Lucinda: Hierarchy: Difference between revisions

For millennia, the Illumination of [[Lucinda]] was a layered, complex system; a labyrinth of mages, [[clerics]], administrators, and instructors. It was held together by worship of the Lady of Spells and the scarcity of magic. However, after the fall of Bloodstone, the darkening of the skies and the calling home of [[Allurial]], the last Peractio, the Illumination underwent a massive transformation. To bring more magic to the struggling world and to ease fears about mages harbored by [[frightened]] minds and those who would be swayed by the words of the Deep Lord, the Illumination has reorganized into a simpler, stronger presence. Many of those who led in the past have willingly given up their seats of power for the sake of Lucinda and the [[Al'Noth]]; titles of old have been rejected in favor of less pontific nomenclature or no title at all.

First and foremost in the new church, there are now three schools for those who would learn the arcane arts or practice [[spellpraying]] to the Lady of Spells. Those who are just beginning their journey into the mysteries of the arcane, regardless of race, age, or status, attend schools of the <span class="ANCHORLINK">Presage</span> (also called <span class="ITALIC">Links of Lucinda</span>). Students attending one of these schools are usually called Links. The schools are open to all, and older students who have moved to the Chain, even those who are in the Reaching, often attend and mix with the Links. The Octlar Mesh chooses a person every five years, called the Docet, to head each Presage.

Second in the schools is the <span class="ANCHORLINK">Thaumaturge</span> (also called the <span class="ITALIC">Chain</span>). This is both the home of the libraries and lore collections and the place where the Links go to begin learning the process of spell creation; not merely the route casting of preexisting spells as the Presage teaches. This can be a life's work or a month's study, depending on the skill and desires of the student and the decisions of the Reaching. The leader of the Thaumaturge is called the Scrollregent, and there is one at each location that there is a Presage. However, not every location can support a separate building dedicated to libraries. On [[Dregar]], [[Belinara]], and [[Tilmar]], the Scrollregent works inside the Presage. Scrollregents are chosen every ten years by the Octlar Mesh.

The <span class="ANCHORLINK">Peractio</span>, when there is one, has traditionally made decisions and directed the church unilaterally. Recent changes now give the Octlar Mesh the power to overturn a ruling by a Peractio if the vote is unanimous. The Octlar Mesh'the meeting of the five Docets, the five Scrollregents, the three Fosters, and the head of the Reaching'convenes every Octlar but can be called as needed. While the leader of the Reaching has a strong sway over opinions, each of the 14 in the Mesh have an equal vote. Many decisions that can be put to a larger vote are dealt with at the Star's Mage Vinculum when all who worship the Star's Mage converge.

Gathering at the Catena Campus once per year, the Octlar Mesh is both a mixing of ideas and the time when votes are taken on promotions and new responsibilities for Illumination members. The Campus is closed for this week and protections are at their highest for the year.

This is the message of the Presage, where those with the ability may learn to control innate magic or to cast spells. Here is taught all the basics of tapping into and protecting the Al'Noth. Here too, with practice, one can learn more subtle forms of the art. No distinction is made between the power of Lucinda's divine magic and the Al'Noth, and both clerics and mages may learn here side by side. Four continents and one island have temples and shrines that include a Presage. The largest is located on the Catena Campus in Spellgard. The halls are open to anyone. There are guides to help new students and there are safe rooms to practice spells in. Anyone who wishes to be consecrated by Lucinda's clerics may do so here at no cost.

The Thaumaturge is the second stage of learning, often called the Chain because it is where the Links begin to combine their knowledge and build new spells. The libraries and other collections of knowledge reside here, allowing a Link to begin researching on his or her own. Overseen by a Scrollregent, there are thick [[stone]] buildings slathered in magical protections and dedicated to the collection of arcane knowledge on [[Mistone]], in Spellgard, and on [[Alindor]] at Castle Imjam. Smaller libraries exist within Presage buildings on Dregar, Belinara, and Tilmar. Students can spend any amount of time here. Rarely will a student speed through spell development and be able to manipulate the Al'Noth in months. Usually it is a matter of years and a lifetime for some. The current Scrollregent of the Spellgard Thaumaturge, Umbek Haggerstan, has spent twenty years of his life delighting in the discovery of new spells and powers, and he espouses no desire to join the ranks of the Reaching.

Housed in Spellgard, this series of vaults are the single most magically protected structures on Layonara. Here rests the Scroll of Al'Noth, the Rebus Runea, spells deemed destructive enough to unbalance the world, and rumors speak of spells that mimic the effects of Bloodpools gathering dust in the rooms as well. The vaults are located deep under the Catena Campus, and it is said that no one mage could in a lifetime dismantle the layers of spells protecting it. In fact, it would take an army of spellweavers with both arcane and divine spells and the powers of a [[rogue]] as well, which is appropriate because that is what put the protections in place to begin with.

At the head of the church for decades was the Peractio, Lucinda's chosen representative. There have been five over the history of the church: two elves, a halfling, and two humans. The last Peractio was Allurial, the Queen of Mistone. She was the closest link to Lucinda who walked as a living, breathing being. She was the perfect combination of power being both a mage and a cleric. Decisions of the church, then in its more complex incarnation, were approved by her in the time of Bloodstone walking the world. After his defeat, Lucinda called her final chosen link home. Since then, no one has stepped forward who can legitimately lay claim to the title.