The Birth of Magic
Hesitant at first, the seven spoke the words of power that bound the souls of their lineage forever more to the Seal. Malus, once certain the layers of magic were in place, stepped towards the rift before uttering the last verses of the ritual. In a flash of blinding light, he disappears. Enveloping the rift is a large diamond, floating several feet above the ground. Magic flows and coils around it, and from them items form. A sword, a candle, a ring, even a suit of armour come into being. Each selects one of the seven standing before the seal.
As each person receives their artifact, it is as if they suddenly see the world in full definition. They can see each strand of magic surrounding them, see the patterns of their movements. In that moment of clarity they learn a truth. One gifted to them by Malus. To learn more, many years of their life will be devoted to the cause. Once the mists clear, Malus' voice is not so much heard, as felt.
Peril will befall the Seal in nine years. You must prepare.Whether the Kingdom of Zalia waxes or wanes, the seven families must endure, for one of the many threads of fate rests upon their shoulders.
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Magical power is a muscle, and the more you exercise it the more it grows. Each mage has a power value representing their ability to weave spells and store mana. Spells each have their own power value as well, representing how taxing they are to cast. Your mages all start with a power of one, but the artifact lends its own pool of magic to the bearer. Exercising magic for a year (be that by dungeon crawling, civil works or something else that is relevant) nets one experience. A mage may spend an amount of experience equal to their current power to increase it by one.
In order to have more spells than the one, you must develop new ones. Describe the effect you wish to generate, along with the power level you wish it to cost. More potent spells will have higher power levels, so if the effect you are after is more ambitious than the level you choose, expect it to get modified to fit. Research also takes a while. budget on one year per power level of spell.
Mages will want to develop the next generation to continue their legacy and defend the seal. As a free action a mage may reproduce with another mage, or with a non-magical NPC. The power levels of the parents will have an effect on the starting power level of the child. However, magical children require special care during their early years. An adult mage will have to take care of them for the first ten years of life. One adult may care for up to two children at once, and they do not all have to be members of the same dynasty.
You will want to pass on your knowledge to the next generation, or each other. A teacher and student must each spend a number of years equal to half the power level of a spell the teach knows, for a student to learn it. A teacher can guide the learning of two students, and they do not need to be learning the same spell.
A final note. Spells are not the only magical thing you can research. Magical theory and other useful knowledge is also available. For this turn, please decide what you will do for the next nine years, in order to prepare for whatever catastrophe threatens the Seal.
Archmage Leotherm
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Summon Earth Elemental (3)
Archmage Hera
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Rains of Life (3)
Archmage Antonius
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Spirit Wall (3)
Archmage Raelius
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Void Scry (3)
Archmage Sara
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Lesser Vampirism (3)
Archmage Lewis
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Laser Beam (3)
Archmage Tridian
Age: 20
Power: 1 +2
Spells
Conjure Barrier (3)