Grand Magister
The Aether Cycle is not merely the mark of the Magisterium, but this very design is the one of a kind, heavily imbued and enchanted badge of office for the Grand Magister.
Thus shall it be so, it is the will of the Archmagisters and the Ascended that Bianca Isabella Dale of the Sapphire Order now take the seat of Grand Magister, the first of her Order to hold the title, and the 5th Grand Magister in the Magisterium's history. May you sit in authority long, prosperously, and may you continue to grow stability and foster good will between magisters and the world writ large!
The pronouncement of the naming of Grand Magister Bianca eleven years ago, the second human, though first of Koltani blood, to hold the position and title, as well as the first Sapphire Magister. A lot of pressure for a woman of only 23 years at the time of her inheriting of the title.
Type: Magickal, Honorific
Form of Address: Grand Magister
Alternative Naming: There is none in a formal sense.
Equates To: The Grand Magister can in some fashions, compare in power to heads of national governments, or the heads of faith that lead the nine temples, yet in so many other ways, she is no equal. She is the voice of the Magisterium, ultimately, a head of an organization that by its very nature, implies a level of inequality. Whilst this is true, the Magisterium wields a lot of power in its own way, and as such, over the decades and centuries they have managed to force a more equitable system, shaping and altering the original deal to be far less harsh in many ways than was the norm even but a century ago. Bianca herself is a revelation in the position, a young, very liberal magister, someone who likely should not have won out over her more versed and more conservative (and therefore likely preferred by governments and the churches alike) counterparts. Yet she did, and quite handily to, even managing to secure six of the ten votes from the temples of the Ascended.
The Grand Magister holds a lot of power over how the Magisterium polices itself, though not infinite power. It is, quite on purpose, a very decentralized organization, with the Orders more or less being left to manage their own affairs and matters. However this does not mean the title does not carry weight with them. The Grand Magister can in fact overrule the individual Orders and their leadership should they feel it is necessary. They invoke rules, can rewrite them and call meetings of leadership to alter a wide variety of matters, including guild contributions, education lengths, testing protocols, assignments of diplomacy and service, and more. They rarely wield this power directly of course, for reasons of etiquette. Magisters have always, and continue to be, a point of suspiscion and contention politically, socially and religously. As such, the Grand Magister has a tall task, especially to play well with others, and to monitor policy and rules of the various Orders to insure they are not putting the whole order at risk with poor behaviors.
Show spoiler
Beyond this, the Onyx Order, the Magisterium's own intelligence apparatus by the nature of their magick, besides reporting internally, report only to the Grand Magister. They are the internal sort of secret police that the Grand Magister can utilize to keep their own house clean of apostates and abominations, rooting out such folk before the zealots of the church get wind of them.
Source of Authority: The Children of the Ascended, as well as The Magisterium
Length of Term: Life
Reports Directly To: The Ascended Empress
Related Locations: The Continent of Durol, The Continent of Gavis-Lune, and The Continent of Wyriel
Related Organizations: The Magisterium
Qualifications
One must be a fully licensed Magister in good standing with the appropriate Order when the seat opens up to vie for leadership. Upon the creation of the Magisterium, it was established that much like the Aether cycle, the leadership of the organization would transfer from Order to Order, each time a new Grand Magister was to be named, it would be from a new Order, following the Manna wheel. As such, the other Orders had no voice in this, merely the Sapphire Order and the Temples of the Ascended, each of the nine, did and do.
Requirements
Your license must be valid, you must be recognized by all nations as a fully fledged and licensed magister.
Appointment
First, once the position is vacated, the Order whom is to fill it next will take up to a year to narrow down potential candidates through elective means, through background checks and many other methods, until but two to three candidates remain. These will be sent, along with the five most senior members of the Order, to take part in the next step of the process. This position is filled, when it is needed, in a special meeting called the Magi Consolate. Held in Kelethan, the capital of Depenwood, it is here that there will be a mighty gathering. Some journey, some send emmisaries, some use magister aid to merely speak over distance and attend the meeting in spirit. Regardless representatives from all nine kingdoms will be in attendance, as well as representatives from all nine Temples of the Ascended, and of the Empress of faith as well, if one is sitting upon the Holy Seat. This last appointment was unique for Empress Cyndra Fiorabrynd the III, most holy, showed up in person, instead of sending a representative to be her voice. All these people, along with the senior members of the Order in question, will extensively interview and question (some may even say interrogate) the two to three candidates presented.
Ultimately the votes may reject them all, though this has never yet happened, and the protocol for what would happen next is unclear. Normally however, over the many days of meetings, discussions, interviews and debates, the candidates will be whittled at, poked at, until finally over a series of votes and vigorous debates one is chosen of those presented. To win, someone needs 60% of the votes across the board, and until this last time, generally they needed at least 70% of the religous support. This current Grand Magister is the first in the history of the Magisterium to win the position with only 60% of the ten religious figures votes.
Ultimately the votes may reject them all, though this has never yet happened, and the protocol for what would happen next is unclear. Normally however, over the many days of meetings, discussions, interviews and debates, the candidates will be whittled at, poked at, until finally over a series of votes and vigorous debates one is chosen of those presented. To win, someone needs 60% of the votes across the board, and until this last time, generally they needed at least 70% of the religous support. This current Grand Magister is the first in the history of the Magisterium to win the position with only 60% of the ten religious figures votes.
Duties
As Grand Magister, one is responsible for being the figurehead, the voice, the public facing figure of the Magisterium, as well heading its nerve center, its brain trust if you will. You are the head of the 'government' of this 'nation' of enclaves spread all about the world in all the different kingdoms. As one may imagine the Grand Magister and the board of Arch-magisters (one for each Order) have a hefty job navigating all of that properly.
Responsibilities
You are the one in charge of everything. You ultimately are expected to be at least a little hands on and understand everything from the complex laws and legislation of the various kingdoms, the treaties that allow the Magisterium to exist, the religious rules and 'laws' that may come up and are points of wariness and contention, and the internal codes of the Magisterium itself. You and your board are the navigational body, the guiding force of internal Magisterium policy and behaviors, and must act as such. You are also expected to at least learn a basic understanding of the complex fiscal rules and regulations and structures both internal and external that affect the Magisterium's coffers.
Benefits
You wield a lot of political and social influence as Grand Magister of the Magisterium, and more than a level of true power as well. Though there are plenty of laws, codexes and treaties technically governing the Magisterium and its existence, it is a notable fact that the organization is generally viewed as a equal in terms of raw force it could apply in a conflict with any coalition of even two or three nations or two or three of the faiths of the Ascended. They are a force not to be reckoned with, and as such, this gives the Grand Magister a level of political bargaining power. For a long time now, nearly a thousand years, has the balance between the Nine Nations, the Magisterium and The Children of the Ascended held more or less firm. There have been skirmishes, even small scale conflicts, arguably wars at times. But nothing that has fundamentally shaken the complex structure and balance of power that allows this organization and thus this individual, to exist and wield the power they do.
Grounds for Removal/Dismissal
No Grand Magister has ever been removed or dismissed thus far.
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This is not wholly true. None have been legally removed or acknowledged as such. The Onyx Order got wind that the last Grand Magister, their own representative, had begun engaging in and dabbling with Void magick and Nightmare Bargains, and was trying to slowly build an uprising. They mercilessly, but quietly purged the Magisterium themselves, resulting in the death of no less than 300 magisters and at least double that number of apprentices and students across all of Valerick, along with perhaps equal numbers of sudden arrests and imprisonments for heretical materials. The Grand Magister himself was found 'dead of natural causes' for it is quite natural to die when your tongue is removed and you are forced to swallow a half a litre of Hornviel Acid.
Type
Magical, Honorific
Form of Address
Grand Magister
Alternative Naming
There are none in a formal sense
Equates to
The Grand Magister can in some fashions, compare in power to heads of national governments, or the heads of faith that lead the nine temples, yet in so many other ways, she is no equal. She is the voice of the Magisterium, ultimately, a head of an organization that by its very nature, implies a level of inequality. Whilst this is true, the Magisterium wields a lot of power in its own way, and as such, over the decades and centuries they have managed to force a more equitable system, shaping and altering the original deal to be far less harsh in many ways than was the norm even but a century ago. Bianca herself is a revelation in the position, a young, very liberal magister, someone who likely should not have won out over her more versed and more conservative (and therefore likely preferred by governments and the churches alike) counterparts. Yet she did, and quite handily to, even managing to secure six of the ten votes from the temples of the Ascended.
The Grand Magister holds a lot of power over how the Magisterium polices itself, though not infinite power. It is, quite on purpose, a very decentralized organization, with the Orders more or less being left to manage their own affairs and matters. However this does not mean the title does not carry weight with them. The Grand Magister can in fact overrule the individual Orders and their leadership should they feel it is necessary. They invoke rules, can rewrite them and call meetings of leadership to alter a wide variety of matters, including guild contributions, education lengths, testing protocols, assignments of diplomacy and service, and more. They rarely wield this power directly of course, for reasons of etiquette. Magisters have always, and continue to be, a point of suspiscion and contention politically, socially and religously. As such, the Grand Magister has a tall task, especially to play well with others, and to monitor policy and rules of the various Orders to insure they are not putting the whole order at risk with poor behaviors.
The Grand Magister holds a lot of power over how the Magisterium polices itself, though not infinite power. It is, quite on purpose, a very decentralized organization, with the Orders more or less being left to manage their own affairs and matters. However this does not mean the title does not carry weight with them. The Grand Magister can in fact overrule the individual Orders and their leadership should they feel it is necessary. They invoke rules, can rewrite them and call meetings of leadership to alter a wide variety of matters, including guild contributions, education lengths, testing protocols, assignments of diplomacy and service, and more. They rarely wield this power directly of course, for reasons of etiquette. Magisters have always, and continue to be, a point of suspiscion and contention politically, socially and religously. As such, the Grand Magister has a tall task, especially to play well with others, and to monitor policy and rules of the various Orders to insure they are not putting the whole order at risk with poor behaviors.
Show spoiler
Beyond this, the Onyx Order, the Magisterium's own intelligence apparatus by the nature of their magick, besides reporting internally, report only to the Grand Magister. They are the internal sort of secret police that the Grand Magister can utilize to keep their own house clean of apostates and abominations, rooting out such folk before the zealots of the church get wind of them.
Source of Authority
The Children of the Ascended as well as the Magisterium
Length of Term
Life
Reports directly to
Related Locations
Related Organizations
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