The Coven
Magic is wild, until we understand how it works. Then it becomes like an old friend.
Historic Records
Officially records of the Coven do not exist. However, unofficially, within the sect's control is their entire history. It has been broken into pieces and scattered through the ranks of the descendants of the founding mages, hidden in the margins of ancient magic tomes that were split and divided a thousand times as teachers gifted the ancient knowledge to their students.
Holders of tomes and mages of all levels seek eachother out to unravel the mysteries of the ancient ruins and great disaster sites, looking for any answers to gain power for themselves or their nation. Some kingdoms are making a great effort to confiscate these records and put together their own copies to grow the power of their courts. As a result there is a split in the Coven between the court mages and what are now being called free mages. Free mages roam unbound by courts and rulers, they seek only greater understanding of the ways of magic, power for themselves, or the path to any other personal goal.
Apptitude
Without apptitude for magic a person can never be a mage. While all creatures accumulate magic within themselves from the atmosphere few have the ability to harness and bend that magic to their will. A Magus will usually seek out a person who is able to use wild magic at random and then teach them to harness that power with the help of runes and alchemy. There is no other way than to be invited by a magus into the ranks of the Coven.
Court Mages
While technically still counted among the members of the Coven, these mages are not well tolerated or trusted by free mages. They are seen as servants chained to the will of their masters, and as such are not as free to pursue magic or knowlege as their Magus intended.
Court Mages on the other hand see their counterparts as loose cannons and liabilities to the safety of nations. Viewing themselves as a vanguard protecting their people and doing a civic duty, using the power they were given for good. Neither side is sure when this rift began, but each side blames the other.
A Court Mage will usually choose a student from within the kingdom they serve who is of the same species or heritage as themselves. They do this in order to ensure continued loyalty to their cause.
by RandoScorpio via MidJourney
Free Mages
by RandoScorpio via MidJourney
Free Mages are harder to pin down and recognise out in the world. Unless they wish to be known, most go completely anonymous for their entire lives. Their need for secrecy has created a network of hidden laboratories, workspaces, and experiment sites. Some are connected by a vast network of tunnels that are impossible for outsiders to navigate and some stand alone in remote areas of the world.
Their tomes are their most precious possessions and are often hidden using magic learned early in their education. They abhor the openness that Court Mages use to flaunt their tomes and there have been several recorded incidents of Free Mages attempting and succeeding in stealing Court Mage tomes.
Those Court Mages need to get off their high horses. They think they're doing what's best for the people, but they just don't see how much damage they're doing! Our magic, our power, it was never meant for one nation to have! The Founding Maguses would be rolling in their graves - or their craters...you know, depending on how things went for them.
The Free Mages don't aknowledge the responsiblity we have! Our power is a gift that can bring unity and safety to the people of our kingdom. Their ideas of freedom and the persuit of magic for selfish gains is nothing short of anarchy and chaos. We must hold ourselves to higher standards than that.
Grand Magus
This title has only been attained a handful of times in recent history. The amount of knowledge and power required to gain this title is staggering, a Mage must have at least 80% of their tome unlocked and available to them. Most Mages are content with the title of Magus and don't seek much beyond that milestone and die before reaching the title of Grand Magus.
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