As long as there's descriptive spell casting w. magicians battling at some point (<--- the more of these the better [spell learning a plus])
Oh aye there is! It is also, including all media types only the second Fantasy I have engaged with that had the Alfar (Dark Elves, as in Evil, not dark skinned like the "Dark Elf" Dunmer in Elder Scrolls) The other is a PC game called Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, which is fantastic, the Alfar in that are again Dark in the sense of colouring. The game world and plot was written by the Fantasy and Star Wars Author, RA Salvatore. Sadly the Games Company went bankrupt not long after, it would be nice if someone has picked up the rights, and does another game. Combat was an absolute joy, especially with 2 weapons, "Chackrams" and "Fae Blades"
Combat with Fae Blades
I cannot believe I forgot another series in which Magic and Mages play a Major role! The books of James Barclay!! They are set in a world where there are 2 smallish continents - it is never suggested they are the only ones, but nobody in the books knows if there are any more lands, it is not mentioned whether anyone even went exploring, it seems likely that an entire planet is going to have more lands and peoples though. Balaia is the Human Land, and to the south, the tropical rainforests of the land Calaius a couple of weeks sailing away which is the home of the Elves.
Balaia doesn't exactly have Kingdoms as such - the west of the land, which is accessible only by ship, or through 1 heavily fortified pass in the formidable Blackthorne mountains which cut the land in 2, is inhabited by a war like race of Barbarians, the Westmen. The East of the Land, is mostly ruled by a collection of Barons and other Nobility, so "wars" are usually very smallscale affairs, being the arguments of Nobles with each other, to the North are the 4 Mage Colleges.
Each College which includes a fortified City and lands built around the College is completely Sovereign. They 2 occasionaly have arguments that turn to War with each other, hence fortified cities, and maintaining standing Armies.
The main series of books mostly follows a "Mercenary" Group called the Raven, they are an ethical one though, they will never work for someone not honest and decent, they wont take contracts that disagree with their morals and so on, but they don't have much time for contracts, since they are generally saving the continent from various apocalyptic events, including at one point an invasion of Demons.
There is lots, and lots of Magic and Mages, and Magic fighting and using. James is clearly a fan of "Military Fantasy" as his descriptions of the battles is as detailed, and yet enjoyable as a Bernard Cornwall Historical Novel. A typical battle between the Colleges sees a typical medieval style Army, backed by dozens of Mages, using both destructive magic, and protective.
The Elves in the Raven Books produce Mages, who go to study in the Colleges of Balaia, but that was not always the case - for a very long time Magic vanished from the Elves. There is a prequel Series which begins with "Elves once Walked with Gods" set a couple thousand years before the Raven Chronicles, featuring an invasion by Humans, led and dominated by Mages of the Elven home. The Elves are not native to the world either. It's explained in Walked with Gods - They inhabited another, beautiful world, but were invaded by an enemy, it's not actually explained whether the Enemy are from another part of the Elves homeworld, or if they are invaders from another Dimension, but even Elven Martial Prowess is failing to hold this enemy off - this is the frustrating thing, he does not name or explain anything really about this unknown race - but they have firearms and artillery. I actually got the feeling they could be something like Humans or Orcs, possiblly with Napoleonic era technology, but I cannot remember if the firearms were muskets, of something more modern allowing multiple shots before reload....
James Barclay - author check out his sight for a description of his books, I think they are exactly what you are after!
Also, seriously give Dwarves a try, apart from anything, it's one of very, very few series or novels in which the main protagonists are Dwarves, and the story is all told from the Dwarven viewpoint. The Land of Girdlegard, which is pretty large, and covers several Human Kingdoms, an Elven Kingdom, And the "Mage Lands" There are not many Mages, all of whom are Human, and each one possesses large estates and lands, which are Sovereign.
Girdlegard is not even a continent or a very large island though is is simply an area of a larger continent, unknown to the inhabitants - Girdlegard is completely surround and protected by an unbroken ring of large mountains, through which are only 5 Passes, east, west, north, south and 1 more iirc into the larger world, Each pass is the home of a Dwarven Kingdom, of which of course there are 5, the Firstlings, Secondlings etc. The Dwarves believe that their God Vraccus, the Smith created them and made it their divine duty to protect the passes into Girdlegard, and despite relations sometimes being strained, the Dwarves basically see themselves as the Protectors and the first and last line of defence of the various races and peoples of Girdlegard. The problem is, a generation or two in the past, the Fithlings were betrayed. Beyond the Mountains, it is believed to be nothing but evil, Orcs, and worse things, though in the books our main Hero Tungdil Goldhand begins finding legends, and mentions in books of a people known as "Groundlings". The Fifthling's Betrayal meant that their Fort Guarding the North Eastern Pass fell, and the gates were opened, and evil has gained a foothold into Girdlegard, Orcs and Alfar, and a darkness that seems to be intelligent and in charge, in the land the darkness has infested, anyone killed is immediately resurrected and filled with unbearable hatred and anger, attack even their own family.
A Mage, Lot-Ionan a kind man, who treated his staff, and tenants extremely well got approached by some Kobald's one day, who had found an abandoned Dwarven Baby, Lot-Ionan accepted the child from them, and naming him Tungdil, raises him, it's not quite a father/foster father & son relationship, more a kindly Uncle and Nephew, but Tungdil being raised by a Scholar & Mage of course, grows up speaking lots of languages, and able to hold his own, intellectually against any scholar in the Land, he takes up Blacksmithing as its in his blood of course. And when we first meet him as a "Young Man" in Dwarven terms, but in Human he is iirc about 40-50 Cycles old, he is happy, content, though he wonders what "real" Dwarves are like, never having met one, and as he has grown up amongst, and brought up by Humans, he doesn't even have a Beard, he follows the customs of his friends. And then Destiny comes calling, as it sometimes does......
