Category:Progeny of Tezirah: Difference between revisions

Sect of the Moon Mage guild.

The Progeny of Tezirah is a sect of moon mages focusing on sorcery and creatures of shadow. Their founder, a magess named Tezirah, lived during the time of the Empire of the Seven-Pointed Star and was found guilty of practicing sorcery. She was said to have been executed near the site of the present-day city of the Crossing, but it's believed by many that she escaped into the plane of probability just as she was executed.

Some claim that it is Tezirah who attacks Moon Mages as they tap the Plane of Probability via prediction, appearing in the form of a bat-winged skull.

Historically, the Crowther family has always represented the Progeny of Tezirah on the Council of Moon Mages, beginning with Alicia Crowther, the sixth signatory of the Lunar Accord. The Crowthers are well respected, and few doubt their abilities. Like many Tezirites, the Crowthers are known for their skill and artistry with shadow magic.

A scarlet-robed mage leans forward and speaks to you about this sect. "The Progeny of Tezirah was originally formed by a magess named Tezirah Eilsina. During the times of the Empire, any slightly questionable act of magic was dubbed as 'sorcery,' and shamefully, Tezirah was accused. Officially, she was executed near the present day city of the Crossing, but many believe she managed to cast one final spell of vengeance on her would-be murderers, escaping into the Plane of Probabilty.
"Some distastefully claim that it is Tezirah who attacks Moon Mages as they tap the Plane of Probability via prediction, appearing in the form of a bat-winged skull.
"Historically, the Crowther family has always represented the Progeny of Tezirah on the Council of Moon Mages, beginning with Alicia Crowther, the sixth signatory of the Lunar Accord. The Crowthers are well respected, and few doubt their abilities. Like many Tezirites, the Crowthers are known for their skill and artistry with shadow magic."

More information can be found in:

• A Study of the Progeny of Tezirah by Lorethew Arkelli Feirgetha
• A Brief History of the Guild of Moon Magic by Kssarh T'kinnirii, Apprentice to Guildmaster Tiv

Symbol

• satin crimson sash embroidered with the symbol of Tezirah

Delicate stitchery along the edges of the sash display the words “Our Method, Evolution.”

Other Common Symbols

• The symbol of Tezirah, what looks like a stylized, upturned Q
• Scrying Mirror
• A bat-winged skull

Titles

• Tezirite upon joining.
• The post-title Of the Progeny.
• Shadowmancer at Circle 70.
• Also: Tenebrous, Umbromancer, Enoptromancer, Cryptomancer, Master/Mistress of Shadow.

Title Requirements: Tezirites are known for being masters of shadow and darkness. They earn their titles based on Arcana and Stealth

Cantrips

• Sibowen (appear):

With Shadows cast, no stun Teleport to a Katamba moonbeam and leaves you in hiding. Also has several descriptive unhide casts.

A swarm of moth-shaped silhouettes flicker around you, then fade.

<name> slips into a shadow and is gone.

A handful of black, moth-shaped silhouettes flicker away from you and fade quickly into the darkness of the night sky.

Cast when hidden:

Thousands upon thousands of delicate moth-shaped silhouettes scurry from the shadows, coalescing in a vaguely humanoid shape.

As the darkness fades, you are revealed.

Cast when invisible:

Uttering barely audible gasps and moans, several dark humanoid forms rise from the ground, then collapse together as if in pain.

The gestalt mass fades, revealing you from your concealment.

Cast when hidden and invisible:

A sound not unlike a roaring gale force wind accompanies the explosive arrival of a dragon made of black shadow!

It twirls in serpentine glee before the illusion fades, revealing you.

• Shaderald (shade):

Creates a Shaderald to announce arrival.

With a questioning gulp of surprise, a <descriptive> shaderald coalesces from the shadows.

• Sibo Nijare (blade):

Changes look on a Moonblade with small stat modification.

An inky serpent of smoky blackness rises from behind you.

With a hiss, it wraps itself around your black moonblade, sinking into it until the two become one.

Your weapon now appears to be a <descriptive> moonblade.

Possible moonblade descriptions:

• fanged ebony moonblade
• deep ebony briar-covered moonblade
• dark spike-pommeled moonblade

• Veiled Identity (face):

In room character description:

<Name> who has a shadowy countenance.

Possible facial descriptions:

<Name> has pale yellow ovals for eyes, shifting darkness in place of hair, and shadowy skin.

<Name> has lumniscent green orbs for eyes, shifting darkness in place of hair, and shadowy skin.

<Name> has flickering azure spheres for eyes, shifting darkness in place of hair, and shadowy skin.

Spell Preparation

• With a sly smile, an innocent Tezirite murmurs a tenebrous phrase.

Box Dismantle

You close your eyes and hold the ironwood casket in both hands, focusing your thoughts solely on the object. When you feel adequately centered, you mutter a cryptic phrase and open your eyes. Shadows spider-web their way out from your hands and encompass the ironwood casket, obscuring it from view. The sound of wood splintering issues forth from the shadows and you hold your focus just long enough before you allow the shadows to recede, revealing your now empty hands.

Roundtime: 2 seconds.

Spell Affinity

Tezirites currently have an affinity to the Shadows spell.

Originally Tezirites had an affinity to the old Tezirah's Veil spell.

Divination Tools

• Divination Mirrors

Sect Shop

• Banister Mausoleum Repository

Armifer Lore

Shadow and Symbolism:

We all know the Progeny of Tezirah. Masters of shadow magic, shrewd, unfortunate sense of clothing. But if all you think about when you see a Shadowmancer is the shadows, you have been blinded by the symbols from the truth. Which, all told, suit the Progeny just fine.

The Progeny operate, in many senses of the phrase, in the shadows. Their mastery of shadow magic is undisputed, but it serves as a metaphor as well. The Progeny continue to exist today, and survived the pogroms of the Imperial era, by placing themselves as the power behind petty thrones. In this they are masters; when the Celestians tried their hands at it it merely resulted in the disastrous Timbleton Incident.

Partly this works by discretion and carefully picking their battles. When the Celestians tried they ham-fisted manipulations, they started at nothing less than the Imperial throne. To this day, you are likely to see Celestians at court soaking in the illusion of power. The Progeny know where real power is: they work with merchants, adventurers, minor nobles and even the palace cook. Unfettered from the illusion of power, they know that the real route to the king is through the taste tester.

But why? Why the emphasis on power in a post-Accord world where their survival has been assured? To understand that, you need to understand a bit more about the powers at play.

Matriarchy in a Masculine World:

At the center of the Progeny is the Crowthers. Matriarchal, each Crowther has only ever produced Human girls, and each girl grows up to be a woman with phenomenal talent for Lunar magic. Unlike the rest of the guild, there is no pretense of meritocracy: the Crowthers rule the Progeny like a merchant prince or crime boss (if there's any difference between the two).

It's hard being a woman in the Dragon's Realms. Ignore the adventuring class for a moment and you find "traditional" gender roles enforced in most remaining sectors of society. It is particularly bad at the height of power, where masculine figures and male-dominated inheritance lines rule almost everything short of the Arid Steppe. Now let's add the adventuring class, where a woman can find some equality based on merit but is almost always at the mercy of the innuendo and flirtation of men who are unused and unwilling to relinquish their social power.

The Crowthers want none of that. They do not want to be puppets, or sex objects, or the lesser-equals. Perhaps surprising for people who are used to the Progeny as dark and sinister, the true objective of the Crowthers is equality. And if that involves the occasional act of extortion or magical curse, so be it. Thus stands Tezirah not as a symbol of deviance but as the antinomial woman of power. Unlike Tezirah, the Progeny do not intend to be hanged.

Thus, power tends to be inverted in the Progeny. Men are welcomed, but rarely attain positions of true power within Tezirite society (which is, to say, proximity to the Crowther family).

Pushback:

Of course it's never that simple.

While the Crowthers retain control of the Progeny, there is a growing split centered around Mortom. The most powerful male figure in the Progeny, he has taken the political and power-grabbing nature of the Progeny to heart and deftly maneuvered himself into a position of power opposite of the Crowthers.

Those who follow Mortom's camp propose that they offer true meritocracy (this is a complete lie, but a necessary one). Some even whisper Mortom will one day make a move for the Grandmaster position, as the best candidate in a century to topple Braun domination of the guild. In Progeny politics Mortom remains the underdog, but one that perhaps has not exhausted his potential yet.

There is an unfortunate gender divide between the camps. Mortom's followers tend to be "traditional," insofar as they exclude women from their inner circle but welcome them as symbols and lesser equals. Both camps feel threatened by the other's politics, but it is unlikely that this will reach a point of direct confrontation. There is too much at stake, with the possibility of another break-away from the Progeny being unpalatable to everyone involved.

Related Forum Posts

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Additional Information

• Player Progeny - Players that associate their characters with the Progeny of Tezirah