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| An Imperial College of Magic |
The Imperial Colleges of Magic
maintains the best, most prestigious centers of magical learning in
all of Aranor. They are located across the world. Magic-Users from
the colleges (they prefer to be called “Imperial Wizards”) are
easily recognized by their robes. Base colors indicate a wizard's
area of specialty, while other various adornments indicate rank. Note
that the character's rank as an Imperial Wizard, and his level as a
Magic-User are not necessarily related. Rank is more about clout and
political influence. Not all Imperial Wizards are concerned with
rank, so do not be tempted to rash action due to the simplicity of an
opponent's garb.
Another institution of magical learning
that is gaining popularity is the Guild of Arcane Lore. While not as
large and institutionalized as the Imperial Colleges, it is spreading
and being sought by more and more prospective students. Graduates
prefer to be called Guild Wizards or Loremasters. The institution is
decentralized, with students being taught in small groups in what the
Guild calls chantries. These
are small buildings, or perhaps a small compound, usually built on a
magically significant location. Loremasters are also recognizable by
their robes, but they have no indications of rank on theirs. At first
disrespected by the Imperial College, the Guild has persevered and
consistently provides a high degree of quality instruction, and has
begun earning the grudging respect of the Imperial College.
An alternative to
more traditional forms of magic is Alchemy. A guild devoted to
standardizing and formalizing the practice has formed within the last
fifteen years. Its goal is to establish firm guidelines for rank
(apprentice, journeyman, and master) and to establish uniform rules
governing the practice of the trade. They are also seeking to promote
the craft and spread its practice far and wide. Alchemy has been
practiced for centuries, but until the last generation or so it was
limited to a folk-craft. Knowledge of it was handed down orally, with
any writings on the subject (such as specific recipes) being closely
guarded. It was that secrecy that was one of the major hurdles
overcame in establishing the guild. Now the movement is well underway
to standardize certain recipes, but still allowing Master Alchemists
to develop and maintain recipes with “trade secret” status. The
Imperial Wizards view the alchemists as poor cousins basically, being
people unable to actually develop magical skills and having to rely
on “smoke and mirrors to simulate true magic”. The alchemists, on
the other hand, take a great deal of pride in being able to replicate
magical affects that the Imperial Wizards spend half their lives
studying to achieve.
The
final method for learning magic is the oldest. The mentor/student
relationship has existed for as long as magic has been practiced.
Wandering masters may arrive in a town, make his presence known, take
on some students for a time, then move on. Some masters live in
remote towers and take on students that prove themselves worthy by
the completion of some hazardous task. However the relationship is
established, there is no guarantee as to the quality of instruction
or how far the instruction will ultimately go. Wizards trained in
this way are not afforded the same respect as their formally trained
brethren. In fact, they are often referred to as Rag
Wizards, since they don't have
the formally recognized robes of the Imperial Wizards or the
Loremasters.
In fact, in the
highly competitive world of the magically gifted, there are many
derogatory terms for one's competitors. The Imperial Wizards are the
most elitist of any of the groups, and are disdainful of all the
other groups to some degree or another. As noted they refer to
individually taught mages as rag wizards. They refer to the
Loremasters as “Lories”. Alchemists they call “lead-heads”,
“bubble-heads”, or “mixers”. All the other groups refer to
the Imperial Wizards as “Dandies”.
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