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The Enlightened Ones
When the great scholars and seers of Atlantis came to the prediction that the Earth would soon be plunged into a cold, dark Age from which it might never recover, their King and his advisors proposed a solution that they hoped would save them alone from the end of mankind - they would defy nature. They gathered all of their kingdom, and ascended to their floating island in the sky, where they have remained ever since.
Culture
When the Earth was young, Atlantis rose to great power by tapping into a mystical force known as "magic". It was discovered that only a certain few had the ability to manipulate this force, which came in many forms - telepathy, dreamweaving, clairvoyance, telekenesis, conjuring. Slowly, through the years, certain mental disciplines were created to hone and strengthen these abilities, which grew more and more prevalent as gifted Atlanteans passed their power on to their descendants. As time spanned into centuries, the discoveries made through magic allowed Atlanteans to progress faster and further than the rest of mankind, and so they continually grew apart from it. All the basic needs could be seen to by magical means (such as plants that bear fruit all year 'round, or charms that protect food and shelters from rotting) and so they had time to persue more scholarly ventures, or discover new crafts and new art forms. Whether they themselves chose to call themselves Enlightened Ones, or if it was a name given by those they once interacted with is not known, but it eventually became their identity - most Atlanteans even felt they were no longer human and claimed this as their race. On the whole, Enlightened Ones are physically weaker but much less vulnerable to their own magical spells and charms than their Earthbound breathren, and this increases with each generation due to continued study of magic-perceptions and defense. Because of their physical frailty, however, elemental spells will have a slightly stronger effect without special warding. [Note: Again, Laris goofed big time here. Corrections made, thanks Kayli! -L] Problem-solving abilities, reading/writing/language skills, extra-sensory perceptions, and knowledge base (history, culture, music, etc.) are the areas they excel in. Also, even the most undisciplined Atlantean citizen can often perform minor spells or feats of psychic ability.
As far as Atlantean magic goes, the *average* person can perform a few simple spells without much training or incantations - such as communicating telepathically with those who are sensitive to it, sensing a powerful spell being cast in the nearby radius, putting people or animals to sleep, starting small fires, and so on. With spellbooks or special training, average folk can do things such as move large objects telekinetically, conjure electricity, enchant an object with a simple property (enchant a door to open for someone), create special charms from jewels, and so on. Powerful mages can perform spells from memory that most would need books and incantations for, and in many cases do much more - change weather, transform matter, summon spirits, and do complex enchantments and wards.
Since the culture and technology of Atlantis is very centralized, there is much less variation than in the lands below. All Enlightened Ones are under the rule of the King - who is descended from the family line of one of the first magic-users. There is very little use in occupations with manual labor in Atlantis, since magic provides for nearly every single one of the people's needs. There are organized schools of academics, magic, and crafts for those who can pay. Vast libraries of books exist there, as opposed to the occasional tablet or scroll used to record knowledge used below. Nearly all homes and structures are stone, and palatial in nature. The social elite are defined by their proficiency in magic (like in the "Elvenbane" novels), and the richest individuals are those who can come up with some new and fascinating luxury item or service for the elite. As a result, a lot of wealth remains on the upper levels and gets passed back and forth between families of talented magic users... Common occupations for the lower classes are house servants, grunt workers at the royal palace, and so on. It has even been rumored that some Atlanteans with the most meager of magical abilities are paid to be the subjects of human experimentation, although it has always remained just that, a rumor. Middle class folk are often courtiers, dancers, singers, weavers, lower-level scholars, teachers, healers, alchemists, astronomers, and any sort of artists or magical craftspeople. The social elite are Royal advisors or military leaders, or the heads of large trading organizations. The select few who are extremely gifted in magical arts become Seers, Wisemen, Gurus and the like, the titles interchangeable for people of great power and wisdom who influence the direction of the entire Kingdom's efforts.
In regards to the Earthbound people below, Enlightened Ones view them with both pity and a certain degree of fearfulness. The Earthbound Ones are seen as wild, savage people who would endanger the stability and peace of Atlantis by attempting to overrun it if they could. Some of this old fear, however, stems from the old belief that humankind would not be able to survive on earth when the supposed Ice Age came, and so those that did must be twisted somehow, turned more monster than human. There is, of course, the group of individuals who believe that Earthbound humans are inferior beings, meant only to serve as slaves like they did during the time of Atlantis' ascention, though most average folk merely feel a sense of pity for their lack of magical gifts, and point this out as the reason Earthbounds could never live among them - what could they contribute? Interactions with the people below is almost always forbidden by strict Atlantean law, and the magical "teleporters" that give access to the surface are well guarded. Despite the total dependence on magic for survival, however, materials are sometimes needed from the earth (such as alchemy ingredients), and brave adventurers (usually soldiers) are sent down to collect them.
The senshi of the Enlightened Ones, the Astral Senshi, are all native Atlanteans, obviously. Their powers are drawn from mystical forces (ether, whatever you want to call it) which are especially concentrated around Atlantis, as well as the force of one's own will. While they may not be as strong in terms of raw power, Astral Senshi abilities tend to have more finesse, more flexible applications. Also, Astral Senshi will almost certainly have some magical powers when they are NOT transformed, giving them a unique advantage. Physically, Astral Senshi have a distinct disadvantage, however, suffering from relatively poor endurance, reflexes, and survival skills compared to their Primal Counterparts.
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