Sorcery Division

Sorcery Division is a division of Akademeia, the magic academy of the Dominion of Rubrum, in Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy Agito. It is headed by Archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia, whose office is in the Sorcery area of the academy. Beyond her office lies the crystal room of the Vermilion Bird Crystal. In the Sorcery area of Akademeia there is also a man who allows Class Zero to accept special orders during missions.
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==Profile==
The Sorcery Division does magic research and is represented by Arecia Al-Rashia in the Consortium of Eight. The division researches the Crystal that grants the citizens of Rubrum the power to wield magic, and itemizes magic spells and finds ways to enhance them. Vermilion Bird has been dubbed the "ultimate magic spell" and has been subject of research in Sorcery for generations. Agito Cadets who meet certain requirements are permitted to use the incantation, and are charged with further developing the spell.
After years of trial and error, the Sorcery Division managed to crystallize pure attack magic energy and create Magicite. They also research phantoma, the mysterious life energy of all living beings. Members of Sorcery sometimes task the Class Zero cadets—or even outsiders—with obtaining phantoma for research purposes.
Sorcery also does research on Eidolons and is the instance that grants summoning permits. Although summoning usually requires a human sacrifice, scientists in Sorcery developed a way to freeze summoning portals in their early stages and then reactivate them using the manipulation magic—with or without someone present, creating Channelgates. Sorcery is also responsible for creating the combat simulations for the Arena coupled with artificial weather effects. It is implied the mock opponents at the Arena are made out of phantoma, allowing Sorcery to test its potential in combat.
Class Zero is the Arecia's personal project and her attempt to augment a group of cadets to wield magic without the Vermilion Bird Crystal, instead harnessing the power of phantoma to conjure spells. She raised the cadets before they became Class Zero, and the twelve spent most of their time at a special Sorcery facility known as the "external branch" not directly affiliated with Akademeia under her personal tutelage.
==Rubicus==
;Pyr. XXVII, 297 RG Establishment of Akademeia's Sorcery Division
The Vermilion Bird Crystal blessed the citizens of the dominion with the ability to use magic, but this gift was passed down by Agito Cadets and cadets-turned-instructors propagating the Will of the Crystal. The state played no part in managing the transmission of magic in the dominion.
Nevertheless, once the four Crystal-States had been established, the dominion government had no choice but to follow the example set by the other nations, promoting and overseeing the blessings of the Crystal. No longer living in constant fear of ferocious monsters, the denizens of Orience now faced a far more terrifying breed of foe: each other.
Fortunately, no other nation had threatened the dominion's borders since the expulsion of the Dracobaltians. However, news of the Lorican-Militesi War quickly reached Rubrum, and the dominion government thought it wise to strengthen its magic faculties so as to prepare itself against a potential assault. Thus, Akademeia founded the Sorcery Division.
This department was responsible for any and all magic matters. Up until that point, spells had been transmitted from citizen to citizen on an individual basis. Sorcery's first order of business was to classify these spells by type and unify the standards behind them, thus creating an environment in which anyone with magical ability could cast spells at will.
The establishment of the Sorcery Division and the systemization of spells also brought about great changes in the organization of the dominion military. Previously, the legionaries fought solely based on their individual magical prowess. Now that the military could form squads united around a single class of magic, the legions saw the rise of units defined by characteristic spells, such as Fire Squad or the Cure Squad.
==Story==
Class Zero is Archsorceress Arecia Al-Rashia's personal project where she imbued a class of handpicked cadets with the power to wield magic independent of the Vermilion Bird Crystal, using the power of phantoma instead. Class Zero is kept a secret until the Militesi Empire attacks Akademeia and deploys crystal jammers to cut the Rubrum forces off their Crystal, leaving Class Zero as their only hope.
Arecia deploys Class Zero destroy the crystal jammers and heeds one of the cadets', Ace's, request to have a Rubrum legionary Izana Kunagiri deliver a COMM to him amid the battle. Arecia has the cadets wear special accessories developed at Sorcery that sustain their life energy and prevent them from dying, and gives the cadets access to a Special Eidolon, Odin, which the cadets can summon without dying.
Class Zero destroys the crystal jammers and drives the imperial forces out of Akademeia, impressing the administration to such degree the class is officially enrolled to Akademeia, whose student body is to cooperate with the army to retake the areas lost to the empire.
Two new cadets, Machina Kunagiri and Rem Tokimiya, are enrolled to Class Zero but Arecia views the duo inferior to the others, as they have not been enhanced by her and cannot wield magic without the Vermilion Bird Crystal. Rem is ill and Arecia uses her resources as the head of Sorcery to provide her with a medicine that prolongs her life, although the illness is incurable. The commandant of the army, Suzuhisa Higato, confronts Arecia over Izana's deployment that saw him killed in action, as Sorcery Division has no authority to deploy legionaries, but Arecia rebuffs him saying she had the chancellor's support.
Arecia reveals the Altocrystarium to her cadets allowing them to enhance their magic by expending the phantoma they collect from felled enemies. Although the cadets no longer have the life accessories, they alone gain summoning permits for Eidolons to use in battle as Arecia has the power to revive her cadets when they die. After the cadets help Sorcery researchers with harvesting phantoma for study, they also gain permit to use the ultimate magic spell, Vermilion Bird.
Sorcery researchers suspect there is an imperial spy in Akademeia and point out Emina Hanaharu as a suspect. Sorcery completes a spell allowing one to see through solid matter for use in investigation on Hanaharu. Class Zero is tasked with gifting Emina with presents with the spell cast on them, activating the "spy camera" as she brings the presents to her room.
When Tempus Finis commences, a sorcery researcher informs Class Zero they are the only ones able to fell the Rursus, as the only way to vanquish them is by harvesting their phantoma. Arecia meets with the cadets one last time before they head to Pandæmonium to face off against the Rursan Arbiter.
Category:Organizations in Final Fantasy Type-0