-Author-
Jim Clougherty
Mage Classes
Any intelligent race with a soul is able to attain a good or bad Anima and even magic abilities with very much work. They will often need to dedicate the majority of their life to it while studying how to harness energy from the soul.
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There are also creatures imbued with magic that aren’t necessarily intelligent in the conventional way. A human soul is far different from the soul of most other creatures, so Anima wouldn’t work in the same way for a wild animal. After all, they do not have the same conscience and social skills; they do what they must to survive. It is believed that, for this reason, animals have Anima, but the standard is greatly adjusted compared to intelligent, civilized beings. Some of these creatures may have been lucky enough to be naturally imbued by magic with a good or bad Anima to start.
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People who gain access to magic are not automatically termed Wizards. Instead there are several classes that they are grouped under:
Wizard
The most commonly known and referred to in public, a Wizard is one who has attained the ability to perform magic and has a good Anima. However, they must first be deemed a Wizard by the Wizard's Council and become a part of it. The Council itself is filled with bureaucracy and does things at a crawl’s pace. They are in charge of non-human matters, such as guarding the seven seals which lock away the Dark Savior. It is of the utmost importance to the Council that Wizards and other mages do not interfere in human happenings at large. Helping smaller groups or individuals are exceptions to the rule.
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The most typical Wizards are travelers looking to help others or to learn new things. There are no more than 5,000 of them in the entire world, but their influence is surely felt, as they are considered the most powerful living beings. Thankfully, they are peaceful toward most living creatures. So gentle is their influence that some intelligent species have come to believe they were never anything more than legend. Others know better, however.
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There are different rankings within the Wizard’s Council depending on a Wizard’s role. The Grand Leader is at the top of the hierarchy, but he doesn’t have complete control over the Council. He acts on the advisory of the 10 appointed Chancellors that are usually voted on by fellow Wizards when a slot opens up. Also among the group are Wizard Kings, who guard the monoliths sealing away the spawns of Stalmoz. They are aided by Wizard Scouts who live nearby and are meant to stop threats beforehand, within reason.
If a Wizard goes against the Council’s wishes enough, they will be put on probation. If a Wizard continues to break their rules and pushes them enough, the council will excommunicate them and they’ll be known as a different class of mage.
Dark Wizard
This too is a title earned only at the Wizard Council’s discretion. However, unlike the title of ‘Wizard’, a Dark Wizard is deemed a threat to those around them. Dark Wizards are not organized in the same way that the Council is and usually go off on their own. Sometimes they’ll join forces in small teams, however. The difference between a Dark Wizard and a Warlock or a Witch, for example, is how badly skewed their Anima is, or how high their threat level is within the Council. While Warlocks and Witches can have bad Anima, once they reach a certain level; whether that be bad Anima or threat level; the council will declare them dark.
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The term ‘Dark Wizard’ has a broader definition in the eyes of the general public. It is a term often used to describe anyone partaking in what they believe to be devilry or malicious actions via magic. In addition, the Council can still recognize those with a good Anima as a Dark Wizard, so long as they partake in dark magic and/or they are at a high enough threat level.
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Dark Wizards are powerful and the only mages to give the Wizards a run for their money in thousands of years, despite there being much fewer. It’s estimated that there are less than 200 in the world, but one can never be sure…
Occultist
Long ago, Occultists were recognized by the Wizard’s Council and many others as a class of mage. However, feeling threatened by a competing faction, the Council began classifying these folk as Dark Wizards, and the name stuck in the eyes of the public and other mages. However, a key difference between an Occultist and a true Dark Wizard is that an Occultist uses dark magic while having a good Anima. This is only attainable through self-sacrifice as cost for the dark magic. As a result, Occultists are rare, but often powerful mages who have been outcast by society. Strong enough to be labeled a threat by the Council and mysterious enough to be treated like evil Dark Wizards by anyone else, they remain in hiding for the time being.
Warlock
These are magically-inclined folk who act alone. They either have no desire to join or were excommunicated by the Wizard’s Council. However, despite popular belief, a Warlock is not malicious by default. That was an idea pushed by the Wizard’s Council just because Wizards and Warlocks don’t see eye-to-eye. It doesn’t take much to frighten a human witnessing magic, either, and so the bad reputation remains. There are Warlocks out there who are kind to others and wish to benefit the world and therefore have good Anima. There are also some with bad Anima, but aren’t enough of a threat to be considered a Dark Wizard by the Council. Most of the time they are not as powerful or knowledgeable as Wizards because they don’t have a shared network of knowledge to learn more. Although there are some exceptions to this rule: those excommunicated from the Council. There are estimated to be less than 2,000 in the world.
Witch
Perhaps the most misunderstood of all mages, the Witches are believed to be evildoers that aren’t powerful enough to be considered Dark Wizards. However, the reality is that they are not at all defined by their evil deeds, but rather who they align with. Witches form their own groups called Covens and reject the ideas of the Wizard’s Council. Whether a Witch has good or bad Anima often depends on the Coven and what they were taught. Some Witch Covens do indeed perform rituals in order to do terrible things with dark magic, but some practice it for fun or to help others. They are subject to Anima like all others, but the misconception is that they’re always erring to the side of bad Anima. Witches are female most of the time, but there do exist some males. They are referred to as a Witcon. Although they were once great in number, a Witch purging decreased their numbers dramatically over a thousand years back. It is estimated that around 1,500 Witches remain in many different Covens across the world.
Shaman
These are village elders within avian communities. Most avian do not adhere to the Wizard Council’s ideas or beliefs, and instead focus on the most spiritual aspects of life. Before the War of the Bird, Shamans were considered just as bad as Warlocks and Witches by the Council. However, after the bloodshed ended, a mutual respect was found between the two. It should be noted that Shaman are exclusively Augmenters, Nature, or Summoners. They can also gain access to dark magic, but it is rare for them to ever reach Dark Wizard levels of threat from the Council’s point of view. It is estimated that there are less than 200 Shamans in the world.
Alchemist
Most Alchemists are humans that do not yet have enough Anima one way or the other, but through potions and other applications they can still channel magic. Some are extremely helpful, even to Wizards. For instance, the potion that Aldous gave Henic to prevent his death was made by an Alchemist who was able to channel an Augmenting Wizard’s magic with a mixture of gathered mystical ingredients. Alchemists will also sometimes use Runes to their advantage in battle or in making potions. It is hard to pinpoint how many are in the world because there are many fakers out there who only want to make quick and easy money off the gullible.
Gypsy
These are mages who specialize in the dark art of clairvoyance, but are unable to harness magic for anything else and likely never will. Typically they are only able to perform parlor tricks, but a proficient Gypsy can see a potential future. It is not certain, however, that what they see will come to pass. In fact, there are many different possibilities, and it takes a master Gypsy to point out which is most likely. Like Alchemists, they will sometimes try to make up for their lack of power with potions and charmed objects. They are sometimes also referred to as Seers, Mediums, or Mystics. It is uncertain how many there are because like Alchemists, there are many pretenders out there looking to make money off the gullible.
Magician
Complete neophytes in the realm of magic who are able to perform parlor tricks and otherwise use sleights of hand to entertain. The main difference between this class and Gypsy is that they use what little magic they know for entertainment purposes, and are almost always from the Augmenter category. Often, they will Augment people’s minds into seeing an illusion. Some use Shapeshifting as well and they are typically the most realistic acts. Sometimes they are referred to as Illusionists. It is hard to say how many true Magicians there are because some are fakers, but an unfortunate fact is that only a tiny percentage of them are able to reach the next level of Warlock, Witch, or Wizard.