EARTH MAGIC

LIFESPEAKERS

Lifespeakers often have a finger pointed at them for being “zoned out” in public situations, second only to Wavewatchers in terms of frequency and severity. It isn’t usually that they aren’t paying attention, though, so much as it is that being a Lifespeaker often necessitates paying far too much attention to everything else going on. As long as everything (including people) is talking to them, it’s a little difficult to keep just one thing pinpointed as the thing they should be paying the most attention to. This earns some Lifespeakers the somewhat unfair title of “dense”. More experienced mages can often tune out the natter and tune in to the appropriate things, but younger or more inexperienced Lifespeakers often simply have to accept the notion that they will look strange in front of their peers for the time being.

Outside of this quirk, however, Lifespeakers are often very personable, if a little introverted by their own nature. Just as the nature they represent, Lifespeakers are constantly adapting and changing to suit themselves to any situation they may need to. They find joy and purpose in tackling problems and creating solutions, and many find pleasure in more creative outlets. Lifespeakers can be found in almost any mix of people, and tend to have many acquaintances, but as typical for earth mages, often only keep a few very close friends. As the subclass most connected to the fauna of the world, at least one of these very close confidantes tends to be some sort of animal.

MOUNTAINTAMERS

When it comes to Mountaintamers, there usually isn’t a lot of room for horseplay. Mountaintamers are often victims to their own tunnel vision, and the type of people who feel the need to get things done as soon as possible. They find joy in craftsmanship, physical puzzles, and other things with set goals in mind and a sense of satisfaction in their completion. They tend to be multi-skilled, well-rounded, and no-nonsense individuals finding purpose in their interests and projects, so much so that it’s common to see Mountaintamers head out for years on their own (or perhaps with small groups of trusted peers) to chase their passions. Mountaintamers tend to skew towards the quieter side of the social spectrum in groups, often fine to roll with what the general consensus of democracy than to make too much of a fuss about getting their way. The one exception to this seems to be when a moral or belief of their own is at risk of being affected, and in this case Mountaintamers will rarely back down. The Mountaintamer is a person of unwavering personal belief.

A general observation of Mountaintamers also can reveal another side to them: The adrenaline junkie. Often coming from the more unexpected of the bunch, there are many Mountaintamers so willing to experience everything that nature has to offer that it seems necessary to climb mountains and trees, leap from planes or dive into caves so deep nobody has ever seen their end, to ensure that nothing gets passed over. Mountaintamers are often sturdy enough to not have to worry about meeting an untimely end, or so they hope.

ABILITIES

Lifespeakers not only have the class-standard ability to speak to animals, but also can communicate on some level with plants and the very being of nature around them. To a Lifespeaker, the trees seem to talk, the moss might be whispering, and even the breeze of nature seems to hold news of something they should know. Touching a plant for a Lifespeaker can reveal echoes of whatever touched the plant last, or glimpses into seasons or years long ago. Lifespeakers find communication with flora simple and deeply rewarding. Lifespeakers can easily affect the plants around them, as well. Concentrating hard enough on a plant can manipulate it to grow faster, larger, or stronger at will, and with enough training, most Lifespeakers can use plants even more to their advantage, summoning giant flowers to lift themself or others, vines to restrain enemies, or even the brute weight of a stem big enough to crush a car to their advantage. The bigger the plant, however, the more energy is used, so most Lifespeakers find it advantageous to simply do more with less, like tripping up adversaries with a small wire made from weeping willow.

With more practice, Lifespeakers can tap into their healing instincts as well, using their plant abilities to grow healing herbs or, most impressively, healing others with touch. The latter is extremely draining to all but the most experienced mages, however, and as such is used sparingly. It is also aspirational among some Lifespeakers to use the more fauna-centric side of their powers: Calling creatures to aid them in battle or otherwise or, if rigorous study is used, using their powers to shift into an animal they’ve seen before for several hours at a time. This has proven difficult to master, but easy enough to do for short spurts. Though most are unable to speak in this form, it has proven undoubtedly useful for use in both combat and for other general mischief. As most classes do, Lifespeakers’ emotions can have effects on their environment. Times of high emotion may cause flowers to bloom or wilt at random around a Lifespeaker, and victims of angry mages report being pricked by massive brambles seeming to spawn randomly at a Lifespeaker’s feet.

ABILITIES

Mountaintamers are at one with the “true earth”, as some put it. Concerned less with the nature side of things, which they leave to the Lifespeakers, Mountaintamers work with the foundation of it all. Dirt, rock, sand, even occasionally ground cover like grass and moss– Mountaintamers are able to manipulate it to their will. An amateur mage can easily toss piles of stones or globs of sand at an enemy, and an expert will have no problems shearing rock off a mountainside to reshape into a gigantic boulder to be tossed at an opponent, carried as if by the wind itself. The Earth itself is to a Mountaintamer what a package of clay is to a ceramic artist, and with more practice, a Mountaintamer is able to mould about any substance into whatever they wish, even creating and animating piles of material such as boulders or clay into beasts they can control to aid them in an altercation.

Common practice amongst Mountaintamers is to shape oneself into an impenetrable wall– That is, to coat the body in stone or clay to prevent weapons or about anything else from getting through. This is a trick taught early to young mages, and appropriate armour can be moulded out of just about any substance, but heavier, less naturally-malleable materials can take more energy to keep up, and thus risk shattering at inconvenient times, a potential hazard Mountaintamers must always stay aware of.

Mountaintamers’ emotions are close to the “meat” of the Earth, and as such during times of high emotion it is not unheard of for minor earthquakes or even small sandstorms to make themselves known in the surrounding area of the affected mage. This connection also lends itself to other customs sometimes noted as strange to outsiders, such as burying one’s head or hands in the substance currently being attuned to (Much like water mages, Mountaintamers have the ability to hold their breath for longer than average due to the amount of time spent underground) to allow for better understanding or shaping of it. This can also be used to read disturbances in that area, such as buildings, people, or animals.

Some Mountaintamers have been known to “recharge” by heading out into their biome of choice, be it forest, desert, or mountain, and burying themselves up to the neck to absorb the feeling of the world around them.