Aragir Norde/The Scarlet Academy
The Scarlet Academy
Aragir's interest and talent for research and magic was eventually noticed by his elders, and during one of Avalon's annual gatherings of scientists around the world they presented him as a candidate for the Scarlet Academy. After a thorough aptitude test, he finally received an invitation to study under a mentor in theoretical physics and arcane history.
His position was not that of the average student, as his focus was purely on the theoretical. Thus his goal was not to act on behalf of the Academy in the field, but rather to continue their research on magicks to use for damage prevention and future curriculums. Even after becoming a certified scholar, he had decided to continue this research both for the benefit of the Academy and to satisfy his own thirst for knowledge.
The knowledge he and his mentor had gained on the workings of the various planes of existence are beyond the comprehension of many outside the Academy, yet to this day Aragir has not yet found the answer to his hypothesis.
Though he knows many of the halls within the Academy, he, like many of its students, does not know its location. Apart from his own lack of interest, this is the result of efforts the Academy takes to stay out of reach of those who are not welcome.
Relations within the Academy.
Ever since he had enrolled at the academy, his mentor, Alduin Leonelis, had taken care of him and taught him all he knows about his field and of wizardry. In him, Aragir saw a kindred spirit, and he has always looked up to him.
While he had initially accepted Alduin's choice to disappear, now, some 43 years later, recent events have spurred in him a longing to find his mentor once again.
Aragir has long seen his mentor as a father figure, given the fact that he had always seemingly had faith in his potential and academic pursuits and that they spent time together for most of the younger elf’s life. For this reason Aragir has perhaps formed an ideal of him in his mind, and was blind to any doubts his mentor might have had.
Perhaps being a father himself (though the existence of his family was somewhat of an obscurity to Aragir due to Alduin’s unwavering dedication to his research and the Academy), or sensing a need, Alduin took it upon himself to look after his pupil. He’d give him small rewards for his achievements, or kept an eye on his health when Aragir got too carried away in their research.
Apart from Alduin, Aragir's relation with other students and professors was mostly professional, as he had always been reluctant to socialize with them. Next to his somewhat shy nature, he did not want to distract himself by forging bonds with those that would only remain for a fraction of his life. This not because he did not value short-lived relationships. Rather on the contrary. Like with many elves, the bonds he makes are difficult to cast aside or forget.
Through his dedication he had gained a sense of respect. However many would disagree with, or at least raise their brows at, the means to which he would achieve his goals.
Discovery of the Planes and the Creation Myth
It was not long after the founding of the Academy that Alduin discovered that there was more than one reality, and that the universe in fact consisted of multiple existential planes. Suddenly, magic was no longer just a mysterious gift from the Gods, but a potential resource drawn from a place beyond reach. It was later discovered that most of this magic did in fact come from another plane, and over time more of such planes were discovered. Roughly 200 years after that, together with his then pupil Aragir, he helped in the discovery of a total of 9 planes. It was also suggested that the Gods themselves might inhabit one of them.
But if the Gods were 'mere' inhabitants, could there be something even greater than them? Among the evidence they had accumulated on the various dimensions was something more mysterious. Artifacts and ruins with odd references that were forgotten in time seemed to suggest an even larger but also more obscure entity.
Over the years, scientists and philosophers alike have tried to understand these relics. The most common theory that came forth of this effort is collectively known as the 'Creation Myth'.
It speaks of the primal giant Aetas, who was the first of this universe. Tormented by his loneliness, he shed tears that watered the soil beneath him, and from it sprouted a plant. With Aetas' love and care, this plant grew into the Tree of Life Yggdrasil. For millennia, the leaves of Yggdrasil were used to sow the seeds of life across the universe and together with Aetas' tears they were allowed to flourish. With the last leaf, Aetas created with his own last tear another giant. This giant he called Anima, and together they would watch over the universe until the end of time, with Yggdrasil at its center. The Tree of Life was soon restored, and grew into a giant tree that would sustain the life it had helped create. Due to the lack of evidence, this theory has not yet surpassed its status as a myth, but it has never been completely dismissed. For Alduin and Aragir, the existence of Aetas could potentially take their research into a new direction, and so the theory has always been taken into consideration.
However, the Creation Myth also created controversy among critics and fanatics both. For those who had only believed in their Gods as being above all in creation, the existence of various planes was already difficult to accept, let alone an entity even greater than the highest deity. For this reason, along with the risk of touching upon magicks even more powerful than that which was known thus far, the processing of information regarding this topic and research into the planes became heavily regulated.
Academic career and theories
Aragir enrolled at the Academy through recruitment. There he studied theoretical science in the Doctrina halls in Wing B of the Academy building. After the 4 year study he graduated with distinction and continued to work with Alduin on his research.
In early years Alduin has had access to the magicks that were used in the 100-year war, much of which was later hidden away in the Vault. This had led him to focus his research on the Calamity Portal, which later led to his theories about the existence of other realms. Aragir would later join to solidify these theories, and in 370PT the Realms Theory was released, stating that the world consisted of 9 different realms
After this, they continued their research into these realms, and the portals that caused the Calamity. Through their findings from relics, undated scriptures and knowledge from veterans of the war, they learned of the powerful magicks that were involved with plane shifting, though to their knowledge no one left alive at their time was able to use it.
This had led Aragir to take a new approach aside from his and his mentor’s joint research into the qualities of these different realms. He theorized that if he only found the roots of these magicks and how they worked, he could find a way for interplanar travel without the use of inherent magic. With this theory in mind, he hoped that he could make the world a better place through the creation of equal opportunities in learning from the other realms and the beings (including gods) that resided within them.
Through his research he discovered that the behaviour of certain elements seemed to change based on their surroundings and perception. Elements that existed in the Material Plane would similarly exist in other planes, either in different manners, or when they had no logical reason to exist there. This led him to believe that magic, elements and matter were bound to order through the rules of their respective realms, one such rule being the observation of sentient beings.
The frame of order that meticulously maintained the boundaries between the realms could therefore theoretically be broken through various means.
One such means was the aforementioned ancient magic, though Aragir saw this as unsustainable, borrowed power from the Feywild, as all magic is to some extent.
His second theory was that the veil could be manipulated if one could be made to perceive the lightwaves that were normally hidden.
Through his travels with the Four Feathers he later found out more about Volentis Crystals and glowstones, and theorized that they had the potential to disrupt the veil between realms if applied properly.
The accident
In an attempt to refract and thus part the waves of these planar borders, Aragir conducted many experiments. This would eventually lead to the accident on the 25th of June, 388PT that would alter his life considerably. When using a newly commissioned device that could cause a small scale disruption in the veil between the Material and Ethereal plane (the two that were most perceivable) through the use of certain energetic frequencies, the device seemed to malfunction. As a result it emitted a flash of light that seemed to silence everything around it for just a fraction of a moment, after which Aragir briefly lost consciousness. Shortly after awakening, he began to perceive various events happening at the same time, which he later learned were alternate realities.
Due to the sensitive nature of these abilities, he had never told anyone at the Academy the entire truth.
Though he has learned to control his abilities later in life, various circumstances can still occasionally cause him to lose control;
- Excessive consumption of alcohol
- Psychic damage
- Damage to the head
- Wrong usage or experimental magic
- Prolonged exhaustion
The Dimension Theory
As presented by Aragir circa 423;
“What if traveling between 'planes' was no longer just for those who can control magic at the highest level? If we could commune with our Gods as if they were our brothers and sisters? True knowledge would no longer belong to a select few, but to everyone who seeks it. We could improve our society by learning from worlds yet beyond our reach. From the positive to the negative; everything has lessons to teach us.
There is reason to believe that the nine planes of existence are not in fact planes, but aspects of the same body. Many would imagine them almost being stacked on top of each other, hence the denomination 'planes', like different worlds occupying the same space where time is but a linear movement. But what if you would flip these 'layers' and they become one and the same? If 'when' becomes 'where', and 'where' becomes 'when'? What if we were infinitely delimited within our reality not because of physical boundaries, but because of what we can perceive? And this reality is what creates a sliver of order in an otherwise vast concoction of chaos? Where everything and everytime happens at once, in the exact same world?
To travel between these dimensions, we would need to see beyond our own finite reality. When we travel to another plane with the help of magic, it is in fact a resource originating from another plane that creates this pathway for us, and we remain ever so oblivious to its inner workings. I believe there is a way to transcend this veil, if we find out the true workings of our own natural elements and of magic both. For they are pure chaos by themselves, bound to order through the reality in which they exist. The reality that we have created, perhaps with the conscience that our Gods have given us.
And yet these elements rebel. And when they, occasionally, succeed, interesting things happen. We would need to rethink the concept of movement, time, energy, space, material... Possibly everything as we know it today.
But then... how do we maintain our very essence that relies so heavily on the order in which we exist if we want to transcend into chaos? So far no one that has transcended 'reality' through' shifting', a practise in which magic is used to move an entity into another plane, has managed to return, possibly suggesting that their essence has been irrevocably lost.
Of course, with every grand discovery or rise of new power, comes a certain responsibility to ensure safety for all. But this is partly why the Scarlet Academy has been founded in the first place, and I believe we are quite adept at making sure these things do not fall into the wrong hands.”
A contaminated Artifact
Hovering on the brink of death for some time, Alduin would visit him daily, encouraging him to keep fighting. He would eventually survive, though not without being weakened substantially. To help him start to move around again, his mentor gifted him the quarterstaff that he still carries with him today. Over time when he regained his strength, he would no longer need it, but he continued to walk with it out of habit.
Though he picked up his weapon skills again later, his stamina would forever be impacted, and he remains cautious with physical exertion to prevent a flare up of the lungs.Aragir_Norde