Magic is the quintessential double-edged sword. Except it's better and more dangerous than a sword in every conceivable way. This is the philosophy of the Forum of wizards who seek to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos and refine them in a way that is both useful and safe to be used by the average, hard-working, humble, salt-of-the-earth types. You know: Morons.
History.
The Lunar Forum has existed for centuries, and in that time have claimed a monopoly on magic in the province of Horizon and beyond. In recent days, their reputation has been in flux. No more than a decade ago, the current state of leadership was thrown into upheaval:
For decades, Archmage Kyrios led with a firm yet gentle hand. His policies strictly enforced the use of magic outside the Forum. Ambassadors in all major settlements advised the local rulers on how to deal with the use of magic and enchanted items. These leaders generally took their word as law. As such, very few common people were familiar with the intricacies of magic and very rarely saw enchanted items work their magic.
This was done out of fear that putting too much magic into circulation would destabilize civilization. Kyrios and the Forum believed that the common man would be irresponsible with magical abilities. The biggest exception to this was the Lunar Forum's campus in Crucible, where they taught any who wished to study the ways of the arcane, occasionally sending the truly talented and exceptional to their main citadel in the mountains of Bellator's Teeth far to the north.
That is until Archmage Kyrios finally passed away in 1208 EP. The next clear successor was Aefaren Thrangur, a kindly old elven man who was a close confidant and friend of Kyrios. However, before he could be confirmed by the inner council, he disappeared under mysterious circumstances, assumed to be dead.
With the clear choice gone, the council ground to a stand-still as to who should be the new archmage, most voting for themselves. At this time, a new wizard came into their midst, claiming to have originated from the Circle of the Enlightened based out of Cognance in Requiem. He was called Palios Pseftis, who quickly charmed his way into the upper ranks. While he himself did not have the tenure to become archmage, he did throw his support behind an unlikely dwarf by the name of Rumerlum Steelbreaker, a rather taciturn man known for mostly going with the flow and not having a strong opinion on anything. However, once he came into contact with Palios, he quickly found his voice.
He was duly elected, and he quickly reversed many of the old policies. Stores and shops were opened up across Horizon and restrictions on circulating enchanted items were lifted. What's more, more expeditions than have been charted in decades were sent out to study the mysterious Foci that dot the landscape.
Steelbreaker's tenure was short-lived, however. The Forum's judicious expansion under Steelbreaker's leadership, the more conservative of the Forum's wizards grew increasingly weary of what the long term repercussions would be. Confusingly, Palios seemed to share these concerned. As this faction of wizard's disdain grew, so did Palios' "concerns" that something was wrong with the mind of his "friend." This culminated with a forceful removal of Steelbreaker from his office in the early days of 1217 EP and the election of Palios as the new archmage of the Lunar Forum.
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