There are two kinds of magic. The defensive and restorative White Magic, and the offensive and debilitating Black Magic.
Neither are really good or bad, simply neutral. Both function somewhat on the idea of sympathetic magic.
White Mages tend to heal people and cure diseases, this causes a certain degree of resonance for the mage. It ends up making them healthy and long lived. Because of this, White Mages try to use magic as much as possible and maximize the returns they get for helping others.
Black Mages, on the other hand, suffer some degree of back-lash when they use magic to harm or harry others. If they set someone on fire, then they'll suddenly find themselves to be uncomfortably hot. If they make someone horribly sick, they'll catch a annoying cold. If they snuff out someone's life in an instant, they'll shave years off their own lives. Because of this, many of them will try to debilitate before actually harming. They also tend to use talismans, charms and amulets to absorb the backlash for them. Of course, the one advantage to Black Magic is that harming practitioners of it causes back-lash itself. Stab a Black Mage and you'll suddenly find a cut on yourself.
Recently, Black Magic has been decreasing. It's not easy to use without harming yourself, and many kingdoms have been subtly turning people away from it. Unfortunately for them, the imbalance between the two kinds of magic has released something..
The Black Rose King.
It's not certain what this thing is, or why it was bound up in the magic in the first place. It may be an old nature spirit, or the remains of a forest god.. Regardless, only hunger drives it now. And it does hunger. It feeds on fear, on nightmare, on terrifying visions and horrific sights. It wants to wrap the world in thorny vines and send everyone into an endless, hellish sleep of never-ending nightmares.
Unless.. Of course, someone find the legendary three Guardians. While they're more known than the Black Rose King, these three are considered folk-legends. A tale for children.
The stories tell of a sleeping kingdom held in thorns and of the brave three who went to save it.
The first was a mage, aged and wise, the last of the Gray Wizards that wielded magic of Black and White.
The second was a knight, bold and honorable, of the Alihan Order known for slaying dragons.
The third was a spy, clever and quick, a woman of the Thieves Guild of the city of Salador.
Together they braved the horrors of the sleeping kingdom and through magic, wit and strength; they freed it. Their adventure done, the three parted ways.
Now for the Eleven.. I think I'll just put up some background + skills for each. You can take that and make a dozen different character personalities.
1) A peasant, son/daughter of a Woodsman. Lives in a cottage in the forest, far from cities. The nearest settlement is two days walk, a small hamlet.
Skills: Surviving on the land, navigating using stars, recognizing plant properties, hunting for food, cooking.
2) A young Nobleman/Noblewoman, child of rich nobles. Lives in a manor outside of the city of Salador.
Skills: Wielding a rapier, court contacts, social skills, literacy, wealthy and well-educated.
3) Young Black-Mage, child of a Black Mage woman branded a sorceress by her village. Grew up in a deserted wasteland.
Skills: Black Magic, arcane knowledge, survival skills, can dowse for water, knows astrology.
4) White Mage, orphaned child who was given to an old White Mage as an apprentice. He/she grew up in a large village on the plains.
Skills: White Magic, arcane knowledge, literacy, knows medical techniques, herbalism.
5) Squire of the Alihan Order. Lives in a barracks-house in a huge city.
Skills: Using a sword, fighting in armor, caring for weapons and armor, navigating large cities, patching up injuries.
6) Young orphaned Thief. Lives in the same city as the Squire, in the hidden Thief's Guild House.
Skills: Navigating cities, picking pockets, burglary-ing, sneaking around, conning people, reading expressions.
I may continue when I get more ideas..
“She'd become a governess. It was one of the few jobs a known lady could do. And she'd taken to it well. She'd sworn that if she did indeed ever find herself dancing on rooftops with chimney sweeps she'd beat herself to death with her own umbrella.”
― Hogfather
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