Elementalist
With magick, the very components of the world may bend.
Firstly, an Elementalist may not knowingly initiate a natural disaster, save in a scenario in which the disaster caused prevents a more harmful disaster from transpiring.
Secondly, an Elementalist must act to prevent a natural disaster from harming a civilian population if it is within his or her abilities to do so.
If either of these rules are broken, the transgressor will be taken into the custody of the Academy, and his or her ability stifled until the authorities of the affected population are satisfied in the punishment of said transgressor.
Career
Qualifications
Official Elementalists must be trained by Master Elementalists recognized by the Rhumnarian Academy of Magi, and have received proper commendation and approval from their teachers before they can legally practice and offer their services to public and private organizations and individuals. In Mëria, this is not as well regulated, and many universities for magick have sprung up to offer their own systems of approval that are accepted in the Confederacy of Mëria.
Career Progression
Elementalists, like all magi, begin as novices, learning and testing their skills in a variety of magicks. Unlike some classes of magi, an Elementalist may draw from a variety of magick sources to bend the elements to his or her will, so specifying in elemental magick usually comes after one has decided which school of magick to train in.
Once a novice enters into a specific school of magick, he or she begins to focus of training to use that magick source to control the elements. Water is a common starting point, followed by Air, then Earth, and finally Fire. Once one has achieved an adept understanding of the four (which generally takes five to seven years), he or she begins to work on more advanced uses and applications of these elements.
At this advanced stage, the student will be paired with a master Elementalist, and receives personal training with them, often travelling with them when they are called on business to learn in the field. This training goes on for about three years before the student returns to his or her academy to receive a final two years of training, which largely consists of refining skills learned from the master they worked with, and being drilled on the rules that a licensed mage must abide by. This is also the point at which an Elementalist may choose to go into training as a combat mage, which will entail another two years of learning the techniques an Elementalist might require for combat.
Once all this has been achieved, and the student has met the standards of his or her academy, their license is issued, and they may begin actively practicing their craft without the supervision of masters. For one year, however, the mage is paired with another recently graduated master, and the two are expected to keep tabs on and assist one another, in case something manifests that was not known prior to receiving a license.
Payment & Reimbursement
Elementalists are often paid in whatever coinage is used by their employer, although Mërian dollars are the common currency in the Confederacy while magi in Anglëa often stay in one kingdom, as the currencies there are difficult to move about and exchange between kingdoms. If a client is either wealthy enough or a collector of Arcane artifacts, Elementalists will often accept such artifacts as payment in place of monetary compensation.
Other Benefits
Holding official licensing as an Elementalist garners a great deal of prestige in most locales, often allowing an Elementalist to reside in the manors of local officials, such as mayors, governors, and even nobility. Whether this treatment is out of respect or fear is inconsequential to most Elementalists.
Perception
Purpose
Elementalists are often called upon to amend problems beyond the scope of normal men, especially in cases where the elements would prove the most useful. If a volcano is erupting, if a wildifre threatens a village, if a particularly nasty storm or flood is threatening a population, then an Elementalist will be required. Alternatively, if a war is raging, and a general needs a hostile force broken, an Elementalist combat mage will prove useful in routing it.
Social Status
Elementalists, like most magi, are considered "upper class," despite their actual accumulation of wealth; this is because they are often welcomed into the company of those who are materially wealthy, and it is rare to see an Elementalist in poverty, or ridiculed by noblemen.
Demographics
Approximately 3% of the human population in any given kingdom.
History
The first Elementalists were trained by Shönai magi, as most current classes of magi were. Magick commanding the elements was used commonly in warfare by the Baraki in Anglëa, and to apocalyptic effect upon the jungles of Garta'Jun, which were burned down indiscriminately to deprive the Jun'Shönai of their preferred ambush tactics.
Though the Cre'eki were the first men known to use magick, it was from Rhuma that the first Elementalists came. Under the reign of the emperors, a proper academy was established to regulate magick, and make the study of it into a more exact and proper science, and this became the Rhumnarian Academy of Magi, which is still considered the most prestigious of institutions for magick.
Since the foundation of the Academy, little has changed in the policies regarding the Elementalists, other than the establishment of the Creed of Protection, which requires that an Elementalist must provide emergency assistance to people if they are immediately or potentially threatened by natural disasters or catastrophes. The practice of using magick to command the elements has certainly been one of the oldest and most common, and thus has very little stigma against it. Only in cases where a population has been recently scammed by a false Elementalist or, on particularly rare occasion, attacked by a rogue mage do Elementalists receive much open negativity from a population. As a result, Elementalists retain a similar position in society that they held thousands of years ago.
Operations
Tools
The most common tools of Elementalists are Arcane objects, as Arcanist magi make up a majority of Elementalists, and even other schools of magick will dabble in the Arcane as a last resort or to bolster the power they can use; Arcane objects can be virtually any object, so long as it is charged with or composed of Luminous magicks. Staves marked with Arcane runes are a common Arcane tool, as they double as walking sticks, which assist Elementalists who tend to travel abroad. Common among Luminous Elementalists is the Stellium, a four-pointed star commonly made from quartz, adamant, or topaz that is imbued with Luminous magick; these are standard issue to all magi who follow the Luminous school of magick, as the Stellium is a signature symbol of the Ecclesian Church.
Materials
Elementalists often carry a number of books with them, which can be anything from texts on their study or notebooks and diaries. Ink and pens accompany the books, naturally.
Provided Services
Most importantly, Elementalists act to prevent, divert, or provide relief in the wake of natural disasters. In more mundane matters, an Elementalist can use his or her powers to clean and cook, usually for themselves, but it is not unheard of for an Elementalist to do so for his or her family, or for a particularly wealthy noble to have a personal mage on hire to do so. In the case of an Elementalist hired as a servant to a noble, such a mage often doubles as a personal bodyguard to his or her client.
Dangers & Hazards
If an Arcane Elementalist runs out of Arcane objects to draw from, and is forced to use his or her own soul to fuel the conjuring, he or she might draw too deeply, which can result in severe health problems, including death or magick burnout, in which their ability to use magick is lost. An inexperienced Elementalist might bend the elements in such a way that he loses control, and this can result in the elements harming the wielder; this is particularly dangerous with pyromancy.
Alternative Names
Fire/Water/Wind/Earth Magi (if they focus more exclusively on one element), Retributor (a Fire Mage who uses Luminous magick)
Demand
For the most part, the services of an Elementalist are expensive, but some wander countries, and will protect human life if they find it in danger, as they are required by their license.
Legality
Elementalists are legal in every land except for the Mërian state of Salvation, in which they are viewed as blasphemers. The only laws applying to an Elementalist are those imposed by the academy he or she trained in, though the punishment is decided by the state or kingdom the transgression was made in.
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