Mage Hunters

Mage Hunters are an organization that saw their foundation during the Necromancy War. They were formed by the Otorveia government to hunt down and kill mages. Following the end of the war and the formation of the Royal Mage Academy, their purpose shifted to enforcing the imperial method of training mages. They became responsible for finding young people with magic and taking them to the academy to be trained. Mages who rebelled against the academy's teachingwould have their focus broken. Often times, the loss of a focus was so traumatic that a mage wouldn't be able to create a new one and begin casting again. They only killed mages who were deemed a physical or violent threat to the general populace. Arcane necromancers in particular were targeted. They also escorted foreign mages to ensure that they didn't cast and expose people to forms of magic unapproved by the academy. Though they often worked closely with the mage academy, they weren't subject to the academy's rules. They remained a separate part of the imperial government. In particular, they sought to make sure that people didn't know that the academy wasn't the only way of learning or practicing magic. They were a highly selective group. While quite secretive, people were generally aware of the existence of mage hunters. What they looked like, how they were structured, or anything other than a general existence was kept from public knowledge. Joining the mage hunters was done by invitation only. Often times, promising young soldiers would be recruited. Once in, they could never leave and often severed ties with family and former friends. The training was rigorous, and they were equipped with defensive anti-magic items. Mages generally fear them, and people who are able to keep their abilities to use magic without academy training live in perpetual fear of being found out by the hunters. Often times, they are forced to avoid using magic altogether to avoid detection.

Type

Government, Secret Service