The Five Mage-Lords established a short-lived mageocratic empire in the northern regions of the world during the V Age. They were enemies of the Second Empire of Miles, and presented themselves as formidable opponents. They allied themselves with Fire Giants and certain Wyrms; it may be that their presence formed the prototype for the Solothean/Caruain Empires insofar as cultural precursors.
They fought the War of the Mages during the reigns of Sylimus Elf-friend and Julior II.
Rho’anir the Shapeless (Rho’anir Thousandforms); a Valelan king, Ro’anir the Shapeless was himself a Skinchanger who had accrued vast magical power and outlived the natural span of his life long before the other Mage-Lords joined him in his anti-imperial wars (the War of the Mages).
Rho’anir was famed for his ability to shapeshift, not only as a Skinchanger may do (into a single animal) but into anything imaginable. Glockirus wrote in his History of the Mage Wars that “Rho’anir himself had lost his original shape long ago; his body had forgotten what it meant to be a man. When he held court, he was nothing more than a smoky absence in the silhouette of person. His clothing faded into shreds of billowing cloth. The only things which remained concrete where the two powerful magical weapons he carried; a Rod of Men and one of the Five Wands of High Sorcery.”
Rho’anir was also known as the Shapeless One.
Gothea the Cruel, the Elfslayer; a gigantine spellweaver, Gothea was more often called The Giant during her heyday. She formed a small kingdom in what is know the Elfslayer range and warred with the elves of Sylvasil. Gothea herself was either a frost or stone giant by the descriptions given in the History.
Gothea joined the Alliance of the Five Mages during the years when Sylimus Elf-friend moved Imperial soldiery into Sylvasil to defend the northern elvish borders. Gothea was learned in wand-lore, and it was her teachings that enabled the Alliance to construct the five great Wands of High Sorcery.
During the wars, Gothea was known as Elfslayer.
Vanyr the White; Vanyr was one of the lesser wizards of the Solothen Plains when he was young. He delved into ancient Khewedi studies and forbidden secrets, increasing the potency of his spells with rings, staves, and scrolls. His spells always bore the same searing white hallmark. This is how he earned his title as the White Wizard.
Long before the time of the Mage Wars he took the final steps on the road to lichdom and entombed himself below the Solothen plain to avoid the scourging fire of the ancient kingdom of Pernag. During Rho’anir’s quest for allies he discovered Vanyr’s tomb and woke him from his slumber. In return, Vanyr swore allegiance (however briefly) to Rho’anir’s cause.
He always carried a staff of blazing white, was mummified and smelled of incense or cloves, and had many magical pendants and rings. To this day it is common among wizards to speak of a large haul of magic as Vanyr’s Treasure.
He was called simply the White Wizard during the wars.
Mordent the Babbler; Mordent was an imperial wizard who was assaulted and dominated by the wizard Rho’anir the Shapeless. Some accounts, notably Glockirus’, claim that Mordent was actually a willing agent of the Five Mages. In either event, Mordent was a moderately powerful mage at best when he vanished from imperial ranks. When he reappeared amongst the Five he was a changed man.
Known only as Babbler on the field, Mordent had at some point apparently broken his jaw. He tittered to himself in an unstoppable torrent of nonsense, pausing only (as Glockirus writes) “to fling spells of devastation.” He was a horror of broken flesh and mind, and his sorcerous might had apparently increased tenfold or more.
He was slain in single combat by a simple Imperial soldier named Eobarûn. Glockirus writes: “But Mordent stood atop a hill, exhausted and cackling. From amongst the third rank of the imperial forces came a soldier who was named Eobarûn who rushed amongst the formless daemons that stood guard along the rim of the hill. His blade flashed like lightning and his feet were swift. He struck a blow at the heart of Mordent the Babbler, and the wizard fell.”
Tyr the Tactician; Known simply as the Tactician during the War of the Mages, Tyr was a Thegnari horse-wizard who rode against the empire in several of the border wars near Dorlinum. Upon hearing of the Alliance of the Mages, Tyr fought his way free of the border-camp where his people where being held and joined Rho’anir and his armies. Glockirus writes of Tyr, “...but the most terrifying of the wizards arrayed against the armies of the Empire was not the Babbler, the Elfslayer, or even the Formless One. The Tactician, with his lightning strikes and labyrinthine stratagems made him a more formidable opponent than any of the others. And, to complete the fear, he could throw magic from horseback, a feat unrivaled amongst his peers...”
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