The Assembly is the name of the ruling organisation of Òsa; every mage in the country is part of it, from the lowest apprentice to the highest lord.
As members of The Assembly, mages are granted legal rights to cast magic as they wish, authority to act as judges and executioners, and a vote in national elections. In essence, though The Republic is the most democratic nation in the world, The Assembly holds near total control over its power.
Joining The Assembly is as simple as being able to cast magic, not wanting to be executed, and finding someone to sponsor your entry. It is an absolute requirement to be part of The Assembly if you are able to use magic - to protect their hold on power, and to keep the world safe from rogue spellcasters, mages that refuse to sign up, or are deemed to dangerous to let work, are executed without question or hesitation.
Ranks
To outsiders without any political knowledge, there are two ranks; Apprentice and Mágos. In truth, there are many different layers of respect and power within The Assembly, each listed below. Generally each rank holds sway over those below, though excersising that authority without reason is a rapid way to make enemies and rivals.
Scion
So low ranking that they do not even get to vote, and have no legal authority, Scions are individuals from various magical species, such as Tieflings (Infernal Scions), Genasi (Elemental Scions), and Changelings (Lunar Scions). This is more of a registration act than anything else, granting the members permission to use their abilities for certain activities or circumstances, and allowing Changelings to shapeshift into any identities that they have previously established.
Of note, a Scion that also becomes a Várdos (a bardic rank outside of The Assembly), is granted permission to use their natural abilities at will, so long as it is as part of a performance.
Initiate
The lowest ranking true members, Initiates are typically children who have been found to hold arcane potential at a young age, or sorcerers who develop their powers later in life - the latter of which can often prove fatal to them and all those around them if not caught early enough.
They have been found and sponsored by a master, with the expectation and responsibility that they will work constantly to control their gifts until they are deemed to no longer be a walking hazard. As most Initiates are quite young with a limited grasp of politics, a century ago The Assembly decided to limit voting powers until one graduates to a full apprentice.
Apprentice
Able to safely use their magic, but not always capable of completely controlling it yet, Apprentices are the general rank for mages-in-training. They can vote, and are looked to as authority figures by plebians when their Mágos master is busy or absent, but are only permitted to cast their spells under the supervision of their Master or another trusted Mage.
Adept
Mages in all but name, Adepts have almost all of the rights and responsibilities as a full-ranking Mágos, but retain some minor protection from the ruthless nature of Assembly law. A Mage that causes enough harm or breaks too many rules can be "dealt with" by any other mage with the power and desire to do so. An Adept is instead expected to be disciplined only by their master, and punishments tend to be much less severe, with the understanding that a rotten apprentice reflects poorly on their sponsor, and if the apprentice causes enough issues, the master will be punished in their stead.
For these reasons, it is not uncommon for even very powerful apprentices to request to remain as an Adept if they have a good relationship with their master - they get to benefit from the master's aid and legal protection, while their master maintains control over an Adept's actions and keeps total authority over them.
Sometimes mages of much higher ranks will officially sponsor mages below them, claiming the responsibility for killing or capturing the individual being sponsored (lest they themselves be dealt with as well), entering a relationship not unlike that between an Adept and their master. When a Mage becomes powerful enough they they can no longer be contained by other Assembly members, it becomes much more common for them to be sponsored by one of The Immortals instead.
Mage/Mágos
The official standard position of a member of The Assembly, a Mage is free to travel, act, and cast however they see fit. They hold complete authority over non Assembly members, but are expected to not take petty advantage of this power, lest they be deemed troublemakers.
The vast, vast majority are content to remain "just" a Mage, having achieved (to their eyes) the highest position they can manage without extreme power or decades of research. Because of this, some Assembly members have been accused of laziness, corruption, or apathy, comfortably enjoying their comparitively meagre strength instead of reaching their true potential.
Magister
Magisters are Mages who have dedicated themselves to the teaching, training, and betterment of others. They might not be particularly powerful or gifted with magic, but they usually have a deep understanding of it, enough for them to take on many apprentices at once or to lecture at one of the (extremely rare) dedicated Arcane Schools and Universities found throughout the country.
Savant
To become a Savant a mage must be insatiably curious about, dedicated to, or gifted in a specific school of magic. They are specialists, able to handle spells more complex and potent that most others so long as it matches their specialty. Conjuration Savants able to teleport scores of people instead of a handful, Transmutation Savants cabable of transforming into terrifying, unnatural creatures beyond the reach of standard Polymorph spells, or Evocation Savants able to blast foes with far greater force than any others.
While they are officially ranked above standard Mages, they don't benefit from more rights or legal authority, but tend to curry much greater respect and are more likely to be called upon (and paid handsomely) for their aid or research.
Arcanist
Equal in rank to a Savant, Arcanists are generalist spellcasters with strong potential and understanding in multiple schools of magic. Their versatility and power lends well to an adventuring lifestyle, and so it is much more common to see Arcanists striking out as heroes or travellers while Savants tend to spend most of their time researching their schools to develop new spells and uses for their abilities.
Archmage
Those that have truly sought to reach their greatest potential are dubbed Archmages. They command incredible magical might, and are often capable of wiping out armies single-handedly, binding enormous monsters in arcane chains, or enchanting entire cities with a word. Whether specialist or generalist, an Archmage is a potent ally to have, and a potentially lethal rival to make.
Archmages are looked to when a dispute between lesser mages has reached a breaking point and requires mediation or solution, and asked directly for aid to deal with any rogue spellcasters that have turned against The Assembly.
High Mage
Equal in power to most Archmages, a High Mage is expected to have a deeper understanding of their specific school of magic than almost anyone else alive. They are masters of their craft, able to use their magic in new and incredible ways, inventing spells or modifying existing ones to suit any need. There is a High Mage who leads each of the Octagon's towers in
Olsíri, though there are a few more throughout the nation that are much less high profile.
High Mage Erlathan Aletheos is the leader of The Octagon's Divination tower, and has developed a form of Truesight that bypasses even lead walls and reportedly allows him to look directly into someone's soul and see them "as the Gods would". In recent times he was able to instantly detect
Kaus Hedruno's nature as a warlock with this ability, and to immediately identify who his patron was without any word or hint.
High Mage Talara Lokáris is the Evocation master of The Octagon, with such a mastery over her spells that they deal what she has (for now) labelled simply as "Arcane" damage - the purest essence of magic tied to no elements or deities, able to pierce through almost any barrier and harm a creature no matter their elemental protection.
High Lord
To become a High Lord is a near impossible task, for it requires you to become the undisputed champion of a school of magic. This means, on paper, that it was only technically possible to have up to 8 High Lords in the world at any one time until recently, when
High Lord Asterion Kóros invented the school of Graviturgy - the first time a new school has been created since before records began - and became its sole practitioner and master for many years.
The only other High Lord that strongly in the public eye is
High Lord Protagoras Ósa, who has achieved such a mastery of abjuration magics that outside spells fully bounce off of his form and reflect onto their original casters. Myths about this man attempt to explain his constant absence from politics by stating he is busy casting protective magics of such epic power that the entire Republic falls within their range, though what these rumoured spells
do is hearsay at best.
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