THE MAGES GUILD
Introduction
Overview
The Radenor Mages Guild was founded in the year 2984, after the downfall of Hedra Theid, the Great Liar. Hedra was a human woman: an Ascended Mentalist (or Voice) who managed to take near-total control over all of Radenor. The uncontained acquisition of power by one individual, combined with an increasing imposition of arcane power on the common man of Radenor, led the Quene of Radenor at that time to build the first chapters of the Mages Guild, where mages would be monitored, regulated and ultimately executed if discovered to be a threat. For the last twelve hundred years, the seven chapters of the mages guild have stood unimpeded, and their founding has resulted in the successful management of mages across Radenor's vast lands.
All mages in Radenor are required to join the Guild, and upon joining they are branded on the side of their neck with the symbol of their chapter: an ornate emblem with the first letter of their chapter dominating the center of the branded mark. Mages of the guild are assets of their Kyngdom, and can be called to war at the behest of their Kyng or Quene. In day-to-day life, Guild-Mages serve the will and interest of their local Earls, and are often called their "hounds" or their "enforcers" for their penchant for performing their Earl's will without question.
Lifestyle
Guild-Mages do not live independently, or with any degree of self-governance. As assets to the Crown, their lives are not their own, and very few even conceive of any sort of aspirational individuality. As no man is born with magic, most Guild-Mages willingly choose to be initiated and join the Guild, though some are discovered after dabbling with magic and are brought to their local chapter and branded. Whatever the case, they are owned, and while they may find solace with their own arcane brethren, the general population of Radenor is highly skeptical of magi. All Guild-Mages live in specific "floors" of their chapter, with a mage's floor denoting their overall skill in magic, and their contribution to the Guild. The lower floors are dominated with fledgling magi, while the top floor houses the Overseer and the chapter's Fellows.
When a mage is first inducted into the Guild, they will be tethered to other new inductees, as well as one First Warden assigned to look after them. They are assigned to a "coterie," with the other members of that coterie called their "Sisters" and "Brothers." The head of each coterie, the First Warden, is simply called the "Warden," though considering most Guild-Mages no longer have a family, many view their Warden as being alike to their father or mother.
Not only do members of a coterie train together and often bunk together in day-to-day life, they also travel together and are assigned as one squadron when their local Earl sends them to perform a task. Because of their close proximity, members of a coterie are considered to be a part of a life-long bond, and are almost always unbreakably close. In most cases, a coterie includes six members: the First Warden, and five of their apprentices. Coteries rarely take on new members -- the death or promotion of one means the shrinking of the group, with the most successful coteries dissolving as their members go on to become Wardens and even Fellows.
In day-to-day life, Guild-Mages live in dormitories on their respective floors, with generally two to three occupants of the same sex sharing the same room, though Fellows and Overseers have their own room. Coteries usually see their rooms assigned in a row, with two or three dormitory rooms (side-by-side) making up one coterie. Each floor of every chapter is divided into four Wards: the Dormitory Ward, the Seminary Ward, the Arcanery Ward, and the Common Ward. Most Guild-Mages merely refer to these wards as "Dorms, Seminar, Arcanery, and Commons," and their functions are easily understood by their names. Dormitories act as housing for the members of the Guild, while Seminar is a lecture-focused academic environment (generally teaching magical theory, Radenor history and the theology of the Path). Arcanery is where mages learn Raw and World Magic, and Commons is where Guild-Mages socialize, eat and perform many of their daily tasks and duties, such as cleaning and cooking for their peers.
Life for a Guild-Mage is typically incredibly busy, while also being deeply social and rewarding. The Guild-Mage environment is highly collegiate, academic and collaborative, and because of this many without a purpose often choose to be initiated and brought to the Guild.
Chapters
The chapters are as follows: Vesterhal (Southeastern Jorikford), Breniven (Northeastern Jorikford), Osteren (Northeastern Vestria), Novilane (North of Tilema), Thaiven (Western Sheorlund), Raviken (Eastern Sheorlund), and Demrek (Southern Northradica). All chapters are at least ten miles from any population center, and the area surrounding every chapter is heavily watched by the men and women serving their respective Esquires, as well as the Overseer of that chapter.
All chapters are towers, though they are of varying sizes, exterior appearances, and even shapes. The seven towers house anywhere from five hundred to two thousand Guild-Mages, with Raviken being the largest, and Osteren being the smallest. The towers tend to be anywhere from five to twenty floors, with each floor housing roughly a hundred mages, as well as hosting a variety of training areas and classrooms. All chapters are heavily watched by the Esquire's men, the Scarlet Watch (also known as "the Scabs"), and the perimeter around them is especially guarded. While mages are regularly allowed to train outside of their chapter in nearby fields, forests or lakes, they must always do so either under the watch of a Scab or accompanied by a trusted Fellow.
Ranks
Ranks in the Mages Guild determine a great deal for the mage they are given to: they decide the flow of everyday life, the function of the member, their level of freedom and mobility, and their respect and acclaim. The life of a Guild-Mage therefore changes drastically depending on rank, with the lowest ranks utterly confined to their chapter-tower, while Fellows and above often freely wander the outside world and occupy many of the vessels of Radenor's system of power.
The moment any mage is brought to the Guild, a scorpion's tail-like artifact known as the Varlavach reaches into their soul while they lie on a table, bound and constricted, to cut and contain a small shaving of their essence. This shaving, which is placed on a magical vine to grow into a "Sundered Flower", allows the Overseer of a chapter to track mages down across the world, and even through planes.
Novus: Novus are new mages, or those deemed volatile or improperly trained. While most mages only occupy this position for a maximum of one year after induction into the Guild, some Guild-Mages (even highly talented ones) spend their entire lives as Novus'. As initiates, Novus are treated as younglings needing to be honed, and are often dictated to by virtually everyone in the Guild. They simultaneously occupy the role of cleaner, chef, student, personal assistant and arcane trainee, and rarely find more than a few moments to relax, reflect or bear any moment of peace. The passage of a Novus into a Magus is done by a ceremony known as the Nightwatch, where all of the Novus being considered for full induction are sent to a ruined tower near their chapter, where they must stave off hordes of undead through the night. The survivors, those who make it to the coming dawn, are uplifted to the status of Magus, where their life as a Guild-Mage truly begins.
Magus: Magus is the standard rank for a Norunn Guild-Mage, and it is at this rank where most of the mage's life is set out for them. Magus are finally assigned to a coterie, and through the coterie are allowed to occasionally venture far away from their local chapter. Generally, a Magus is at least a Journeyman in one magic, and their academic knowledge and war-craft is honed at this rank. Most members of the Guild spend the majority of their lives as Magus, with only the more select few eventually moving onward into the more specialized crafts. The role of Magus is, however, incredibly versatile: they can serve as academic lecturers and assistants in teaching magic to others, they can manage or oversee Wards on their given floor, and they can even be assigned Novus to initiate or induct into the Guild.
First Warden: First Wardens are personally recommended by a chapter's Overseer to the local Earl, Kyng or Quene as those considered most trustworthy and effective. They are generally at least a Journeyman in two magics, and once selected, their brand is illuminated to show that they have the trust of the gentry, and are allowed to lead groups (their assigned coterie) through Radenor. First Wardens are the leaders of the squadrons that fulfill most of the guild's real-world duties, and so in a way they act as the field commanders for the Guild and the nobility that delegate them. First Wardens generally receive their orders directly from the chapter's Overseer, though sometimes they are assigned beneath a Fellow, depending on the dynamic and size of that particular chapter (with larger chapters seeing more Fellow-First Warden interactions).
Fellow: Fellows are the true elite of the Guild, and are no longer truly confined by the physical boundaries of the chapter-tower. While their primary role is educating other mages in the schools of magic, Fellows also serve as the bureaucracy beneath the Overseer, and even as confidants to local, high-ranking gentry. Fellows are erudites, academic sophisticates who dress well, speak well and wield an air of intellect and power. They are sharp, cunning and skilled in magic, with many of them even becoming Masters in their schools. Fellows can generally dictate to the Magus and Novus of the Guild, and even manage First Wardens much of the time. They are referred to as "Father" or "Mother" followed by their given name, and it is considered deeply taboo to speak over them or interrupt them at any point.
Overseer: The Overseer is the mage who rules the affairs of their chapter, managing the bureaucracy of academics and Fellows, overseeing initiations, delegating tasks and acting as the bridge or liaison between the Guild and the Earl, Kyng or Quene. Interestingly enough, the Overseer is rarely the most powerful mage in their chapter: that title often belongs to a Fellow, but Overseers are considered to be the best, most qualified, and most trustworthy administrator, a series of commendations often determined by seniority. The Overseer is directly chosen by the reigning Lord of their region when the previous one retires or passes away, and as a tenured official, can only be removed by order of the Kyng or Quene. They live in a large atrium on the top floor of the tower, directly below where the Fume Dragon roosts. No member of the Guild may defy an order from the Overseer, and even Fellows are expected to respect their orders and fulfill their will, so long as it is within the laws of the Kyngdom. The Overseer most often wears a white, sleek outfit akin to a highly elegant jumpsuit, with an ivory-gold pendant around their neck and a glowing blue eye at its center.
Archon: The Archon is the leader of the Mages Guild across all of Radenor, a role that goes beyond the borders of Kyngdoms and their affairs. Their role is to ensure, in effect, that the well-documented contagion of "magic-inspired megalomania" does not spread through the realm, and that Radenor's mages maintain their holy and orderly purpose. The Archon communicates and makes requests of all seven Overseers, though their primary diplomatic imperative is to ensure that the Guild and Radenor's gentry maintain a smooth relationship unmarred by national tensions and violent ambitions. In addition, the Archon is meant to seek out and uncover magical contagion, whether within the Guild or through the advent of arcane anomalies, the corruption of Bel or any other sources that pose a threat to the realm's stability. They don a sleek black suit with a white pendant, decorated by three lucent blue eyes.
The current Archon is Varus Moren, a Velsign fugitive from Daravin who surrendered himself to the Guild and quickly rose through the ranks of the Thaiven chapter, becoming Overseer at the age of twenty-nine. By the age of thirty-three, he was voted into the position of Archon by his Overseer colleagues upon the passing of the previous Archon. Varus is known to be the strongest Guild-Mage in centuries, so much so that many of Radenor's gentry fear he may become an unstoppable force if ever he were to Ascend. For this reason, the Guild is currently at odds with many of the landed gentry, and Varus is seen as a target for removal.
Rules
These are the laws of the Guild, and these laws are impressed upon the minds of all Guild-Mages from the moment they are brought to their chapter.
1. A Guild-Mage may never Ascend. Ascension is blasphemy to the Gods, who gave magic to man as a way to liberate him, not to allow him the power to impose his will upon others. Even attempting to learn how to Ascend is against the laws of the Guild, and may result in a mage's execution.
2. Children born between members of the Guild are brought to the wealthier Guild-Mage's family, or even to a local orphanage. Some of the stipend offered to the mage may be diverted to support their child, but they cannot ever act as a parent.
3. Mages of the Guild cannot ever leave their chapter without permission from the Overseer, either in the form of a specific rank or access, or explicit permission. Even Fellows and the Overseer cannot leave forever, and must check back in with the Guild within the span of at least a month, lest the Scarlet Watch pursue the scent of their Sundered Flower.
4. Guild-Mages are considered to be temperate souls, the easily corruptible flock of the Gods. For this reason, almost as priests of Blevika, they are not allowed to marry.
5. Guild-Mages may never wield magic against a member of the Scarlet Watch.
While these rules are ironclad, many of the rules of the Guild are not or are less applicable to those who also carry membership with the Covenant of Magi, given the agreements sworn between the faction and Radenor's elite. Still, the ground between all mages and nobles are fraught, with even the slightest transgression allowing for the revocation of any given liberty, or even the mage's life. Commonly, mages who break the cardinal rules have a hot iron laced with varithium pushed against their neck (at the location of the Guild brand), a punishment that results in a permanent infusion of varithium into their souls, blocking their usage of magic.
