Greystone Tavern

Thank you Paliana for the epic graphic design
This is a request for roleplayers, tl;dr at the bottom.



When the flames of revolution were tearing across the countryside, King Callistin reacted harshly. He split his fleet up, sending half to attack Hadar a'Vin, and brought his remaining forces back to Malgrave province in order to quell the rebel factions closer to home. This arguably prevented the King from asserting his control over the entire country as quickly as he would like. Whatever debates may exist about the effectiveness of the revolution, and whether it helped save people or only made the King's wrath worse, there is one thing everyone can agree it. All of the rebel factions suffered a crushing defeat at the paws of the King's army and navy, bolstered by coffers full of new tax money.

Narsuun saw the writing on the wall before his particular faction met with the King's army in battle. Knowing that defeat was inevitable, he ordered several of his most trusted Hawkmage away. There would always be soldiers and knights, but convincing magic users to get involved in political affairs at all was difficult, and so was training them to cast from the backs of Scarhawks. He couldn't afford to risk his entire army being wiped out. It was a tactical, dispassionate decision that shook the morale of his remaining forces, who had never seen this side of their leader. His faction began to collapse just as the King was closing in. With only a pawfull of loyal knights and magi left, the Scarhawk Castle rebels engaged the King's forces anyway, and were utterly defeated.

The magi who were sent away had orders to lay low, hide, and then to keep the spirit of revolution alive once the rebels were gone. Train others. Protect herbivores from oppression if they could. Their purpose was to plant seeds of rebellion anew all over Kasuria. And to look for a sign. There was a meeting place deep in the woods, to which they would all be summoned if the need arose.



This symbol has started appearing all over Kasuria. It's the insignia of the Hawkmage, and any Hawkmage still alive to see it recognized it as the sign. They went to the spot in the woods, but did not find their leader there. They found a single piece of parchment, upon which was written a single word. "Greystone." Their journeys would take some time, some days, some weeks. In the meantime, Narsuun waited anxiously for the return of his brothers and sisters in arms.

TL;DR

This is an open call for people to play Hawkmage. Magic users who were part of Narsuun's army, who have been trained to cast magic in combat, from the backs of Scarhawks. For taking on a political allegiance, and using magic for war, these characters are unpopular with just about everyone, including the College of Elements which frowns on the use of magic for battle.

If you are interested in playing a Hawkmage, please reply here or whisper Narsuun on furc, and I will interview you.
Please DO NOT play one of these characters without permission. But I'm not going to be too picky, so just whisper me!

Here's an easier to see badge and symbol reference.

OOC info only unless you're a hawkmage



Airborne Formations

A standard Hawkmage strike team is made up of two magi and their Scarhawk mounts. Much like modern helicopter teams, the lead or point Hawkmage assesses the battlefield, picks targets, and casts defensive magic to protect both themselves and the hawkmage behind them. They prioritize protecting against bow and crossbow fire, and also magic from the ground.
The rear Hawkmage deals with threats more directly. They cast offensive magic against enemy targets. The order of priority for the rear mage is:

• Other airborne targets first. If needed, they may break away from their lead partner in order to protect them from other Scarhawk / Dracosaur riders.
• Ranged ground targets, including bows, crossbows, casters.
• Siege weaponry.
• Command tents.
• Mounted officers of individual formations on the ground.

Multiple pairs are often deployed with differing sets of secondary target orders.

Though Narsuun usually likes to spread his magi across the battlefield, there have been times where a target is so well defended that it requires more than two magi at a time to attack. In these cases the Hawkmage take on a more standard "V" formation. In the central space of the "V" are between one and three magi who's only purpose is to charge up big spells, while the formation around them acts as point defense. Once they reach their target, the Hawkmage in the middle let loose with their most powerful spells.

Ground Formations

Unlike the airborne formations, the smallest ground formation of magi Narsuun is comfortable fielding is four. He only deploys single magi if they are well protected by other soldiers. That's if he puts magi on the ground at all. Their most common use is to hide in the flanks of forward formations that are likely to be outmaneuvered, especially if he suspects a cavalry charge. In these cases their orders are rarely to take offensive measures, but to manipulate the battlefield into the favour of their parent unit. Cavalry charges find themselves suddenly galloping through mud, or on ice, or up a hill, volleys of arrows mysteriously miss their marks... The creativity of the magi ensures the success of the unit.

On rare occasions an entire group made up of just magi needs to be fielded. In this case, the unit is made up of at least nine magi. The Hawkmage organize themselves into ascending circles. Usually, with the minimum of nine, this means there is one in the middle, then a circle of three, and five.
This formation is called Nova formation, and the centre magi is called the Fulcrum. They cast the big bad spells that change the game.

• The outer circle casts small spells (2 preps).
• The middle circle casts slightly larger spells (3 preps).
• The centre magi cast much bigger spells (5 preps).

On the second turn, five 2 prep spells go off. On the third turn, three 3 prep spells go off. On the fourth turn, five more 2 prep spells. On the fifth turn, one 5 prep spell. On the 6th turn, three more 3 prep spells AND five 2 prep spells. And so on. It's been played once, it was absolutely stupid.

Philosophy

The best parallel between real world philosophy and the Hawkmage is the early development of Humanism. This seems contradictory, as they are a martial order, but similar to the Kasurian Colleges of magic they teach the ethical responsibility of the magus. It is this ethical responsibility its self that has caused them to begin using magic for war.

The Hawkmage reject the Natural Order because they believe in the agency and responsibility of all sentient creatures. The Natural Order simultaneously reduces the agency of herbivores, and the ethical responsibility of carnivores. Fighting the King is not just an ideological crusade, they consider it their ethical responsibility and their undeniable imperative as free thinking sentients.

The Hawkmage also refute long-standing traditions and theories held by the Kasurian Colleges. The most controversial of these is the magical bloodlines. While they admit that some are born with greater talent for magic than others, and that this can be an inherited trait, they believe that with enough training and dedication anyone can be taught to use magic. As College wizards track bloodlines more closely than most noble families, this is a very, very unpopular theory.

Organization

In preparation for a long civil war, the Hawkmage organized themselves into a knightly order. Much like Raptor Knights, they organize into squadrons of twelve riders lead by a Captain. They wear surcoats bearing their symbol and sometimes carry standards into battle.

The right of dueling is upheld strictly. Any Hawkmage can challenge any other, for any reason, however no duel is ever permitted to result in death. It just takes too long to train Hawkmage to lose them to internal strife. If one Hawkmage kills another, for any reason, they are likely to be summarily executed.

Though Narsuun leads the Hawkmage, his Captains were given a great deal of leeway to operate of their own accord both on and off the battlefield. Each squadron of 12 often became a very tight unit, living, sleeping, training, and eating together.

When the Hawkmage were disbanded, shortly before Narsuun lost a battle with King Callistin's forces, a no contact order was given. Every mage traveled to a different location in Kasuria under orders never to attempt to contact their leaders. But they were all waiting for another call to arms, which has finally been given.

This is still open

If you would like to play a hawkmage, just let me know. Current events may force rebels into action! So even if your character isn't a mage, let me know (and of course a member of staff) if you'd like to do rebellious things.

Hello!!

I have been accepted!!
I would love to have Caitir become a Hawkmage in training!

I'd actually love to give this a try as well. Schia's not terribly fond of being airborn, but a monstrous-ass eagle-hawk might be enough to reassure her into trying. Besides, having a link to the mount and knowing it's not just some stupid animal or airship she has no control over will help.

Barring that, I wouldn't mind playing one of his old mages either. I'm a little dry for inspiration, but it has potential.