Mancer
Mancer is a term that describes a practitioner of the Secret Art in Ian Irvine's Three Worlds series.
Description
A Mancer is one who has a talent for the Secret Art and has been trained to use it. There are many people who have latent talents for the Art, but never even know it, though these talents are usually very minor. These people are not mancers.
Mancers are sometimes referred to as: necromancers or sorcerers.
Mancers vary in strength and power. Very few mancers, who are exceptionally powerful, could alone be the match of an army or a whole brace of other lesser but still powerful mancers. Mancers with such power are extremely rare.
Modern mancers draw power from the field which is generated by naturally occurring nodes. But two mancers who can use this form of mancery but also have the advantage of drawing power from within themselves are Malien and Yggur. They use older powers from the time of the Mirror as well as more recently discovered skills.
Notable and Powerful Mancers
Some exceptionally powerful and knowledgeable mancers include:
- Malien
- Yggur
- Rulke
- Mendark
- Faelamor
- Maigraith
- Tensor
- Gilhaelith
- Yalkara
- Shand
- Tallia
- Xervish Flydd
- Chief Scrutator Ghorr
- Matriarch Gyrull
- Ryll
- Liett
- Great Anabyng
Each of these mancers have different strengths and weaknesses but the skill of each is unquestioned.
Consequences of Using Power
No matter how powerful the mancer, he or she will always be struck with illness and great pain after using the Art. The more powerful the use, the greater the aftersickness. Mancers with greater strength can do workings that a mancer of lesser strength would suffer more cruelly for. They can also do workings far outside the limits of minor mancers and be struck with little or a remarkably small amount of aftersickness.
Minor mancers cannot do even the smallest of charms without having a huge amount of aftersickness. This includes minor workings that a very great adept would barely feel the affects of.