Andalish Magic

During the War of Giants, the gawds sat in council and viewed the battlefield.

Their weapons of stone were weak against the iron and spells of their foes and only through force of will had they prevailed thus far but every day the Giants got closer to victory.

Something must be down, the four concluded, they would have to steal the Riddle of Iron from their enemies. So they turned to cunning Cassandra, who was as willy as she was beautiful.

Cassandra went out and came to the giant smith Hastigi robed in wild winter. She seduced him and learned his secrets, learned the secrets of metal.

The Lady lead Hastigi back to Indavoll where he was bound with imprisoned with his own iron and magic to serve as their smith and servant till the end of time. 

But Cassandra has a secret for from the union came a child, who bears no name. She head him on Andalis where he took his father's trade and taught it to the first Druids.

Andalish magic is forever linked with the outcast, the mule, and the half-breed. As such, the wild lands of the Young Kingdoms is dotted with hedge-mages living away from society but desperately needed by it, a love-hate relationship that has endured for ages.

While it has become divorced some from metal-working, the link between the two has never really disappeared in the minds of most of the Young Kingdoms and many Druids still practice ancient blacksmithing techniques to enchant blades with runes and secret blessing.

The process to become a Druid is a dangerous one and most don't make it. Children born under a certain moon and star position are taken to the local Druid to be put through the Trail of Marks, a horrible ritual in which the child receives his first tattoo: the Eye of the Chained One, two concentric circles on the forehead.

Most don't survive and die screaming, choking on their own blood.

Unwanted children, children born out of wedlock and bastards, as well as half-breeds, are also put through this ritual. Andalish custom puts more weight on the magical ability of such mules and it is a good way to get rid of the inconvenient child.

If the child lives through the Trail of Marks, he is apprenticed to the Druid, where his life becomes devoted to the study of Spearmetal. Most Druids are men.

Druids are the only Andals to worship the Chained One, the giant Hastigi, who taught them their trade. He is feared by the common Andal, being an enemy to their gawds since time immortal. His rites and rituals known only to his followers.