The Mage Gauntlet

**The Mage Gauntlet**

The Cabal of the Burning Sword is the secretive order of archmagi and mage knights who make up the uppermost echelon of the Mage Circle of Sarceline. To be invited to stand amongst this esteemed body, an aspiring candidate must complete what is known as the Mage’s Gauntlet – a series of trials, requirements and deeds that push a mage to their limits in order to be deemed worthy of higher titles.

To be eligible for the Mage’s Gauntlet, an aspiring candidate must first prove their worth as a productive member of the Mage Circle of Sarceline. They must follow the established credit system and earn a minimum of 60 in order to advance to the rank of Wizard. Once deemed a Wizard of the Mage Circle of Sarceline, a candidate may begin the Mage’s Gauntlet.

The Mage’s Gauntlet serves as a means for both proving one’s abilities to the Cabal of the Burning Sword and as a gauge of what candidates’ true strengths are. Each trial serves as a key test for the various roles and duties of the Cabal of the Burning Sword.

## Trial of the Mage Knight

Mage knights are expected to be able to defend themselves and defeat their foes even after they have exhausted their reserves of mana. To simulate this effect and prepare a wizard for this trial, the candidate is fitted with magic-dampening adamantine gauntlets and trained in the art of horsemanship and melee combat by a knight of the realm. To pass the Trial of the Mage Knight, the candidate must secure victory against a mounted combatant of their knight-instructor’s choosing without using any offensive magic whatsoever.

((In this trial, the wizard will be paired with a knight in the guild and will be expected to make time for one-on-one training in swordplay and horsemanship via emotes. Once the knight feels the wizard is ready, they will pick someone else in the guild for the wizard to duel in freeform emotes on horseback.))

## Trial of the War Mage

War magi are expected to be masters of the arcane who are able to draw readily from local and distant ley-lines to weave spells of great power. To this end, the Trial of the War Mage sends a candidate wizard on a wide pilgrimage to several nexuses of arcane power in Azeroth. At each location, the wizard must attune themselves to the arcane nexus and weave a greater spell corresponding to the pattern formed by the ley-lines. The wizard must keep a journal of their findings and take with them one item from each location to use as proof of their journey.

((This is a test to see how creative the player is in writing about magic and thinking up epic spells. The character must journey to at least ten locations where ley lines grant special bonuses to certain spells. A list of Ley Lines can be found on Wowpedia. The player can approximate in-game where each of the ley lines are located. We require that the player take a screenshot of their wizard at each location and post each screenshot in their in-character journal of the trial.))

## Trial of the Spellhunter

Spell hunters are often tasked with tracking down and eliminating creatures and individuals that wield magic to sew chaos in Azeroth. Rogue wizards, magic-wielding beasts, and demonic avatars are only some of the many threats faced by the Cabal of the Burning Sword. The Trial of the Spell Hunter tests an aspiring wizard’s ability to track and subdue a magical threat successfully. To complete this trial, the wizard must accompany a member of the Cabal in a hunt for a hostile magical entity and capture or eliminate the threat. The wizard must then record in writing a summary of what they discovered during the hunt.

((This trial is more freeform than the others and is conducted at a cabalist’s discretion. The cabalist must prepare the plot of the hunt through a dungeon-mastered event that pits the wizard against a magic wielding threat. Each threat will have its own strengths and weaknesses that should be taken into account by both the cabalist and their pupil during the event.))

## Trial of the Cabalist

Once a candidate wizard has completed the trials of the Mage Knight, War Mage, and Spell Hunter, they must partake in a secretive ritual known as the Trial of the Cabalist that will cement their place amongst the Cabal of the Burning Sword. Based upon their performance in the three trials, the candidate wizard will be asked to choose the role that they will take in the order. A mighty weapon will be forged and enchanted to complement the wizard’s chosen role in a secretive ritual overseen by the cabal’s forgemaster. If the wizard chooses the mage knight role, they will be equipped with a full suit of enchanted armor and an enchanted sword. War mages are given an epic staff hewn from the most expensive reagents known to man. Spell hunters are provided with an enchanted bow and arrows that are able to damage ethereal beings. Once equipped, the wizard will take an oath binding them to the Cabal of the Burning Sword.

((The capstone of the Mage’s Gauntlet provides the wizard with their role of choice and a shiny new weapon. During the secretive ritual, the wizard must attune with their weapon in the enchanting process. This is the final trial that grants a character the title of cabalist.))