Nihen - Song of Sages

Nihen is the high fantasy setting of my story Song of Sages. Nihen is a world ruled by the twelve gods of magic and their devoted, known as mages. The mages of Nihen all have an unspoken oath to protect the barriers that protect Nihen from the influences of Harmonia, a parallel world that became bonded to Nihen long ago when its god attempted to siphon magic from Nihen to fuel a bloody conquest across the realms that was only stalled and sealed off by the Nihenese gods and their mages.

Among the mages who protect Nihen, there are twelve whose power stands above all others--the Sages, chosen ones of the gods themselves. Song of Sages focuses on Aquaries, a young scholar who finds out that he is the Sage of Umbra after his uncle goes missing as part of a plot by Harmonian-sympathizers. What follows soon becomes a quest to locate the other eleven Sages before Harmonia's potentially disastrous plans put an end not just to magic, but to life itself.

Aquaries's Party

The core group of characters that the plot of Song of Sages follows--a small group of mages (and Sages) that band together under Aquaries's leadership (or rather, Myrinne's leadership until he can get his act together enough to be a co-leader).

New Harmonia

A cult devoted to the revival of the god of Harmonia. It is made up of defector-mages, stranded Harmonians, and a small handful of magicless.

Sages

Others who possess the same divinely gifted power as Aquaries, Myrinne, and Vin.

World Concept

Gods of Magic

In Nihen, there are twelve gods of magic--one for each of the major elemental alignments mages are born with. While they are primarily known for ruling over magic, however, each has their own additional domains that allow them to hold connections even to those who were only given a small spark of unaligned magic. For example, Ondine, the goddess of water, is also the patron of sailors and fishermen.

Of course, the gods of magic are not the only divine beings in Nihen, but they are notably more active in the lives of its people compared to other deities such as Solugh (god of the Sun) or Sinalune (goddess of the moon). Many a historian has speculated that once all the divinities worked together and took active part in the goings-on within Nihen, observing and citing relics, shrines, and records devoted to these other deities that date back well beyond the current age of magic.

Mages & Magic

Magic is an energy source planted within the souls of living beings on Nihen. In its most basic form, sometimes colloquially referred to as "hedge magic", magic allows for the wielder to enforce a small degree of their emotions and will over their surroundings. More advanced forms of magic, on the other hand, tend to be more specialized in what the wielder may influence with their gift--this being in exchange for the significant boost in power. While an individual who only possesses "hedge magic" may be able to light or snuff a candle or make small repairs to objects, a mage blessed with fire magic may be able to conjure and command infernos, or a mage blessed with forge magic may be able to create whole constructs from piles of unrelated scrap.

Although magic is seen as something universal, there are, however, a small handful of people who lack even the smallest spark of magic. These individuals oftentimes find themselves hindered by how magic-centered much of modern Nihenese society is, which has led to a certain degree of resentment and frustration within their population.

Glossary

• adept - Standard term for an elementally aligned magic user.
• mat - Nihenese word for month.
• sage - Term for a magic user who has been marked by the gods. Only 11-12 are known to exist at any given point in history.
• spark - The first spell cast by a mage, usually occurring sometime before a child's tenth year. Sometimes also used to refer to magic itself.