The Magi of the Realms was found in 1998 by Sir Randal the Light, KoR.
Randal was tasked by the Knights of the Realms to create an order that celebrates the role of a mage and acknowledges excellence in spellcasting. During this time, spellcasters (Healers or Mages) could not become a member of the Knights of the Realms, though they could become members of the Knights of the Eternal Flame. The Magi of the Realms was intended to be a sister order to the Knights of the Realms with the newly inducted members of the order taking control of the Magi and make it something unique and special.
Randal inducted five founding members into the Order: Tetch, Stuart, Meerkat, Arkendyne, and Heron Silver.
These members were granted the title of “Magus” and were formally recognized at Feast of Chimeron 6.
The tenets given to the order at it’s founding are as follows:
- Seek knowledge. Ignorance = Death.
- Spread wisdom. Experience unspoken is lost.
- Ascertain the unknown. Life not questioned is wasted.
- Quest until the last quest is done.
- Support the role of magic in the Realms
About the Order
Since the founding of the order, the Magi of the Realms has maintained the learning of spells as a minimum requirement. The order also supports the role of magic in all its forms as well as seeking to do no harm to the Realms. There are both In Character and Out of Character elements to the order.
Though a knightly order, the Magi of the Realms set themselves apart in a few ways. The knight commander of the order is called the Magus Prime, with Magus Meerkat holding the honor of being the first chosen. Squires to the order are called apprentices.
The Magus Prime is the public face of the order and has three distinct responsibilities.
- Coordinate and organize the Magi of the Realms
- Call for the order to review and evaluate the status of a Magus should the sad need arise.
- Appoint the next Magus Prime.
Apprentices to the Order of the Magi:
The primary goal of taking an apprentice is to encourage their development as a spellcaster and as a player. Secondary goals can include such things as leadership, marshaling, and being a positive contributor to the Realms both In and Out of Character. As the order is both in and out of character at times, Magi work with apprentices on out of character goals that will impact their in character performance.
Apprentices to the Magi of the Realms are chosen by an individual Magus. A prospective apprentice can be chosen for any number of reasons, but they must be a spellcaster as well as someone who would benefit from the mentoring by the Magus and by the Order. Apprentices are expected to show initiative and express what they would like to learn. While apprentices have input on their goals, the Magus remains responsible for setting them and taking their input into account. Other Magi may give meaningful input to others’ apprentices in the way of tasks and direction.
In cases where an apprentice’s Magus is unavailable or inactive for a long period of time, another Magus will often “adopt” the apprentice and continue their studies and mentoring relationship.
Apprentices are graduated out of the order when their Magus has decided that the apprentice has completed their learning and they have nothing more to learn from their Magus. They are publically acknowledged for completing their goals. The newly graduated apprentice is granted the honorific of “mage” and sent off into the Realms to “make a name for themselves” as a journeyman mage. Though it is the hope that one day they will be called back to the order to be made a Magus, graduating from apprenticeship is no guarantee that they will become a Magus themselves. It is also not a requirement to have been an apprentice to become a Magus.
Becoming a Magus:
Many people will often ask “What does it take to become a Magus of the Realms?”. There is no easy answer for this as many factors are looked at. Each member of the order might have their own ideas of what a Magus is or isn’t and the opinions are not often shared to the outside.
In general, the minimum requirements to be a Magus of the Realms are:
- You must be a spellcaster.
- You play a “good guy” in character, and are a positive member of the community out of character.
As current Magus Prime, I will share my thoughts on what characteristics a candidate to the order might have other that the two stated above. Again, these are my opinion.
- You play a good character. You don’t make deals with evil on the side. Though your own morals can be what you want, the way you conduct yourself to others and your actions will speak louder than anything you say.
- You are a paragon of your chosen type of spellcasting. Are you a prominent ritual caster leading others through pomp and circumstance to call on a god? Are you the go to diviner who can ferret out the obscure answers that leads the quest to victory? Are you the war mage on the front line known far and wide for your accurate barrage of magic missile attacks? Are you a healer who cares for the fallen, encourages the new and unsure, and strives to make everyone feel a part of the action? Own your type of casting and make it a part of you.
- You actively promote the role of magic in the Realms. You help or encourage others in learning their spells. You inspire others to find the joy in spellcasting.
- You serve as a positive example of a spellcaster. You must cast your spells accurately and teach others correctly. You aren’t a cheater or one who games the system. You don’t exploit loopholes in the rules.
- You are a Magus of the Realms. This means that you do the right thing. You don’t just do the right thing for you, your friends, or your nation. You do the right thing for everyone. To me, this is a reminder that the the Magi were created as a sister order to the KoR. This is something you should remember and strive to live up to.
Again, these opinions are my own when I look at a potential candidate to join the order as a Magus.
Should a Magus of the Realms lose the ability to cast spells, they are expected to step down until such a time where they have spells again and approach the order to rejoin. If the individual still meets the requirements of membership they will be invited back. If an individual becomes derelict in their responsibilities as a Magus (becomes a “bad guy”, is an OOC cheater, etc), they will not be invited back into the order or removed from the order with a vote if they have not already left.
Lineage and Current Members:
Because the order as a whole determines who becomes a Magus of the Realms, there is no official lineage of inductees to the order. There are three apprentices that have become Magi in their own right, with one of them having been a Magus with a previous character (the player of Stuart now plays Borjid). If the player decides to create a new character that wants to be recognized as a Magus, they have two options. They can apprentice to the order with their new character and go through the apprentice process or they can petition the order with a character they feel upholds the values of the order. The order will discuss this on a case by case basis of characters.
The following are members of the Magi of the Realms.
Tetch - Feast of Chimeron 6, 1998
Stuart - Feast of Chimeron 6, 1998 +
Meerkat - Feast of Chimeron 6, 1998
Arkadyne - Feast of Chimeron 6, 1998 +
Heron Silver - Feast of Chimeron 6, 1998 +
Savyne - Feast of Chimeron 8, 2000 +
Bright Oakfellow - Feast of Chimeron 9, 2001
Borjid - Feast of Leviathan 4, 2002
Alexander Cecil - Feast of Leviathan 4, 2002
Shalindra Darkmoon - Feast of Folkestone 5, 2004 +
Zeek McKrye - Feast of Folkestone 5, 2004 +
Faelinn Shadowmoon - Feast of Chimeron 17, 2009
Zula Darkwillow - Feast of Chimeron 17, 2009
Rel Zhirah - Feast of Chimeron 17, 2009
Malaki - Queen of Hearts 16, 2009
Atticus the Red - Feast of Chimeron 19, 2011
Phoenix - Black and White, 2011
+ denotes inactive
The symbol of the magi of the Realms has changed over the years. Initially, the symbol of the order was a gold M on a blue field. Many of the older magi have and wear this patch. A second iteration of the patch was a Silvery/gold M on a blue field. It has since evolved to the following:
Per bend azure and argent, an open book argent, bindings azure counterchanged, charged with the letter M azure.
(A field diagonally divided blue and white. A white open book with the bindings counterchanged blue and white. On the left page of the book, a blue script letter M.)
This symbol follows traditional rules of heraldry in combining a metal (white/silver) and a color (blue). The book represents the book each Magus is given on being inducted in the order with the tenets written in it. The M is a nod to the older symbol of the order. The colors blue and white were chosen because blue is the color of magic in the Realms and white is a nod to the Knights of the Realms founding the order.
The belts and belt tabs worn by the Magi of the Realms reflects these ideas as well. The primary color of blue represents the color of magic. The white tip of the belt is a reflection of the order’s founding. The blue script M is the “signature” of the Magi symbol that is easily recognized as a distance on the white field.
Apprentices to the order are given a plain blue belt favor showings that they have begun their learning with the order. Apprentices who have been graduated are given a blue favor with the order’s symbol on it, but lacking the M which is reserved for those with the title of Magus.
