Encyclopaedia Arcane: Sovereign Magic (d20)
For many¸ the wizard is an archetype of power. With courage and discipline he ventures into forbidden mysteries¸ learning the spells which may melt down reality itself and remould it closer to his heart's desire. Once the heady heights of ninth level spellcasting are attained¸ the magician is believed to be at the apex of his power. However¸ there are those for whom this is just the beginning. They are the likes of the moon-pale¸ merciless ice witch in her far-off palace of snow¸ whose word can open vast crevasses into which the unwary can fall and who can call up the ravening frost worm from its lair simply by an act of will. The suntanned wanderer of the plains¸ in appearance a harmless old dodderer¸ is one of them; if he willed it¸ the clouds would gather heavy as ink and lacerate the earth with lightning. The aged mountain dwarf who sits quietly alone¸ surveying the rocks and crags of his home¸ could speak a handful of syllables and cause the whole side of the mountain to come hurtling down into the valley beneath. The muttering¸ obese sorcerer of the swamp is more than he appears; the bones of an entire army lie beneath the placid surface of his marshes¸ and if asked they would tell a nightmare tale of bloodsucking insects¸ tangling roots and marsh mud that came alive and engulfed them.
The wizard is an archetype of power. With courage and discipline he ventures into forbidden mysteries¸ learning the spells which may melt down reality and remould it closer to his heart's desire. Once the heady heights of ninth level spellcasting are attained¸ the magician is believed to be at the apex of his power. However¸ there are those for whom this is just the beginning.
These are the sovereign mages¸ those who have learned the rare art of entering the soul of the land and binding their personal power to it. Not content with merely moving upon the face of the earth¸ they seek to become one with it; some to conquer¸ some to protect. By infusing their very essence into the country around them¸ they partake of the energies of the land¸ drawing upon it to achieve legendary and miraculous results. The wild beasts of the region seem to know and obey them. Some even send forth weird allies and emissaries¸ whose eyes and ears the sovereign mages may use and through whom they may speak. Some¸ the darker ones¸ are even said to take possession of important figures against their will. Whether they serve as governors¸ custodians or power-mad conquerors¸ they are a more potent magical force than any ordinary spellcaster could hope to be. The more land they take over¸ the more their ability to influence it grows. Their arcane spellcasting abilities are augmented massively and they become able to cast spells over huge distances¸ raining down their magic upon the unwary who had thought themselves safe in far-off lands.
Sovereign mages are those who have learned the rare art of entering the soul of the land and binding their personal power to it. Not content with merely moving upon the face of the earth¸ they seek to become one with it; some to conquer¸ some to protect. By infusing their very essence into the country around them¸ they partake of the energies of the land¸ drawing upon it to achieve legendary and miraculous results. The wild beasts of the region seem to know and obey them. Some even send forth weird allies and emissaries¸ whose eyes and ears the sovereign mages may use and through whom they may speak. Some¸ the darker ones¸ are even said to take possession of important figures against their will. Whether they serve as governors¸ custodians or power-mad conquerors¸ they are a more potent magical force than any ordinary spellcaster could hope to be. The more land they take over¸ the more their ability to influence it grows. Their