The Grand History of the Clans of Caer Sidi

The Clan of Summer, The Fire Hearted, The Ones with Spirits of Flame

Historically, Clan Summer has been known for its order and structure amid the chaos embraced by Clan Winter. Members have a sense of justice and ethics, and are imbued with a natural curiosity about magic and the universe of Warrens. Many great scholars have come from Clan Summer, and they have a long history of studying and perfecting different kinds of magic. Generally Clan Summer members make excellent healers, clerics, warriors or paladins. That isn't to say however, that they are all scholars or passive beings. The wrath of a Clan Summer member is fueled by righteous fury and purpose. Clan Summer members can be decisive, quick to mete out a punishment after they've made a judgement. They can be known for their fiery tempers. It wouldn't be uncommon to see a member of Clan Summer working as a mercenary, taking worthy cases to hand down justice. It also isn't to say that Clan Summer falls under 'Good'. A member of Clan Summer may have a set of morals that differ from those around them. They may see sacrifices as necessary to achieve what they think is right. Neither Clan should be labelled as either 'good' or 'evil' because all morality types can be found in both clans.

A History of Clan Summer

The war for Caer Sidi was brutal, bloody, and full of the bodies of slain allies. The warriors of the soon to be Seasonal Queens were outnumbered and the outcome was hazy and dark. But from that darkness sprung the light that would burn in the hearts of those who came to form Clan Summer. Falling away from the front lines under the guidance of the Summer Queen, her honour guard immersed themselves in unlocking the magic of the Warrens. They were driven by the urgency to save the falling army, committing vast amounts of energy and resources to their cause. In time their determination paid off, and the members of the honour guard learned to harness the magical energies connecting all Warrens that flowed around them. Their cause was true and just, and the magic they harnessed was the same. Bravely they returned to the front lines of battle, healing their allies and smiting their enemies with the power of burning fire of the magic they had conquered. They emerged victorious and with a raging fire in their hearts that refused to be extinguished. The time spent learning the various magics and spells along with their time in battle forged them into an unstoppable unit. They had seen the darkness of what lie beyond the warren and vowed that it should never again touch Caer Sidi. They continued fighting for justice, following their codes, and bringing peace and healing wherever they went. In time they became known as The Summer Clan, The Fire Hearted, The Ones with Spirits of Healing Flame.

The Luminaries of Clan Summer

Conall The Betrayer, The First Luminary - After the war had ended, the shift towards the clans of today had already started. Those who fought for the Seasonal Queens followed their allegiances and formed the clans of Winter and Summer. Conall was a fierce warrior and an enigmatic speaker. His brothers and sisters of Summer soon rallied behind him and appointed him the first clan leader with the blessing of the Summer Queen. It is known that some of those within Winter Clan had become corrupted by the chaos as they fought to free Caer Sidi. Conall saw this chaos as a threat to the newly established peace and order and began to instill mistrust of the sister clan within his people. His ultimate goal was to purge the chaos from the Warren, and bring about his own vision of peace. Quietly he gathered followers, whispering disparaging things within the ears of his clansmen. He launched attacks against those of Winter Clan affected by Winter`s Kiss, and created a large rift between the clans. He began to follow his own twisted sense of justice, attacking and even murdering those who he deemed to have stepped off the path he had designated. Word spread and eventually reached the Summer Queen herself, who confronted Conall and demanded an explanation. He saw then that his Queen did not share his vision. His rage flared so high that he attacked the Summer Queen, feeling that she was unworthy to lead. For these actions he gained the title of The Betrayer, and lost his life. The rift between the clans had already been ripped open by his actions however, and it would take many years of cooperation to regain the relationship between the clans that had been lost.

Moira the Rebellious, She Who Walks with Frozen Flame , The Second Luminary - The second Luminary of Clan Summer proved much more adept at cooperating with the Winter Clan, and over the course of her leadership the rift caused by The Betrayer was brought closer and closer to being healed. She trained with other clan members learning how to compliment the fire magics and military structure with the chaos and impulsiveness of Winter. Her vision of the future was not to eliminate the chaos within the Winter Clan, but to work alongside it, pairing the strengths and weaknesses of each for the greater good of the warren. Of course not all of the Summer Clan thought the same way, and there were varying degrees of friendship and distrust between the clan members. Some clan members chose to pursue what they called the 'Old Way', by creating their own codes and sticking to them, whether they were seen as good by everyone or not. Some embraced the new way of things, working alongside clan members to further their causes. The balance as it was under Moira is much as it still is today, with the clans able to work together for the good of Caer Sidi. Today, the members of the Summer Clan may not be immersed in the magic as those of the original Honour Guard were by necessity, but they still carry the embers in their hearts, ready to conflagrate at a moments notice to defend that which they hold true and dear. They follow the fire in their hearts towards the causes they perceive worthy. Because they follow their own code, it is they who decide what is righteous and strive to match their goals and ideals with the greater good.

The Clan of Winter's Kiss and Those Who Defy

The Winter Clan originally sprang from the members of Winter Queen Cthoria's personal guard during the First War against Chaosium. In the battle with the Chaolich, vile sorceries were visited upon Queen Cthoria and her guard, so much so that it changed them. It imbued them with small amounts of chaos and corrupted their very essences with the ever changing and inconsistent. It is most certainly this change which saved them from annihilation, and ultimately what brought about their victory that day for as they changed the severity of chaos magic grew weak against them. The Chaolich was defeated, and The Materium was won. After the war, however, the ramifications became clear: those who were “Kissed by Winter" were permanently affected. Their veins, visible in bright light, shone black through pale skin. Their personalities were different, no longer held into place by any consistent attribute, but instead free flowing and impulsive. They were quick to exhibit wild emotional swings, feeling each mood more intricately and delicately than before. Not long after the war, the corruption grew so deep that the radiant powers of their Summer counterparts ceased to heal them and instead burned their flesh upon contact. Some tried hard to reenter day to day life but couldn't, instead succumbing to urges of movement and fleeting desires. Some embraced the change, using their newfound freedom as a way to shrug off the burdens of the lives they had sunk into before. Whatever the story, each of one the Kissed eventually left their old life and ventured into the world anew. Most went their own way, but some of them banded together. Those few were the first members of The Winter Clan.

Clan Winter's First Caliph, Morrygin of the First Frost and Winter Clan's Second Caliph: Lyrian, Who Walked on Summer's Edge - The Winter Clan did well under its first 2 Caliphs, The Rule of Autonomy, established by the First Caliph, guided it through 50 years of being spurned by society. The Second Caliph had better success with the general populace and is largely responsible for the good standing Clan Winter has today. She and her Luminary counterpart were able to stave off a war between the Clans and help them grow into organizations for the good of the warren. Eventually, through working together, they were even able to find a way to magically “heal” those Kissed by Winter: inverted healing spells, now colloquially known as “harming” spells. Today, most of the members do not share the Kiss of Winter. Instead, they seek to emulate the original members as best they can. Each person's autonomy is considered sacrosanct, and is to be defended at all costs. This is the only semblance of a law known within clan ranks.