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" ...what curious cosmic energy... "[1]

The Arcanist is one of The Eleven, and reigns over the Starfall Isles and the Arcane Flight.

Description[]

The Arcanist is a long-bodied dragon described as possessing ten spindly limbs: two sets of wings, two pairs of emaciated arms, and two legs. He has large ears and an intricate, flat crest which fans from his alien head. His predominant colors are pink and purple. He is mentioned to be frail, with a wiry frame and a weak, curved neck. It is implied that he hovers rather than flies. His larger pair of wings acted as a cocoon when he was newly born, while his smaller vestigial wings remain mostly folded at his sides. He is the smallest of all the deities, but still many times larger than the biggest of dragons.[2]

The arcane serpent is the youngest of the eleven gods, and is characterized by his curiosity and desire for knowledge. He was so determined to learn that he climbed the World Pillar for days, without the use of flight or magic, for the sake of reaching its dizzyingly high peak and observing all he could from atop the colossal spire. He is also somewhat overzealous, at one point feeling as though he could command the universe itself and believing that he was communicating with the heavens.

Story[]

Birth of a New God[]

Story - Birth of Arcanist

The birth of the Arcanist marked the end of The Second Age and the beginning of The Third Age. The civilization that lived on the continents had created a giant engine that would supposedly possess the capability to "fortify life, challenge death, and know the true potential of magic." It collected magical energy from many surrounding smaller engines, and would provide scientists and mages alike with immeasurable knowledge of physics and the workings of the universe. When the engine was turned on, however, it malfunctioned terribly, violently detonating and ending all life in the blast's massive radius. 

Story - The Arcanist Awakens

At the explosion's epicenter, a mass of energies had condensed in the form of a great orb. It "pulsed like a star, arcing wildly with tendrils of arcane energy. It appeared curiously sluggish, as if waking from sleep. And then it stretched out all ten of its spindled limbs." This was the birth of the Arcanist. [3]

The god's first few moments of life were slow and confusing. It took him several days to rouse himself from the coiled position he was created in, and even after that he was frightened by what he felt and saw. But after long enough, his trademark curiosity overtook his fear, and he began to explore his birthplace. Because of the devastated state of the world he had been born into, he believed it to be the true appearance of the realm, having seen no other world for comparison.

Story - The Arcanist and the Observatory

The Observatory[]

The remains of the world provided the Arcanist with questions and wonder, and though he couldn't read the text on the few papers and parchments left intact, he could understand the pictures. From this limited knowledge, he started to form an idea of the area's past history, but eventually there were no more remains for him to discover. Hungry to learn more, the new god decided to explore outside of his birthplace for the first time. 

Oblivious to the existence of the Plaguebringer and the Gladekeeper who fought in the north, the Arcanist arrived at his first unknown destination: a surprisingly intact observatory. After studying the building, he managed to decipher its purpose. He peered through the telescope, unaware of what he was about to see. What he witnessed was a vast sea of blackness, dotted with a million blinking stars- the cosmos. While the experience startled him, it also filled him with an excitement that caused him to remain in the observatory, viewing and charting the apparently endless expanse of stars and galaxies.

The Release of the Shade[]

Story - The Arcanist at the top of the World pillar

Using a vast supply of parchments he found inside the observatory, the Arcanist began to write down his observations. He drew constellations and maps, endlessly observing space. However, one day he noticed something awry- a splotch of pure black, located in a place where it hadn't been before. The blackness moved over the course of only a night, leading the Arcanist to believe it must be very close - perhaps even close enough to be viewed with the naked eye. He searched the horizon for a high place to observe it from, settling on the towering World Pillar. As he approached the structure, the massive amounts of warped energy around it made flight impossible. He was forced to crawl upon the ground in order to reach it. Sickened and intimidated, but even moreso intrigued, he scaled the grandiose Pillar without a single wingbeat or magic trick.

After days and nights, the Arcanist reached the spire's summit. He quickly learned that, during his toil, the dark spot had grown. The arcane drake's perception felt skewed after gazing upon it, and he believed that the magical energies radiating from the Pillar were to blame. He tried to pull at this magic and absorbed the ether, which cleared his vision. To his surprise, the darkness seemed to respond to his movements. As he played around with magics and movements, he felt as if he had contacted the heavens and that the universe was at his command. But suddenly, something felt wrong.

The darkness- an entity known in an ancient age as the Shade- attacked, draining the serpent of his magic and rushing towards him. Terrified and in peril, the Arcanist leapt from the Pillar to evade the powerful and fast-approaching monstrosity. Continuing on its path, the Shade struck fiercely where the Arcanist had stood, breaking through the magical barrier and shattering the World Pillar.[4] The Arcanist was nowhere to be found when the older gods woke up and gathered around.[5]

A New Age[]

After the Pillar was broken, the Arcanist made the Starfall Isles his home. He created children in his image, most likely the Fae.

While many things changed in the Age of Flight Rising, some stayed the same; even today, the arcane serpent continues to observe the sea of stars and mysteries from his beloved Observatory, its Eye of Many Lenses staring deep into the darkest quadrants of space. The Arcanist broods by candlelight within his dome of knowledge, feverishly scribbling his research of the cosmos into ancient tomes of countless pages. Forbidden words rolling off of enchanted tongues echo through the archaic structure, bound in runes formed through years of applied magical sciences.[6]

Quotes[]

The following are forum posts made by the Arcanist's official Flight Rising account. These can be assumed to be representative of his personality and way of speaking.

  • "What a ridiculous question!" - in response to a thread asking if the Arcanist was alive or if he died after the Pillar exploded[7]
  • "I have observed many inexplicable phenomena that has me intrigued and perplexed! There are growing reports of dead zones and fauna that is not behaving as it should.
I have never been so excited before!
Well, there was that one time, but that ended rather explosively, so I prefer not to dwell on it.
Please report any energy drain or unusual activity to your local courier." - in response to a thread about The Shade.[8]
  • "Fascinating."
*continues gathering data* - in response to the Festive Favors shop initially accidentally being Arcane themed when the 2014 Greenskeeper Gathering started due to a bug.[9]
  • "Knowledge and magic are all the sustenance I require.
Clearly, I've not had enough recently." - In response to someone pointing out that the Arcanist had an empty energy bar and reminding him to eat.[10]
  • "Hopefully. My library has fallen into a terrible state. I cannot be expected to observe the cosmos and magic, immerse myself within the depths of time and space, study, and maintain The Observatory. - in response to someone suggesting new exalts will help the Arcanist get more knowledge.[11]
  • "Delightful!" - in response to the 2014 Greenskeeper Gathering glitch being fixed.[12]
  • "It is incredibly difficult to focus on the energy of the cosmos with such distractions. My children, if you could endeavor to push these foul winds back to their southern territory, it would be most appreciated.
I cannot see the stars with clouds in the way... " - in response to a Wind/Arcane dominance battle thread[13]
  • "It's quite nice to study again without all that hot air blowing around; I can see the cosmos once more and my Observatory is filled with the sounds of new dragon orientation. I am pleased to see the progress being made in both my study and the library.
Thank you, scholars, for sending so many to honor our flight in service." - in response to Arcane winning a dominance battle against Wind.[14]
  • "This Tomo-character is grossly misinformed. My life and purpose have been of quiet study and practical application of my theories. How will we ever reach the stars if we are stuck in a rut?" - in response to a thread putting the Arcanist on trial for ending the world twice, in reference to the Tomo's Trivia Tablet question, "How many times has the Arcanist brought forth "the end of the world?". [15]
  • "You're welcome." - in response to a player expressing gratitude to both the Arcanist and "RNGesus" for their Starfall Celebration luck.[16]
  • "Yes." - In response to people questioning whether his art is depicting him smiling or if it's his nose and a mustache underneath.[17]
  • "We are supposed to eat?
I have been doing this incorrectly it seems." - in response to a thread questioning what the Deities eat.[18]
  • "I do not understand what is happening but I must. My scholars must pursue the magic." - in response to the Arcane lore story, Ten Eyes.[19]

Gallery[]

Official images and depictions of the Arcanist found on site.

Trivia[]

  • At one point the deities were going to have 'actual' names rather than the element-adjective names most have now. The Arcanist's is theorized to have been Xhaztol.[20]
  • The Arcanist has the longest and most detailed backstory of all of The Eleven to date.
  • The Arcanist's official colors are Pink / Mulberry / White according to his dragon page.[21]
  • When looking at the gods' dragon ID numbers, it is revealed that the Arcanist was the 11th dragon to be created on the site. This was likely a nod to the story of the gods' birth, as all the gods have their ID numbers roughly in the order they were born in the story. Following this trend, the Arcanist is indeed the youngest of the eleven gods.
  • The Arcanist is the only deity of the Eleven whose name is not a compound word. (EX: Tidelord, Gladekeeper, Lightweaver)
  • The Arcanist is the only deity that has two sets of wings.
    • In total, he has 10 limbs (4 wings, 4 arms, 2 legs), the most of any deity. The Stormcatcher has the next most at 8 (two wings, four arms, two legs), and most of the others have 6 (two wings, four limbs), until one reaches the Windsinger and the Earthshaker- they both lack wings, and therefore only possess 4 limbs.
  • He has a similar body shape to the Windsinger and the Lightweaver's concept version.
  • On the Flight Rising forums, he is affectionately called "Spacedad" among the members of the Arcane Flight.
  • The Arcanist changed his account's broadcast message on March 1st, 2018 accompanied by a gif on the official Flight Rising Tumblr bearing the same message. The previous broadcast message was "We are but a fragment of the enormity of the cosmos".
  • The Arcanist changed his own personal broadcast message to "My scholars must pursue the magic"[22] which is a piece of his quote from the "Voices"[23] thread, where the Eleven (except Tidelord) respond to the Bounty Of The Elements short stories[24]

References[]


The Eleven
Arcane Rune The Arcanist Earth Rune The Earthshaker Fire Rune The Flamecaller Ice Rune The Icewarden

Light Rune The Lightweaver Lightning Rune The Stormcatcher Nature Rune The Gladekeeper

Plague Rune The Plaguebringer Shadow Rune The Shadowbinder Water Rune The Tidelord Wind Rune The Windsinger
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