Magus

The **Magi** (singular: Magus) are an organisation of magic-users in the Grasp. Based out of the Octal Tower, in the heartlands of the Grasp, the Magi are widely known. Many ruling families of the Grasp, such as that of House Egéna of Dael, kept a Magus in their household. Magi were sometimes summoned to deal with specific problems that arose. In the modern day, opinion of the Magi is variable. In many quarters they are met with distrust. In parts of rural Redesca, it was believed that a Magus was necessarily evil, and that the evil within them would eventually show on their face.

Magi are entitled to be referred to by the honorific 'Magus', which overrides the conventional 'Fer/Fera'. It's not known at present how the honorific interacts with the honorifics of nobility or military rank. Most Magi wear pendants engraved with the symbol of their Chain, as a way of identifying themselves to other Magi.

## History

The origins of the Magi lie in the mythical Sighted - chimeric individuals who had witnessed the birth of magic at the Sidereal Forge, 4000 years ago. The era of Sighted supremacy, during which the order of the Magi took shape, is known as the Years of the Stars. It lasted around 1600 years. Towards the end of this period, wars were fought to subdue the Sighted. Much of the world was rendered uninhabitable over the course of centuries of cataclysmic war, but the result was the elimination of chimeric Sighted (to the point that in much of the Grasp, chimeras were killed on sight, irrespective of whether they had any magical ability). In the accords that followed this war, the order of the Magi were allowed to continue to practice their magic, but were prohibited from training any chimera.

More recently, the Faradwel Accords placed limits on the free gathering of Magi. Under the terms of the Accords, no more than six Magi were permitted to be in any given city at the same time for a period of more than the day, unless they were explicitly invited by the city's lord.

## Chains

*(For more detail, see the article on Chains)*

The order of the Magi is not limitless. Their numbers are, necessarily, finite and diminishing over time; new Magi must be linked to an existing Magus on a Chain, which allows for each generation to at best replenish its numbers. In theory anybody can become a Magus (restrictions on training chimeras notwithstanding) but it is only through belonging to a Chain that a person can touch the sidereal magic. New apprentices, once deemed suitable, are brought to the Forge at the heart of the Octal Tower - a Forge that has been maintained for a thousand years - and there forged into a new link on their Chain. Once linked, they share the strengths and the weaknesses of all those who came before them.

Although it's technically possible for men to be linked to women, and vice versa, in practice this happens rarely; few are willing to share their soul in perpetuity with somebody of the opposite gender. Because of this, and because of a now-obsolete stipulation that only male Magi fought in wars, in the modern day there are far more women than men among the Magi.

In the event that a Magus at the end of a Chain is killed, having never linked to another, that Chain is permanently severed. This has led, over the years, to a considerable reduction in the number of extant Chains, possibly measured in thousands. By 684 BA, there were fewer than six hundred surviving Magi.

## Known Magi

* Aldora Lindomel (deceased)
* Amice Merrimoth
* Darise Hay
* Eada Taphan
* Easind Fann
* Edmys Mald
* Gettie Tennemere (deceased)
* Jenea Andomas
* Kana Fourn (deceased)
* Malesind Wyme
* Rogess Haltest
* Semma cos Rydenda
* Telis Heddorel
* Telsa Cannaldan
* Toral Aspen (deceased)