A while ago, I wrote about
a world-defining historical event that takes place in the relatively recent past in
my homebrew setting. The profile on that event largely focused on what happened and the immediate results. But because it is so recent an event, the fallout from it would still be happening at the current time, only 27 years later. So to understand how the Magic War, a series of battles fought over the freedom of magic use, impacts the world of today, let's consider how each major city in my main homebrew setting feels about the conflict and its ramifications.
Mishara:
Mishara, the elven capital, was one of the chief forces for free magic use during the war, and magic has become an even more ingrained part of culture and society in Mishara since the Magic War concluded. The already considerable entrenchment of magic in Misharan culture, where many industries such as healthcare, construction, and the arts utilize magic heavily, has dug even deeper into magic use after the confirmation that magic's free use was appropriate for society. This deepening of magic's place in society had led to advancements in several fields--for instance, the use of magic in astronomy has led to the discovery of several new planets and other heavenly bodies which can explain astronomical phenomena such as previously unknown gravitational forces that had vexed earlier generations. Thus, the practice of magic is largely considered to be a social benefit by Misharans, and Mishara's defense of free magic in the Magic Wars has been speculated to have directly led to a more open and appreciative perception of magic in and around the city.
In terms of the Wars themselves, Misharans still feel a fierce connection to the free magic cause. Many homes and businesses still bear banners of the pro-magic side in the conflict. It is not uncommon for magic supporters to greet or bid farewell to other known magic supporters by invoking the battle cry of the pro-magic forces, "All the power you can make good use of." Very few Misharans advocated for regulated magic, and practically no Misharans supported the abolition of magic use; openly stating support for these causes is essentially social suicide in Mishara. Unbeknownst to most Misharans, there remain small underground societies of those who opposed free magic, but these groups are incredibly private and secretive to the point that even worshippers of Gruumsh feel more free to share their beliefs than anti-magic Misharans do. Support for free magic remains so popular in Mishara that many of its inhabitants vocalize support of free magic whether they genuinely believe in it or not (though support of free magic is sincerely supported by the vast majority of Misharans, so these trend-followers are relatively rare).
The city is considered a bastion for spellcasters of considerable power, though Mishara can still be difficult for outsiders (meaning non-elves), but it has been observed that a pro-magic non-elf can have an easier time in society than an anti-magic elf; the elven tendency to prize ideas over individual identity is largely responsible for this dynamic. By extension, elves with magic abilities tend to be the most socially prominent, and the most respected magical academies in Evanoch can be found in Mishara, most notably the Mishara Academy of Arcane Studies, which is considered almost universally to be the most significant school of magic in the known world. Considering all of this, Mishara is the city most aligned with free magic use in all of Evanoch, and many pro-magic refugees from anti-magic communities fled to Mishara during and after the Magic Wars, which further established Mishara as the heart of magic use in Evanoch.
Finiel:
The city of Finiel has a complicated relationship with the Magic War cause for several reasons. Firstly, a great number of Finiel's population are elves and half-elves, two groups which broadly supported free magic use. Further, Finiel has a rather laissez-faire approach to social and economic issues; people are allowed and even encouraged to do as they please. At the same time, the government of Finiel opted to officially support the cause of magic regulation--like most of Evanoch's larger government bodies, Finiel saw the Magic Wars as an opportunity to develop revenue by taxing magic use. Behind closed doors, Finiel's leaders did little to actually enact policies supporting pro-regulation forces; they vocally supported regulation but never committed troops or financial backing to the cause. Many political scholars today with the benefit of hindsight have speculated that Finiel's government was afraid to oppose the will of its citizens in action, but wanted the ability to profit from regulation if the Wars went that way.
As a result of all this, Finiel's citizens widely came to be more skeptical of their government's proclamations and policies. Political scholars have noted that prior to the Magic Wars, Finiel's people and their government enjoyed a rather peaceable and supportive dynamic--for instance, Finiel passed a number of laws in the decades leading up to the Wars that were both driven by and supported by public wishes. This included immigration laws which eased the process of foreigners becoming a part of Finiel (an extension of half-elven support of social egalitarianism) and social support systems including the construction and maintenance of public housing for underprivileged people in the city. However, since the Magic Wars, there has been a more oppositional relationship between Finiel's people and government, as witnessed by the rise of protests and even riots in the decades since the Wars. These protests have centered on public policy, most notably the public opposition to Finiel's government's increase on export taxes (Finiel's populace rejects the contemporary government's isolationist aims) and attempts to segregate housing districts by race (which has been opposed by all but the most xenophobic citizens, which tends to be the more aged elves in the city). By and large, Finiel's government has been greatly weakened by its loss of public support, and there is a growing movement in the city to replace as many public officials as possible with more radically-minded candidates.
These new political radicals have used the Magic Wars as something of a rallying cry. Identifying oneself as a supporter of pro-magic forces (oftentimes achieved by referring to specific battles in the Magic Wars in speeches) has become a powerful way to gain public support in Finiel. At this time, remaining silent about the Magic Wars has come to be interpreted by more radical circles as an attempt to erase the history of the Wars, and some politicians have begun to mention pro-magic forces as a way to retain public support. Magic itself is regarded as something of a social currency in Finiel; while Misharans value the utility of magic use, the people of Finiel tend to see it as a social issue, and as a result, most people in Finiel have taken to learning a few basic spells of rudimentary value more out of a desire to be able to publicly demonstrate appreciation of magic than an attempt to actual master the arcane arts. Magic use is common in Finiel, and many people there regard magic as indicative of positive traits such as worldliness, cunning, and practicality (whether or not the magic use itself is actually practical).
Curagon:
The halfling capital is, in many ways, an exception to most rules in Evanoch. Curagon has no formal government, as the city is an anarchist collective, and so unlike the other cities in Evanoch's Big Nine, the city had no official position on the Magic Wars. That said, it population was mostly in support of the free use of magic; its anarchist politics practically demand a lack of regulation over any aspect of life, and this includes magic. It is, however, worth noting that there did exist pockets of the city that supported the abolition of magic for the reason that magic use creates a power dynamic where magic users have power over non-magic users; by this logic, true anarchy would demand greater equality in society, making magic an inherently unfair system. Because of this, Curagon was perhaps the only place in Evanoch that considered the Magic Wars from a purely principle-driven perspective (whereas most every other city took the practical realities of magic use into greater consideration than theoretical politics). Due to this intellectualized perspective on the Magic Wars, Curagon became deeply invested in political theory during the Magic Wars, and this has informed a great deal of the city's character since the Wars concluded.
Before the Magic Wars, the only real political issue that Curagon spent public time discussing was maintaining its position as an anarchist collective despite pressure from the outside world to conform to more regulated politics; the politics of Curagon's people was defined by an identity as nonconformists compared to Evanoch at large, and this meant that Curagon was mostly united against the outside world. Since the Magic Wars, that has changed. The Magic Wars caused a major divide in terms of interpretation of what anarchy truly means, and that led to a more divided conception of what Curagon citizens actually believed. Rather than being united against an outside world, the people of Curagon have come to see themselves even more as individuals, placing the emphasis more on the anarchy and less on the collectivism aspect of things. Here too, the interpretation of this change has been divided. Some people mourn the loss of community unity before the Wars; others celebrate the fact that there has never been more freedom to define oneself and their beliefs. In general, though, the people of Curagon agree that the city has never been more committed to the political identity of their city, regardless of how that identity is interpreted and acted upon. And by and large, the city of Curagon has tried to move on from the Magic Wars moreso than any other city in the Big Nine. Mentioning the Magic Wars is frowned upon, as it brings up the most divisive issue in the history of the city (but even this is regarded as a difference of opinion rather than an offensive gesture).
In terms of magic use itself, Curagon citizens have come to regard it in much the same way they regard most everything: it is intensely personal, and therefore practiced only in private circumstances unless in cases of emergency. It is a custom to indicate through signage whether a business utilizes magic use in its products and services so that potential customers can make an informed decision. It has also become popular to ask for consent from nearby people before casting spells or using magic items. While Curagon has no formal laws, there is considerable social pressure from the community to respect the beliefs of one's neighbors and associates, and as a result, magic users in Curagon tend to handle magic either privately or in openly-communicated ways. There is no real stigma against magic use itself; only the social element of it is treated as a delicate issue. Curagon's political scholars have classically written more about the social dynamics of the Magic Wars than the actual conflict itself. Of all of the cities in the Big Nine, Curagon's society has been changed the least by the Magic Wars; its people largely moved on from the conflict before the dust had even settled in most other cities.
Underhar:
The dwarven capital was in many ways the seat of support for the pro-regulation movement, and Underhar is very much still in the throes of that perspective. During the Magic Wars, Underhar's government was the first to take a direct position on the conflict, and it was actually one of the most nuanced approaches to the issue. Murphy Cavedweller, who became the public face of the regulation movement, was the head of one of Underhar's oldest and most prominent families, and his public statement about the position of his clan was quickly adopted by the Dronith of Underhar. Cavedweller argued in essence that there were different types of magic, and their practical uses were rather different from one another. For instance, the use of divine magic by good-aligned churches was considered by Cavedweller to be unambiguously positive; on the other hand, magic aligned with more evil and even neutral churches was to be feared and opposed. And even further, the use of arcane magic was, in his opinion, too varied to be able to made a blanket statement about. Therefore, he reasoned, the only appropriate measure was to consider magic use by individual instance. His proposal was to support regulation as a way of enabling "appropriate" uses of magic (largely that of clerics of Moradin) while preventing the use of "inappropriate" magics (those that did not align with the morals of the established dwarven order). This approach proved too complex to be adopted at large outside of dwarven society, but Cavedweller's full-throated support for regulation in the days of brewing conflict very much set the tone for the regulation movement across Evanoch.
More than any of the Big Nine's governments, Underhar invested resources and effort into their cause. Underhar's government, led especially by Cavedweller, placed a great deal of power and support in the church of Moradin, and because of this, the majority of magic-wielding combatants on the regulation side were dwarven clerics. Dwarven culture at large was, prior to the Magic Wars, considered by many non-dwarves as fairly confounding; that perception was quite deepened by the regulation position. Pro-magic forces considered the dwarven clerics to be traitors to their own best interest (why fight against the freedom of use of your own power?), and magic abolition forces considered the dwarven clerics to be as offensive to their cause as the pro-magic spellcasters they most directly opposed. Even most regulation supporters outside of Underhar were confused by the dwarven position--the concept of using unregulated magic on the battlefield ran counter to their entire belief system. As a result, dwarves at large and Underhar citizens in particular were ideologically isolated by the war, and this in turn made dwarven society (which was already fiercely insulated in Evanoch) even more divided from the rest of the continent's peoples. In the time since the Magic Wars, Underhar has entered a period of intense isolationism.
This isolationism has in turn created something of a generational divide in the dwarven capital. Underhar's oldest generations remain strongly pro-regulation, following Cavedweller's dictum that certain magics are acceptable while others are not. Underhar's government empowers the oldest and most established of its citizens, and so the official position of Underhar remains consistent with the Cavedweller approach. The youngest citizens of Underhar, which were too young to have any real involvement or even memory of the Magic Wars, are more radical, calling for a broad abolition of all magic that does not function in a religious of medical capacity. Thus, there is a developing part of Underhar's youth culture that rejects magic use and instead focused on the utilization of mundane knowledge and practical education. And at the same time, those who were old enough to have actually fought in the Magic Wars (but not old enough to have escaped military service due to holding a seat in the government) remember that the most valuable powers on the battlefield during the Magic Wars were the clerics of Moradin who fought alongside them. Due to this legacy, veterans of the Wars and their families tend to lean towards more free use of magic, as a considerable portion of these veterans saw hundreds if not thousands of lives saved through the use of magic. All of this means that dwarven culture has left the unity of the Magic Wars' era and has become far more divided. But dwarven social customs make it broadly unacceptable to openly discuss division, so this tension simmers below the surface in Underhar. Some modern political scholars in Underhar speculate that division about magic use is stronger in the dwarven capital than anywhere else in Evanoch.
Torga:
This port city's government has been the most turbulent of Evanoch's Big Nine in the modern era, and the Magic War only exacerbated that. In the days when the conflict about magic use was only developing, public support was largely behind free use of magic; the diverse population of Torga had long benefitted from the industries created and supported by magic users of all types. During this period, the Torgan government made no official position but seemed to support public sentiment. When the Wars actually began in earnest, Torga was the site of an early and bloody battle that claimed the lives of many citizens in the poorer districts, which pushed public support toward the side of abolition of magic use. The Torgan government, however, adopted an official stance of regulation for the same reason that most of the Big Nine's governments did--to profit from a widely-used practice which it believed would never truly go away. When the Wars ended and free magic use became the de facto law of the land, the people of Torga tended to believe in a regulation approach because they acknowledged the balance of benefits and dangers of magic; the Torgan government itself adopted laws that straddled the regulation of magic and its outright abolition in certain circumstances. This complicated history of ideologies has made it difficult to concisely describe the role of magic use in the city, and it underlines the fact that there has never been true unity in terms of Torga's position.
For average citizens since the Wars, magic remains a divisive issue. The three dominant cultures in Torga (orcish, Daltoner, and dwarven) tend to insist on insular religious cultures, and each has sought to control the others' use of magic while boosting their own. Simultaneously, industry is one of the driving forces in Torga, and there is a divide between artisans and professionals who utilize magic in their trades and those who do not (magic users insist on keeping their livelihoods possible while non-magic craftspeople argue for equality in terms of economic stability). And after the Magic Wars, the city of Torga saw a boom in immigration from the western half of Evanoch, which almost uniformly supported free magic use; this influx of pro-magic supporters and magic users themselves has pushed the city's balance towards free magic use, which has deepened anti-magic sentiment among Torga's existing community. All of these factors mean that Torga has never had a direct or distinct unified feeling about magic users or the Magic Wars; aside from a small portion of the community that was directly involved in or affected by the conflict, the issue of magic use is neither a part of the public consciousness nor an important matter to the city of Torga.
This matter--Torga's lack of public interest in the Magic Wars or their legacy--has puzzled a number of outsiders from more passionate communities. However, scholars in Torga point to the fact that the city has been home to a number of other, more directly pertinent matters during this time period. In the last fifty years (the time period leading up to and following the conflict), Torga has faced intense governmental corruption, massive infighting among the dominant groups, environmental disasters, and rapid growth--Torga only became large enough to join the Big Nine in the last century, making it one of the youngest cities to achieve such size and prominence. The Magic Wars are not necessarily considered irrelevant; they simply are one of many turbulent happenings in the city's recent history. There is still public discussion about magic's use in Torga, most of which is centered around economic matters, but these conversations very rarely include any of the ideology or rhetoric of the Magic Wars. Instead, Torga views magic use in the city as intensely idiosyncratic to the port city individually. Actual mentions of the Magic Wars tend to focus on the loss of citizens in the battle at Torga's northern edge, and regardless of which faction the person discussing it supports, the Wars are considered tragic and a matter of the past which has little bearing on the current consideration of magic use.
New Dalton:
The capital city of the Daltoners on Evanoch, New Dalton adhered closely to directives sent from the Daltoner homeland on the small island across the ocean to the east. In the early days of the conflict, New Dalton's government privately developed a response to the conflict; this initial response was quite explicitly pro-abolition. The leadership of New Dalton reasoned that arcane magic and divine magic alike were unpredictable and were largely the tools of its many enemies across Evanoch--they rightly observed that Daltoners used magic in much smaller numbers than Evanoch's other groups. But when word from the home island of Dalton arrived, New Dalton's leadership was surprised to learn that the homeland supported regulation. This decision was based on exceptions for the Dalton Church of Pelor's magic use and for the common reason that taxing magic was a lucrative possibility. As a result, New Dalton formally adopted the position that regulation was its aim, but behind closed doors, New Dalton's leadership stoked the fire of abolitionist circles and quietly donated resources and even mercenary crews to abolition forces. Thus, New Dalton attempted to control the Magic Wars from any angle from which it could profit, which in some ways weakened its ability to make a concerted effort in any direction.
When the Magic Wars ended with neither of New Dalton's interests coming out ahead, New Dalton adopted the strategy of painting itself as the victim of a continent-wide campaign specifically against the humans of their massive city. This was a quite expected move for New Dalton; their propaganda machine had carefully made Daltoners out to be the scapegoats and victims of Evanine efforts since their arrival on the continent less than a thousand years ago. The specific rhetoric employed by New Dalton's leadership described the Magic Wars as a way for the elites of judgmental groups, particularly the elves, to attack the Daltoner way of life. New Dalton had struggled during the Magic Wars to cooperate meaningfully with other groups (in part because New Dalton insists on xenophobia and independence and in part because no other government meaningfully worked towards abolition), so it was easy for New Dalton's leadership to define the conflict as one in which it had been a lone morally correct underdog in the wake of the Wars. In order to save face, New Dalton's government's enacted a series of policies to adopt laws that reflected its position during the Wars, which were mostly a collection of bans on public magic use in most contexts and a tax and monitoring of sanctioned magic use, including on its own temples.
In practice, these policies have a complicated history of implementation. It has proved impossible to monitor or prevent private magic use without the use of even stronger magic to detect the private use; this infrastructure would be legally impossible given the existing laws. At the same time, Daltoners have been taught a cultural rejection of arcane magic use at large and a hatred of non-Dalton Church of Pelor divine magic, so there is essentially no actual magic use to ban or tax outside of official church business. Further, non-Daltoner inhabitation of New Dalton is outlawed in the case of elves and half-elves, and it is so inconvenient in practical terms for other groups that the entire population of New Dalton already has a cultural objection to magic use to begin with. This means that the laws accomplish very little in reality aside from giving New Dalton an even more negative reputation in the rest of Evanoch. To this day, the Magic Wars only real cultural legacy in New Dalton is a deepening of the mythos of Daltoners as persecuted martyrs on the continent, but even then, the earlier military prevention of New Dalton's expansion across Evanoch is a greater rallying cry. The great practical legacy of the Magic Wars in New Dalton is the considerable loss of lives of Daltoners fighting for the regulation and especially abolition causes.
Ringsdale:
The highly industrial city of Ringsdale's position on the Magic Wars came as a surprise to the outside world but not to the citizens of Ringsdale. Outside of Ringsdale, people believed that the city would unite behind the abolition cause because the vast majority of the city's populace were non-magic users with relatively low economic standing; outsiders reasoned that self-interest would dictate that this would mean support for abolishing the right to use magic. However, the population and especially the governmental makeup of Ringsdale is and essentially always has been united by the principle that anyone and everyone has the right to support themselves so long as it benefits the larger community. As a result, a sizable portion of the population supported free magic use, but most citizens and the majority of the government felt that regulation fit the city's philosophy best. Ringsdale's government was one of the most outspoken about supporting regulation, but unlike the other cities that opted for this more moderate approach, Ringsdale's position did not include taxing magic use. Instead, Ringsdale supported granting cheaply-obtained licenses to practice magic--these licenses were proposed to be granted to magic users only after passing a test about the safe and responsible use of magic. In time, even the city's magic users came to support this proposed policy, and before the end of the Wars, Ringsdale had already begun implementing these license tests to measured success.
After the war, Ringsdale publicly debated retaining these magic licenses despite the military victory of the free magic cause. The Magic Wars concluded in 4693 (27 years before the present day), and Ringsdale stuck with magic licenses until late 4695, though enforcement of the licenses was spotty at best. It was only after pressure from the other Big Nine governments to conform to the more standardized approach of free magic use that Ringsdale's government ruled against the license policy. But despite the city's policy of free magic use, Ringsdale's citizens largely believed that their form of regulation was still the best option for everyone, and this perspective led to the development of a new social custom: asking permission before casting spells, with the exception of healing magic cast in life-and-death scenarios. This was never formal policy but rather a social expectation. Magic users in Ringsdale could either practice magic in private in ways that did not affect others or obtain consent from anyone in the immediate vicinity before using magic in any way. Very few magic users took serious objection to this custom, and there was a small but notable emigration of dissatisfied magic users from Ringsdale in the years following the Wars. But most magic users in Ringsdale simply accepted this custom as commonsense and considerate, and this led to a quite distinctive attitude toward magic use in the city.
Today, the relations between magic users and non-magic users in Ringsdale are perhaps the most peaceful and agreeable of any dynamic in the Big Nine. Unlike in other communities, magic use is neither idolized nor feared; instead, magic is seen as a way of life equally valid and useful as any other way of life. While the poor and powerless of larger cities across Evanoch often avoid magic use except in cases of emergencies, the lowest of Ringsdale's economy regard magic as an important and unique way to solve problems. At the same time, the communities of magic users and social elites in many major cities regard magic use as strategically valuable, leading them to attempt to manipulate magic users for their advantage, but in Ringsdale, magic use is treated with respect and consideration for the caster. As a result, Ringsdale is an attrative destination for magic users who intend to live simple lives and make a living from their craft without the social complications of magic-idolizing societies. Just as the government and economics of Ringsdale are practical and egalitarian, magic use too is given an attempt at fairness and freedom. This complex relationship with magic use is difficult for outsiders to understand, and many who visit Ringsdale are surprised by the public attitude toward spellcasters and their work.
Vestry:
The gnomish capital's approach to the Magic Wars was idiosyncratic, as the city's approach to most things are. In the years before the Wars, Vestry had experimented with collaboration between magic users on public projects; this was considered an extension of the creation of the city, which utilized the collective efforts of thousands of spellcasters to create the physically largest city in the known world in a shockingly short span of time. In the immediately pre-Wars period, Vestry was employing a large team of magic users to create sustainable food and energy sources for its growing population--these efforts were growing more and more successful by the day. The Magic Wars diverted that attention. Vestry's government viewed the Magic Wars as a threat to its continued efforts to improve the quality of life in the city and threw its full force, both magically and governmentally, into support of the pro-magic cause. This was a tenuous position for Vestry, as it was the only city in the Big Nine to support the pro-magic agenda in the eastern half of Evanoch. The gnomish capital was effectively surrounded by regulation and abolition forces, and it accordingly mobilized the largest military contribution to the Magic Wars for the cause of free magic. It was commonly held by Vestry citizens that they were the main defenders of magic on Evanoch, and that was at least formally speaking true. More gnomes died for the pro-magic cause during the Wars than any other group.
This created a complicated and sometimes tense situation for Vestry and its people. Magic was a common and accepted part of life in Vestry, though magic was not practiced by a majority of its citizens. However, because magic use had done so much for the development of the city, the public of Vestry almost unanimously supported the pro-magic cause. Mishara's government may have been the most outspoken about free magic use, but Vestry's government contributed more practical support to the military campaigns than any other group. This led to a feeling of isolation among Vestry's people, and the rhetoric of both the government and the common person reflected this. Some of Vestry's people came to resent Mishara for its privilege of vocally supporting the cause without committing combatants; others adopted a humbler approach and chose to speak with actions rather than words. This was a significant change for Vestry's population. Classically, gnomish culture promotes outspokenness and a carefree attitude, but the Magic Wars tempered that by making Vestry's people more staid and solemn. This is not to say that the people of the gnomish capital became truly quiet and serious--to outsiders, gnomish culture remained whimsical and free-spirited. But to the people of Vestry, there was a noticeable shift towards duty, especially to the public, which was a departure from the more independent streak that had characterized gnomish society.
In the years after the Magic Wars, spellcasters returned to public projects, and the social norms of Vestry began to shift back towards the whimsy and free-spiritedness of earlier, simpler times. But the legacy of the Wars left a mark. Many of Vestry's citizens and even gnomes living abroad lost friends and family members to the Wars, and there was and remains a certain heaviness associated with magic use. It has become not uncommon for spellcasters to dedicate their work with magic to the sacrifices Vestry made for the victory of free magic use, sometimes in words but often silently to oneself. The work done by spellcasters on public development projects is treated less as it was before--as a service to the community--and more as something deeply important: a commitment to self-sacrifice for the common good. In the 27 years since the end of the Magic Wars, there has been a huge surge in the number of students of magic in Vestry, and the construction of a new Academy of Magic Arts in the city has led many Evanines to acknowledge that Vestry's contributions to magic are on equal footing with Mishara's. In fact, spellcasters who intend to use their magic for practical and selfless reasons have flocked to Vestry in ever-increasing numbers, and Vestry's people have accepted outsiders into their society in ways they never did before the Magic Wars. Of all of the cities in the Big Nine, Vestry has been the most transformed by the conflict, though this is not discussed in polite society--the Magic Wars are rarely referred to in the gnomish capital, and then only as a reminder to pursue magic humbly and with a pure heart.
Talon Gorge:
The youngest city in the Big Nine, Talon Gorge largely attempted to stay out of the Magic Wars as much as it could. The government of the city, the last monarchy among Evanoch's largest cities, did not take a formal position until nearly halfway through the Wars, and many speculated that it would never officially adopt a policy at all. It was only after it became clear that the Magic Wars were bloodier than Talon Gorge had hoped that it followed the example of most of the Big Nine's government and stated that it supported regulation. This declaration was met with almost no public response at all. Very few magic users called Talon Gorge home, as there were no organizations supporting magic use or spellcasters in the city, nor was the highly stratified society of the city made up of spellcasters. It would not be accurate to say Talon Gorge was opposed to magic use; it would be closer to the truth to say that the city was simply indifferent to it. And even this statement of support for regulation was not as straightforward as other cities' declarations--Talon Gorge had no actual policy regarding regulation. The truth of the matter was that Talon Gorge's royal family took a position for the sake of not sticking out, and unenforced regulation was the easiest way to blend in.
In the years following the Magic Wars, magic use was largely ignored as an issue as it had been before and during the conflict. It was only in 4708 (12 years before the current day) that magic use became part of the public consciousness when a duel between two spellcasters in an open air market claimed the lives of a few bystanders before one spellcaster killed the other. The reality of the ending of this event was that the surviving spellcaster cast healing spells on a few other bystanders who had been injured in the fracas, and that the fallen spellcaster had been the only one to harm the bystanders. But the public understanding of this episode was derived from rumors and hearsay. Two competing views emerged. Some believed that the incident illustrated the dangers of magic, as the two spellcasters were said to have both harmed innocent onlookers; these retellings of the event largely omitted the healing performed by the surviving spellcaster. Other Talon Gorge citizens painted the surviving spellcaster as a hero and defender of the people against a dastardly villain. These polarized accounts resulted in division on the issue of magic use. Despite the division among the people, the royal government neither took a stance nor even acknowledged the incident in any formal way. Within a few years, the public feelings about the duel had receded in the city's collective memory--what remained was the sense on both sides of the issue that the government was unresponsive to their concerns. Ironically, Talon Gorge's government's tendency to not take a stance for the sake of keeping the peace resulted in no one being particularly satisfied with the government.
In this way, magic use has remained a non-issue for most of the public in Talon Gorge. But the public sense that the government was unresponsive and detached, which was seen in its starkest colors in the spellcasters' duel, did become the legacy of Talon Gorge. This led to increasing public unrest, which although unspoken for the most part, did lead to the political atmosphere that surrounded the city before its very recent overthrow of the royal government. While those in the know are aware that the issue of magic was not what led to the fall of the royal family, the public has come to associate the awareness of public dissatisfaction with the government with the issue of magic use. In many ways, Talon Gorge is the most divided on the issue of magic use today--there are notable factions of pro-magic, pro-regulation, and pro-abolition causes in Talon Gorge moreso than in any other city. The new council-run government of Talon Gorge leans towards free magic use, but it does not have an official position. Talon Gorge remains relatively low in terms of spellcasting population, but this is in large part because the cities nearest to it tend to be more welcoming of spellcasters, and the magic using population of northeast Evanoch tends to be better served by moving to nearby Vestry or Ringsdale or making the relatively short journey west to Finiel and Mishara. But this is not to say that Talon Gorge is devoid of magic users; it is neither a hotspot for spellcasters nor a place to be avoided. Talon Gorge is the only government to take a more neutral stance on magic use, for better or for worse.