In 102 AP Elrew Bailey, a well-studied wizard heard a rumour about a mysterious rock at the top of a cliff face on the outskirts of a small village. He travelled up a high hill to the top of the cliff and gazed upon the mysterious rock. When there, rumours say that it gave him an extra gift or power that is unknown to all people apart from the current Arch-Mage.

Elrew started teaching using the extra gift/power to teach other wizards and mages. The crowds grew larger around the rock until an established guild was formed in 109 AP, opened and blessed by the then Emperor, Orion Domen.

Over the years, the Arcane Guild started to distant themselves from the non-magic folk that was increasing the population of the small village to a now vibrant town called Avandigar. Though this provided more facilities for the new established guild, the downside was untrained people were coming to the establishment to try to learn the way of magic folk. While Elrew was happy to aid in the teaching of any who showed the ability, the Guild was inundated.

Elrew cast an enchantment on the gates that formed the entrance to the stairs up to the Guild which prohibited any non-magical person to climb towards the guild. While this stopped people from climbing up to the top, the town continued to grow and now the guild is steeped in mystery and conspiracy.

Due to the nature of magic, there has been many events of significance within the Arcane Guild:

In 367 AP one of the professors at the guild was teaching a Sorcerer, in the outside courtyard trying to work out were the Sorcerer’s gift for magic came from. At this stage, there are only a few Sorcerers in the world, due to their historic connection with Dragons - this Sorcerer in particular was interesting as there was no obvious bloodline that gave him his power. Whilst explaining his power to the professor and trying to cast a cantrip, things went wrong and the Sorcerer started to glow vibrant blue, Though confused, the professor thought he had somehow become cursed but not sure by what. Trying his hunch, the professor cast remove curse and the Sorcerer returned to normal. Calling the phenomenon Wild Magic, further study of those who displayed this new magical source continued and it was found more and more frequently among Sorcerers.

In 515 AP another Sorcerer “accidently” cast a fireball onto himself whilst in bed, not just burning him alive but setting fire to the whole of Blackfords tower, 4 wizards, 2 mages and the Sorcerer was killed in this fire. By this point, Wild Magic Sorcerers accounted for two thirds of the entire population of all Sorcerers.

In 628 AP another Wild Magic occurrence happened but this was rather stranger than many of the others. Whilst in class in the Room of Magika, the Sorcerer cast a fireball in duel against a fellow student arranged by the professor to teach defence spells. Once the fire and smoke had died down, the Sorcerer was missing, but in his place was a small potted yucca tree. Flabbergasted by what just happened, the professor walked over to the small yucca and picked up the tree by its trunk. Walking out of the hall with it, as soon as the yucca went outside if the hall it magically turned back into the Sorcerer. The Sorcerer who was now grabbed by the legs with his back lying on the floor turned to the professor and said “What’s up, yucca?”

In early 946 AP (this year) there was a strange occurrence in one of the Guild’s Campuses in the city of Avandigor, where witnesses say that there was a flash of light. The witness account was from the hills near Avandigor but weren’t able to describe what had caused it. There is now a high military presence around the city and non-guild members are not allowed to enter Avandigor. Naturally due to lack of the information around the subject there are many conspiracies that have grown around it, one involving goblin army invading the town and another a magical demon was summoned by guild members.

Ironhaven

For the past 178 years, the official Guild has been moved to Ironhaven, so as to be included in the continued expansion of the Imperial Capital. Rumours have it that a lavish tower was constructed out of Infused Quartzite, a rare and expensive substance that serves as the core in many magical staves and wands. 

Avandigor

The structure been based around the Arch-Mage’s Rock is a square structure with the central courtyard for the stone. Additionally, there is the main building with one giant hall on the north side of the building, the west and east wings are large library’s containing books from around the world, the east side is for spellcasting and arcana history, the west is for enchantments and magical items.

The Southside room is a large entrance hall with grand portraits around the side of the Arch-Mages. A grand statue of Lady Mystra, Mother of all Magic is on the back wall opposite the entranceway. A large mosaic covers the floor with a large fountain in the centre. On the next floor, there are a series of classrooms and studies for the teaching of the non-magical studies. Finally, a third floor houses the quarters of the Senior Faculty and the Arch-Mage themselves.

There are 3 large towers sectioning off the dormitories form the main building and creating the 3 houses inside the guild: Montcaster, Blackford and Bellmore. The students of the guild are split up into these three houses. The central rock is covered with a permanent enchantment designed to hide it from view, so no one can see from the towers down to the rock.

Identifying Members of the Guild

Membership of the guild isn't a hidden thing, with members being able to freely discuss most elements of magic with members and non-members of the guild alike. 

It is not uncommon for those members who travel around or are spending any time in the more remote parts of the Empire, where the Guild is sometimes viewed with suspicion, to take steps to hide their identity a little more. One ingenious method is to have the symbol embroidered onto their clothing in the same colour thread as the fabric but with a very faint arcane enchantment. 

Those with a talent for the arcane would be able to see the faint glow of the insignia. This is generally only done by the longer Professors or further progressed students, as they can complete the enchantment themselves without outside involvement.

Sports

Boltak – Boltak is a ball game that involves 6 people (2 from each house) they all stand on their own columns 24ft in the air. The players would use their magic to cause a hollow ball to ricochet among the poles and enter the goal on the other side of the court. This traditional game relies on speed, balance, and accuracy.

Entrance test

In a similar manner to the Order in which the Guild is situated, practitioners of the Arcane have to be sponsored by an existing Professor (the equivalent Rank to Cavalier). Their entrance into the guild follows much the same path as the other members of the Order, just with different Ranks and Titles.

• Arch-Mage (Currently Thamund Norde)
• High Mage
• Professor of the First Level
• Professor of the Second Level
• Professor of the Third Level
• Professor of the Fourth Level
• Professor of the Fifth Level
• Student
• Initiate
• Acolyte