Goal: Achieve The Bridge
Ishkibal’s goal is the creation of a new plane, one separate from reality as it is known, into which the entirety of Akkia might be delivered to as molten metal is poured into the mold. Through this, Akkia’s immortality would be sealed, as would the safety and security of all those within it be granted eternally, for the rules of the plane would not be as the rules are now.
He generally cares not for the conflicts between petty nobility, for their goals and glories are upon earth and Ishkibal looks to a new state for his rewards, though Ishkibal does believe that a crossroads is presented within Arrowfell which would allow for such magics to be gained at a premium cost. As such, his more minor goal is in the aiding of victory with the Wizard Queen as she appears the more willing bargainer.
History:Born in far-flung Akkia on the edge of the world, an old land of traditions and honorings to the gods, Ishkibal showed the glimmer of magical potential from the youngest of ages. As was tradition then, for those with the gift of magic could provide the most for the gods and the people, he would be taken up and apprenticed by the Zānin Dakuri in the Lodge of Rites. As capable as any a few years senior his age, Ishkibal could be called a prodigy of the magical arts. He found his finest skills in the arts of matter manipulation, specifically mass manipulation, something which was considered especially difficult as it actively spited the gods in its enactment. Such would be used for the people, for the construction of great monoliths and ziggurats praising the gods, for the construction of temples, homes, granaries, and anything else which might need construction. He would know the weather, too, and harness lightning and wind to his will. Like any good magus, Ishkibal grew knowledgeable of fire, at least in the very smallest portion necessary. Through these things, the young man rose the ranks as he gained years, finding the ending tests of Zānin Dakuri to be fairly simple compared to any others he had encountered. Through this, Ishkibal would be titled itpēšu ḫāsis kal šipri, competent one who knows every craft.
As a fully fledged magus, Ishkibal gained employment under the Lugal Kiš-ki, for the King of the Universe employed many mages for his great works in Akkia. His work then, for the next handful of centuries, was much the same as the works before as a student to prove his worth. Ishkibal built temples, walls, aqueducts, harbors, sunk stone after stone into the earth and seas, built and built and built, and with each new construction after the last, with each next tasking, they felt more and more hollow. He grew dissatisfied with these works, for though they were great as the Lugal Kiš-ki indicated they had to be, they never seemed to end. Ishkibal felt as another part in the vast machine, unappreciated for his talents and his own works. After that time, grown annoyed in it all, the magus would join the Zānin Sin for another period of tutilage.
Such was uncommon for magi, as once their periods of study were done many simply went on to the great works. Yet the knowledge which Zānin held, for as providers they knew all the secrets of magic, called to Ishkibal, and he strove to achieve even greater heights of knowledge. Such ambition impressed Sin, who took on the young magus as his own student. The studies, though harsh and demanding, were as rewarding as Ishkibal thought they might and he became even more adept in the mastery of matter. Eventually, even, Sin began to have the young magus take the place as teacher among the students, to fashion from the clay of children true, honest magi. Such was difficult, more difficult than learning the tasks himself, but not impossible. Ishkibal took a certain sense of pride in seeing the students grow as he had once grown, to nudge them into the directions their own talents and inclinations encouraged, to bring forth true talent.
He would build a great tower in the rocky lands to the east, where such studies took place, fashioning the very stone into rooms and a courtyard, circled walls and smooth floors, refining it over and over again amid the lessons. In the end, Sin commanded that the tower be made to keep away from the earth, to hand in the skies perpetually. Ishkibal labored to achieve this, a week taken to figure the method needed, a month taken to prepare the tower itself for the ascent as the student chiseled runes and scripts into the walls, into the base, everywhere necessary. With the greatest effort though, in the end Ishkibal commanded the tower to the skies and it obeyed. Slowly, languidly, the tower rose up to the skies at a cliff face and Sin, satisfied in his work and his test, declared that Ishkibal was a fellow Zānin, a provider, a teacher.
Ishkibal was young to be such, but it was declared in any sense, and he took to managing his own Lodge, naming it the Lodge of Seals. Over the following centuries, he grew to be a prolific teacher of Akkia, notable for his tower, half famed for his works under the Lugal Kiš-ki, half famed that he turned away from such works to his own. A marriage to a luminary in the capital city, Anatu, would come purely as a political tool to further his own power though the pair grew to be fairly tolerant of one-another with the passage of time. He would collect an addition to his title, Migrišun, beloved by the gods, as well as the epithet rē’û kēnu, righteous shephard, both earned by virtue that his tower had not yet fallen from the skies by the gods’ command and by his continued service to Akkia.
In time, however, Ishkibal has willed that his Needle and his Lodge would remain in Akkia no longer. He would travel to the distant kingdom of Arrowfell, over the endless waves of the Porensis and over the jagged peaks of the Fifteen Brothers, to learn the magic of the short-lived, to learn the ways they had gathered. A vision has come to the teacher, that a heaven might be forged for the living through magic and will, and that the answers to how such a heaven might be forged would not be found solely in Akkia. Through this, Ishkibal believes that Akkia might be forged into a new state, one of sole mastery over the entirety of its surroundings, and that he will be cemented for time immemorial as the one who brought such a thing to pass.
Seed:N/A
Magic:(+) Manipulate The Center
The manipulation of mass is an art of grand difficulty to the magi of Akkia, one which Ishkibal has mastered well. Objects may have their mass increased or decreased at his touch, with the increase of such not afflicting his ability to manipulate the object per the normal law, though the magic cannot be applied to a living creature for fear that the alteration would have deleterious effects upon the creature’s soulful nature. Such magic can be infused permanently into an object through the use of runes.
(+) Shape The Earth
Altering the manner of the earth is a task which requires years of practice, refinement, and education of the precise methods one would use, and Ishkibal was no different at the beginning. His skills with such magic, however, allow for the molding of the earth to his will within a radius of 60 feet to shift the shape of a solid object, transit a solid piece of material into a loose one, harden loose material to a solid piece, and otherwise fling such pieces of the earth at the speed of an arrow. Ishkibal can afflict a maximum of 100 lbs of material at a time.
(+) Numer’s Shield
The refinement of a number of techniques generations before Ishkibal, Numer’s Shield is the creation of a sphere of “dead space” - vacuum - about a specific point with a magical shield immediately following the dead space. Such magic, which affects a radius of just 10 feet, negates lightning and sound-based magic completely while the shield itself still presents a difficult barrier for other offenses to the magi of Akkia.
(-) Infuse Weapon
Cloaking an object in an element is a fairly novice task, though one that certainly has its merits for continued use. Through it, Ishkibal commands his staff to set a-flame, to be conducted in lightning, or to be delivered in cold chill, though with the first impact against a foe the staff immediately becomes mundane. He might for a short period infuse the weapons of others, with such wearing off after a period by distance to Ishkibal.
(-) Fire Mote
Creating a flicker of fire no larger than a lantern, hovering inches above an extended finger, Ishkibal has easy access to light when even the best of torches and candles fail him. Such a flicker can be launched, exhibiting similar properties to an arrow in flight with its arch.
(-) Whirlwind Cloak
With this, fierce winds whip about the caster to force any and all nearby to plant their feet lest they be caught in its motion. Those who fail to do so and are not burdened by heavy armor are prone to be flung away by the winds.
(-) Lightning Bolt
Developing a charge of electricity among his hands and shaped out by force of will to the rough shape and length of a javelin, Ishkibal practices the timeless Akkia tradition of throwing lightning at his foes. Such bolts fizzle and falter at the range of just sixty feet, but hold none of the failures of arrows and javelins as they arrive quicker than both while flying virtually unimpeded by the state of gravity.
(-) Healing Word
To heal with a phrase spoken is truly worthwhile Akkia magic and one which Ishkibal has not forsaken, though the effects of his are far less than that of a dedicated healing priest. His incantations relieve pain, staunch bleeding, and accelerate the natural healing yet without extensive efforts Ishkibal fails to mend bones or extract toxins.
(-) Step-Stones
A form of short-ranged teleportation magic, through this incantation Ishkibal is surrounded in white-gray haze to move to another point within his line of sight and within 30 feet. Such magic is taxing upon the caster, requiring a wait between its uses of one minute.
(-) Telekine
Influencing the motion of an object through magic is a technique taught to every magus of Akkia, though in all fairness Ishkibal did not sharpen such a skill as much as others have. He can influence the movement of an object within 30 feet, either accelerating it in one direction or keeping such an object motionless in place, provided of course that the object is under 400 lbs of weight. The technique can be put in practice against larger objects, but requires lengthy inscription efforts to place the proper runes and the effect is altogether slow compared to the usual speeds. Such motion is unaffected by atmospherics and environmental concerns, such as crosswinds. Due to the interactions of this magic with living matter, it can only be used on inanimate objects.
Akkia Magic
Alchemy
Rune Inscription
Teacher
Faction: Lodge of Seals
Numbering at just over seventy, a mixture of teacher aids, tutors, and students themselves, the Lodge of Seals is located on the Needle of Ishkibal. Dedicated towards the teaching of magics in the Akkia tradition towards prospective students, the Lodge guards its secrets and methods jealously with a number of mechanisms. Students are often sourced before they reach the age of puberty, take on new names, wear masks and helms before outsiders, and swear oaths to use their newfound knowledge in the sole interests of Akkia and the Lugal Kiš-ki. Such oaths are enforced through the use of Akkia magics.
City: Needle of Ishkibal
Constructed atop a large section of stone, appearing almost to be a broken boulder with a smooth top profile and jagged below, almost as though a number of scything portions, the Needle flies through the air in a language manner. Built of smooth gray-brown stone with circular walls, the Needle consists of two sections with the outer courtyard and the tower itself. The outer courtyard measures as a whole 500 feet across with a number of buildings built into the walls itself, hosting in the center an inner courtyard with a fountain. These buildings house many of the students and helpers to the Lodge, as well as storage rooms and useful assets, with many windows hosting a number of hanging gardens. Massive drums collect rainwater, flowing into a central water reserve within the needle. The tower, located across from the gate and along the thick wall, rises up nearly 200 feet with a gradually slimming profile. A number of banners and flags fly from various horizontal steel poles while the narrow slit-windows offer little view inside the needle.
Assets:The Lodge of Seals and the Needle of Ishkibal have only the libraries and adherents as ‘assets’, both of which are jealously protected for fear that the investments placed therein might be lost.
