13th Investment! [VIDEO]
Bleeeeh...
[Lemina's fingers peck away at a keypad. It seems she's at work, selling room upgrades for people. And based on the fact that she's pulled her Guide out, she's probably on break. ... well, let's hope she's on break, anyway.]
[There's a chip on her shoulder today, and so she's turning to her Guide to fish for sympathy and donations.] ( Read more... )
[Lemina's fingers peck away at a keypad. It seems she's at work, selling room upgrades for people. And based on the fact that she's pulled her Guide out, she's probably on break. ... well, let's hope she's on break, anyway.]
[There's a chip on her shoulder today, and so she's turning to her Guide to fish for sympathy and donations.] ( Read more... )
I'll start at the bottom of the chain of command and work up: Normally, all Guild recruits start as an apprentice. ... however, pretty much everything is unfilled right now, and there are some mega-skilled magicians joining, so I think once the New Guild is set up I'll be allowing for promotions right into higher positions at the start.
Anyway, apprentices are divided into three levels, based on skill: first level are beginners, second level are intermediate and third level are advanced. Their place in the Guild is, very simply, to learn new skills and cultivate their magical abilities. They're students, still in training! Promotion from the first two levels require classroom examinations, while promotion from apprenticeship altogether requires a field examination.
... just as a side note... traditionally, these apprentice examinations had an iron clad rule of no magic items. Period! Even though they taught how to create these items and how to best use them to go beyond the limits of our own power, the original Magic Guild of Vane felt natural abilities should come before all else. However, I've been thinking about changing this, or having an alternate entrance way for Guild members without those kinds of powers. [There's a solemn tone to her voice as she notes:] ... barring people without any natural ability... I think it limits our perspective too much. After all, the goal of the Guild is to help everyone, not just other mages...
[And then she's back to excitedly chattering:] Above apprentices, the chain of command branches out into different areas. Specialists in combat and defense, recruitment agents, teachers for the apprentices, record-keepers and librarians, item artisans, research and development... the Guild was the heart of the city, and everyone who held any job in Vane had completed an apprenticeship at the Guild! I think a few branches can be trimmed out, though. I mean, I don't think the Thor needs magical sanitation workers that badly...
Moving on, above all else are the officers who govern the Guild itself. At the top of the chain of command is the Guildmistress, and just below her is the Premier.
The Guildmistress is the absolute authority in the Guild, as well as the governess of Vane. I was kinda hoping to cut the politics out in the New Guild, but the way things have been going, all the anti-refugee action... we're probably going to want to build our political strength, too.
In particular, the Guildmistress is in charge of the wellbeing of the Guild and its members. In times of crisis, the Guildmistress has to take action to protect the Guild and stand as a leader for the rest. She is also the figurehead who speaks to the public on behalf of the entire Guild. And in the meantime, she oversees the internal affairs of the Guild and is the final word in settling disputes.
This is the only position in the Guild which cannot be held by anyone outside of the Ausa family. My family! Or... well, there were a few attempts at usurpation, but even after hundreds of years and countless generations, we're still the ones in power. In fact, in the few instances that the Guildmistress is absent or unable to perform her duties, her daughter may step up as Deputy Guildmistress to temporarily assume her duties.
Below her is the Premier... which, well, I'm temporarily acting as instead of the Guildmistress, because there's not much of a Guild to lead right now! This position is appointed by the Guildmistress to a Guild member of distinguished ability and character. The Premier's responsibilities lie more with external affairs -- for example, if there's a situation which doesn't directly involve the Guild, but which the Guild should respond to... like, let's say there's word of a monster attack. It's the Premier's job to find out what's going on and determine how the Guild should act, for the Guildmistress's approval. The Premier also has authority over scouting and recruitment, and may take an apprentice under their wing on occasion.
Any questions so far?
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So, a functioning city in itself, and you plan on establishing a lesser version of it here. The political power it would entail would be beneficial, if difficult to establish. With the presence of the refugee clinic and Wayne Enterprises,a magic guild would only add to what we can do here.
An entire city's worth of membership will be impossible here, however. The system would have to radically change to accommodate a smaller number of people. Should you start getting members, what, exactly, do you plan on doing with the Guild?
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[She pauses, as if considering if she should say it. Then she sighs, and confesses.]
Most of what I just described was from the very beginning, when the Guild was first established and Vane was in isolation. But several centuries after that, when my ancestor Mia Ausa had just assumed the title of Guildmistress, she started opening the doors of the city, allowing visitors from outside the Guild to enter the city. Membership fluctuated after that, but shortly before my lifetime the city fell into a major decline, and Guild membership dwindled...
... and... well, I was actually... the last member. [She averts her eyes, obviously ashamed of that.] But I've been working to restore it my whole life! To save what remains of its legacy, its proud tradition and rich culture...
More than that, though, I want to revive the purpose of the Guild. All the knowledge and power of Vane was an "inheritance", passed on from Vane's first creation, when it was created in an act of resistance against the Magic Emperor who plotted against the Goddess Althena herself...
The Guild exists to help, more than anything else. Not just to train up-and-coming magicians to take full advantage of their power, and to see how far we can expand the limits of our own abilities, but... also to put those powers to their best use. Protecting and serving the people. The divine, too... well, the good gods and goddesses, at any rate. The ones who don't want to destroy planets or conquer the universe.
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However, I do wish to know, should I become a member, what will be required of me?
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