Circatrix Arcanum

"Just as Elanaah placed the Mantle upon my head, I now pass it to yours. Wear it with both pride and diligence. The burden of its weight will bear heavily on your mind; still, you must act with gentle care. You now represent the greatest of our kind." - Larael Shimmerweave, gifting the Circatrix Arcanum for the first time.

Mantle of Master of the Arcane

The Circatrix Arcanum is less of a physical item and more the tangible manifestation of an ideal. It is the manifestation of the mantle of Master of the Arcane, granting the bearer near-limitless control over Arcane Magicks. Larael Shimmerweave, God of Arcane Magicks, created the Cricatrix Arcanum as a way of passing on the mantle after he possessed it during his mortal life as a Risen. He believed that the mantle gifted to him by Elanaah should be something shared with others as long as they could prove themselves worthy of acquiring such a gift. Although he is the creator of the Circatrux in its current passable form, he is still credited as its original bearer.
Donning the mantle places one at the pinnacle of Arcane prowess and boosts ability beyond a finite measure. The Circatrix Arcanum is said to push past the limits of Risen and allow for near-godlike feats. Typically, the first act of the new owner is to be the casting of a World Spell; a spell that often, much like its name implies, bears reverberations that can be felt throughout all of Nora. Most notable was when Kresh Sturmson, the first bearer after Larael himself, used his World Spell to give all non-gifted Risen throughout Nora Arcane abilities for a day. Although the strength of these abilities was minor after being spread so thin, it was an act that brought both splendor and strife in the confusing day that followed.
Possessors of the Circatrix have all gone on to accomplish godlike feats that garner wondrous awe or devilish infamy. Those who possess the mantle have marked themselves across the ages to be one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful Risen in their time. Larael became the God of Arcane and passed on the Circatrix Arcanum to others throughout time.

"This is preposterous. Last selection, they played divination war games in this round, yet we have to unbind the core from a Reaper Guardian in such an enclosed space? Are we even expected to survive?"
"No. Tasks are meant to be near-impossible. If it were any easier, half the tower would be competing today. May Larael look favorably upon you in the trial to come." - Conversation overheard between faction members in the third selection process

The Selection Ceremony

Obtaining the Circatrix Arcanum is a rigorous endeavor that is seen as a once in an age opportunity as many Risen will live their entire lives without a selection ceremony taking place. After an indeterminable period of time passes following the death of the previous owner, a selection process will begin to take place. The selection process itself is a set of tasks divided into rounds that test each candidate's intelligence, mental fortitude, and Arcane ability. The current Hand and the Grand Archmagi of The Collective as well as a handful of outsiders are granted a vision with instructions from Larael on the specifics of the individual tasks.
Each individual task is meant to test a Risen to their absolute limits. As such, many are not even expected to survive the tasks. While some have shown to be tests of skill and logic, like many of the puzzles set up by the Hand, others can be demands of exceptionally rare items such as materials from a Kaiser Drake, or even Arcane Death Duels between candidates. This ensures that candidates will both be few in number and resolved to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve such a coveted item.
The selection process places no real regulations as to who can be a viable candidate outside of the prerequisite of possessing Arcane talent. Members of the Collective are allowed to partake, however, they must cut all ties and privileges associated with them upon doing so with the only option to rejoin available after failure. While candidates are individual, they are both allowed and encouraged to have a following of up to five others, to be referred to as their own 'Hand' during the process. Each Hand of the candidates stands to gain nothing yet lose everything through the potentially deadly task as only one person can earn the Circatrix Arcanum. This is to show each candidate's aptitude for leadership, as few Risen are willing to risk their lives just for the dream of another.
The actual ceremony begins when there are only two or three candidates remaining. The final candidates are gathered on the roof of the Grand Tower along with their respective Hands to have a final Arcane Death Duel to settle the true successor. Each faction is stripped of any and all Magickal Apparatus and Foci and granted an attempt at parley where they can decide on a successor before fighting to the death. Despite the rigorous trials that they have faced up until this point, it is not uncommon for final candidates to bow out at the last step. Having lost too many companions or just becoming doubtful of a victory against their remaining opponents, many do not wish to risk their lives any more than they already have.
However the new successor of the Circatrix is determined, be it through parley or mortal combat, they will finally receive the mantle. What remains of their Hand gathers around them as the Circatrix Arcanum descends from the heavens, guided by Larael himself. The new bearer of the mantle will now often ascend in flight and cast their world spell to begin their new life as Master of the Arcane.

Known Bearers and time of possession throughout the History of Nora:

Larael Shimmerweave - God of the Arcane; -200 AFS : 361 AR
Kresh Sturmson - Hero of Das Konigreich in the War of Stormwrath; 690 AR : 727 AR
Cedric Briskwind - Founder of the Floating City of Caer Lerion; 787 AR : 798 AR
Dimitri Ignotino - Council Leader of Ignosi; 912 AR : 945 AS
Unnamed - Fourth Grand Archmagi of the Collective; 1301 AS : 1335 AS

Arcane Aurora

The Circatrix Arcanum has the appearance of a small, twisting aurora. Three spirals of pink and green light flicker and intertwine with one another as they move in a circular pattern around the head of the bearer. It is said to be a reflection of the light of the heavens above and realms far beyond the vision of the Risen. When it first descends towards the new bearer it will be large enough to cover the night sky before slowly scaling down to rest around the top of the bearer's head as a halo.

The Circatrix and the Collective

The Collective is responsible for overseeing the tasks and the selection ceremony itself, as well as encouraging members of their order to participate. However, any who do must cut all ties with their organization. When Larael Shimmerweave first announced the Circatrix Arcanum and the passing of it to others, he strictly forbade any bearer of the mantle to continue being part of the Collective. It was his intention to both prevent the organization from becoming too powerful and to act as a countermeasure in case the bearer of the Circatrix began to abuse their newfound power. To this date, all have accepted and respected this restriction save for the Fourth Grand Archmagi of the Collective.

Keys and Swords

Once each candidate is declared before the Hand of the Collective, each of them is presented with a key. These keys act as both a designation of competitors as well as a Magickal Apparatus to bring them to the site of each task during the selection process. In addition to the keys, at any point throughout the process, Larael will select an individual Risen throughout Nora who is not a part of any competitor's Hand to receive a sword. The bearer of the sword is considered a new official candidate despite not having completed any previous tasks. They also follow a different set of rules; they are not allowed to bring their own Hand into the competition, but they are able to challenge any other candidate to an Arcane Death Duel throughout the process. The Sword is meant to represent chaos and undue influence, to shake up the competition and add another test of skill and resolve to the ordeal. Larael believes that even after the Circatrix is passed on to its new bearer, the chaotic nature of Risen can still throw off any Master of the Arcane.