Aliases are alternative forms of a reference. They can include actual aliases for characters, nicknames, plural variations, gendered versions of some [Classes], and even typos.
“What are we, Level 50? Calruz, healing magic is the stuff of [Archmages]. No chance a [Mage] can…hm. Well, it’s not anything ice-magic has anything to do with, so I’m useless, and so is Sostrom.”
“Most likely. I would not know of any other way. But as I have said, it would take a [Mage], no—an [Archmage] to cast such a spell, if it can be done.”
“They are the rarest of spellcasters. I know of only a few, and none live on this continent. Nor are they [Archmages] proper…but they are the best you could ask for, for magical help.”
“Well, just consider the benefits. You would have a Gnoll tribe in your debt. It would be very clear that it’s you – the great [Archmage] Teriarch – they owe their great gift to.”
“No, Miss Busy half-Elf, they didn’t. And if you’d let me explain, you’d know that a few centuries ago, mages competed in Wistram quite fiercely. It was every mage for himself and they formed their own groups—but there was no faction. Instead, powerful mages attracted people to them. One of them was Archmage Zelkyr. Mind you, he wasn’t just an Archmage, but an actual [Archmage].”
“It’s a matter of history. The class does exist, and he and the other [Archmages] who ruled Wistram at the time all had them. But Archmage Zelkyr was the best. He was a Drake – famous, you know, for being able to damage one of the Walled Cities’ walls. But he was more famous for his ability to create Golems.”
“Yes, admire! I came here to follow in his footsteps, to see if anyone else understood necromancy as he did, or if he left anything behind. Az’kerash was evil, it is true, but he was also a master of magic! He gazed deeper into the heart of magic than any but the greatest [Archmages] before him. Is this not something we should accept? Necromancy is the equal of any other magical school!”
“Necromancers have no place in the world? Who decides such things? Popular opinion? If that is the case, I must inquire, what of Archmage Nekhret? Was she undeserving of her title despite being tainted, as you seem to insinuate, by the foul practice of necromancy? She was a true [Archmage], not some pretender to the class! She represented the soul of Wistram over a thousand years ago—her bones still lie in the catacombs below the academy itself!”
“You see, Ceria, there is a limit to the heights mages can reach here. Level 50, let alone Level 60 is the utmost limit we can strive towards. People like Archmage Feor or Amerys—they’re the top. And yet, it didn’t use to be this way. Once, we had real [Archmages].”
“I grew up in Wistram. I spent my life here. But perhaps if I’d gone out into the world and gained more experience—well, I’d probably be scared all the same. There are wonders and horrors in this world, Ceria, remnants from the ages when gods still lived, memories of empires long gone. This is one of them. And today we will challenge the power of one of the true [Archmages] of Wistram.”
The grave of Archmage Nekhret, one of the true [Archmages] of Wistram. And the only one to be buried in this place. The others had died elsewhere, or left no bodies to bury, or at least no bones.
