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[professor_prof]

Noble Phantasm

• Every Servant has one Noble Phantasm.
• A Noble Phantasm is a Servant's most powerful attack, its ultimate trump card.
• The Servant's Noble Phantasm usually takes the form of some legendary artifact that the Heroic Spirit had when they were still alive.
• For example, King Arther's Noble Phantasm would be Excalibur.
• Not all Noble Phantasms are simple weapons.
• For instance, it could be a shield, a mount, an army, or some supernatural ability.
• Most Servants do their best to hide their Noble Phantasm for as long as possible, since keeping your Heroic Spirit identity a secret gives you a slight edge.
• It is possible for a Servant to have no Noble Phantasm, but it is exceedingly rare.

Magic Circuit

• Every Magus, without exception, has a magic circuit.
• A magic circuit is like a second nervous system spreading through a magus's body, which connects the material world to the astral plane.
• Using a magic circuit, a magus can channel the latent energy in their bodies to perform supernatural feats - in other words, magic.
• One is born with their magic circuit, and it does not increase or decrease in strength naturally.
• It can, on the other hand, be modified artificially.
• However, doing so is very risky, as it can destabilize a magic circuit, rendering it unusable.
• A stronger magic circuit makes for a stronger mage.
• Magic circuits are hereditary - this is what causes magi to run in families.

Thaumaturgial Crest

• In a lineage of magi, the most valuable and closely-guarded of treasures is the Thaumaturgical Crest.
• A Crest is essentially an artificial Magic Circuit, branded onto the body of a magus's heir at an early age.
• At some point during a magus's career, they expand and strengthen their Crest, storing power and spells inside it.
• Then, when they have an heir, the Crest is transplanted to the new host, carrying with it the power of the previous magus.
• This process continues, causing Crests to get more powerful the older a family of magi is.
• Crests, like internal organs, can only be transferred to a compatible host - usually a blood relative.
• It is perfectly possible to be a magus without a Crest, but it's much harder to be good at it.

Mage's Association

• There is an international organization, founded by western magi, whose purpose is to control, devlop, and conceal Magic in the world.
• This organization is called the Mage's Association.
• The Association enforces many laws about what magi can and can't do without incurring their wrath.
• Chief among these is the rule that magic must be kept secret from the public.
• The Mage's Association knows about and monitors all major magus families, so only obscure or non-family magi escape their knowledge.
• There are three branches of the Mage's Association.
• The main branch is called Atlas, a.k.a. The Giant's Pit, and is located in Egypt.
• Atlas governs over the other two branches, and is the most powerful of them all.
• The second branch, Clock Tower, is housed in London.
• Clock Tower runs a secret but very prestigious (among magi) school of magic, run mostly from the British Museum.
• While it seems welcoming and friendly, Clock Tower is largely controlled by power struggles between rival factions of magi.
• The last branch is Sea of Estray.
• The Sea of Estray is a conglomeration of minor groups of magi spread all throughout Europe.
• This is the oldest of thre three branches, most closely tied to the origins of magi in history.