Mythic Europe
| Ars Magica Primer | |
|---|---|
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| Game Setting | |
| Mythic Europe | |
| The Order of Hermes | |
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The Order of Hermes The Code of Hermes The Peripheral Code Hermetic Book Cycle |
Mythic Europe is much like the Europe of 1220, the middle ages, but with dragons, demons, angels, and faeries all unquestionably real, and no aspect of society is untouched by myth.
-Ars Magica Fifth Edition, p. 4
Mythic Europe is the canonical setting where Ars Magica sagas take place. While closely based on early 13th century Europe, Mythic Europe deviates from history by incorporating myth, legend, and wild unabashed fantasy into the historic background.
In some respects, Mythic Europe is very similar to historical Europe. It occupies the same geographical region, its inhabitants cling to the same medieval beliefs and values, it has the same social institutions such as the Catholic Church and even specific persons such as the Holy Roman Emperor Frederic II and Pope Gregory IX.
However, Mythic Europe is awash with magic and the supernatural. The power of God is manifest, faeries bargain with mortals, demons hunger for souls, and wizards live in great towers. Ars Magica focuses on the tales of wizards, which by the nature of things tends to accentuate the Mythic elements of the setting.
Above all, Mythic Europe is not fixed. While canon presents a certain vision of Mythic Europe, with a certain level of historical veracity and a certain level of myth, storyguides and troupes are encouraged to vary from canon and historical precedents when running their own sagas.
The Order of Hermes and the Realms of Power
The Order of Hermes is an organization encompassing nearly every wizard of power in Mythic Europe. Its members, the magi, take an Oath that binds them to the Order and its laws. The Order is divided into thirteen regional Tribunals, roughly along geopolitical lines. Within each Tribunal the magi live in covenants, and participate in a diverse Hermetic Society.
There are four Realms of Power influencing Mythic Europe: the Divine Realm, the Magic Realm, the Infernal Realm, and the Faerie Realm. Affiliated with the Magic Realm, magi usually live in magical places and spend much of their time improving their magical Arts and power. They treasure and collect Raw Vis, items of power such as dew collected from the mountaintop of a magical mountain or the tooth of a magical wolf.
Faerie: There are many faeries in Mythic Europe, and their machinations often entail wizards as well as mundanes. Some magi seek out these enigmatic beings, while others abhor their or try to render them into raw vis. Regardless, it is a rare magus who does not find himself at a faerie forest sooner or later.
Infernal: Most magi do their best to avoid the Infernal. Demons in Ars Magica are dangerous, deceptive, and corrupting. The Order was shaken by the Corruption of an entire House, and the Code of Hermes forbids any dealings with demons. Yet the Order is not at war with the Infernal and does not wish to be; magi are often advised to take a wide breadth away from Infernal machinations, rather than bring the attention of the demons on them and their peers.
Divine: Perhaps the most powerful of the Realms is the Divine. Much of Mythic Europe is under the Dominion, under the influence of this supernatural power. In Mythic Europe God does not limit his grace to a single faith, and Islam, Judaism, and Christianity all enjoy the blessings of the Dominion - as do many heresies and other religions. Angels constantly battle demons for the souls of humanity, and holy men wield great powers in the name of God. The Dominion makes the practice of Hermetic Magic difficult and dangerous, and magi often avoid the Dominion and the Catholic Church, or at least strive to keep it at bay. Although most magi worship God, they separate Divine worship from the places of Magic that God has chosen to place on this Earth. Some even oppose the rise of the Dominion, or cling to pagan deities.
Magi are not allowed to bow in fealty to the nobles of Mythic Europe, which makes integration with the feudal medieval society difficult. Shunning both fealty and the Church, many covenants periodically find themselves pressed by mundane encroachment, making shady deals with mundanes, or dodging the Church's efforts at prostheletyzing.
Yet magi are not removed from mundane society. They rely on mundane artisanship and toil to provide them with food and products, they often take an interest in mundane scholarship and art, and many are religious or hold other ties to the mundanes. Ars Magica allows to put great emphasis on Mundane Society, with supplements such as City and Guild and Art and Academe intertwining the two worlds.