"Gabriel Westmar. Tomorrow at noon you are required to be at the Mages Grand Hall."
The previous day, the young Hydromancer had received a message from one of the strangers that had recently arrived at the Academy. In the wake of their arrival, a flurry of activity and gossip had sprung up: some said they were here to learn about Academy events and return to a superior, while others believed them to be barbarians here to kill them all or enslave them. Gabriel, however, held no such superstitions, nor any prejudice toward the newcomers. Rather, since they had shown no signs of hostility that he could tell, he welcomed their presence, even if it was for a short time.
Upon arriving at the Hall's entrance just before the expected time, having eaten a decent-sized breakfast, Gabe found that a pair of armed and armoured guards stood blocking his way inside. They looked him up and down: he had elected to don his mage's robes for the occasion, even though they were clearly too large for his slight - some might say scrawny - figure. The hem of the robes, originally sky-blue, was scuffed and dirty from trailing behind Gabriel. He had tried his best to make himself presentable, but was probably failing dismally due to his small stature and hair that just refused to co-operate.
Recognising Gabriel as one of the people that had been summoned to the meeting, the guards stepped aside to let him pass through. Pushing open the door, Gabe slipped inside and closed the door behind him. From there he made his way to a section of the stands where he found a considerable number of other mages sitting or standing, talking amongst themselves. He hurried to join them, though he hung back a little from the rest of the group, not wanting to just walk up to someone and say hi.
There was no sign of any of the newcomers to the Academy. Presumably they were inside the room nearby, otherwise the mages wouldn't need to be where they were. Gabriel wondered why that was the case; theories eluded him at the present time.
The previous day, the young Hydromancer had received a message from one of the strangers that had recently arrived at the Academy. In the wake of their arrival, a flurry of activity and gossip had sprung up: some said they were here to learn about Academy events and return to a superior, while others believed them to be barbarians here to kill them all or enslave them. Gabriel, however, held no such superstitions, nor any prejudice toward the newcomers. Rather, since they had shown no signs of hostility that he could tell, he welcomed their presence, even if it was for a short time.
Upon arriving at the Hall's entrance just before the expected time, having eaten a decent-sized breakfast, Gabe found that a pair of armed and armoured guards stood blocking his way inside. They looked him up and down: he had elected to don his mage's robes for the occasion, even though they were clearly too large for his slight - some might say scrawny - figure. The hem of the robes, originally sky-blue, was scuffed and dirty from trailing behind Gabriel. He had tried his best to make himself presentable, but was probably failing dismally due to his small stature and hair that just refused to co-operate.
Recognising Gabriel as one of the people that had been summoned to the meeting, the guards stepped aside to let him pass through. Pushing open the door, Gabe slipped inside and closed the door behind him. From there he made his way to a section of the stands where he found a considerable number of other mages sitting or standing, talking amongst themselves. He hurried to join them, though he hung back a little from the rest of the group, not wanting to just walk up to someone and say hi.
There was no sign of any of the newcomers to the Academy. Presumably they were inside the room nearby, otherwise the mages wouldn't need to be where they were. Gabriel wondered why that was the case; theories eluded him at the present time.
Hello, all. A while back Stranger offered me the option of joining Elementals, and I have finally decided to take him up on his offer.
Meet Gabriel, ladies and gentlemen.
Meet Gabriel, ladies and gentlemen.
Name: Gabriel David Westmar (Gabe for short)
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Element: Hydromancer
Rank: Mage
Appearance: Gabriel has fair skin, with short, light brown hair, dark blue eyes and a generally clear complexion. Standing at 5'5", he is both short and underweight for his age. What little you see of his slight figure, that isn't covered by his robe, is somewhat muscular: Gabe is fairly strong despite his lightly built figure.
His mage's robe, which is a bit too big for him and trails behind him as he walks, is primarily coloured a plain royal blue to match his eyes, with white and sky-blue trims. Gabriel normally wears regular clothing underneath, and sometimes chooses not to wear the robe due to it occasionally making him uncomfortable.
Demeanour: Gabe is an idealist: he often wonders why mages and ordinary people can't just get along. When he visits areas outside of the Academy, which he does as often as possible despite it being a rare chance, he does so in regular clothing as opposed to his mage's robe, and tries to conceal his abilities as much as possible so as not to alarm the people or be shunned and feared, which he dislikes immensely. Some would call him naive in this respect, since many are disinclined to believe that mages and ordinary humans would be able to get along given historical events. They would be right.
Gabriel understands that people fear mages, but he doesn't reciprocate that feeling towards non-magical people. Instead he thinks of them as blinded by their hatred, and believes mages and mundane humans can live together in peace once the barriers of fear are broken down.
Biography: Born into a family of four including himself, Gabriel's parents and older brother were a mixed bag of professions: while his father and brother were talented merchants, his mother was a seamstress and artist. At one point in the year, when Gabriel was eight years of age a torrential rainstorm hit their little settlement, and the little boy was caught in the rain on the way home... but when he entered the house, the entire family was shocked to find that he was completely dry. Not even a drop of water was on him or his clothes.
Soon after, Gabe was packed up and sent to one of the many minor academies where people were tested for signs of magical power. Sure enough, the lad was recognised as a Hydromancer, and was enrolled into the appropriate school of magic. Gabriel's family, however, only contacted him rarely despite the fact that he sent them many letters. The first time was to say that while they didn't like that he had magical power, they had little choice but to send him to the academies: they were afraid that he would become an unpredictable force of ruin if left unchecked. Gabriel had been confused by this message, and it wasn't until many years later that he realised that non-magical people feared mages like him and his fellows.
While Gabriel's power over water is still developing, he seeks to both rise to the rank of Adept in due course, and to help mundane people realise that not all mages are psychopaths hellbent on destruction. If people would understand that peace could be found among mages and non-magical people, he reasons, surely the mutual fear (for the most part) could dissolve and peace would finally reign supreme over the lands once more.
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Element: Hydromancer
Rank: Mage
Appearance: Gabriel has fair skin, with short, light brown hair, dark blue eyes and a generally clear complexion. Standing at 5'5", he is both short and underweight for his age. What little you see of his slight figure, that isn't covered by his robe, is somewhat muscular: Gabe is fairly strong despite his lightly built figure.
His mage's robe, which is a bit too big for him and trails behind him as he walks, is primarily coloured a plain royal blue to match his eyes, with white and sky-blue trims. Gabriel normally wears regular clothing underneath, and sometimes chooses not to wear the robe due to it occasionally making him uncomfortable.
Demeanour: Gabe is an idealist: he often wonders why mages and ordinary people can't just get along. When he visits areas outside of the Academy, which he does as often as possible despite it being a rare chance, he does so in regular clothing as opposed to his mage's robe, and tries to conceal his abilities as much as possible so as not to alarm the people or be shunned and feared, which he dislikes immensely. Some would call him naive in this respect, since many are disinclined to believe that mages and ordinary humans would be able to get along given historical events. They would be right.
Gabriel understands that people fear mages, but he doesn't reciprocate that feeling towards non-magical people. Instead he thinks of them as blinded by their hatred, and believes mages and mundane humans can live together in peace once the barriers of fear are broken down.
Biography: Born into a family of four including himself, Gabriel's parents and older brother were a mixed bag of professions: while his father and brother were talented merchants, his mother was a seamstress and artist. At one point in the year, when Gabriel was eight years of age a torrential rainstorm hit their little settlement, and the little boy was caught in the rain on the way home... but when he entered the house, the entire family was shocked to find that he was completely dry. Not even a drop of water was on him or his clothes.
Soon after, Gabe was packed up and sent to one of the many minor academies where people were tested for signs of magical power. Sure enough, the lad was recognised as a Hydromancer, and was enrolled into the appropriate school of magic. Gabriel's family, however, only contacted him rarely despite the fact that he sent them many letters. The first time was to say that while they didn't like that he had magical power, they had little choice but to send him to the academies: they were afraid that he would become an unpredictable force of ruin if left unchecked. Gabriel had been confused by this message, and it wasn't until many years later that he realised that non-magical people feared mages like him and his fellows.
While Gabriel's power over water is still developing, he seeks to both rise to the rank of Adept in due course, and to help mundane people realise that not all mages are psychopaths hellbent on destruction. If people would understand that peace could be found among mages and non-magical people, he reasons, surely the mutual fear (for the most part) could dissolve and peace would finally reign supreme over the lands once more.
