The Joining of Houses
In the days of the founding of the Eastern Territories, human settlements and client kingdoms often settled near the remains of the once great Elven Empire's outposts. Self-styled human kings often found themselves dealing with elven counts, dukes, and barons, essentially as equals, and forced to work out sketchy treaties with their neighbors. At first, these treaties only held their borders inviolate from attack, provided for trade, and recognized each other's authority. Simple treaties for a time of instability, they served well for many years, letting the bonds between human kingdoms and elven lands solidify.
By the third human generation in the lands of the East, both the humans and the elves had become comfortable with each other's presence, and these ties deepened, extending to include extradition, mutual defense treaties, and even the sharing of knowledge between the races. Human and elven lands were united, twining ever closer to each other, until only a single obstacle stood in their path, that of tradition.
In both the human and elven cultures, a joining this close was traditionally accompanied by the marriage of the scions of the houses to each other, with the children of this union forming the new royal line. Humans and elves, though, cannot interbreed... the act is possible, but it will never result in a birth, and certainly not one capable of continuing a line. Diplomats scurried across the countryside, trying to find another way to unite the houses. Adoptions, sterile marriages with children produced by concubines, and all other options proposed fell apart, and the countryside trembled as the humans and elves moved closer and closer to war, each accusing the other of sabotaging the planned peace.
One day, as the preparations for war neared their peak, a magus appeared at the court of one of the greatest human kings, who was playing host to an elven duke in hopes of forestalling war, proposing a solution. The names of these nobles are long lost to history, and the magus refused to ever give his own. All that is known of the magus is that he was neither human nor elven, dwarf nor troll... none knew the nature of this magus, nor from where came his magic.
The solution of the magus was carried in a scroll, and he claimed that it would allow the houses to join in the ancient style, and that all would be well. It contained a spell that would allow the scions of the houses to have a single heir, who could then choose a spouse from either population.
The children of this child would be fully human or elven, according to the race of the heir's spouse. The two nobles, seeing peace at hand, jumped at the offer, and immediately threw off their plans for war in favor of those for a wedding.
It is said that the wedding was the most splendid ever performed. The elven bride practically outshone the sun, her gown was laden with jewels and golden thread, her train held aloft by cherubim. The human groom stood near the altar in his suit if steel, his knightly armor glowing with magic and fitting him like a second skin. The bridesmaids, of course, were gowned in a color not found in any nature, of any dimension known to any of the various guests, from freedmen to dragons ;-). Each priest came forth, calling the blessings of his deity on this couple, begging them to forestall the war and bless the union of the houses. The entire world held its breath until the couple joined in their kiss, finalizing the unions of the houses.
That night, the magus hid behind a screen as the couple consummated their marriage, casting his spell upon them, slipping quietly from the room after he finished his magic. Within a season, throughout the East it was known that the young elven woman was pregnant with her husband's child. Blessings rained down upon the couple and their coming child, and the magus grew fat and rich off the use of his spell. The child was delivered a year later, much shorter than expected by elven midwives, much longer than expected by humans. The ears of the child came to delicate points, and his features were more delicate than those of his father's, but the knight's stamp upon the child was evident. The spell had succeeded, and the countryside was nearly consumed by the greatest celebration ever known to those lands, for war would not touch their land, soldiers would not trample their crops, and their sons would not be called upon to die.
Thus began a long legacy of intermarriage between humans and elves of great houses. As time went on, the practice spread to be used between the Easterners and their neighbors of other races, as they came into contact with dwarves. Some legendary warrior-kings were even of orcish and hobgoblin stock.
More than a century after the spell was first cast on the knight and his bride, a Wizard arose. His countenance was human, but he showed powers far beyond those of any mortal. After his defeat by a group of adventurers, his history was learned by a mind mage who inspected his home. Against all known laws, including those of the spell that created so many rulers, this Wizard had been half-demon, and known knew how this could be.
Time goes on, and the world still turns. Marriages often seal bargains between great houses, and men of magic are still called upon to perform the Spell of Two Peoples Joining upon the children who marry for their country. In the darker recesses of the world, though, in the secret places where the gods of light dare not shine, the unholy Rite of Sacred Joining is still practiced, forming creatures of both flesh and evil.
G.M.'s, please note that characters produced by these two spells should be incredibly rare. The spells involved are very complex and expensive from a PPE standpoint, and are quite rare in and of themselves. Typically, the children resulting from such spells will be the scions of noble houses or, in the case of the second spell, the specially created offspring of a powerful magical entity.
Spell of Two People's Joining (Ritual)
Level: While rare enough to be considered a Spell of Legend, this spell is also common enough that it can safely be considered part of the 7th level of magics. It should not be available for characters to gain through normal level advancement, however.
Range: Immediate (no real range limit has ever been tested for this spell, though it is assumed to be ineffective much beyond 100ft).
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: Special
PPE: 700
This spell enchants two people of different races and sexes, so that they may produce a single, viable offspring. If the spell is cast on the same people a second time, before the first has taken effect, then there is no additional effect, though casting it after the female has given birth to the first child of this union will allow her to bear a second. This spell is only effective when used upon two races that are not inherently magical and physically compatible... a human and a dwarf, for example, fit both of these criteria, but a troll male and a human female would encounter certain anatomical problems in bearing a child. Similarly, this spell could not be used to mate a human to a bugbear or a goblin cobbler, as each are inherently magical. For the purposes of this spell, a changeling *is* considered a magical being, due to its shapeshifting abilities.
The abilities of the offspring issuing from this union are entirely up to the GM, though they will often fall in the median between the two parents and _never_ exceed the potential of either parent's race. For example, most half-elf, half-human children will have a P.B. of 4d6, and none will have more than 5d6 or less than 3d6 without some mitigating circumstance (a curse or blessing upon the fetus, for example). One of the provisions of the spell is also that the child will be in remarkable health, not suffering from any major birth defects. Without this spell being used again, the child can only mate with its parent races or a child with identical parent races. If mated to either of its parent races, the children of _that_ union will be fully of that race. The half-human, half-elf, above, for example, could only mate with humans, elves, or another half-human, half-elf. Any children would be human, elven, or half-elven, depending on the race of the other partner.
Technically, both targets of the spell receive a saving throw, but this can be (and often is) willingly relinquished by the targets. As for the duration of the spell, it is simply a one-time enchantment, lasting until the first child of that union is born.
Rite of Sacred Joining (Ritual)
Level: Again, this is rare enough that it can be considered a Spell of Legend, yet still common enough that it also functions as a 10th level spell. Again, this will not be available through normal level advancement for Wizards or those who use the so-called "normal" spell magic.
Range: Immediate
Duration: Special
Saving Throw: None
PPE: 1000
This spell functions exactly as the Spell of Two Peoples Joining, save that one or both targets can be inherently magical (though they must still be reasonably physically compatible, though there is a larger accommodation allowed by this spell). The abilities of the two races are still combined in the child, though when only one parent is inherently magical, the child tends towards favoring that side in mental and magical development, though the non-magical side tends to have more of an effect on the child's appearance. Thus, demon-children often look very human, but display the magical abilities of their parents, as well as their tendency towards cruelty. Note that there is no saving throw for this spell... more than one unwilling mother has come about due to the use of this spell.
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