Colors: Blue and Black
Current Guildmaster: Ozrin Nuloy, Mage of Earth, Order of the Black Cloth
Current Guild Leader: Jakrin Oler, Mage of Fire, Order of the Black Cloth
Requirements to Join: Ability to cast Apprentice-level spells
Requirements of Membership: 5 gold yearly membership fees, must report any magical findings to the guild.
Majority Composition: Mages
Minority Composition: Clerics of Orn, Tinkers, and Clerics of Veil
On the Guild Council? Yes

From what I have gathered from the historical record, the Mage’s Guild has always been “in charge,” of the guilds. Every Guildmaster in the history of Torodan was a member of the Mage’s Guild, starting with Freran Morver and going on through the centuries. They have also always had a member on the guild council. The Mage’s Guild seems to have 2 sets of activities: 1 is inherently political, and covered mostly by the “Order of the Black Cloth.” The other is that of their stated purpose: to perfect the usage of magic and make magic more available to the people of Torodan.

Most of the Mage’s Guild is highly public, or at least easily accessible. While a 5 gold membership fee and previous magical training keeps a good portion of the population from attaining membership, the Mage’s Guild is a mostly public operation. Few libraries are restricted by the guild or even have restricted sections, and most are entirely open to the public. While entering a school of the magic arts can be costly, all are allowed in, and this method is much more frequent than the act of becoming an apprentice, as one would in most other professions. Apprenticeship or Schooling seems to have some bearing on how far one goes in the guild, however. Those apprenticed to powerful mages tend to get powerful positions, while those schooled get the mid-level positions. Those apprenticed to less-powerful mages, as well as those who took long in their schooling, make up the majority of the ‘guild members.’

In it’s higher operations, however, the Guild is very secretive. Most members have private libraries, and each Order has a library that can only be accessed by its own members, with special sections for the highest-ranking members. The one exception to this access is that the Order of the Black Cloth, which seems to have access to all of these libraries, with guild ranking still becoming an issue in some libraries. The guild seems to rank by ability, with members being ranked at Apprentice, Journeyman, and Master-level, and then proceeding onward from there. The next level in guild-membership is Initiate, and then there are ten-levels of High Mastery, with the tenth level having no more than twelve members. How the membership rotates is unsaid, but beyond initiate the process isn’t spoken of to outsiders or those who do not qualify for High Mastery status. At the lower levels, the process doesn’t seem incredibly involved, but at higher levels there are greater and greater levels of secrecy. Direct information cannot be obtained on individuals of higher than Initiate without special clearance, which I was unable to get. Following rumor and through the use of special contacts, I was able to determine a few things about the levels beyond Initiate rank. It seems that High Mastery 1 is granted with the ability to do magic rituals, High Mastery 2 is the ability to do them in to a more advanced degree, and High Mastery 3 is based around even more advanced study. It also seems that the 10th level of High Mastery has only 12 members, with never any more or less. Beyond this, I could gain no reliable information.

In the Mage’s Guild, the Guild Leader is always chosen from the twelve, and in the process only one survives. If none survive, it seems that the next lowest level is given an opportunity. The Guild Master candidate is not of these twelve, and it seems is always simply a member of the fourth tier of High Mastery, with few if any events that would earn him recognition. The Guild Leader seems to always pick the Guild Master candidate, and is also in charge of selecting the Order Leaders and Provincials personally. A selected Guild Master candidate of the Mage’s Guild, the Guild Leader, and the Order Leaders, are no longer considered to have a rank within the Guild. With rank no longer being a consideration, the person in question gains access to all of the libraries under members of their Order and access to nearly all materials within the Mage’s Guild’s libraries, with the Guild Master, Guild Leader, and the leader of the Order of the Black Cloth having full access to any materials in the guild. Regionals and Chapterheads are selected by the Provincial, all of whom still have rank and can still be restricted by the politics of Order and rank within the guild.

The Mage’s Guild doesn’t seem to be at odds with most of the other groups in the guild, but there is a noted hostility between the Order of the Staff in the Adventurer’s Guild and the Mage’s Guild. The two sometimes compete for magical resources, and while the Order of the Staff often gives magical information it finds to the Mage’s Guild for further study, this is not reciprocated, and many mages don’t take members of the Order of the Staff seriously as scholars. The Mage’s Guild is on good terms with most of the other guilds, and does regular business with the Scribe’s Guild, which performs tasks too time-consuming for those who spend their time in the study of the mystical arts.

The Order of the Black Cloth

Symbol: A black cloak on a blue field
Current Order Leader: Caeli Mystak, Mage of Ice, Guildmaster’s Advisor on Internal Affairs
Requirements to Join: Sponsorship, High Mastery Rank 4
Requirements of Membership: Unspecified

The Order of the Black Cloth is one of many orders of Torodan that keeps secrets, but keeps a high enough profile that some of these secrets have slipped into the public eye. The publicly stated purpose of the Order is, “To oversee the magical progress of Torodan.” In practice, the Order of the Black Cloth is a political body that controls much of the information and power in Torodan. While the High Church technically controls the justice system of Torodan, the Order of the Black Cloth is rumored to do internal checks on guildmembers, and even to occasionally investigate other guilds if a case warrants it. While most realize that every Guildmaster of Torodan has come from the Mage’s Guild, fewer realize that every Guildmaster has also been a member of the Order of the Black Cloth, as candidates are normally announced by guild, not by Order. Every Guild Leader of the Mage’s Guild has also come from the Order of the Black Cloth. Since its integration soon after the fall of the Torodan Monarchy, the Order of the Black Cloth has always had its Order Leader be a member of the Mystak family, the Guild Leader never selecting anyone outside of the family. With the power to do investigations on the internal libraries of the entire Mage’s Guild, and the entitlement to take whatever they find in said investigations, the Order of the Black Cloth likely has access to more secrets than some guilds. Internationally, and even nationally, recognition of the Order of the Black Cloth is low, as most of its affairs seem to only impact the Mage’s Guild, although some whisper that the Order has darker schemes than any other organization in the mortal world. Whether this image is cultivated by the Order (a distinct possibility) or whether there is some truth to the rumors of conspiracy, I cannot say.

The Order of Fire

Symbol: A red flame on a black field with a blue border
Current Order Leader: Major General Thoran Baelstone, Mage of Flame
Requirements to Join: 1 gold registration fee, the ability to cast flame spells
Requirements of Membership: None

These four orders are the orders of entrance for the Mage’s Guild, and only a few mages come to the Mage’s Guild without first being a member of one of these orders. For the most part, these organizations are training organizations, where prospective mages can study and gain ability before attempting to become a part of a more powerful Order. While some mages train in an Order other than their focus element, this is a rare case, and normally only occurs when a mage has studied in one element, but wants to learn the magic of an associated element. Politically, the orders have a good-natured competition for membership going, and get along reasonably well with all other parts of the Mage’s Guild, with many of the other orders often sending representatives to these four to keep an eye on extraordinarily gifted magic users within their ranks.

The Order of Ice

Symbol: A blue crystal on a black field with a blue border
Current Order Leader: Astar Pals, Mage of Ice
Requirements to Join: 1 gold registration fee, the ability to cast ice spells
Requirements of Membership: None

These four orders are the orders of entrance for the Mage’s Guild, and only a few mages come to the Mage’s Guild without first being a member of one of these orders. For the most part, these organizations are training organizations, where prospective mages can study and gain ability before attempting to become a part of a more powerful Order. While some mages train in an Order other than their focus element, this is a rare case, and normally only occurs when a mage has studied in one element, but wants to learn the magic of an associated element. Politically, the orders have a good-natured competition for membership going, and get along reasonably well with all other parts of the Mage’s Guild, with many of the other orders often sending representatives to these four to keep an eye on extraordinarily gifted magic users within their ranks.

The Order of Air

Symbol: A white tornado on a black field with a blue border
Current Order Leader: Lieutenant General Thalin Orders, Mage of Wind
Requirements to Join: 1 gold registration fee, the ability to cast air spells
Requirements of Membership: None

These four orders are the orders of entrance for the Mage’s Guild, and only a few mages come to the Mage’s Guild without first being a member of one of these orders. For the most part, these organizations are training organizations, where prospective mages can study and gain ability before attempting to become a part of a more powerful Order. While some mages train in an Order other than their focus element, this is a rare case, and normally only occurs when a mage has studied in one element, but wants to learn the magic of an associated element. Politically, the orders have a good-natured competition for membership going, and get along reasonably well with all other parts of the Mage’s Guild, with many of the other orders often sending representatives to these four to keep an eye on extraordinarily gifted magic users within their ranks.

The Order of the Earth

Symbol: A brown mountain on a black field with a blue border
Current Order Leader: Major General Yvonne Nalmeth, Mage of Earth
Requirements to Join: 1 gold registration fee, the ability to cast earth spells
Requirements of Membership: None

These four orders are the orders of entrance for the Mage’s Guild, and only a few mages come to the Mage’s Guild without first being a member of one of these orders. For the most part, these organizations are training organizations, where prospective mages can study and gain ability before attempting to become a part of a more powerful Order. While some mages train in an Order other than their focus element, this is a rare case, and normally only occurs when a mage has studied in one element, but wants to learn the magic of an associated element. Politically, the orders have a good-natured competition for membership going, and get along reasonably well with all other parts of the Mage’s Guild, with many of the other orders often sending representatives to these four to keep an eye on extraordinarily gifted magic users within their ranks.

The Order of the Water

Symbol: A blue wave on a black field with a blue border
Current Order Leader: Falstaff Leanus, Mage of Earth, Cleric of Orn
Requirements to Join: 1 gold registration fee, must be of the clergy of Orn
Requirements of Membership: Maintain good standing with the church of Orn, cannot advance beyond this Order or beyond Initiate Rank.

An Order unto itself, the Mage’s Guild normally does not accept those members that are trained in the holy arts, nor do they accept those who have trained in the high church, whether they have such powers or not. The reasoning behind this, it is said, is that the Mage’s Guild desires to keep itself a separate political entity from the High Church and does not want to risk intermarriage between its own interests and those of the church. However, out of respect for the god of magic, the Order of Water was created for those Clerics of Orn who wanted to have a presence within the Mage’s Guild. Throughout it’s existence, the Order of Water has been small, due to the fact that one cannot advance beyond Initiate Rank within the Order, and the guild strictly prohibits transferring members from this Order to others. Despite this, the Order of Water survives due to large research grants from the High Church, and those orders seeking to gain the support of the church often give political favors to the Order of Water, a structure that has not gone unnoticed by those who are wary of bridging the gap between church and state politics.

The Order of the Amulet

Symbol: A gold amulet on a blue field with a black border
Current Order Leader: Dezmon Nali, Mage of Fire
Requirements to Join: Sponsorship, High Mastery Rank 3
Requirements of Membership: Must make at least 4 magic items or projects/year for the Mage’s Guild, supplies are provided.

Dedicated to the creation of magical devices and the uncovering of new magical research, the Order of the Amulet has more scrolls, high magic scrolls, magic items, and relics than perhaps any other group in the entire realm of Torodan. Normally, the Order trades items to more militant groups in exchange for resources, ancient tomes, or recovery of other items, but the Order keeps a good number of items on-hand in case of emergency. While the rest of the Mage’s Guild can usually get access to the items of the Order of the Amulet, and the Order of the Black Cloth can always get said access, the Order of the Amulet holds considerable sway, particularly when a specific magic items is needed by a person within the guild.

The Order of the Tome

Symbol: A brown book on a blue field with a black border
Current Order Leader: Harlin Kael, Mage of Ice, Guildmaster’s Advisor on Scholarly Lore
Requirements to Join: Approved Research Proposal, Initiate Rank
Requirements of Membership: Must do at least one major research project/year, or provide a yearly report on a multi-year research project.

What the Order of the Tome lacks in resources, it often makes up for in research. When an item loses its magical properties due to wear and the passage of time outside of a stored environment, the Order of the Tome will often buy it, particularly if its origin can be proven ancient or foreign, and will do research, attempting to find the properties that made the item easier or harder to enchant. These mages dedicate their lives to solving the mysteries of magical effects, and travel far and wide in the attempt to glean such information. Often, the Order of the Tome works with the Adventurer’s Guild in the attempt to get to some of the more out-of-the-way effects that are reported. This has occurred less since Mister Kael came into the position of Order Leader within the Order of the Tome, his sister being the Order Leader in the Order of the Staff in the Mage’s Guild. While often the Order’s projects fail to bear new fruit, the occasions they do come to realizations have proven so profitable that the Mage’s Guild cannot help but keep the Order in existence. Rumor has it, the Order is working on everything from understanding the nature of the gods, to the enchantment we used to remove the Pure Blooded Mongrels from the wastelands, to explaining in depth how living beings process elemental energies.

The Order of the Stars

Symbol: A gold star on a blue field with a black border
Current Order Leader: Timus Winsor, Mage of Flame, Guildmaster’s Advisor on Mystical Affairs
Requirements to Join: Sponsorship
Requirements of Membership: Unknown

Despite repeated attempts, I could find almost no information on the Order of the Stars. Officially, the guild records state that their purpose is, “to provide divination and council to the Mage’s Guild.” I am aware that the Order Leader, Timus Winsor, is the Guildmaster’s Advisor on Mystical Affairs, but could find no background information on Winsor, his family, or his previous activities within the guild. The Order of the Stars has no offices of its own, but appears to have branches within the offices of the Order of the Black Cloth. Outside of Winsor, I could find no representatives of the Order of the Stars at any time. The representatives of the Order of the Black Cloth claimed their offices vacant, their records classified, and occasionally they threatened me with violent force when I inquired more seriously into the Order’s actions.