Archmage

The archmages attend to the magical business of the Conclave. They support fellow magicians, and serve as Imperial representatives to the eternal realms - and vice versa.

Overview

Archmage (plural archmages, rarely archmagi) is an Imperial title bestowed upon a magician by the members of the Conclave. There are six archmages in the Conclave; one for each of the magical realms. They serve as a focal point for ritualists of that realm, as well as helping to guide the use of the Conclave's resources.

The six archmages match the six realms into which magic is divided. Where the influence of a grandmaster is primarily political, the archmages are responsible for attending to the magical business of the Conclave. They are assumed by the Senate, the Military Council, foreign dignitaries and eternals alike to be well-versed in the capabilities and lore of their realm. The archmages are often seen as the public faces of the Conclave; they are the individuals most likely to be consulted by other Imperial bodies when they wish to know what magical possibilities exist.

Each archmage is addressed by their title and the name of the realm of magic they stand for - Tavistock, Archmage of Spring or Archmage Reyon d'Esange of Summer. The title archmage comes originally from Urizen, a development of the title mage.

Responsibilities

The six archmages are responsible for attending to the magical business of the Conclave. They represent the Empire to the eternals, and vice versa. They also work with magicians versed in the ritual magic of their realm to expand the Empire's understanding and power in that realm, and employ it to the advantage of Imperial citizens.

Powers

Each archmage position is an Imperial title in the Conclave.

The archmages act as ambassadors to the eternals of their realm.

Plenipotentiary

Each archmage is expected to represent the Empire to the eternals of their realm, and vice versa. While it is perfectly legal and extremely common for individual citizens to speak with almost all eternals and their heralds, the archmages are the closest the Empire has to having a formal representative to the realms, similar to an ambassador. Most eternals understand that the archmage is a representative of the Empire and look to them for assistance on formal matters. The majority of eternals will meet with the appropriate archmage before meeting with other magicians, and will sometimes ask the archmage to be present at any meeting. They also instruct their heralds to look to the archmage for support and protection should it be necessary.

To empower them to carry out their work, each archmage may choose to send a missive of up to 313 words to a single named eternal of their realm each summit. This message is guaranteed to reach the eternal. No eternal who wishes to maintain relations with the Empire will fail to respond to the missive - even if those relations are currently strained. The best way to ensure that an eternal will respond positively to a request for a meeting is to be explicit about what the archmage wishes the meeting to discuss. The more specific and detailed the archmage can be, the better. Most eternals will refuse to come to a meeting in response to a message that simply asks to talk without saying what it is about, though they may respond in other ways.

It is impossible to predict with certainty what form the response will take. Usually, an eternal that is well-inclined to the Empire or is agreeable to the wording will make contact with the archmage at the following summit - possibly creating a chamber connected to the Hall of Worlds, or, more likely, sending a herald as an envoy. If the eternal is hostile to the Empire - or is insulted by the content of the message - then their response may be aggressive or dangerous as reflects their nature.

The nature of the missive is such that it serves as a powerful invitation making it easier for the eternal to respond. An eternal who is sent a missive by an archmage of the Conclave is able to enter the Hall of Worlds at the next summit regardless of any state of enmity that may exist. It is not unknown for an eternal to take the opportunity to appear with their entourage in the Hall of Worlds in parley, though most choose a more low-key response. A peaceful response is not the only option however; though it is exceptionally rare for an eternal to respond with force.

To send a missive, the archmage must cast operate portal at the Imperial Regio while clearly naming the eternal who is the intended recipient.

OOC Note: The message can then be handed to the referee at the Regio. Attempts by other characters to send missives in this way will fail, as will any attempt to send more than one missive per summit.

It is not illegal for an archmage to use the power of plenipotentiary to send a missive to an eternal who is under enmity, although it is possible that the contents of such a missive might constitute a crime.

A list of historical plenipotentiary responses can be found here.

Parley

If an eternal chooses, they respond to a missive sent by an archmage with a formal parley that takes place in the Hall of Worlds. The civil service will be aware of the timing of the parley and will communicate the information to everyone attending the summit through the normal means.

A formal parley follows similar rules to those that govern speech during a Conclave session, but it is the archmage with whom the eternal has come to treat who determines who may speak. The archmage cannot forbid entry to the Hall of Worlds during the parley but the laws of Conclave mean that no magician may speak unless they are granted permission. Speaking does not require a payment of mana, and the archmage may silence the speaker at any point.

A violation of parley by a citizen is prosecuted as an act of subversion against the state - but this may be the least of the magician's concerns if the eternal chooses to take offence at this breach of protocol.

Like the missive, the parley is bound by powerful oaths that govern it. These solemn oaths bind both parties, prohibiting them from acts of violence - if the eternal or the Empire were to break this contract, the hearth magic of the oath would likely exact a terrible price. An eternal that does not request a formal parley is not bound by this oath and is free to respond to a missive in any way it chooses.

It is not illegal for an archmage to engage in a parley with an eternal under enmity, but otherwise the usual rules apply. An archmage who parleys with an eternal under enmity must be scrupulous in their conduct if they wish to avoid investigation for potential treason.

Arcane Colloquium

During each summit, the Civil Service helps arrange the Arcane Colloquium in the Hall of Worlds. Taking place on Saturday afternoon, each archmage is given a fifteen minute period during which they can address their fellow magicians, engage in discussion and debate, or host other speakers with important matters to discuss. Each segment of the Colloquium takes place under the rules of parley - the archmage determines who can speak - and is an opportunity to talk about matters relevant to the magicians of the realm the archmage represents.

The running order is based on the length of service of the individual archmages. The current order is Day, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer, and finally Night.

Ambassador to the Realm

The archmage is empowered to raise a single Declaration of Alignment each summit to the agenda for debate during a Conclave session. The Civil Service will provide the archmage with a single writ - to submit their declaration to the Conclave agenda they should complete the writ and hand it to the office of the Prefect of the Conclave at least one hour before the Conclave session begins.

Unlike a grandmaster, the archmage is personally responsible for any presentation. While a proxy may be appointed to deliver the presentation, their declaration is recorded as having come from the archmage.

The Declaration of Alignment submitted by an archmage must involve an eternal of the realm the archmage represents.

Master of Magic

In situations where it is unclear if a specific act of magic breaches a Declaration of Interdiction or association with a herald or eternal breaches a Declaration of Enmity, an Imperial magistrate may issue a formal request for the appropriate archmage to provide a ruling. Control of the judicial process remains with the magistrate, but the archmage's ruling on whether the act is a breach of the relevant declaration is binding.

An archmage is legally obligated to provide a ruling when requested by a magistrate or else to direct the magistrate to another archmage better able to clarify the situation.

Regalia of the Archmage

Each archmage receives a staff, a chain, and a belt when they take the title. Together these are referred to as the regalia of the archmage. These items are re-enchanted each year. If an archmage loses their position, then the items must be given to the new archmage. If part of the regalia is lost or stolen it may be replaced depending on the resources available to the Conclave; otherwise it remains lost until the next Winter Solstice when a replacement is made. Theft of part of an archmage's regalia is a very serious business. Archmages are encouraged to take all appropriate precautions to keep these items safe.

The regalia is created by a reclusive order of Dawnish artisans in Weirwater, the Five Rings, who pledged themselves to this task in the first years of the Conclave.

Volfe of Ashenhall displaying the staff, chain, and belt
of the Spring Archmage.

Staff of the Archmage

The archmage takes custody of the ceremonial Staff of the Archmage. Each of the Staffs of the Archmage is a ritual staff, appropriate to the realm of the archmage, which grants two additional ranks of the appropriate realm lore skill.

Chain of Aesh

The Chains of Aesh are magical items that can be used to empower ritual magic, and are bound to the archmage in the same manner as other magical talismans. Once per event the archmage can evoke the power of their chain before a ritual from their realm is performed to reduce the effective magnitude of that ritual by 10. The archmage does not need to be a participant or contributor to the ritual, they only need to be present; likewise, they do not need to be of the same nation as the coven they are using the chain to assist.

Belt of Stars

The belt allows an archmage to help different covens work together. Once each summit, they can invoke it to allow multiple covens from the same nation to co-operate on a single ritual from the archmage's realm of magic. This counts as a daily ritual use by each coven involved in the ritual, and while the covens may perform a ritual together, they are still treated as separate covens for all other purposes (for example, a ritual that affects an entire coven will only affect one target coven). Each coven can use their own paraphernalia while performing a joint ritual. The target covens must all be from the same nation but that does not have to be the same nation as the archmage invoking the belt.

Any ritual performed with the power of a Belt of Stars takes an extra minute to perform for each additional coven involved.

Appointment

The appointment, replacement or removal of an archmage is made by Declaration of Candidacy as part of a Conclave session. A candidate can be presented for the post of archmage only once a season, and the title can be held by any Imperial citizen.

An archmage serves until they are replaced by another magician using the Declaration of Candidacy, or until they step down. As a title in the Conclave, an archmage cannot be revoked.

Incumbent

The current archmages are listed below - see the individual pages for a full election history for each position.

• Archmage of Spring - Ibiss Briarheart
• Archmage of Summer - Mirella of the Twisted Rose
• Archmage of Autumn - Edmundo of Damakan's forge
• Archmage of Winter - Ematius of the Great Library of Ankarien
• Archmage of Day - Gralka
• Archmage of Night - Eliina "Realm's Visionary" Lailasdottir

Further Reading

• Plenipotentiary - a list with links to all the plenipotentiary Winds of Fortune
• Talking to eternals - a chatty game design article with some advice about getting the most out of plenipotentiary