Mage Guild

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Mage Guild
Original Name	魔法行会
Type	Neutral Character (AI)
Scope	Transcontinental mage association active across the Floren Continent 3
Status	Active
First Appearance	3

Background / History

The Mage Guild’s precursor was the first transcontinental mage organization, created when the Four Symbols Elemental Towers, the Tower of Light, and the Tower of Darkness united against pressure from the Church after the First Holy Expedition. The modern Guild emerged from this alliance of magic towers. 34

It is not a unified body in the strict sense, but an association joined by mages for shared interests. Its senior figures and Archmages may represent Guild branches in formal settings while also pursuing their own family, noble, or commercial interests. 48

The Guild classifies mages into nine ranks. Certification as a first-rank mage grants both official Imperial Spellcaster registration and Guild recognition across the continent. 3 Its badge system groups the ranks into three color-coded tiers: blue for grades one to three, purple for four to six, and deep crimson for the highest three grades. 7 70

Organization and Governance

Archaic Arcane Senate

The Archaic Arcane Senate governs major Guild matters and is associated with the Thirteen Magic Towers. The Senate’s emblem originated with the Arcane Hermitage, an ancient secret organization and predecessor to the Senate. 70

• The Senate restricts broad personnel use of the teleportation network, citing energy concerns and political restrictions imposed by kingdoms. 101
• Its members communicate through a shared illusion connecting thirteen Archmages; multiple oaths prevent direct transcription of those meetings. 137
• The Thirteen Magic Towers are the Guild’s highest standard. A mage tower’s standing affects its members’ influence, funding, and status within the Guild. 164
• During the continental war, the Senate pursued inter-tower projects intended to keep the Guilds from fully splintering. 520

Branches and Local Halls

Guild branches function as magical, administrative, and commercial hubs. A city’s possession of a Mage Guild branch is treated as the practical standard for being a major city. 84

• The Imperial Capital branch conducts badge updates, Spellcaster-file registration, mana testing, and regulatory paperwork. 77
• The Andorilla branch combines a Guild hall with commercial stalls for discounted scrolls and potions, as well as fortune-telling services. 18
• Local branches may employ a Guild Master, resident mage, assistants, receptionists, and former apprentices who did not advance as mages. 19
• In Oword, the Guild building became a refuge and defensive stronghold against monsters, manned primarily by apprentices after many formal mages had left. 559

Certification and Registration

The Guild’s rank system divides nine levels into three major stages. Movement within a color tier can be assessed through contributions to magic, dangerous-species hunting, published research, or regulated duels with higher-ranked mages. Advancement between the three major stages requires the badge to detect an objective change in casting strength. 70

• A badge is bound to its bearer and contains a nine-node magic circuit activated by mana in a personal sequence. 7
• The badge’s ancient internal pattern is believed to sense casting strength without error, though its ultimate origin is unknown. 70
• Guild registration can synchronize a mage’s rank with state records and automatically update related adventurer status. 77
• Following a serious incident, the Imperial Capital branch required spellcasters to declare their proficient spells during registration. 77
• Rorschach criticized the finer Guild ranks as social classifications rather than true measures of strength. 492

Services and Infrastructure

Teleportation Mail Network

Guild halls operate a continent-spanning mail system through Teleportation Arrays. Individual arrays serve as sending stations, receiving stations, and transit points; messages may require several transfers before reaching their destination. 19

• Guild maps display many branch strongholds as glowing points, though some locations are withheld for security. 19
• Remote destinations can receive mail through the nearest Guild stronghold and then the ordinary postal system. 19
• Teleportation capacity and range are limited, and personnel shortages can delay service. 19
• Demand for the network rose sharply during stock-market activity, when rapid information transfer became commercially valuable. 163
• Holy Kingdom branches later restricted teleportation mail to registered mages and apprentices because of excessive demand. 163
• Cross-border communication became contentious once the Empire sought to review Guild messages and threatened border anti-magic deployments. 384

Commercial Networks

The Guild possesses affiliated merchant associations and trading companies across multiple industries. These organizations provide logistics and financial support to Magic Towers while benefiting from broad cross-border trade channels and tax exemptions negotiated with rulers. 104 125

• Guild presence in a city can help affiliated goods move across borders and reach foreign markets. 104
• Its teleportation network became an important information service for merchants and investors. 163
• The Guild invested in infrastructure and affiliated enterprises during the Holy Kingdom’s economic difficulties. 240
• It established a Non-Magical Advanced Technology Laboratory to develop technologies independent of Aether, including long-distance communication. 240
• The Guild later sought Rorschach’s expertise to implement telegraph infrastructure in Bavaria. 385

Security Forces

In Valois, Guild armed mages wear deep-blue, star-patterned robes, magic-circuit leather armor, and black velvet gloves. Their standard equipment includes instant-cast scrolls, handguns, and alchemical potions. 132

• Guild security forces cooperated with the Order Church’s Grey Robe Knights during an operation while remaining wary of one another. 132
• Guild facilities can use established defensive measures to shelter civilians and resist supernatural threats. 559

Political Role

The Guild publicly maintains a posture of transnational neutrality, particularly during conflicts between the Empire and the Holy Kingdom. Its internal factions, commercial interests, and nationally aligned mages frequently make that neutrality unstable. 354 360

Archmage Kano argued that the Guild could no longer preserve a monopoly over magical knowledge. He proposed that it adapt by extending magical education to capable people regardless of merchant or commoner origin, rather than allowing the Empire and secular institutions to outpace it. 224

• Kano later declared that he would represent both spellcasters and Guild-affiliated merchant associations before the Assembly of Notables. 227
• The Guild supported promising young mages, including Rorschach, in establishing personal Magic Towers in the southern Empire. 137
• It became increasingly entangled with Valois politics, technology programs, merchant associations, and financial recovery efforts. 239 240 636
• During the war, internal disputes intensified as some mages aligned with national causes while affiliated businesses sought military contracts. 354
• The Guild eventually withdrew from the Empire’s Core Zone, intending to return as a maintainer of anti-magic devices. 625

Relationships

• Archaic Arcane Senate — Governing body for major Guild decisions and the principal forum of the Thirteen Magic Towers. 70 224
• Thirteen Magic Towers — The Guild’s highest institutional standard and core source of magical knowledge and influence. 164 400
• Tower of Stars — A major Guild-affiliated tower led by Archmage Kano; its members repeatedly shape Guild policy. 224 454
• Tower of Arcane Arts — Influential tower involved in Guild projects, magical education, and Guild-linked commercial structures in Bavaria. 174 504
• Imperial Royal Magic Academy — Its certification examinations produce mages recognized by both the Empire and the Guild. 3
• Empire — Cooperates with and regulates the Guild, but clashes with it over spellcaster control, communications, and anti-magic devices. 384 533
• Holy Kingdom of Valois — Hosts a highly visible Guild presence whose political and commercial involvement becomes increasingly extensive. 172 636
• Order Church — Historically pressured mages into forming their first transcontinental organization; later cooperates with Guild forces when necessary. 34 132
• Rorschach — Registered, promoted, and supported by the Guild, while also criticizing its rank system and seeking greater influence within it. 77 492 527

Trivia

• A secret Guild sampling study estimated that roughly three people in a thousand possess the potential to become mages. 32
• Magical talent does not reliably pass through bloodlines, limiting mage families’ ability to preserve spellcasting inheritance. 125
• The Guild’s badge pattern is linked to an unidentified “great existence,” which some researchers believe may be connected to a God of Magic. 70
• By the era of the Kepler space station, the Mage Guild is identified as the organization responsible for testing magical aptitude in elementary schools. 669