Order of Merlin

Founded in 1,209 PR/AR, the Order of Merlin was the first organized group of mages directly taught by Merlin in order to dispel fear of magic and help society as a whole. The Order has become the greatest power of Conlis, and their base "The Halls of Merlin" is one of the most famed magical universities in the world recognized by multiple countries for the wealth of historical and magical knowledge. They have officially become known as a "Global Organization" as of the year 5,321 PR/AR despite Merlin's dissapearance in 4,891 AR, though most of their political power remains in Zaria.

Rankings

Ranks within the Order of Merlin are purely based on two things, one is the individual's knowledge of lore, history, arcane, alchemy, and mystical creatures. The other is actual skill to manipulate the primordial tongue and mana in order to cast spells properly. The end result is that high-ranking members of the Order aren't simply powerful, but educated and experienced with well-rounded skills and common sense to understand the weight of the power they wield.
Not all educational courses are required, but generally, members of the Order are expected to hold a few skills (even if those skills are martial arts) outside of just raw magical control as the order values judgment, discipline and comprehension more than pure power.
From this point, members are granted a ranking based on their "Circle", which measures magical control, understanding of the Primordial powers, and their individual skill. Each Circle is considered the member's final rank and does not necessarily mean they hold comparable power to others of that circle but does mean they have made as many achievements and benefits to the Order as a whole.
Mages are ranked based on their Circle from one to Seven, with it being known that once a mage reaches the point of a Seventh-circle it's pointless to continue ranking them as the disparity from one Seventh Circle mage to the next can be immense, or nonexistent and all have more than earned the Order's eternal respect.
Notable, the number of 7th Circle Mages within the Order number in the single digits throughout it's history. Including individuals such as Merlin, Morgana le Fay and Arcam Monet D'Avalos.