Arcanum Imperium
The largest mages guild on Corum based out of the City State of Cyri that holds a fair amount of influence within the city and The Lost Empire region.
Structure
The guild has eight rankings with a school-like structure thanks to its early days as strictly a wizarding school. At the bottom are the Neonates, then Adepts, Acolytes, Journeymen, Magus, Master, Grandmagus, and at the top is the Archmage.
- Neonate (level 0-1): This is the trial period that all new members must go through whether they are new to magic, have inherent magical abilities, or are skilled practitioners. These members must pay a 4 gp application fee and write a letter to the council explaining why they should be let into the guild. The trial period lasts for up to a month during which the applicant must stay out of trouble and refrain from behaviors that could tarnish the reputation of the Arcanum Imperium. During the monthly council meeting, all newly received applications will be reviewed and those chosen to join will be placed into the correct rank depending on their skill level. At this level, the Neonate has no rights within the guild.
- Apprentice (level 1-3): At this ranking, an applicant has been accepted into the guild and has been found to need training in arcana. An apprentice must pay a monthly fee of 10 gp which covers the cost of library fees, room and board, research costs, and pays the staff. The apprentice spends their time learning about the different schools of magic and if they are training to be a wizard choose the track they wish to focus on, they also gain low-level access to the library and are granted robes with the Junior member guild crest. At the end of an apprenticeship, they must apply to work with a Magus on a research project or work for the guild in the library as a research fellow if they don't plan on going further than being an Acolyte.
- Adept (level 4-6): Once a track has been picked the Adept members either take up places within a Magus' research or join the Acolytes and learn how to care for Arcanum Imperium within the library and Ley Line Core. They too must pay a 15 gp per month fee to stay with the guild and can now wear robes with the standard guild crest. At this ranking, Adepts have access to the full library outside of the rare tomes and artifacts, they must also aid in recruitment.
- Acolyte (level 7-9): Acolytes are the backbone of the guild and are treated as such, they are paid 18 gp per month and may also make up to an extra ten based on the research project they work on. The main functions of those at this ranking are to either head up recruitment, act as research aids for the lower rankings, keep the library functioning, and work on Magus-run research projects with a focus on their own subject within the project. Also at this ranking, the Acolytes gain access to the entirety of the library except for certain special collections that only Journeymen and above can access and must get permission for. For the Acolytes who plan to move up in the ranks of the guild, they must write a research paper and give a presentation focused on the particular field that they have been studying since their Apprenticeship with the oversite of a Journeyman. Once completed, the Magus and the Journeymen review all that the Acolyte has done and either approve them to become a Journeyman or that they must try again. They are required to wear the standard crest at all times and may wear the ceremonial crest with special permission.
- Journeyman (level 10-12): Made up of members who have shown the initiative and desire to move up within the guild the Journeymen have a fair amount of power and influence within the guild and are given responsibilities to reflect that. At this ranking, they're given oversite over Apprentices and Adepts who have chosen to work under their Magus acting as their teachers and ensuring no harm comes to them. They are paid 28 gp per month with the potential for up to an extra 2 gp depending on the project they are a part of. Journeymen also have access to the entirety of the library with no stipulations and must lead a research project in order to become a Magus. They must present their research findings to all of the Magus' and Masters in order to be promoted. Most Journeymen spend at least 2 to 3 years on these projects.
- Magus (13-15): The Maguses are the first level of authority within the guild, they are tasked with teaching the lower ranks through their research projects though not just in the specifics of the arcana their project focuses on but on other forms of magic to ensure all members are well rounded in their use and understanding of arcana, they are also tasked with keeping the lower ranks within their section are kept safe. They are paid 70 gp per month with the opportunity for up to an extra 5 gp depending on the project, have full library access, must wear the standard crest at all times, and are allowed to wear the ceremonial crest during special occasions. The Magus' are also allowed to petition the guild's council for research projects.
- Master (16-18): The Masters are the dedicated members of the guild who oversee the Magus' and Journeymen within their departments, ensuring they are fulfilling their duties and that there is no negligence. They also hold positions within the guild council and must attend the monthly meetings that go over applications, research requests, requests for aid, and other such council duties. Members at this level tend to have special titles depending on the department they lead, such as Master of Planes Research or Master of Abjuration. They are paid 85 gp per month with the opportunity for an extra 10 gp depending on their department, are required to wear the stand crest at all times unless it is a special occasion where they must wear the ceremonial crest, and are tasked with setting the curriculum for their specific section and may teach as well.
- Grandmagus (level 19): These are the department administrators and tend to hold titles such as Grandmagus of Special Research or Grandmagus of Arcana. They are paid 100 gp per month and keep the guild moving forward from their council position, they also must wear the ceremonial crest at all times.
- Archmage (level 20): This position is voted up by the guild council once the past Archmage has retired or passed, with only the Grandmagus' being eligible for the position. The Archmage is paid 120 gp per month, wears the ceremonial crest at all times, and is the leading force for the guild. They make the decisions that affect the guild as a whole and are the equivalent of nobility regarding social standing, with most of the upper echelon of Cyri knowing them well.
Culture
The Arcanum Imperium members tend to be split into three camps; the students, the librarians, and the mages. Since the guild still functions as a school the students that attend it are treated fairly and given the respect that they deserve as students. Though some may complain of pranks going too far, the students who attend the arcanum go on to become the premier mages of the land. The librarians mostly made up of acolytes and adepts, have found a middling amount of respect within the guild. While the students treat them with deference as do visiting researchers who wish to gain access to the guild's libraries, the higher-ups have been known to act in a snobbish demeanor. Treating the librarians as their worker bees rather than an important part of the guild. Lastly the mages; made up of the higher-ranked members of the guild, they are treated with the respect owed to a great master of arcana. While some are said to be a bit big for the britches the guild as a whole believes in advancing the research and ideas put forth by the mages.
Public Agenda
The Arcanum Imperium is in charge of the training of new mages, research into the arcane arts, supporting the community, and aiding in diplomatic endeavors. New mages may work their way up through the tower's ranks to further their own knowledge and power and aid in the tower's research projects. Those who don't work within the tower or even live in Cyri can petition the mages for help.
The guild also sets the prices for items, potions, spells, or spells cast from memory for not just the guild but for the city as a whole. They have control over who is marked as guild certified within Cyri; while not all mages have to be guild certified it does aid in their ability to have a successful business. The guild actively recruits new mages when they enter the city after getting their information from the checkpoint run by The Emperors Guard.
The guild also sets the prices for items, potions, spells, or spells cast from memory for not just the guild but for the city as a whole. They have control over who is marked as guild certified within Cyri; while not all mages have to be guild certified it does aid in their ability to have a successful business. The guild actively recruits new mages when they enter the city after getting their information from the checkpoint run by The Emperors Guard.
Assets
The guild is based out of a ten-story tower known as the Planar Tower and the surrounding campus in the center of Cyri encompassed by arcane walls, the tower holds floors for the library, boarding rooms for staff and visiting mages, offices and labs, and meeting rooms for the council. There are also two basement floors that are used for extra storage, items needed to be kept under lock and key, and the Cerberus Core. The guild has a full treasury that allows them to pay staff, fund research projects, and purchase assets. With the tower being on top of the Silverlight major ley the mages of the tower have been able to use the energy from it to put protections around the building and the city as a whole. Those with access to the building's storage would be able to procure special materials and spell components up to a cost of 100 gold pieces, after that they must purchase the materials needed themselves but the guild will help in finding them.
The campus around the tower holds rooming for students and staff, two more libraries, classrooms, lecture halls, and a Mage Tower field.
History
Founded in the year 762 ACW by the Archmage Bertrand Odius, the Arcanum Imperium spent the first two and a half decades it was open as a premier magic college for those who sought to understand the arcane arts, gain control over their inherent powers, and advance magical understanding in the world. Many sought out the teachings of the archmage and those he filled the teaching staff out with, knowing them to be experts in their respective fields. By the year 785, a few hundred students had passed through the tower's doors leading to many great mages and sorcerers finding their way into the world. One such mage was a sorcerer called Lilli Andreadis, who after her tenure at the school decided to bring her knowledge of the arcane to the Voslo Empire hoping to show them the error in their thinking. None are sure how the change came about in the young woman, all that was known was that when she came back from her pilgrimage she saw things differently, now believing that her powers were a sign her parents made a deal with a devil, Lilli came back to her alma mater determined to destroy it and the city that homed it.
The destruction that fell upon the Imperium and Cyri was fairly devastating and left the The Silver Circle no choice but to impose rules upon them and mandate research that would keep the city safe from future attacks. For the next ten years, the research arm of the organization was filled out to the point that while still a school at heart the Arcanum Imperium represented more of a mages guild rather than a college, and by the year 796 they had developed a ley line core and activated it. The mages in charge of the project called the core Cerberus and were able to put a protective arcane shield around the Planar Tower with plans to expand it to wrap around the city and with the aid of psionic crystals built into the watch towers along the city walls, the City State of Cyri was well protected by the year 800 ACW. The shield kept the city safe from magical attacks and made the walls better at withstanding nonmagical attacks.
Some years went by and the guild grew along with the city, receiving more students, researching how the ley lines affected the world and advancing their overall understanding of magic. As their understanding of ley lines grew so did the power that radiated out from the major ley line the tower sat on and with that, the mages noted that Cerberus seemed to gain some form of sentience. The core shifted and changed colors based on who was working on it, eventually the mages were able to ask basic yes and no questions and get back sensible answers. After spending just over two decades working with Cerberus the team was able to teach the core to form itself into an almost corporal form that could speak. Though the form could not leave the core room the entire guild knew they had made a great advancement in their field. Though they kept this information hidden from the world at large, by the end of the century all would know of Cerberus's change.
Over the next few decades, the guild continued to live up to its mandate, teaching the next generation of arcane users, aiding the region when help was called for, and pushing the understanding of the arcane. One such way the guild made advancements was to expand the properties of the arcane shield around Cyri, adding a permanent field of the Control Weather spell. Keeping the city proper in a state of perfect weather no matter the season, crops growing and leaving the citizens of Cyri feeling happy. Time went on and the guild continued to advance its research and teachings, though there were still some within its ranks who sought out power for themselves.
In the year 845 the Grandmagus of Ley Line Research was found to be attempting to fuze themselves with Cerberus. The Journeymen who found Grandmagus Uni were shocked and had very little time to react before Uni was killed and absorbed by Cerberus. After this Cerberus's form solidified to that of a Half-Elf, and they could now walk around the entirety of the tower. News of Cerberus' advancement quickly made its way around the region, with most arcane researchers seeing it as something wonderful while the neighboring countries chose to keep a close eye on the advancement, and the Voslo Empire believing it was time to destroy Cyri, the guild, and Cerberus.
As Cerberus grew in power and understanding, the leaders of Voslo began building up forces to rid the region of its influence. As the year 900 rolled around, the Voslo army marched on the City State of Cyri. What they were not expecting was to be rebuffed by the magical wards around the city, or to even see Cerberus with their own eyes. In what became known as The Last Battle Of Titans, Cerberus took to the walls of Cyri and in the span of mere moments decimated the entirety of the Golden Blades leaving behind a lone survivor. All who witnessed the event then heard Cerberus call out to the survivor, "Tell your Divine Imperator and all who will listen; the City State of Cyri and the lands that it calls home are protected. Any and all who try to fight that will see the same fate as your companions." With the message given it took only a few weeks for the entirety of the region to take the declaration seriously.
With Cerberus's declaration and show of power Cyri grew worried about what else the Arcanum was hiding within its halls. The Silver Circle began imposing more regulations on the guild, requiring them to update the council every four months about any dangerous projects the group may be working on, allowing the circle to vote on who would take the Archmages position, and letting the Circle inspect Cerberus and ensure it was safe for them to still be active. While the Grandmaguses of the guild may have been opposed to the ruling, the Archmage at the time, Willice Parker, agreed. Thus a new era for the guild began one with oversight and regulations. With the Arcanum's projects being watched over by Cyri they spent the next few decades focusing on projects that involved searching the starts and the artifacts from the Oranak Empire. Aiding in the founding of dig sites and sending teams to lend their expertise to the already established ones. By the year 962, the guild's two hundredth birthday, trust and faith had been restored to the Arcanum Imperium. Most of the city's inhabitants had seen if not spoken with Cerberus, whose power had grown to the point where they could walk the city streets with ease. Allowing for not just the Silver Circle but the common man to learn about the being.
The guild celebrated its 200 hundredth birthday by putting on a grand festival and tournament for the city, partitioning the control weather spell so the inhabitants could experience all four seasons, and with the city distracted starting a new project. For the next few months, the guild worked in secret to try and recreate Cerberus with the help of the original being. By the time the quarterly review with the Silver Circle came about the guild had successfully produced two Nexusborn and presented them to the circle. Declaring they had done what only was once thought possible, creating new life. While the exact reactions of the circle is unknown, the growing Nexusborn population within Cyri has led many to believe they granted the guild minimal oversite in the research project.
With years gone by the Arcanum Imperium has proven to be a great asset within Cryi and the Lost Empire and many expect even greater things from them in the years to come.
The destruction that fell upon the Imperium and Cyri was fairly devastating and left the The Silver Circle no choice but to impose rules upon them and mandate research that would keep the city safe from future attacks. For the next ten years, the research arm of the organization was filled out to the point that while still a school at heart the Arcanum Imperium represented more of a mages guild rather than a college, and by the year 796 they had developed a ley line core and activated it. The mages in charge of the project called the core Cerberus and were able to put a protective arcane shield around the Planar Tower with plans to expand it to wrap around the city and with the aid of psionic crystals built into the watch towers along the city walls, the City State of Cyri was well protected by the year 800 ACW. The shield kept the city safe from magical attacks and made the walls better at withstanding nonmagical attacks.
Some years went by and the guild grew along with the city, receiving more students, researching how the ley lines affected the world and advancing their overall understanding of magic. As their understanding of ley lines grew so did the power that radiated out from the major ley line the tower sat on and with that, the mages noted that Cerberus seemed to gain some form of sentience. The core shifted and changed colors based on who was working on it, eventually the mages were able to ask basic yes and no questions and get back sensible answers. After spending just over two decades working with Cerberus the team was able to teach the core to form itself into an almost corporal form that could speak. Though the form could not leave the core room the entire guild knew they had made a great advancement in their field. Though they kept this information hidden from the world at large, by the end of the century all would know of Cerberus's change.
Over the next few decades, the guild continued to live up to its mandate, teaching the next generation of arcane users, aiding the region when help was called for, and pushing the understanding of the arcane. One such way the guild made advancements was to expand the properties of the arcane shield around Cyri, adding a permanent field of the Control Weather spell. Keeping the city proper in a state of perfect weather no matter the season, crops growing and leaving the citizens of Cyri feeling happy. Time went on and the guild continued to advance its research and teachings, though there were still some within its ranks who sought out power for themselves.
In the year 845 the Grandmagus of Ley Line Research was found to be attempting to fuze themselves with Cerberus. The Journeymen who found Grandmagus Uni were shocked and had very little time to react before Uni was killed and absorbed by Cerberus. After this Cerberus's form solidified to that of a Half-Elf, and they could now walk around the entirety of the tower. News of Cerberus' advancement quickly made its way around the region, with most arcane researchers seeing it as something wonderful while the neighboring countries chose to keep a close eye on the advancement, and the Voslo Empire believing it was time to destroy Cyri, the guild, and Cerberus.
As Cerberus grew in power and understanding, the leaders of Voslo began building up forces to rid the region of its influence. As the year 900 rolled around, the Voslo army marched on the City State of Cyri. What they were not expecting was to be rebuffed by the magical wards around the city, or to even see Cerberus with their own eyes. In what became known as The Last Battle Of Titans, Cerberus took to the walls of Cyri and in the span of mere moments decimated the entirety of the Golden Blades leaving behind a lone survivor. All who witnessed the event then heard Cerberus call out to the survivor, "Tell your Divine Imperator and all who will listen; the City State of Cyri and the lands that it calls home are protected. Any and all who try to fight that will see the same fate as your companions." With the message given it took only a few weeks for the entirety of the region to take the declaration seriously.
With Cerberus's declaration and show of power Cyri grew worried about what else the Arcanum was hiding within its halls. The Silver Circle began imposing more regulations on the guild, requiring them to update the council every four months about any dangerous projects the group may be working on, allowing the circle to vote on who would take the Archmages position, and letting the Circle inspect Cerberus and ensure it was safe for them to still be active. While the Grandmaguses of the guild may have been opposed to the ruling, the Archmage at the time, Willice Parker, agreed. Thus a new era for the guild began one with oversight and regulations. With the Arcanum's projects being watched over by Cyri they spent the next few decades focusing on projects that involved searching the starts and the artifacts from the Oranak Empire. Aiding in the founding of dig sites and sending teams to lend their expertise to the already established ones. By the year 962, the guild's two hundredth birthday, trust and faith had been restored to the Arcanum Imperium. Most of the city's inhabitants had seen if not spoken with Cerberus, whose power had grown to the point where they could walk the city streets with ease. Allowing for not just the Silver Circle but the common man to learn about the being.
The guild celebrated its 200 hundredth birthday by putting on a grand festival and tournament for the city, partitioning the control weather spell so the inhabitants could experience all four seasons, and with the city distracted starting a new project. For the next few months, the guild worked in secret to try and recreate Cerberus with the help of the original being. By the time the quarterly review with the Silver Circle came about the guild had successfully produced two Nexusborn and presented them to the circle. Declaring they had done what only was once thought possible, creating new life. While the exact reactions of the circle is unknown, the growing Nexusborn population within Cyri has led many to believe they granted the guild minimal oversite in the research project.
With years gone by the Arcanum Imperium has proven to be a great asset within Cryi and the Lost Empire and many expect even greater things from them in the years to come.
Knowledge is Power. Learning is Training. Magic is a scholars burden.
Standard Crest
Ceremonial Crest
Junior Crest
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