The Lodge of Mages

Founded shortly after the relocation of the peoples now populating Etheria after their necessary move from their original homeland far to the north to their new home on the Etherian continent, the Lodge of Mages is the oldest and most respected organization of Mages in Etheria. Formed in the aftermath of The Draconic Exodus which caused many individuals to feel the need to build a community of individuals who could manipulate and wield The Will / Anima to better protect all people as well as to control such individuals from becoming tyrannical like the powerful dragons that had nearly caused their extinction, the Lodge of Mages united around 187 A.D.E. and controlled most Sources. In the following centuries as the Etherian peoples become more settled into their new homeland and carve nations out of the wilderness, the Lodge also came to control mystical academies like Aluvedra and the Badorth Academy of War as well as institutions like Dameth where alchemical research and all manners of mystical investigations and innovations are being made.
Founded by the most distinguished and influential molders of the Will / Anima at the time, the Lodge instituted upon its establishment codified rules on the use of and interaction with the Will / Anima by Sources, the education and regulation of Sources, and the preservation of a positive public perception of Sources whose seemingly limitless power can easily unnerve those who are not so gifted. For instance, since 729 A.D.E., the Lodge has required that all Sources be enrolled into any one of the several places of mystical learning within six months of their first displayed manipulation of the Will / Anima. These universities, while autonomous as institutions and under the jurisdiction of the nation in which they exist, are overseen by the Lodge and must comply with all Lodge regulations and laws to ensure safe, fair, and ethical practice as well as the proper education of Sources. The same applies for research institutions where Mages are employed to question the very nature of life itself, uncover the mysteries of reality, and contribute to society at large through their discoveries and findings. The Lodge also acts as a guild of sorts for those Mages who complete their education, automatically granting them membership into the Lodge and dispatching them across the various nations of Etheria. Relocating them and offering employment based upon their particular proficiencies, the Lodge commonly places Mages in the following positions: as instructors or rectors of mystical universities; as alchemists, researchers, and philosophers at research institutions; and as advisors and guards of royal courts. Mages who do not complete their education or who do not agree with the Lodge's practices often go renegade and become Witches.
Perhaps most significantly, the Lodge has long regulated and overseen the utilization, manipulation, and application of the Will / Anima, making sure that the dangerous practices of Maleficium are kept to a bare minimum among Sources and that there is fair and just sentencing of Maleficarum. Based upon the act committed, the Lodge often uses corporal punishment, imprisonment, and execution as responses to Maleficium, though while all Sources are technically equal under the law in the international eyes of the Lodge, some Sources are made "more equal" than others and are able to get off easier due to their considerable talents or sway within the Lodge or within their particular field.

Founding Date

187 A.D.E.

Type

Political, International

Legislative Body

The Lodge is governed by two legislative bodies, each body consisting of a group of five powerful Mages who were elected into their positions and hold them for life unless circumstance dictates otherwise. The body with the highest hierarchy that sets rules and regulations on the use of the Will / Anima, guides the general direction of the Lodge itself, and oversees the running of mystical universities and research institutions is the Supreme Council. The lower body which appoints Mages after completing their education and which focuses on mystical experiments, research, and expanding mystical knowledge is the High Chamber. Though the High Chamber is the lower body and is led by Mages slightly less powerful than those on the Supreme Council, it still holds considerable power and so too do those on it.