Astromages

A hundred years ago, after a scientific accident, magic users came into being. Strongly religious people feared and hated them. Politicos feared and coveted them. Parents feared and coddled them. The young magic users were often tired, weak and emaciated.   Many people actively pursued and attacked the young mages. Some enslaved mages, using them as military tools.   The advent of schools allowed the fledgling magic users to hone their new found skills in safety. Like any normal humans, the mages tended to gravitate towards fields of magic. In time, these schools became quite wealthy, and one built a space station to separate the most elite and most dangerous mages from political exploitation.