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The Trial awaits, my brothers, a crucible of truth where ambition meets the limits of knowledge. Only in fire does the mettle of the mind take shape like steel.
—Initiation Oath of the Red Brotherhood
The Guild of Magic, once housed within the Magic University, was the pinnacle of arcane study in Midworld before The Fall. With the permission of the Queen of the High People, its scholars devoted themselves to unlocking the mysteries of the Great Crystal. The Guild operated independently of the Muraian Senate, though the Queen of the High People ensured its protection, recognizing the institution as a vital component of her dominion.
The University was organized into three distinct Arcane Colleges, each led by an Archmage, under whom operated three Grand Magicians. Together, these masters of magic set the philosophical and practical direction for the institution's studies:
- The Cerulean Academy (College of Blue Wards) studied defensive magic and other magical geometries that manipulate of natural law.
- The Gray Cabal (College of White Rods) were experts in divination and the Astral Veil.
- The Red Brotherhood (College of Red Staves) specialized in transforming the material world, practicing conjuration and transmutation.
In the University, students ascend the ranks of the Guild at an early age, being selected from the world below by a Magister who appears to them disguised as an unlikely mentor. Young apprentices study to develop their talents through rigorous academic training, learning to cast mere cantrips before moving on to their first spell. Once they cast their first spell, they became mages proper, continuing their education within one of the Guild's nine Schools of Magic. Each School covers specific arcane disciplines, from the scientific approach of the School of Alchemical Sciences to the metaphysical domain of the School of Supernal Insight.
The Path of Ascension
Advancement in the Guild requires passing the Trial and the Tribulation, a grueling magical examination conducted in enchanted proving grounds designated by the College. Success grants access to the higher mysteries of magic and the Guild’s vast libraries, while failure means expulsion from the University—or worse, permanently transfiguration by the test, and the inability to practice magic for life. The Trial ensures that the Guild’s highest knowledge remains tightly guarded, accessible only to the most worthy.
ranks of ascension
- Apprentice (level 0)
- Mage (level 1 - 4)
- Adept (level 5 - 9)
- Magister (level 10)
- Grand Magician (level 11-15)
- Archmage (level 15-20+)
In the Postlapsarian World
The Fall brought devastation to the Guild, as the destruction of the Great Crystal crippled its research and severed its connection to the arcane energies it once commanded. The Magic University’s floating halls were torn from the sky, scattering the Guild's knowledge across the lands. The Colleges now exist only in fragmented sects, their remaining members hunted by those who covet their secrets.
Schools of Magic
The curricula of each School of Magic is overseen by one of the nine Grand Magicians. Mages within each College are meant to study across many schools, as no particular field of study is beholden to a particular College.
- The School of Alchemical Science. Alchemy, Elemental.
- The School of Eldritch Research. Dimension, Conjuration.
- The School of Exorcism. Abjuration, Curative.
- The School of Geometry. Probability, Artifice.
- The School of Magical Philosophy. Metamagic.
- The School of Material Truth. Illusion, Enchantment.
- The School of Natural Law. Necromancy, Force, Time.
- The School of Parapsychology. Charm, Mind.
- The School of Supernal Insight. Astral, Divination.
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