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The chaos of the Keller Civil War three centuries ago left the remaining nations and their populations with a hatred of mages and magic in general. Local priests banded together with local militias and began hunting down and destroying magic users, alchemists, even harmless lunatics who were rumored to have mystical powers. These small bands communicated and cooperated, eventually forming one of several regional armies now referred to as “Crusades” or “Inquisitions”, depending on their location and mode of operation. This bloody, rage-filled period is called the “Wizards Purge”, and it lasted for many years.
The surviving magic users of the Keller Lands, hoping to avoid final destruction at the hands of armies, gods, or rampaging mobs, agreed that something needed to be done or they and their art would be lost forever. Various powerful rulers and high priests realized that magic was too useful to ignore, but it needed to be governed and controlled somehow.To that end, a handful of the most powerful magic users in the Known World gathered together in Moon Shoals, one of the only remaining intact centers of magical research and power.
After years of debate, the gathered wizards agreed to something called the Atoros Accords in 600 IY. Named after the moon representing the Keller Goddess of magic, the Atoros Accords laid out a series of general principles and rules to be followed by magic users within the Keller Lands. It was sanctioned by the priestly hierarchy of Komusta (goddess of magic) and Aurintuli (supreme deity of the Keller pantheon). The idea is that if the magic users of the world keep a voluntarily low profile, they will be free to conduct their own affairs as they wish. The rules, while complex and detailed on paper, work out to a few basic principles.
The "Prime Law" states that magic users must not invoke the wrath of local governments and the clergy, and in turn must enforce order among their own. Attempting to seize power through magic, blatant use of magic to defraud, manipulate, or terrorize the non-magical, and similar abuses of the Arts invite retribution from the various temporal powers of the world. This must be avoided at all costs.
In the "Acts of Tribunals", the Keller Lands are divided up among numerous “Tribunals”, charged with enforcing the Atoros Accords among their own members. Each tribunal is composed of all of the mages of Master Rank or higher within a region. At the end of each decade, new tribunals may be created or defunct tribunals dissolved as appropriate by consent of the existing members.
In the "Acts of Provocation", various spells are codified, ranked, and limited according to their social and political impact. This is detailed below.
In the "Acts of Precedence", a standard system of ranks among magic users is defined, allowing one to know his or her place within the larger community of mages. The relationship between Master and Apprentice was codified and defined by the Atoros Accords. It also established guidelines for local guilds and circles, providing formal structures and procedures for interactions.
In the "Acts of Blood and Power", the Accords specify that no mage may rule an existing domain (kingdom or other state), unless he or she possessed that right through blood, marriage, or relation. Mages may claim unsettled territories but may not conquer existing lands through magical power.This is intended to reinforce the existing status quo, rather than unbalance it through magic.
The Atoros Accords perform a delicate balancing act, and the mages of the Known World expend as much energy circumventing the Accords as they do enforcing them. The regulations are generally interpreted according to the spirit or intent of the law, and thus are open to creative interpretation. Mages of the regional tribunals self-police their own members, preventing them from interfering too much in local politics or abusing the populations therein. It provides a legal framework with which to regulate and police the mages in the region, which would be difficult to control otherwise. The Tribunal also handles disputes between mages, limiting the need for personal wars. In return, the rulers and churches of the Keller Lands stifle inquisitions or crusades against specific mages or magic use in general. Records of the tribunals, master membership lists, and ultimate responsibility for organizing the tribunals rests with the "Starred Circle", a semi-secret organization headquartered at the temple of Komusta on the island of Moon Shoals. As the organizing body of the Atoros Accords, this little known organization also acts to enforce the Accords if local tribunals fail in their task.
Regulation of Spells as Defined by the Atoros Accords
In the "Acts of Provocation", various spells are codified, ranked, and limited according to their social and political impact. This is done in only very general terms, and has more to do with the impact of the spell than the specific nature of the spell itself. Spells can be described with levels of legality, using the scale given in GURPS Fantasy, p.71. The terms “MLC” and “Magical Legality Class” are game rule abstractions, and not terms that are actually used by mages on Aestas. Instead, they use the terms "Acclaimed", "Affirmed", "Reserved", "Proscribed", and "Anathema" to indicate the general classes of magical restriction. The first three categories are the largest ones, and the ones most commonly flouted by unaffiliated mages and scofflaws. With these, only prolonged or particularly heinous abuses will move a Tribunal towards action. The last two categories are considered much more serious by both rulers and mages, and will be investigated promptly in most cases.
"Acclaimed" (MLC 4) spells may be used freely and openly, as they are often helpful to the mundane world. This increases good feelings among the temporal population of the world, making negative overreactions far less likely in the future. They are in common use by various alchemists, healers, and hedge wizards that are not usually members of local tribunals or guilds, and most people are familiar with their use.
Spells of healing; spells of perception, knowledge, and communication; spells of crop fertility and food production.
"Affirmed" (MLC 3) spells are more powerful and can be abused, but aren't generally a source of fear among normal people. Their open use is discouraged by some tribunals, but only actual abuse will provoke a reaction from local authorities most of the time. Their use in service of local rulers is often actively solicited.
Movement spells; protective spells; spells that shape materials or control natural forces or living creatures; spells of illusion or concealment; temporary incapacitation spells.
"Reserved" (MLC 2) spells are more controversial and potentially dangerous. Their blatant abuse by a mage below "Master" rank will invite scrutiny by the local Tribunal unless the mage is of good reputation or Master rank. Nevertheless, these spells are extremely common among magic users.
Spells that inflict injury or break material objects; permanent incapacitation spells; mind control spells; flight spells; death spells; resurrection spells.
"Proscribed" (MLC 1) spells are considered “dangerous to good order” by many authorities. Mages using them openly risk a ban or worse unless they are of extremely good reputation or of Archmagus rank. Most mages using these spells do so only in private, no matter their rank.
Summoning and control of spirits; teleportation spells; spells for perception through physical barriers.
"Anathema" (MLC 0) spells are genuinely banned, as they are the reason the Atoros Accords were formulated. The horrors of the past were exemplified by these spells, and even rumors of their use will prompt both investigation by the local tribunal and a possible inquisition by local clergy. Nevertheless, many libraries still contain these spells, and many Archmagi have learned them.
Gate and necromantic spells; large-scale destructive spells; large-scale mind control spells; large scale curses.
Ranks Defined by the Atoros Accords
"Apprentice" rank is fairly self-explanatory. Any apprentice to a magic user who follows the Atoros Accords is regarded as under the protection and guidance of the Accords as a whole, though they are only responsible to their own mentor, who is likewise responsible for them. It confers few privileges and no real status, but does encourage masters to teach their apprentices a few specific minimum spells to improve their training. Apprentices are considered to be two status levels lower than their masters by most people.
"Journeyman" refers to those who have graduated from the tutelage of a recognized Master, or who have attained enough magical skill through other means to be on their own. "Journeyman" confers no particular status, benefit or duties, and simply acknowledges the recipient as beyond apprenticeship.
"Practitioner" is the rank assigned to most magic users of moderate skill. Most professional spell casters are of this rank... all but the lowliest hedge wizards, healers, enchanters, and other specialists generally are recognized thus. "Practitioner" confers a certain amount of respect as a peer among magic users, as well as Status +1, a social benefit recognized in most of the Keller Lands.
"Master" recognizes magic users of notable skill, having mastered three colleges (ten spells at 15+ in each college), as well as having taken on at least one apprentice. They are then accepted as having official status by any tribunal. Masters are entitled to a number of benefits, including a voice at Tribunal meetings. Masters are the first rank allowed to vote on Tribunal affairs. Recognized Masters are conferred Status +2 upon formal acceptance, granting them considerable social importance even outside the world of magic users.
"Magus" is a title conferred upon those whose knowledge is both broad and deep. When a magic user has mastery (ten or more spells each at 15+) in five colleges, as well as at least one apprentice who has attained “Master” ranking, he or she is awarded the title "Magus". Magi are conferred Status +3 upon elevation, roughly equivalent to a landed noble in order of precedence. Magi are recognized and accepted as such anywhere in the Keller Lands.
"Archmagus" is recognition of serious magical skill and power. When the mage has attained mastery of five separate colleges, at least one apprentice who has attained Master rank, and Thaumatology skill at 21+, he is eligible for the title of “Archmagus”. To actually be recognized, he must be accepted by the other existing Archmagi in his tribunal. This generally requires that the candidate have created some unique masterwork enchanted item, or have developed a powerful and totally unique spell, not merely a variation of an existing spell. An Archmagus effectively has Status +4, comparable to a baron. Some individuals have much more power than this, or might be nobility in their own right.
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