The Spires of Sorcerery

Arcane magic is the lifeblood of Belthuran but it is also a grand mystery to many even the dragons who can understand magic naturally have not figured out everything to be learned. For the longest time perhaps even the Arcane itself did not know its own depths, this changed when a being ascended to become the god of magic. The god of magic is in a unique position among other gods, having originally come from Belthuran and also the being in charge of Arcane energy his influence can pass through the Overplane far easier than other gods. Shortly after his ascension when he 'awoke' for lack of a better term the rules of magic changed, an increase in the number of sorcerers, Arcane Storms, Terrorgheists, and Arcane magic becoming more and more prevalent in the world all these things and more came from The Awakening of intelligence within the Arcane, no more was it a feral intelligence only concerned with its survival.
Tavori mages built large towers on sites that had especially powerful fonts of Arcane energy that were often hazardous finding a way to contain and channel their energies. The Tavori thought themselves clever and praised themselves, but by trying to shackle the Arcane they drew the attention of Aren'Valesh tempted for a moment to show the mortal mages his spite as ever he took a more tempered measure. Eight of these towers existed in the more powerful fonts the Tavori could access, through hard work and intricate spellcraft were towers created that could easily stand as wonders of the world, but they were not good enough and so Aren'Valesh showed the mages true mastery. Each of the eight towers was changed as if a hand grabbed their tops and pulled them high into the sky while twisting them. Their exteriors began to burn with arcane symbols etched into the stone and wood. From where the talons of Aren'Valesh held arcane energy poured forth from the top of the towers into the world. And so spoke Aren'Valesh "Thou wishest to claim dominion over that which is mine, thou challenged me by raising thine crude towers to the sky. Now I challenge thee, eight towers I present to thee for thine schools of magic, conquer these and find mine own tower which I raise grander than the others, only when thee hath defeated all eight towers will thee be ready to test thineself and gain a true command over that which is mine."
Many mages have tried themselves against the towers and many succeed at a few, but each tower takes a toll, magic has a cost whether it is noticed or not. None have ever returned on their quests to find Aren'Valesh's tower. Admittance into one of the Spires of Sorcerery is restricted to only the best students of magic, often the location of these towers is guarded by the school of magic that relates to the tower that shares the same school of magic. The Archon Assembly can also weigh in on who is allowed to take the test of a tower. The towers are hidden from mundane sight behind powerful magic that is somewhere between illusion and a demiplane.
To challenge a tower is no small feat it can be observed by friends and family but only the candidate can take part. There are three tests of skill that require the mage to use their spells, three that require them to use their wits, and three to use their heart. They must prove their strength, intelligence, and character in order to best the tower. They will be presented with temptations, quicker or easier paths, aid during a trial but it is up to the mage to determine if they are worth the potential cost. No one returns from a test unaltered somehow, they are given a prize for their trial but perhaps not all prizes are worth it.
At the end of a trial the mage is presented with a boon, A staff related to the school of magic, An ability, or knowledge. The abilities are akin to warlock invocations they provide powerful bonuses but these come at a cost, be it a mutation of the form, sickness, frailty, or something else. Knowledge is often in regards to spells, but can be about magic in general it acts like a Divination spell but can be about more than just a goal within 7 days, but asking about things further in the future provides increasingly vague answers.

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There are other smaller 'towers' that form naturally from the pooling of Arcane energy, most of the time such areas become Crystal Gardens, but in some cases often in caves they become something like a Spire of Sorcerery, far less grandoise and less deadly they can still be useful to undertake as they can provide insight that is not available elsewhere. These natural locations are not guarded by the Tavori and are more welcoming to casters other than the Tavori wizards.

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The Nine towers:

Spire	AKA	School of Magic
The Spire of Circles	Cascading Circles of Ghavaris	Abjuration
The Spire of Calling	Chiming Cathedral of Khataris	Conjuration
The Spire of Sight	Wheels of Astrologia	Divination
The Spire of The Mind	The Tower of Ifraltees	Enchantment
The Elemental Spire	The Eternal Halls of Elementia	Evocation
The Shattered Spire	The House of Mist and Mirrors	Illusion
The Spire of Ebb and Flow	The Tower of Willows	Necromancy
The Spire of Change	The Crucible of the Rebis	Transmutation
The Ninth Spire	The Tower of Nine Crowns	-