The Archon Society

The Archon Society is the name given to the institution of magical academies following the reforms of Archon Rowan of the Divine Temple during the formation of the Verenian Empire in 1 VE. The Society consists of each of the seven academies of magic, Divination, Transmutation, Abjuration, Conjuration, Enchantment, Evocation, and Illusion, each led by an Archon who represents the strain of magic for their school. These archons oversee a hierarchical system of administrators, battle magicians, researchers, professors, oracles, students, etc. all of which are sworn to the Emperor of Verenia and serve as the administrative wing of the Empire.

Formation
For several hundred years, the magical academies operated with relative independence, often coexisting peacefully due to their shared interest. During this period of the Damena Era, these academies exerted de facto control over the southern half of the continent, their monopoly on the use of magic making them a necessity to the smaller surrounding kingdoms and fiefdoms. Under this system, the academies began the tradition of battle magic as a way to control potentially dangerous magical users, forcing them to become apart of the magical institutions or else hunting them down. From this came this Ritsars, a clandestine order of magical soldiers who protected the academies and the realms from threats.

After centuries of academy control, many began to believe that the archons had let their political power in the region grow too strong and had thus become corrupted by greed, anger, and power. Dissidents also suspected the archons of hiding and suppressing forms of knowledge and magic that they believed threatened their power, especially the lost magic of the Necromatic School, which had disappeared in Falor Forest centuries ago. Decay and corruption came to a bursting point when a rogue faction of Ritsars, led by Devan Markus, were discovered, which led to a widespread revolt led by Markus' Ritsars and local nobles and chiefs who were angry with Archon control. Markus' revolt would slowly burn as attempts to capture and kill Markus failed. By the year 1888 DE, Markus had assembled an army strong enough to march on the Academies themselves, eventually conquering and sacking the Transmutation and Conjuration Schools.

After sensing the destruction of the archons, Archon Rowan of the Divination School made appeals to King Keyon Tyce of Linares, one of the Northern Kingdoms, to aid the schools in defeating Markus. While Keyon initially resisted, a miscommunication led Markus to believe that Keyon had already declared, so he invaded Linares in order to squash the threat before it could fully form. At the Battle of Farthing Hill in 1902 VE, Keyon was killed by Markus' forces and his son, Leron Tyce ascended to the Linarian throne. Leron had been more enthusiastic about helping the academies and fared better against Markus' forces, eventually pushing them back to Linarian borders. With Leron Tyce now on board, Archon Rowan called in the six other archons and several northern kingdoms into a coalition to defeat Devan Markus. At the Council of the Last Year in 1904 VE, Archon Rowan, King Leron Tyce, Queen Leondrea Neinna, and several others negotiated a treaty that would make the archons and the schools swear fealty to a united, Verenian Empire, serving as administrators, advisers, and defenders of the realm.

While many members of the academies disagreed with Rowan's plans, it was argued that the treaty was made to protect the academies from corruption or rogue actors like Markus, ensuring their security by tying their interests with a strong Imperial power. As such, the Council of the Last Year declared that the new Archon Society would be formed as a part of the new Verenian Empire. With a coalition assembled, Devan Markus was pushed further back and eventually defeated and killed at the Battle of the Rock in 1904 VE.

Composition
The Archon Society is made up of five key parts: the Archons, the Magerum, the Patrons, the Militants, and the Apprentices.

The Archons
The Archons are at the top of the hierarchical order of the Archon Society. In total there are seven archons, one for each of the main schools of magic. Above the other six, the archon of the Divination school is known as the Archon of Sight and directly serves the Empire and presides over the other Archons. The Archon of Sight thus has the most influence over Imperial matters as a member of the Society and usually serves as a close and confidential adviser, at times the Archon of Sight can even be more powerful than the Emperor, depending on the individual on the throne. However, the Archon of Sight is not appointed by the Emperor, but is instead chosen after a forty day communal meditation between the head oracles of the Divination School. Together, they attempt to see far into the future in order to choose the best candidate and appoint him or her as the new Archon. Other schools have their own unique ways of choosing new archons but all of them are chosen by the schools themselves and not the Imperial Court. The Archons themselves will see over matters of the Society such as delegation of magic to Imperial projects, assignments for Ritsars, etc. as well as advise the Emperor on important matters.

The Magerum
The Magerum is the name for the body of magical users that make up Imperial administrators, engineers, harvesters, researchers, etc. The Magerum was created during Rowan's Reforms at the Council of the Last Year and thus are the section of the Archon Society most connected to the Empire. Members of the Magerum hold offices throughout the realm and assist in maintaining infrastructure, defenses, food and water supply, cultural festivities, etc. Many members of the Magerum will become ingratiated with the nobility and aristocracy, becoming an inseparable part of the Imperial machine.

The Patrons
The Patrons date back to the earliest times of the Archon Society. They are the ones who still work within the academies, holding offices such as professors, doctors, or oracles. The Patrons will often serve as direct advisers to nobles or regional kings, just as the Archons do to the Emperor. The Patrons also hold the important role of raising and training new members of the Archon Society, as such they have become wise in the ways of information and knowledge and are one of the most important pillars of Imperial Society.

The Ritsars
Ritsars, also known as Battle Mages, are magical knights that are sworn to serve and protect the Empire from threats. Their order dates back to decades before the formation of the Empire, yet it was a revolt among their ranks that caused the conversion of the Archons and the Northern Kingdoms into the Verenian Empire. Despite this, they continue to exist as an elite military class within the Empire. Members of the Ritsars also form the ranks of the Royal Guard, formed under Emperor Darian, which are a powerful force in Linares. The Captain of the Guard's influence has even rivaled the Archon of Sight's influence in certain times.