Vumella, Patron of the Barclay

Vumella
Keeper of Magic’s Balance
Domains: Magic
Holy Symbol: An 11 Pointed Star
 

“Bringing both wonders and terror galore, the arcane will weave like none before.”

Vumella is the patron and the creator of the Barclay Elves. He is commonly depicted as a gaunt Barclay Elven man in red robes with a Spellbook in hand. His sole domain is magic, and he devotes all of his time to its regulation and practice. It was Vumella who convinced the other Eternals to make their creations without the innate ability to use magic and it was he who developed the Arcane Formulas with humanity in mind so they could harness magic with the proper training. He believed the ability to harness raw magic was far too dangerous for the average person to be able to manifest, so he assigned himself as the keeper of the balance of magic.
 

Tenets
One of the first things Vumella did when he arrived on Aelamos was to look at all of magic and come to understand it. Within it he saw the possibility of unimaginable wonders, and also untold destruction. This inspired fear within him, and it was this fear that inspired reverence to magic and his next actions. He ensured that humanity had no possibility of innately harnessing magic, and then he created a way in which humanity could use a small fraction of magic safely. With the wondrous Spells that eventually became known as First Age magic, he bid humanity to respect and be cautious of the power they could wield. This became his first tenet.

“You wield the power to change the world in potentially irreversible ways, respect it.”

Despite the potential dangers that magic possessed, Vumella was fascinated with it. He spent much of his time working with the Barclay Elves to push the understanding and utilisation of magic in all aspects of life. He bid for those of similar minds to him to learn all they can about magic and pass on said knowledge to others. Vumella believed from the very beginning that the proper method to prevent magical catastrophe was to teach magic to its fullest extent. As Vumella thinks, only with magic’s full understanding can people grasp what they hold and use it properly. He believes this so firmly that the Church adopted it as his second Tenet.

“Teach others the ways of the arcane, and through its teaching find responsibility.”

Vumella was never a terribly forgiving Eternal, and he believed he had no reason to be forgiving. Much of his pride and attention went into his teachings, making sure that they were proper and prevented humanity from eradicating themselves with large bursts of arcane power. So when his teachings went jilted by small groups of individuals, he grew angry with them. His first thoughts went to silencing them himself, but was talked down by Verona, Penoriel, and Aria. He decided to leave the affairs of humanity to humanity, and would stay as the keeper of balance that he regulated himself to. This did not prevent his followers from taking a more involved and aggressive stance on the issue. Debate within the church became so prevalent that it was adopted as his third tenet.

“Bring silence to those who threaten to upset the balance.”

 

Clergy
The Clergy of Vumella take much care in distinguishing themselves from practitioners of magic. Their lot is to advise and teach those who seek to learn and benefit from the arcane. Those with extended tenure and reputation for wisdom and intellect are prized and are well respected within the Church. The Clergy considers magic history and research as important as casting capability in itself, as fully dedicating oneself to balance requires a well rounded world-view. To maintain this balance, the Church holds forums in a similar manner to the Church of Aria, where all topics regarding magic are discussed.

 

The Church

The Church as an organization situated themselves more as a regulatory body rather than a place of worship. There one can find a registry of dangerous items and their bearers. They choose more to live Vumella’s will rather than preach his morals. Wherever there is a Church of Vumella, mages may find respite, teachings, and information on magic and the items associated with it. The Church strives to provide these services free of charge, but always accepts donations so that they may continue to fund themselves. The Church does not discriminate against those who have found methods in which to cast magic without formulas, they merely wish to judge it for its safety and learn about it.