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Vorgaanese
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Men of the fractured nations of Vorgaa, these folk have a tendency towards fleshy
skin tones, brunette and dark hairs, and to be of medium build, but otherwise run
the gamut of heights, weights, builds, and cosmetic features. Vorgaanese tend to
be very ethnocentric regarding their particular nation, and have a very internecine
history and habit of plotting small advantages over their neighbors. A high degree
of nationalism is the norm so to speak, though there is a strata of intelligentsia
who try to remain above it.
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The Vorgaanese are inheritors of possibly the most comprehensive scope of Arcane
Magic to ever be found among one people in the history of SanDora. Before the Great
Cataclysm Vorgaa was forged by the Witchlords, mighty practitioners of what was
then called the three Arts of Witchery; Magecraft, Stregari, and Spellbinding, tracing
their routes back to three sects of arcanists persecuted after the Age of Opposition,
that eventually joined forces for mutual self-protection. Most Witchlords were masters
of one of the three Arts, though some ambitious types learned two and a literal
handful over their history learned all three, a feat earning the title "Trimegistus".
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After the Great Cataclysm Vorgaa collapsed into many nations, many of which survive
into the modern day as Ieshali, Folgetova, Sorvanoth, Dolano, Nosh, Banderlen, Jarval-Beah,
Zarifin, Quiria, and Lanolyan. The three Arts were still practiced, but in a much
reduced state as most of the powerful Witchlords and their chosen cohorts were killed
in the final days of war with the Nordmanner.
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Then came Daelon Thar the Trimegistus. An Ieshali with a genius for Magic, he also
learned the Obermancy of the Machtig, the Three Crafts of Hortashi, the Summoning
Magics of the Riftmagi of Zhaiir, and the Peidregamas of the Arutholese. Returning
to Ieshali Daelon then proceeded to invent a symbolic language and organizational
structure to focus on Magic from an effects-driven perspective. As a result of this
comprehensive approach to Magic in the last 50 years Wizardry was born as well as
two major variants, Sorcery and Arcanis Magnicus.
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The Three Arts are in decline in the lands that were once Vorgaa, as Wizardry and
it's variants have become all the rage. Only Nosh and Quiria, traditionally more
conservative than their cousin states, and with a propensity towards Magecraft and
Spellbinding rather than Stregaren, have been slow to adopt the new style of Magic.
Nations where Stregari was strong previously, Folgetova, Banderlen, and Jarval-Beah
have found the transition to Sorcery favorable.
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In the far northern nation of Lanolyan (which has traditionally been the most warlike
nation of Vorgaa, at the forefront of wars with the Nordmanner and the Haelfinan
of Aelora in the distant past and the Kor-vashi in the last two millenia) the battle-friendly
and practical variant of Arcanis Magnicus has many sub schools which are all fairly
popular.
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Finally Ieshali, Sorvanoth, Dolano, and Zarifin favor pure Wizardry, though Sorvanoth
does prefer to treat each "school" of Wizardry as a seperate pursuit and
turns out many "Specialist" Wizards.
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As a sidenote the practice of Arcanis Magnicus has started to gain proponents in
both Quiria and Jarval-Beah as conflicts with the Kor-vashi have been more common
in the last 50 years after a stretch of relative peace, and the practical Arcanis
Magnicus is particularly well suited to warfare. The City-State of Shidaal, which
is of Vorgaanese descent, has colleges of both Wizardry and Sorcery, as well as
two Colleges teaching the traditional Three Arts of Witchery.
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Remaining Practitioners of the Three Arts, who prefer to be called Mages in the
moder age, are typically opposed to the new-fangled Wizardry, and in some areas
competing Colleges or Cabals of practitioners of the various Magic Systems oppose
one another, and these conflicts sometimes get violent.
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While Vorgaa is best known for it's Magic Users, it also turns out excellent warriors,
particularly swordsmen. Smaller of stature than the Nordmanner and their Machtig
cousins, Vorgaanese nations favor medium infantry bearing one handed weapons, particularly
the long sword, combined with shields, and medium cavalry armed with horse bows
and sabres. Vorgaanese warriors and Magic Users can be encountered in the most unusual
of places as mercenaries and/or general adventurers, though they tend to avoid the
lands of the Nordmanner and until the last few decades the Machtig.
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There are four major dialects of Vorgaanese in use in the modern time; the core
language is only found in scholastic circles and old books. Ieshali and Folgetova
have seperate national dialects; Ieshali is strongly influenced by Hortashic and
Folgetovan is moderately influenced by Var. Sorvanoth, Dolano, Banderlen, Nosh,
and Jarvel-Beah speak a dialect known as Vesernothovan. Finally, Zarifin, Quirria,
and Lanolyan speak a dialect known as Usveranathovan.
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