The Alliance

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	The Alliance
Alias(es)	Magic Alliance
Affiliation	Constituent mage schools, societies, the Alliance Council, and Battle Mage Corps
Occupation/Role	Continental mage organization, territorial administrator, magical research network, and military power
Status	Active
First Appearance	71

Background / History

The Alliance was founded in part so mage schools could pool resources and resist powerful external enemies. It distributes advancement resources to mages considered talented or contributory, rather than leaving advancement entirely to personal effort. 126

Its member schools retain substantial independence and influence. The Alliance is fundamentally an alliance of schools rather than an organization directly formed by all mages, making institutional reform difficult. 479

The Northern Lands Society was assigned a remote northern exclave after rival schools interfered with its territorial placement. The Alliance absorbed the land but did not expand into the surrounding territories, despite local lords either seeking admission or preparing to resist it. 127

The Alliance formerly purged certain runic techniques through an audit of enchantment practices; its School of Enchantment was reportedly disbanded during that process. 273

The Alliance once recognized worship of the Goddess of Magic as a legal faith. The belief declined from the mainstream not long after the Alliance's founding and later became largely forgotten, despite surviving believers remaining within its territory. 601

Its historical records describe the Abyss Mouth War as a response to a betrayal in the Kingdom of Puos, but offer few details on the supposed traitor. A High Demon's account instead identifies the figure as a corrupt noble who activated the Abyss Mouth after his territory collapsed; the reliability of that account remains uncertain. 634

Organization and Governance

Schools and societies

Mage schools are the Alliance's principal institutional blocs. They preserve specialized knowledge, train mages, compete for resources, and can influence Alliance decisions. 479

• The Northern Lands Society accepts mages from all schools and operates under the Alliance umbrella, though its distance and political isolation limit its support. 127 204
• The Astrology School conducts prophecy operations and participated in the Ancient Domain investigation. 368
• The Alchemy School operates Number Nine Floating City and oversees major secret projects. 493
• The Law School is represented in high-level negotiations and shares control of Number Nine Floating City with the Alchemy School. 378 439
• Other documented schools include the Forge, Elemental, Transmutation, Necromancy, Sword Chant, Construct, and Enchantment Schools. 71 126 273

Schools retain primary control over the circulation of their own research. Alliance regulations normally restrict a society's papers to internal access or formally recognized academic exchanges, though politically sensitive research can circulate widely in violation of those rules. 480

Alliance Council

The Alliance Council is composed of high-ranking mages. Eligibility requires being a Fourth-Rank mage or holding an exceptionally prestigious award; award-based entrants must also be at least Third Rank. 370

Council members may independently mobilize an entire Battle Mage Corps, manage assets worth up to five million gold coins, and grant special experimental rights. 370

Internal factional conflict can delay decisions and obstruct unified responses. The Council's possible dissolution is treated as a threat equivalent to the Alliance's disintegration. 263 369 370

The Council and its members can invoke special confidentiality measures for intelligence deemed dangerous to the Alliance. During the Ancient Domain prophecy investigation, Charles placed participating mages under protective detention and required them to report to an exclusive Alliance office under threat of being treated as traitors. 369

Administration and law

The Alliance assigns administrators to its cities; nearly all are official-rank strong persons. 134

Its laws protect mages deemed capable of producing valuable results. Targeting a genius mage can trigger severe punishment, including collective punishment of the offender's family. 421

The Alliance tightly regulates access to sensitive documents and research. A school seeking documents concerning a suspected knowledge leak must provide evidence that the relevant mission or item could cause mass civilian casualties; otherwise, the Alliance may refuse access or take over the matter itself. 63

Its archival system permits authorized personnel to redact records, a practice that can obstruct later investigations even by high-ranking mages. 369

Alliance identification methods can examine biological and magical characteristics, including blood parameters, fingerprints, irises, skin patterns, breathing, heartbeat, and mental fluctuations. 381

Territory Mage administration

Following the emergence of Territory Mage research, the Alliance moved to centralize control over the profession. A Council resolution abolished unauthorized Territory Mage projects, transferred oversight to the Battle Mage Corps Commanders' Council, and designated unapproved acquisition of the profession as treason. 493

The Command Council later organized Territory Mage Working Groups for overseas expansion. These groups combine personnel from schools, military departments, and administrative bodies, compete for occupied territories, and are assessed on their ability to establish Territory Mages and stable rule. 557 622

The arrangement remains politically contentious. The Command Council acts as both regulator and competitor, while schools dispute how the benefits of territorial expansion should be distributed; the Sword Chant School's large share of Battle Mage personnel is a particular source of concern. 556 622

Territory and Expansion

The Alliance expands selectively, prioritizing territories with rare strategic resources rather than population alone.

Territory / Region	Alliance interest or outcome
Grey Soil Province	Incorporated over nearly a century because its grey soil can strengthen Undead. 325
Highland Province	Valued for extensive White Mountain Copper reserves. 325
Northern Territory	Contains the Alliance-linked Northern Lands Society exclave. 127
Antir Region	Initially considered unattractive because it lacked rare resources, but Fran sought political support to occupy it for a Territory Resonance experiment. 325
White Dragon Port	Captured as a maritime jumping point on the edge of the Northern Territory; its districts were subsequently divided among Territory Mage Working Groups. 558 600 602

Occupation requires flying the Alliance flag, preventing major organizations from opposing the occupation, and securing the compliance of key towns. 435

The development of Territory Mages has shifted much of the Alliance's expansion focus outward. Because land within the Alliance is already tied to the interests of individual schools, overseas occupation is considered more practical than attempting to implement Territory Mage projects internally. 556

After the first White Dragon Port assessment, the Alliance permitted Working Groups to expand into external districts. It later limited each group to three additional areas to preserve competitive balance, while granting the Wall District an extra selection due to its lower quota of Territory Mages. 634 635

Military Power

Battle Mage Corps

The Battle Mage Corps are the Alliance's armed forces. They were created to oppose powerful external factions and offer a high-risk, high-resource path for mages seeking advancement. 126

Battle Mages receive specialized combat training, optimized or instant-cast spell variants, coordinated group spells, and a comprehensive supply system. Standard equipment includes spell rings, resistant armor, and combat staves. 204

• Assessment requirement — Entry normally requires passing an Alliance assessment. 204
• Specialized spells — Some spells are restricted to the corps; Forced Fusion is an Alchemy School-oriented example. 204
• Combined casting — Corps can use cluster casting and coordinated spells to raise a single spell's destructive power. 204
• Operational reach — A single deployed corps is regarded as capable of overturning the balance of power in Snow Bear Territory. 222
• Territory Mage assignment — Battle Mages stationed in White Dragon Port were placed under the direct authority of Territory Mage Working Groups, creating conflicts with Command Council representatives. 602 626

Northern Lands Society Battle Mage Corps

The Northern Lands Society maintains an atypical Battle Mage Corps. Because other corps would not station in the north, Iris established it herself under the Battle Mage Corps name. 204

Feature	Northern Lands Society Corps	Standard Alliance Corps
Recruitment	Mostly part-time personnel recruited locally. 204	Specialized full-time combat personnel. 204
Service	Members may maintain other work. 204	Fixed service term; outside work is restricted. 204
Equipment	Produced by the Northern Lands Society; inferior due to limited support. 204	Alliance-supplied spell rings, armor, staves, and training. 204
Spell access	Holds First- and Second-Rank Battle Mage spells. 204	Uses Corps-exclusive enhanced and coordinated spells. 204

Floating Cities

Floating Cities are mobile Alliance strongholds and symbols of its power. They supplement mage towers in external defense and can be deployed against hostile factions. 186 369

The Alliance possesses more than thirty Floating Cities, though not all have a Tier 4 mage stationed aboard. Major schools commonly possess their own cities. 369

• Number Nine Floating City — Divided between the Alchemy and Law Schools. 439
• Military use — The Alliance considered sending two Floating Cities into the ocean against the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents. 437
• Sky Dragon operation — Number Nine began preparations to attack the Cult of the Sky Dragon's Floating Isles without Council approval. 493 530
• Propulsion preparations — Number Nine's Propulsion Department was transformed from a relatively relaxed department into a high-pressure strategic unit for the planned Sky Dragon operation; Iris and Lai were assigned there during the preparations. 504

Naval forces

The Alliance has expanded its naval forces to support operations against the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents and the Lohan Archipelago. Its iron warships are technologically superior but costly and comparatively small, creating logistical reliance on captured merchant vessels and newly constructed ships. 558 601

Major Operations

Snow Bear Territory intervention

When Fran was threatened in Snow Bear City, the Northern Lands Society's Battle Mage Corps arrived in flying vehicles. Its flying unit cast the Tier 2 spell Blizzard, freezing and shattering targets around the castle before ending the spell to conserve resources. 252 253

The display compelled Bishop Gillian of the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents to withdraw rather than compete with the Alliance. 255

Ancient Domain occupation

The Alliance sought a god-held realm later identified in its records as the Ancient Domain, then known to its inhabitants as the Three-God Domain. It required the Lord of Radiance's side to claim ownership after defeating the gods' forces. 315 366

After Una became the realm's lord, the Alliance applied formally for entry and sent Astrology School mages to conduct prophecies. 368

The resulting prophecies warned of continent-wide conflict, the fall of an Alliance Floating City, and the potential dissolution of the Alliance Council. 369

In response, Charles directed Tristan to negotiate an Abyss Contract restricting entry to and exit from the Ancient Domain for ten years, backed by payment, protection clauses, and a domain-destruction protocol. 370

Naval expansion

The Alliance expanded its maritime presence by taking White Dragon Port in the Northern Territory as a jumping point, moving to secure sea exits and preparing operations directed toward the Lohan Archipelago and local island networks. 558

White Dragon Port occupation

The Alliance launched a large aerial assault against White Dragon Port, using fire bombs to overwhelm defenses designed primarily against sea monsters and Orcs. The attack destroyed ships, struck the cathedral, immobilized the city lord's Wyvern, and rapidly ended organized third-rank resistance. 600 601

Commander Percival ordered a purge of the Drywater District in which any person possessing Apprentice-level combat ability or higher was to be killed. 601

The Tower Battle Mage Corps initially prevented Territory Mage Working Groups from entering the occupied city while the missing former lord remained at large. After four days of political pressure, the groups were admitted, but the corps was disbanded and its personnel were transferred under the Working Groups' authority. 602

White Dragon Port territorial administration

Fran's Ocean Affairs Department Working Group assumed control of the Wall District, publicly raised the Alliance flag, organized displaced residents, and exchanged food and shelter for reconstruction labor. Artisans and merchants became key partners in the district's administration because they sought Alliance citizenship and had strong reasons to reject the former port hierarchy. 602 603

The first Territory Mage assessment found that the Wall District had produced six Territory Mages, more than any other Working Group. Assessors also noted that its residents voluntarily protected the Alliance's reputation and maintained order rather than complying solely through coercion. 622

The Working Groups subsequently competed to claim additional districts. The Wall District concealed its methods behind newly built metal walls and concentrated its personnel in a single eastern area, prompting rival groups to reconsider their own expansion strategies. 635

Goddess of Magic revival

The Command Council authorized a faith-based experiment at White Dragon Port after learning of faith's apparent role in Territory Mage research. Rather than creating a new deity, it attempted to revive belief in the Alliance's historical Goddess of Magic. 601

Iris publicly denounced the Goddess of Ocean Currents and promoted the Goddess of Magic in the Dragon Head District, but the operation failed to secure meaningful conversion. The population obeyed out of fear of Alliance military power while retaining resentment over the destruction of its ships, wealth, and former social order. 608

Relations

• Northern Lands Society — An Alliance-linked society operating a remote exclave and its own under-equipped Battle Mage Corps. 127 204
• Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents — Commercial and maritime rival; both sides maintain restraint despite recurring localized friction. The relationship escalated into open conflict during the Alliance's capture of White Dragon Port and its preparations for the Lohan Archipelago. 220 558 600 601
• Lord of Radiance and Her sect — Allied through negotiated protection, exchange terms, and military-support arrangements. The relationship became strained when the Alliance's blockade of the Ancient Domain risked violating its earlier contract terms. 315 378 379
• Cult of the Sky Dragon — Target of Number Nine Floating City's planned operation. 493
• Local lords — Many seek Alliance incorporation, often hoping to exchange territorial burdens for compensation or security. 218
• White Dragon Port residents — Artisans and smaller merchants in the Wall District generally welcomed Alliance citizenship as a route out of the port's rigid class system, while residents of other districts remained hostile after the invasion and loss of their livelihoods. 603 608

Reputation

The Alliance is regarded as one of the continent's top powers. Smaller factions believe it could crush organizations such as the Church of the Goddess of Ocean Currents and White Dragon Port, but usually reserves its strength for conflicts with other major powers. 222

Its military reputation is reinforced by Battle Mage Corps, Floating Cities, magical devices, and the ability to prepare large-scale operations with extreme speed. 366

The Alliance's authority alone can deter weaker factions. In Bohan, priests of the Elephant of Mountains Sect declined to act against Lai after concluding that her presence and registration implied higher Alliance approval, fearing the consequences of provoking an Alliance-backed mage. 596 597

Its conduct during the occupation of White Dragon Port also established a reputation for overwhelming and ruthless warfare. The aerial bombardment, district purge, and destruction of local wealth generated fear and obedience, but also persistent hostility in several occupied districts. 600 601 608

Accounts of the Alliance's treatment of non-humans are contradictory. It is described as human-dominated and historically associated with a proposed bloodline-screening and extermination policy that was never implemented; later records state that it did not develop special hatred toward elves after the Calamity of the Blood Elves and instead treated other races with equality. 233 368