Kender Wizards

Magic has always fascinated kender. To a race that can get excited about small shiny objects it's not too hard to see how the fireworks and fascination of the arcane arts could hold their attention. At the heart of each kender beats a longing to know more about or experience magic, just as they long to explore the mysteries of the world. But there is nothing quite so stunning as the look of child-like wonder of a kender staring at a mage as she performs extraordinary feats of enchantment. Magic is just one of the things that makes the world worth living in for this race.

When the kender race was born into the world through the mayhem of the Graygem, the Wizards of High Sorcery had been getting organized for almost five hundred years, learning the secrets of controlling arcane magic and shaping it into desired results. It was a labor of love for these first pioneering wizards. They took on dangerous and sometimes deadly experiments to catalog the precise hand symbols, esoteric words, and materials needed to craft each and every spell. What was once considered to be a loosely structured group of wild wizards had formed into the Orders of High Sorcery. Mostly human mixed with a few elves, these first wizards had decided that past atrocities and accidents by unskilled mages demanded strict regulations on the use of magic. No one was allowed to practice arcane magic outside of the structure of the Wizards of High Sorcery or be branded a renegade.

Following the passing of the Graygem, the Wizards found themselves inundated with new races and creatures to deal with and the growth in the studies of magic slowed down in order to better understand the changing world around them. Roughly five hundred years after the creation of the Orders the first kender arrived on the doorstep of a school of learning wanting to know more about the arcane arts.

At this time the race was still relatively new. Few wizards had ever had dealings with individuals of this new race. Over the next twenty years debates raged among the Orders over allowing this new race to participate. Certainly there had been very few gnomes that had ever been interested in the arcane arts, except those that wanted to know how to dismantle it to examine it's different properties, and this other new race, the dwarves, did not seem to have any particular interest in it. In fact, they shunned it. So now they had a new race that was eager about learning magic. Those mages who had spent any amount of time with a kender reported that they felt it was a bad idea. The kender race did not show any inkling of being orderly or even capable of learning in a structured environment. Other wizards thought that by denying kender wizards, they invited themselves for failure in exploring new areas of arcane magic that had not been used before. In the name of the growth of the arcane arts kender were admitted into the Orders of High Sorcery.

It was not long before the wizards that had spoken against their entrance proved themselves correct. One thing the kender were apparently excellent at doing was making something disappear and they did it without the first bit of knowledge of magic. Teachers found that classroom equipment and supplies went missing at the most inopportune time and most spell components ended up with the kender instead of with the teacher or other students. Fights broke out and taunting occurred when the kender were teased which only exacerbated the problem. The kender also had a hard time staying in class, and following explicit instructions. 'Why only add one pinch of sulfur when a handful would make a much a much larger explosion?' The experiment of integrating kender into the institutes of magic was considered a dismal failure.

All kender were asked to leave the classrooms and the future of kender wizards looked bleak. But some wizards discovered that kender could learn better while on the road. A kender that is busy traveling here and there will be happy to listen to any kind of teaching that might come her way. A very few wizards did take on kender apprentices, but only those kender that showed the greatest amount of discipline and ingenuity were ever considered. Thus it came to pass that a few number of kender did actually make it into the Orders of High Sorcery. They learned enough on the road to take "The Test" and the few kender that passed that made it into the Orders of High Sorcery. For the next four hundred years kender wizards continued to thrive, but only a handful of kender ever actually made it past "The Test".

The Orders were not happy with this latest edition into their ranks however. There were many complaints of missing spell books, unlawful entries into secret rooms and private meetings, all of which was explained with flippant attitudes and implausible excuses. Plus the few kender that had learned even the lowest of spells were not known for using them responsibly. They used them for pranks and entertainment. Something the wizard community frowned upon and something that scared the general populace.

In the year 2600 PC the kender race did something that would forever doom their future as wizards. They "borrowed" a flying citadel and crashed it into the Sentinel Mountain range of Northern Ergoth. The discovery of the floating fortress and subsequent reckless disregard of it was the last straw. At this point and time discussions of the Towers of High Sorcery had been underway and the citadel was considered to have been an ideal instrument to use. The tide turned against the kender. The one or two kender wizards at the time suddenly disappeared, it was unknown if they had left of their own volition, but it was rumored that they had never discussed leaving. In most cases this was chalked up to typical kender behavior.

An unwritten rule began to circulate that teaching magic to kender was an offense that could be punishable by expulsion from the Order or, sometimes even, death. This conspiracy was held up by all Orders. Those of the white robes believed the deception was necessary for the good of the Orders. Those of the red robes felt the most uncomfortable with the conspiracy and started a rumor to appease themselves and the kender that incessantly inquired about the lack of training.

They began a rumor that the kender race, as a whole, was resistant to magic and unable to wield it with any skill beyond basic cantrips. Over time this lie spread and when enough wizards heard the theory and the orders to stop teaching kender the number of kender wizards dwindled rapidly.

Half a century later, construction of the towers of High Sorcery began. A place was needed for a neutral meeting place among all wizards. Kender, hearing of this, attempted to visit many of the towers on their journeys. This, in part, led to the creation of the powerful groves that surround each tower and keep unwanted visitors from approaching them. Finally thwarted at their attempts to learn magic, fewer and fewer kender tried, and the tales of their inability to manipulate arcane magic was accepted as truth. The Orders of High Sorcery had won and kender wizards were almost never heard of.

Occasionally, though, a kender of unusual skill and determination does manage to find his or her way into the Order. These kender always refuse to say who taught them their skills, and some even claim they learned it on their own by "finding" lost spell books and deciphering them on their own. This notion is generally dismissed as a kender tale. If a kender can find a mage to vouch for his or her skills and gain access to a Tower of High Sorcery then they may be permitted to take "The Test". Since so few kender pass it the Orders find it to be a reasonable course of action to take with them.

The Test for kender is unusually harsh, it tests not only their skills as mages but also their patience, responsibility, concentration, and self control. All of which are immeasurably difficult for any typical kender to deal with. Kender do not fear death, and as a result the Test is not viewed as a daunting task. As such, those kender that do manage to pass the Test will usually pay the ultimate price, they will lose their fearlessness. That is the greatest price they could hope to pay. They choose to become afflicted for the love of magic.

Kender wizards that pass the test are much more careful than a typical kender when it comes to all things. They have cultivated a true respect of the power with which they have been given. This does not however prevent them from acting like kender most of the time. They are still ever as curious about the world around them, especially when it comes to magic. They will talk endlessly of seemingly nonsensical subjects, but now it seems that much more likely that they might be telling the truth.

The majority of kender wizards are of the red robes. Although good by nature, Kender wizards tend use their magic more for the enjoyment of others and for protection, rather than specifically use it to further any cause of good. Although there was a pair of twins that were accepted into the black robes. This however, was an unsubstantiated rumor.

Kender actually make surprisingly good wizards. Their quick thinking, and high dexterity make it easier to avoid opponents while they are being attacked and their small size only adds to their defense. When casting is not an option kender are still unusually skilled at slipping into the shadows and disappearing. However they suffer when it comes to concentration and must expend more time one focusing on casting spells. Even kender that pass “The Test” can get easily distracted. An encounter with a kender wizard can be terrifying no matter of you are a friend or foe.