Censar

By order of this court of King Trie, 984, the destruction of written works is now officially banned throughout the land of Mythia. Anybody found to be doing such a thing shall be tried and, if found guilty, burnt as they burnt the works of others.

Career

Qualifications

The trade of the censar is not an incredibly demanding one in terms of qualification. However, the censar must:

• Have little to no spellwriting talent
• Be well-versed in the various forms of spellwrits and their properties
• Be able to construct various forms of fires and destructive solutions such as acids
• Be strong enough to break stone or clay tablets.

Payment & Reimbursement

Censars are typically paid highly due to the confidential nature of their work. A typical fee for the destruction of a scroll is somewhere in the region of 10 to 50 gold.

Perception

Purpose

A censar destroys texts, in any form, so as to prevent their further copying or reading. They are approached usually by unsuccessful spellwriters or nobles with sensitive documents who wish them destroyed. By removing these texts they remove any blemish on the reputation of the author, as well as occasionally removing some truly dangerous spellwrits from existence.

Social Status

The profession of a censar is typically seen as a necessary evil, with people pointing to the fact that malicious spellwrits exist to justify the profession's existence. However, it is not a common career aspiration and especially now, after the edict, they are looked down upon and occasionally actively ousted.

History

Censars were originally simply those people who had the means to destroy texts. Often no more than brutish mercenaries, they burnt and broke texts for those who so desired and, on occasion, did so on their own volition. In the 3rd century after a crackdown on the practice, they were allowed to form into a loose guild-like organisation and continue practising their trade in a more official manner. Censars swore off destroying texts on their own volition and only did it for other individuals, ensuring that sensitive information was kept out of the hands of those who would use it against the original author.
However, as time went on censars were implicated in many scandals, including the destruction of the work of Timothy Slatten . Some work was linked to cases of misuse of spellwriting by The Guild of Printers , and even though these charges were later proven to be false the stain on the censar profession remained. After several other high-profile cases of misconduct in which censars were shown to be a part of, King Trie and his court declared in 984 that the profession was to be banned, as it brought more harm than good especially due to the decreasing number of harmful spellwrits being produced.

Operations

Tools

Censars typically require a very hot fire, similar to the forge of a blacksmith, to burn paper and occasionally leather.  They also often use acidic solutions to eat away at tougher materials such as fabrics and things treated with Preservewrits against fire.  They carry these in vials in a small bag.  Additionally, they normally carry large hammers in order to crush the harder, more permanent spellwrits, and large bottles of pigment to obfuscate text if no other method of destruction is possible.

Workplace

Censars usually work in their own accommodation, and occasionally use the forge of a local blacksmith when specialised burning is required.

Dangers & Hazards

Acid burns and normal burns are common injuries for censars, as well as puncture wounds from stone or ceramic fragments.  Additionally, if a censar has too much spellwriting talent the destruction of a spellwrit can cause them to become injured or even die - in particularly strong spellwrits, they can be unleashed when a spellwriting-able censar destroys them, leaving long lasting effects on the censar themselves as well as the surrounding properties.

Demand

Low

Legality

As of the charter of King Trie in 984, the profession of the censar is now illegal.