The Brass Coast magical traditions

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Magic is a source of wonder and pleasure to the Freeborn. They expect people performing magic to entertain, and many Freeborn magicians will enhance their rituals with stage magic tricks simply to please the crowd. Many Freeborn learn a handful of non-magical sleight-of-hand tricks or illusions while a few entertainers specialize enough to develop a whole act.

Within a family there is often at least one individual who has made a more serious study of magic. These individuals accept a responsibility for teaching relatives who are interested in learning a few magical knacks, and use their magic to help their family and harm their enemies as well as try to scry the vagaries of fortune and fate. These magicians tend to be practical, and often combine their study of magic with crafting or medicinal lore.

The more powerful and organised magicians in Freeborn society, the Hakima, view other magicians as unsophisticated dabblers at best, and ignorant meddlers at worst. Hakima are organized along tribal lines, drawing members from the most skilled and promising individuals from every family that is part of that tribe. The Hakima are highly skilled practitioners of ritual magic and custodians of magical lore handed down to them by the founder of their tribe. They are dedicated to preserving not only their own tribe, but the integrity of the nation as a whole.

The Hakima of each tribe bring a unique perspective to their magical arts. The Riqueza perform ritual magic using loud, rhythmic, energetic drumming; the Guerra prefer physical movement combined with fire and light. The Erigo use a less energetic style, often accompanying their rituals with soothing, harmonious music. Most groups of Hakima prefer to work magic at night, in the open air, in the same way their founders did. They practice a tradition that says ritual magic is the act of building up power from the participants and creating a connection to the Realms, rather than the more traditional assumption that the magician draws power down from the Realms to the world. As such, all their rituals attempt to include their bystanders as participants whether that is chanting, clapping or singing.

More than being just magicians, the Hakima exemplify a connection to the founders of the tribes and the history of the Freeborn. They are traditionally held to be wise, able to perceive the larger picture more effectively than most Freeborn who are anchored in more mundane activities. They may be consulted when important decisions need to be made within a family, or when magical assistance is sought. They rarely wait to be consulted however – a Hakima is likely to be poking around any important business ready to offer a suggestion as to what to do next.

They are especially cautious about preserving the traditions that make the Freeborn what they are, and about preserving the links to the founders that form the underpinning of tribal identity. They have little time for dabblers and charlatans who debase the legacy of the Founders, and offer advice that claims to be based on divination but is as often as not made up on the spot.