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In Marrishland, magic is the source of all power, so it isn't surprising that it plays such an important role in its history and culture. It also lies at the heart of the conflict in the book. To find out how, read the book.

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Clothing

Mar choose clothes that protect them against the many dangers of Marrishland's wilderness — the most feared being drakes, malaria, and Dinah's Curse, the last of which is transmitted primarily through contact with water and mud.

The most important article of clothing in any Mar's wardrobe is a pair of thick, leather boots. The height of these boots is largely a function of the local terrain. In urban areas, they might rise little higher than the ankles, while in extremely marshy regions, they might come up to the thigh or even to the waist. Most Mar boots are knee-high, however, as taller boots make walking and running more difficult and wearying.

Men and women wear long-sleeved shirts and breeches to protect their limbs, the cuffs of which often have drawstrings. While this homespun cloth is usually an undyed brown or grey, where it isn't carefully stained black, wizards and some well-off mundanes sometimes wear more brightly colored garments.

Over this, Mar usually wear a utility vest or belt, and sometimes both. These have pockets, loops, and pouches designed to carry tools, weapons, and other supplies the Mar needs to keep ready at hand. Wizards always carry a bottle of torutsen in case they need to view the myst, and many also carry morutsen in the event that they must pacify an enemy wizard.

When hunting or foraging, rural Mar also wear leather gloves to protect their hands and arms from Dinah's Curse. When not in use, they often hang these gloves on a belt or store them in pockets.

Virtually all Mar wear a hooded cloak much of the time — whenever they are away from home, certainly. While not as important a part of their wardrobe as boots, most Mar feel naked without these cloaks. In rural Marrishland, such cloaks provide an additional layer of protection against parasites, poisonous pests, and Dinah's Curse, in addition to their obvious role in keeping Mar warm and dry in cold and wet weather. In very wet areas, these cloaks seldom hang below the knees, while in drier regions, they sometimes stop just shy of ankle length. These cloaks are not universally heavy, either. Even rural mundanes often have both a heavy winter cloak and a lighter summer cloak.

Mar overcloaks have become something of a symbol of Marrishland, and not without good reason, for in addition to their universality, the color of these cloaks is an expression of the rank of the Mar who wears it. Most rural mundanes stick to black, since this provides camouflage against the eyes of drakes in virtually all circumstances. Warriors, however, often express their courage by wearing browns, greys, and greens, which are usually more visible than black without completely eliminating the Mar's ability to hide, when necessary. The brighter the color, the more skilled the warrior believes himself to be. Whether or not he is, of course, is not likely to be clear until he faces drakes in battle.

It is among the wizards, however, that the color of these cloaks is a clear indicator of rank. Wizards are ranked from first-degree (the lowest) to eighth-degree (the highest). Traditionally, wizards only wear the color of their degree. A wizard's cloak is always brighter in color than any mundane's cloak. If mundanes wear protective colors to make it easier for them to hide from the Drakes, wizards wear warning colors to make it clear that they are dangerous enough never to need to hide from Drakes — or from anything else, for that matter.

First-degree wizards wear bright green cloaks. As a wizard rises from first-degree to seventh, the color of the cloak she wears changes to reflect his rank – green, auburn, blue, amber, cyan, lavender and yellow. A wizard who reaches the highest rank, eighth-degree, wears orange, white or red. While a wizard's degree is not a certain indicator of her skill and power, it is far more accurate than the coloration of mundane warriors.

Traditionally, white is the color of the scholar, and especially of graduates from Nightfire's Academy. Red is usually associated with magocrats — duxes and those who seek a position of political authority. Orange is often a profession of neutrality, though it is also the color of the mercenary. While there is nothing to prevent mercenaries from wearing red, magocrats from wearing white, or scholars from wearing orange, for example, the objectives associated with these colors is so well-known that anyone who deviates from the scheme is likely to have her intentions misunderstood by other wizards.

Priests and priestesses of Marrish cannot progress beyond the yellow of seventh-degree wizards and never consider themselves eighth-degree wizards. This is largely regarded as symbolic, since many high priests are no less skilled than an eighth-degree wizard. They explain that as servants of the God of Magic, their quest for greater understanding of magic is never at an end. Some, however, argue that ancient priests did not want the Mardux to consider them rivals for the Chair, since it is not unknown in history for a Mardux to set out to kill any eighth-degree wizards to set foot in Domus Palus.

(Contributed by Weard Girdig Langat)