this person is using magic and is thus untrustworthy”, but can instead say “ok. I’ve encountered this before. Magic isn’t bad unto itself. How is this person using it? What’s the picture here?” By teaching magic in school it should allow for a less suspicious and hostile perception of magic.

Should the desire instead be for a population that is less knowledgeable about basic magic, and possibly more fearful and suspicious of it, than it would be fairly simple to remove it from the middle school curriculum and replace it with something else.

Edit: I’m curious with what Canis comes up with for a magic system. It should be interesting. I’m almost curious if what magic people are familiar with would be based on their background. Gone to medical school or first aid? You might know restoration magic. Apprenticed to a Druid or yeoman? You are probably familiar with magic that interacts with plants and animals. Gone to school in a rural area? You might be familiar with magic that handles rivers and crops. Apprenticed as a purgist knight? You might be familiar with magic that weakens opponents and shields or buffs you. Gone to law school or are a guard? You might be familiar with magic used to investigate thoughts, truth, and deception. A bard by bard college or apprenticeship? You might know magic that helps improve the mood of the listener or hide flaws in your performance. A cultist of Mycron, or a thief or assassin? You might know illusion or mind magic spells that can make your job easier. Gone to magic school? You might be familiar with the refined magic as you were educated in a more formal setting rather than on the job. You might also be more familiar with the theory of magic and not as well versed in its application. You may be familiar with a variety of magic topics from alchemy potions to transmutation to defence, but also may not be as specialized in any one topic unless you apprenticed to a Wizard or took advanced magical studies in a particular area.

I guess I’m curious if anyone would be capable of learning any type or category of magic, with some people having an easier time based on blood or previous experiences, and what they know and to what depth is based on their previous education and experiences and if they sought out different magic than what is more common in their region.

So you have pretty much everyone having some knowledge of magic, with the level varying by how well they understood the material and have retained it, but also a more limited pool of people that area educated in specific forms of magic or have advanced knowledge of different aspects of magic.

There may also not be one specific language for magic. Different groups may interact with it in different ways depending on how they learned and how the culture handles it. Some might use runes, some might rely on the oral tradition, some might use music, and others might use a combination of books, scrolls, spoken words, and material components or some kind of focus to assist them.

Flexibility may be an interesting facet to have with magic and magic users.

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Edit 2: There was mention earlier about how usually the rich had a better education in the Middle Ages. While there is a public education system, I wonder if the wealthy might employ tutors to give their children or relatives an advantage.

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Edit 3: It is a fair amount of worldbuilding. While sometimes going too fast with worldbuilding can cause an rp to fizzle out due to constraints around what can and can’t be done with creative freedom, I’m guessing the approach taken in the rp might help with that. As well, some things we have looked at with worldbuilding and character development may help inform how we role play.

Edit 4: I suppose another curiosity might be if we wanted a high or low magic environment? Because I was imagining late medieval high magic in terms of general available magic and technology and knowledge, but it’s possible others might be thinking of early medieval low magic when it comes to fantasy. There was discussion around Wizards not being common and that makes sense. There are 120 Wizards, 100 druids, and 40 blood magic witches outside the cities, compared to 200,000 total people. So they seem to be pretty rare in general. I am guessing that those in the cities that are still surviving have probably seen a fair number convinced to help fight monsters.