Much as ptaavs are the low end of the chi-square curve of deva-manipulation
ability, madwands are the high end of that curve.  Where normal humans must
learn devaic truenames in order to command deva, madwands possess the ability
naturally.  What this amounts to is intuitive magecraft, requiring no study
and no real training.

  Right now, this is very useful, but only in a fairly passive sense.  Most
items and standing spells are protected from tampering, and while in theory
the ability could be used to protect the madwand from magic, in practice
there is not enough time to react.  While the madwand can command, he cannot
summon, and in Gaea's realm, there are not many deva just lying around.

  However, this could change.  About 10 years ago, a group who called
themselves the Wands came into being.  These were Chali'deans Tuvan,
Rehoboth Det, and Cl'errik Milcah.  Of these all but Milcah were
madwands, though Det was both madwand and trained.  Det discovered the
existence of the Creation Gate, and theorized that were the Gate to be
opened, Tualohic deva would manifest all over the physical realm.
Having done so, they would remain here, where they could be commanded
by madwands, who would suddenly become the most powerful mages in the
world.

   Det began researching the procedure for opening such a Gate, and made
great strides.  One thing he did discover was that the ritual required three
madwands and a fourth, non-madwand, trained wizard, like Milcah.  Milcah,
however, discovered in that time something he hadn't been told--that he
wasn't going to reap any of the benefits.  He didn't like that at all.  He
confronted Det, who admitted to it, and realizing there was no way to stop
the Wands with words, Milcah resorted to violence.  

   Somehow, he managed to defeat and kill Det.  He was confident that without
Det, the other two would be unable to finish the work they had started--
being untrained they had too little grasp of theory.  

   Det's wife Sara had died in the course of the battle, leaving his two
children (Aram and Jan, aged 10 and 6) orphans.  Milcah took Jan in as his
own child, but Aram ran off.  Eventually, Aram was found by the Guard of the
Realm and taken in by a squad of Guardsmen as their unofficial mascot, he
then joined the force upon coming of age.

  Meanwhile, Tuvan and ??? continued with their lives and tried to
reconstruct Det's notes.  Very recently they made a breakthrough in
deciphering Det's code, discovering the existence of his children and much of
his theory of the Creation Gate.  They did some research and discovered Aram,
informed him of some of his heritage, and discovered that he was in fact a
Madwand, as well, though he had never realized it.  This jived with some
theories of Det's that deva-manipulation is hereditary.

  They haven't told Aram the whole truth of what they're after, uncertain if
he could be trusted.  The truth is he probably can't be--while he wouldn't
turn down power, the opening of the Creation Gate would trigger worldwide
catastrophes that would likely kill many of his friends and families, which
he probably wouldn't go for.  For the moment, however, he is working with
them.  

  They also don't know the story of what happened to Det; just that he and
Milcah vanished one day, not to be found (Milcah kept a very low profile
during his activities, see HOW.)

  In any case, although they have deciphered many of Det's preliminary notes,
the ritual itself is encoded somewhat differently, and they do not have the
full details of it.  They have discovered on their own, however, the location
of the Creation Gate, and now that the Castle has been opened to the public,
they are seizing their opportunity.
All files in the directory /mit/abstract/Archives/Old_castles, and all files
in any subdirectories thereof, and any materials in the "abstract" locker 
pertaining to the game "Castles in the Sky" as run for the MIT Assassin's
Guild in the Spring of 1989 are copyright to Andrea Brandford and David 
Policar and are not available for public use or viewing.