Advanced Magic Training (Unexpected)

## Mage Specializations

At the Mage level (17), a practitioner of magic is strong enough to learn and master the skills necessary to learn one specialization. A second can be learned at the Magister level (22), and a third at the Magus level (27). In order for a Mage Trainer to train a student in a specialization, they have to actually know it themselves. Thus, it's not uncommon for multiple mage trainers to team up in order to cover the widest array of specializations possible or for mage students to seek out a second trainer if their initial trainer wasn't trained in a specialization that interested them.

Some of the specializations, especially those that become available at the Magus level are almost forgotten arts, as finding someone who's powerful enough to know one of them and thus teach them can be a very challenging task. Also, despite the fact that four new specializations become available at each of the three power levels that a mage can learn a specialization doesn't mean they have to take a specialization from that level. It's entirely possible that a person who is at or above Magister level for example to opt to take two of the Mage level specializations.

The twelve specializations "unlock" in groups of four at different power levels because those were the levels that Merlin and Morgana, who were both trained in all twelve, believed were the levels that were required to effectively make use of and safely wield the powers and abilities contained within each of the specializations. Of course it never hurts to have more power than what's required.

### Mage Level (17) Specializations:

* **Battlemage**
	+ A mage who has received special training to allow them to retain their ability to use magic while wearing armor and using weapons, such as swords, axes, etc.
* **Force Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in creating barriers of unseen force which can be used to move objects, slow down or stop movement, punch or crush an opponent with invisible force, knock them off their feet or throw them through the air. It also allows a mage to fly without a broom, something which is otherwise impossible.
* **Shape Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in changing their shape into numerous creatures, both mundane and magical. When taking the form of a magical creature, they also gain any special abilities possessed by that creature while they remain in that form.
* **Mage Healer**
	+ A mage who specializes in healing, greatly increasing the power of any healing spell they cast. They can generate an aura of healing energy and can ward both themselves and their allies so that a normally lethal attack will only render them unconscious. Of course, the power to ward against such attacks depends on both the power level of the Mage Healer and that of the caster of the potentially lethal attack. If the caster is more powerful than the Mage Healer, the chances of a successful warding drop a bit for each level of power the caster is above the healer, although even this can be overcome if two or more Mage Healers combine their powers in order to cast the ward or if the Mage Healer is also a Ward Mage.

### Magister Level (22) Specializations:

* **Blood Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in blood magic and can use their own blood or the blood of willing allies to add additional power to their spells, potentially making them stronger than just by the power of their magical core alone. Blood mages also have the unique ability of increasing the magical power level of a person by a maximum of four power levels. This ability is often used to create new mages, as they rarely occur naturally at the levels they once did.
* **Ward Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in ward magic enough that they can magically create wards instantaneously, allowing them to use wards effectively in combat, which would usually not be done as it takes too long to draw the necessary sigils. Their wards also tend to be more powerful and are more adept at getting past wards.
* **Shadow Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in shrouding themselves and their allies in shadows in order to remain hidden. They can also manipulate the shadows of opponents, forcing them to do whatever their shadow is doing. Shadow Mages can use Shadow Travel, which is like Apparition, but without the possibility of Splinching, does not require a license from the Ministry, and allows the Shadow Mage to go anywhere that shadows exist—including past Anti-Apparition Wards.
* **Elemental Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in the elements greatly increasing their resistance to them, which can be shared with allies, while also increasing all elemental damage done to their opponents. Elemental Mages of sufficient skill and power may also be to summon forth pure manifestations of the elements—Elementals of Earth, Fire, Air, or Water—to aid them, although it would be unwise to attempt to summon an elemental of an opposing element to that of your own magic, as a Fire Elemental is unlikely to serve a mage who’s magic resonates with water, or vice-versa. The same holds true in the case of Earth and Air Elementals.

### Magus Level (27) Specializations:

* **Mage Artificer**
	+ A mage who specializes in the crafting and enchanting of magical objects, artifacts, weapons, clothing, and armor. Mage Artificers are also the ultimate wandmakers and staffmakers should they be powerful enough to take this specialization, as the cores in wands/staffs made by a Mage Artificer never burn out. Mage Artificers can also place a second core in their wands and staffs, which increases the power of all spells cast with it. The imbued elemental ranged attacks of a Mage Artificer-crafted mage staff are also stronger than those of a non-Mage Artificer-crafted staff. The creation of a Pensieve falls under the purview of a Mage Artificer who is also a Ward Mage.
* **Temporal Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in the manipulation and control of time itself, allowing them to slow down, stop, speed up, or reverse time. While weaker spells allowing for the manipulation of time do exist, they only allow one to slow down or stop time for a very limited amount of time, usually never more than a minute. A Temporal Mage, however, can slow down or stop time indefinitely, although to do so requires constant concentration and focus which prevents them from doing anything else. Additionally, Temporal Mages can reduce the required meditation time for the Spell Mastery Higher Arcana ability from eight hours to four. The creation of a Time Turner also falls under the purview of the Temporal Mage, who is also a Mage Artificer.
* **Nature Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in the manipulation and control of the natural world, a nature mage is the ultimate gardener, able to make any plant grow from seed/sapling to full grown in a matter of minutes, in addition to increasing soil fertility and harvest yield. Nature Mages are also able to communicate with plants and animals. Many druids and tribal shamans are Nature Mages, assuming that they’re strong enough to learn the specialization. A Nature Mage that is also a Dimensional Mage and an Elemental Mage can create outdoor spaces indoors that are complete with full weather effects such as rain and snow.
* **Dimensional Mage**
	+ A mage who specializes in the manipulation of dimensional space. Somewhat related to Wizard Space, although there’s a limit to how much extra space can be achieved/created with Wizard Space. A Dimensional Mage, however, can create nearly limitless amounts of space to the point that they could fit a sprawling palace in a broom closet. They can also create pocket dimensions and manipulate the fabric of reality to allow for instant travel from one place to another. A Dimensional Mage’s travel ability can’t be blocked like Apparition can be and doesn’t rely on shadows the way a Shadow Mage’s Shadow Travel ability does. A Dimensional Mage who is also a Ward Mage can create warded pocket dimensions that only they or people they grant permission can access.

## Metamagic Skills

Metamagic skills alter magic in various useful ways. Must be at least the Apprentice Wizard/Witch (6) level on the power scale to learn one metamagic skill, with the ability to learn an additional skill at the Archwizard (10), Grand Socerer/Sorceress (14), Master Mage (18), Magister (22), Apprentice Magus (26), and Archmagus (30) levels. So an Apprentice Wizard/Witch can learn one of the skills while an Archmagus can learn all seven. They are not easy to learn, however, and a lot of time, work, and continued practice is required to master them. This is oftentimes more work and time than most wizards and witches are willing to invest in the endeavor, as unfortunately many modern magical practitioners, especially the young, tend to prefer instant gratification and lose interest when something proves to be hard or time-consuming.

* **Non-Verbal Spell-Casting**
	+ Removes all verbal requirements from spells, allowing the spell to be cast without speaking the incantation aloud. The only one taught at Hogwarts and most schools of magic throughout the world, though it's not referred to as metamagic. It’s usually briefly touched upon in the final year of OWL-level studies, with more in-depth discussion during the NEWT-level studies.
* **Wandless Spell-Casting**
	+ Removes all motion requirements from spells, such as wand or hand movements, allowing the spell to be cast without them. This will cause the caster’s eyes to take on a golden glow when they cast spells, which varies in intensity depending on the power of the spell being cast. The glow might be barely noticeable for a spell normally taught to first year magical students, but visible enough to completely drown out the caster’s normal eye color when casting more powerful mage-level spells.
* **Quickened Spell-Casting**
	+ Shortens the time required to cast spells requiring a longer amount of time to cast, however, this usually results in the spell being less powerful.
* **Extended Spell-Casting**
	+ Allows the caster to increase the amount of time that the magical effect of their spell will last. *Prerequisite of Persistent Casting.*
* **Persistent Spell-Casting**
	+ Allows the caster to make a spell persistent, meaning the magical effects the spell creates will not stop and cannot be dispelled except by the caster.
* **Empowered Spell-Casting**
	+ Improves the caster's ability to channel more power into a spell without exhausting themselves, making the resulting spell more powerful. *Prerequisite of Maximized Casting.*
* **Maximized Spell-Casting**
	+ Further improves the caster's ability to channel more power into a spell without exhausting themselves, making the resulting spell much more powerful.

## Higher Arcana

The Higher Arcana are similar to Metamagic Skills in that they alter/improve magic in a variety of ways. Must be at least an Archmage (20) to learn any of these skills. There's a limit one higher arcana for every two magic power levels between Archmage and Archmagus. So, an Archmage can learn only learn of these talents, while an Archmagus can learn all six.

* **Power Mastery**
	+ Convert raw magic power into bolts of energy, to hurl at opponents, causing harm. When the caster is below Archmagus, this also allows casters to tap into the ambient magic of the world around them and add that power to their spells, effectively allowing them to cast spells at a level that's up to two levels higher than their actual power level.
* **Range Mastery**
	+ Increases effective casting range by ten meters, allowing them to cast further back from the front lines than they would normally be able to. It also helps in improving the accuracy of every spell a caster casts, improving the chances that the spell will actually hit it's intended target.
* **Counter Mastery**
	+ Ability to create a shield that rebounds spells against their caster. How much of a spell is rebounded depends on the power level of the caster making use of this skill. This also increases the potency of shield spells and other defensive spells.
* **Elemental Mastery**
	+ Alter elemental spells to do a different type of damage than normal. For example throw a fireball at an enemy that looks like any normal fireball, but will electrocute them instead of burning them. This spell also increases the potency of all elemental spells, whether they're offensive, defensive, or utility. Additionally, it can make the imbued elemental attack of a mage's staff more powerful.
* **Shaping Mastery**
	+ Create 'safe spaces' inside offensive area of effect spells so that allies aren't harmed or 'danger zones' in defensive area of effect spells so that enemies aren't aided by them. This also allows a caster, if they so choose, to cosmetically alter their spells into desired shapes, such as making a fireball take on the form of a dragon.
* **Spell Mastery**
	+ Selected spells that can be cast at will, without draining the caster's magic. A mage can select two spells they know for each power level above 13 to use with this ability, however setting or changing the spells requires that the caster spend eight hours meditating.