Flavor of Tharstradt 001

The following is a bit of story from my homebrew campaign of Tharstradt.

Linus Redmond. A man destined for great things. Destined to be a sorcerer in the time of the Dreadmancers of West Flach and the Fourth Highland Dynasty. Surrounded by politics fueled by magics, Linus had to be, and was, the kind of tactician to use those same magics to make powerful and subtle ritual curses on his political enemies.

Nothing illegal of course, at least not that anybody knew about.

The laws of West Flach and the Vaubrich Academy are old enough to have dealt with the issues of white, grey, and black magic of course. In the end all magic ends up a bit grey, but in the eyes of the law and of the state what really matters is what kinds of spells are allowed to be used in society. Once Linus reached the peak of his power, scrutiny was much more a tool for him to use rather than something to worry about, but until then he had to be cunning in his plots if he was to succeed.

It was 966 and Sorcerer-Liaison Redmond had been working with the University of Architects for several years. To do the work he had to maintain an office in the Republic of Flach's neighbor, East Flach. However to fulfill the Sorcerer part of his title he needed regular access to the wild magic contained in the ley lines of Tharstradt, ley lines that East Flach was notoriously lacking. Regular trips to the ultra massive bridge connecting West and East Flach known as Lifeblood City ensured connections that helped him keep his source of magic, and useful information, flowing.

This current most important operation being undertaken by the Sorcerer-Liasion's office was to curb unsanctioned Arcanic weapons development. Jurisdiction would be an issue. The University of Architects ostensibly could only act on issues in East Flach, but due to the maritime culture present in many nearby Northern Shore port towns, ideas and inventions had a way of spreading. Fast. Even with the increased jurisdictional area shared between West and East Flach, the confederated states of the Northern Shore made for a bureaucratic nightmare in every cross-government effort. Before rising to the position of Prime Minister several decades later, this would be the training ground for Linus's machinations and magics.

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