Spell Casters' Union
In the center of every Spellcasters’ Union station you’ll find a statue—solid gold and twice life size—of Albus Fletcher. There’s a plaque that says something about how he founded the SCU, and how his pivotal role in the creation of AetherShip is an example to us all about how all people are stronger when they work together.
But that’s not why he gets a statue. He gets a statue because, amidst all the chaos of inventing the aethercraft, he held on to the patents. History’s written by the victors, right?
The SCU is an organization of magic users, and within Royal space they are the one way to legally practice any form of magic or spellcraft. Technically they’re independent from any government, but they are Hegemony-subsidized and have a very close relationship with the Royals. Fact is, ever since Fletcher was crowned into the Hegemony, the head of the SCU has always been a member of a Royal family. The SCU openly claims it’s a strict meritocracy. Make of that what you will.
On paper the SCU has no power outside of Royal space, but they still have outposts where they provide magical services at heavy markups, outposts that let them keep a close eye on the largest powers operating out in the deep sea. Within the Hegemony, the SCU is the only legal source of magical education, and all professional magic-users must be SCU-licensed, with the fees and oversight that implies. But that’s just a portion of their influence: the Spellcasters’ Union owns the spells that make Aether Tech possible, and anyone discovered attempting to re-create those spells is tried for “actions with the potential to destabilize the economy of the region.” Outside of Royal space, such folks generally just disappear. That's what keeps the SCU in power.
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