The Blackcaster Mages Guild, also known simply as the Blackcasters, were a guild of mages operating in the city of Elinhir. The guild was founded by Felix "Blackcaster" Augustus, who is said to have left the comfort and the confines of the Mages Guild, along with his followers, to practice their arts in Craglorn. While they were considered hedge mages rebelling against the authority of the Mages Guild by some, the Blackcasters rejected the claim that they were renegades. According to the Blackcasters, the Guild's founding had nothing to do with any disagreements about discipline or practice, but was instead motivated by a desire to set out to new territories beyond the guild's reach. Furthermore, they claimed that Felix Blackcaster was a Mages Guild member of high standing, and even kept in contact with his superiors in the guild years after founding his own.[1] While the Blackcasters claimed their practices were ordinary by magical standards, the Mages Guild seemed to consider them renegades.[2]
HistoryEdit
Sometime in the early Second Era, a group of mages led by Felix Augustus left the Mages Guild to journey to Craglorn, reaching the town of Elinhir. Intrigued by the sight of the then-empty Apex Towers, the Blackcasters pleaded with the town's mayor (who they claimed was more of a warlord) for access to the towers, but were denied multiple times.
Sometime later, when a band of Iron Orcs came down from the mountains to lay siege to the city, the Blackcasters drove off the Orcs using their magic, and are said to have won the love of the people of Elinhir, who acclaimed Felix Augustus as their new mayor. Shortly after, the Apex Accord (also known as the Blackcaster Accord[3]) was struck, which was an agreement that stated the Blackasters would provide protection for the city, as long as Elinhir's people supported them in the operation of their mages' academy.
While some argued that the appearance of the Iron Orcs were not a coincidence, and that the Blackcasters made a deal with the Orcs in order to win over the people of Elinhir, the Blackcasters vehemently rejected these claims. According to the Blackcasters, someone of Felix Augustus' stature and reputation would not have resorted to such trickery, and that the Iron Orcs were intransigent in matters of cooperation and negotiation.
Whatever the case, Elinhir seemingly went from a struggling settlement to a flourishing city under the guidance and protection of the Blackcaster mages, an arrangement that is said to have served the city well for hundreds of years.[1][2]
This all changed however, circa 2E 582, when an agent of the Scaled Court made a deal with the Blackcasters, offering them knowledge about the Nedic towers they were inhabiting in exchange for the location of the Celestial Mage's Apex Stone. The Blackcasters agreed, but the spells they were taught were pure savagery. The majority of the Blackasters were corrupted, and their leader, Arch-Mage Yamanu-Ko, was driven insane in a lust for power, and turned on the city. They started killing civilians and Blackcasters alike to harvest their magicka for their ritual, betraying their promise to protect the city. The corrupted Blackcasters and Yamanu-Ko would be stopped by the Vestige, saving Elinhir and its people.
The fate of the Blackcaster's after Yamanu-Ko's betrayal is unknown, and a surviving Blackcaster suspected it would take a long time before the people of Elinhir would trust mages again.[2][4]
GalleryEdit
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Arch-Mage Yamanu-Ko (ESO)
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A Blackcaster Mage (ESO)
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A corrupted Blackcaster Battlemage (ESO)
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A corrupted Blackcaster Mage (ESO)
NotesEdit
- The Blackcasters was originally the name of a gladiatorial team in Elinhir which was to be featured in The Elder Scrolls: Arena. However, the gladiatorial concept was scrapped in development, and the name repurposed.[UOL 1]
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.
BooksEdit
- The Flourishing of Elinhir by Garold Farfly — The history of Elinhir and the establishment of the Blackcaster Mages Guild
- A Citizen's Petition by Adan Kordrel — A letter addressed to the Blackcaster Mages Guild regarding a missing person
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b The Flourishing of Elinhir — Garold Farfly
- ^ a b c Minerva Lauzon's dialogue in Supreme Power
- ^ A Citizen's Petition — Adan Kordrel
- ^ Events of Supreme Power in ESO
Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.
- ^ Go Blades! at The Imperial Library