Wizards' Guild

### Location(s)

Daugon, Between Kuragma and Etton, Amrali Republic, Apotheosis Desert, Talios, Arlaven GladesFera Isles, Dilghao, Penskruingman

## Specifics

### Purpose

Pursuit of magical knowledge and research thereof

### Known for

Involvement in many projects (Dungeonopolis, Courier Pigeon Initiative, etc.)

## Common Knowledge

Anyone learning magic has probably at least heard of the Wizards’ Guild, and that they are a large guild of wizards, dedicated to studying magic and other such things.

## Further Description

The Wizards’ Guild is a continent-spanning organization of magic users working towards the same goal: to monitor, to study, to understand, and to master the mysterious force that is magic.

The Wizards’ Guild has their grubby magic fingers in many different pies, and they have many bases of operation in Orelisle and beyond.

Despite the title, the Wizards’ Guild is open to all magic practitioners. Even so, their ranks err heavily on the side of Celestial magic users.

## Purpose and Practices

The Wizards’ Guild researches many different fields within their study of magic, and organize themselves by those different fields. The Wizards’ Guild is split into divisions, each with their own headquarters and focus. There is some overlap, and members from one division may operate at another division’s location for convenience or advantage. Divisions are encouraged not to fight, but maintain healthy rivalries with each other.

### Inner Sanctum

Located in Daugon, the Inner Sanctum has no single focus and instead acts as the Guild’s centralized headquarters.

### Magical Monitoring

Located between Kuragma and Etton, this division focuses on monitoring and studying unusual magical phenomena that could be considered dangerous, and if needed, intervene.

Their accomplishments include monitoring the Agartha Incidents on the northern island of Malbona, and likely modern research into the Lesion Rift.

### Research and Development

Located in the Oţel province of the Amrali Republic, this division focuses on the creation and utilization of artifacts. This is also where the Audio/Video record crystals, used for recordkeeping by various organizations even outside the Wizards’ Guild, are produced.

### Spellcraft

Located in the Apotheosis Desert, this division focuses on the creation and development of new rituals. They are also responsible for the earliest versions of the “Messenger” and “Morph” spells in ritual form.

### Recollection

Located in the Frontier province of Talios, very close to the border with Binturia, this division focuses on learning about the society of the ancients, the magic they used, and mastering those forgotten techniques. This mostly involves seeking and studying Old Binturian relics and artifacts.

This division used to operate in the Bartholoman mountain range in Galkador, but was forced to relocate after two consecutive undead invasions.

### Extraplanar Studies and Affairs

Located in the Arlaven Glades, this division focuses on monitoring extraplanar entities, rifts, monstrosities, and powers. In the wake of the Planar War and Fel Invasion, much of their attention now focuses on detecting, tracking, and containing extraplanar beings.

### Zoology and Botany

Located somewhere in the Fera Isles, this division focuses on studying magical plants and creatures, as well as befriending, taming, culling, and monitoring them if need be. They once halted the expansion of a man-eating flower across southern Haelwyd, and have great experience brokering deals between towns and dragons.

### Foreign Affairs

Located in Dilghao, and in a tiny building on Penskruingman, this division focuses on learning about the magic beyond the worldline. The Foreign Affairs division is the newest of all, having been created hastily to organize the information the Guild collected from its involvement in the Courier Pigeon Initiative in 10,018 A.B..

## History

### Founding (9,182 A.B.)

The Wizards’ Guild was founded in 9,182 A.B., as a loose coalition of allied mages working together for research purposes.

### Restructuring by Daugon (9,520 A.B.)

During a war with Taphran, Daugon co-opted much of the Wizards’ Guild’s network into its fold in order to bolster its magical forces. This would become the framework it uses into modern times, even if they no longer have a direct involvement in political disputes.

### Agartha Incidents (10,016 A.B., 10,018 A.B.)

In 10,016 and 10,018 A.B., the sealed city of Agartha on the far northern island of Malbona began to exhibit unusual behavior. Members of the Magical Monitoring division studied it before calling upon the Binturians two different times. These events ultimately led to the dissolution of the city’s barrier and the city itself.

## Structure

### Joining the Wizards’ Guild

If a person looking to join the Wizards’ Guild must meet three qualifications: 1) They are a spellcaster looking for greater understanding and mastery of their power; 2) They know someone already in the Wizards’ Guild who can connect them to the right channels; and 3) They have enough capital to pay membership dues.

If someone meets all these, then they are considered a Recruit and must take the Trial of Initiation to attain proper Membership.

### Recruits

Recruits are those who wish to join the Guild, but have yet to pass the Trial of Initiation. They are offered assistance from the Guild, but do not have the full scope of its resources.

#### Trial of Initiation

To join the Guild proper, a Recruit must prove they are up to it. That is what this trial is for. A Recruit must stand before the Highmaster of their division, and prove some measure of their power, their enthusiasm, or their willingness to learn and follow the goals of the Guild. Recruits are rarely failed, but the notion of such a trial, especially when their only instruction is “Prove that you belong here,” often narrows down the pool to those who would be devoted to the Guild. Once proven, a Recruit becomes a Member or an Agent, depending on their requests, availability, and any other relevant circumstances, and they are officially welcomed to the Guild.

### Agents

Agents of the Guild are those who have passed the Trial of Initiation to attain Member status, but do not work for the Guild full-time. As such, they are not on the Guild’s payroll, but do have access to the Guild’s resources when needed. Agents work outside of the Guild, but support it and vice versa. The Guild may request a contract with an Agent, during which the Agent may work more closely and be compensated thusly, and an Agent may request a full or temporary Membership or even an Apprenticeship (though once a Master, they are a full-time Guild member) under the same terms, but for the most part Agents are, well, free agents.

### Members

Members are the standard force of the Wizards’ Guild. Each Member has passed the Trial of Initiation, and has access to the Guild’s resources, and is expected to work in their division where needed.

### Masters

Within each division are Masters. These are all highly accomplished mages, each often devoting themself to a specialization or a project that often becomes their legacy.

### Apprentices

To become a Master, a Member must find a willing Master and request an Apprenticeship. Usually such a Master is within their division, but sometimes not. If the Master accepts, the Member becomes an Apprentice, and begins spending more time with and working with that Master, to become their equal and successor. As a Master passes their teachings down to their Apprentice, and the Apprentice begins to do their own research and work, they learn and grow, as does the collective strength of the Guild.

The Apprenticeship has no set time period. They can last for months, years, even decades. What determines the end of the Apprenticeship is not time, but a formal ceremony called the Passing of the Torch.

#### Passing of the Torch

A Passing of the Torch begins when an Apprentice feels that they are ready for the responsibility and title of Master, and issues their Master a formal challenge. To attain the coveted title, the Apprentice must best or match their Master in a Wizard’s Duel. However, what this means specifically is often very loose. As most apprentices correctly assume that they stand little to no chance in defeating their Master in a straight up-and-down contest of Spellslinging, Apprentices are known, and encouraged, to make their own rules and challenges, so long as they in some way demonstrate their magical prowess against the one who trained them, and the Master agrees to their terms.As such, these ceremonies tend to vary wildly. They’ve taken the form of complex games of strategy, a modified version of “Capture the Flag,” being a notable example; they’ve been duels but with heavy modifications on ability: A battle not between Master and Apprentice, but between constructions that they’ve summoned into existence. One rather infamous Passing of the Torch occured when an Apprentice challenged her Master to a contest where, in front of a panel of judges, they would each perform simply the most impressive act of magic they could muster. This particular case is why Passing of the Torch duels now generally take place in deserted locations. Should the Apprentice lose, they will return to their Apprenticeship. They are free to challenge their Master again as soon as they wish, but almost always they know to wait until they know they’re ready. Should the Apprentice prevail, however, they will be acknowledged by their old Master as a friend and equal, and the coveted title will be theirs. They are now free to take on their own Apprentice and begin their own research, often staying close to their old Master due to the similarities in their specialties.

Due to this vetting process the amount of Masters varies wildly from division to division.

### Highmasters

Under the Grandmaster are the Highmasters, who each operate one of the divisions. Together they also form the High Council, which, along with the Grandmaster, act as the Guild’s governing body.

Grandmasters are appointed by the Council, and are often chosen ahead of the death or retirement of the previous Grandmaster. Each division nominates their own Highmaster from within its own ranks. Usually it’s one of the Masters within that division, elected by the others.

### Grandmaster

The Wizards’ Guild is headed overall by the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster oversees all affairs and manages the different divisions and locations. They are considered to be one of, if not the strongest mortal mage on Temporis. Supposedly the current Grandmaster is either a dragon in disguise, or is actually a descendent of the Old Binturian Mortal Mages.

### Membership Distribution

About two fifths of the Wizards’ Guild’s ranks are Agents. About two fifths are Members, and the last fifth are Masters, Highmasters, and the Grandmaster.

## Members

Members of the Wizards’ Guild are all magic-users to some degree, and many of the more experienced members devote themselves to a single area of study which they can become experts on. Some of the Guild’s upper echelons are extremely powerful mages, who are not to be trifled with.

## Further Information

* Amrali Provinces
* Apotheosis Desert
* Arlaven Glades
* The Binturian Party
* Binturia
* Daugon
* Dilghao
* Etton
* Fera Isles
* Galkador
* Kuragma
* Magic
* Penskruingman
* Talios