There are many Mage Orders, most of which are obscure and hidden, and many have risen and fallen throughout history. The largest and most powerful Mage Orders in the world are well known and officially recognized by each other, as well as by the majority of nations of the world. A Mage Order is defined as an organized collective of magically attuned individuals, who work together for a common goal or practice similar Schools of Magic. A Mage Order is unlike similar organizations, such as Druidic Circles, Deistic Temples or lesser organizations like cults or convents, by maintaining a membership of individuals who have experienced Arcane Awakening, and primarily study and practice the Arcane and purely magical aspects of the world.
Not all mages are members of Mage Orders, but a majority are, due to either being forced to join because of local laws, or because there is nowhere else for them to belong. Mages part of an Order find that they can more easily study the magical fields they pursue, and have an easier time of finding like-minded individuals for intellectual stimuli and discussion. Members also generally have access to extensive collections of knowledge accumulated by those Mage Orders, as well as the equipment and funding required to carry on their own studies.
Mage Orders are considered semi-independent from most nations, although most hold some power in the nations found within their areas of influence. Mage Orders frequently see their members invited or hired by rich and influential lords and kings to act as magical advisors, which in turn might give those mages political power in those nations, and a returned economic backing for their investment.
Ideally Mage Orders are formed and supported by local nations for the overseeing and enforcement of mage laws, to ensure that mages are kept under watchful control, and employ mage enforcers to detect and dissuade illegal mages from causing problems. Mage Orders also act as places of learning for those who experience Arcane Awakening, and teach the proper and responsible use of magic.
But essentially Mage Orders are created and maintained for one important reason: to offer a safehaven for mages and general spellcasters, where they can study magic and learn to control their powers without the usual commoner hate or fear they often experience in the majority of places in the world.
The Canthar provinces, the Jade Isles, and their nearby territories are the lands of
influence of the Celestial Court; a primarily human Order of
Spellweavers, known as Celestial Mages. The Celestial Court focuses on
studies involving astral energies, and its members are some of the most
prominent astronomers and astrologers of the world. They build spires
specialized with gathering astral energy from the night-sky, and
telescopes to watch for the passing of Celestial Dragons across the
Veil, thus heralding the beginning of a new year.
Apart from seeking political status and gathering influence, Celestial Mages are primarily tasked with maintaining the magical balance in the lands they operate. They hunt down and secure any magical rifts that occur in the countryside or isles, investigate anomalies, or recover magical artifacts. Specialized crystal globes are used to harvest secured rifts of magical energy, until the rifts are fully drained and neutralized.
The Celestial Court is a very large Mage Order and almost rivals the combined power of all the Sanctum Orders. There are very few other Mage Orders in south-eastern Ashanor that can measure up to the Celestial Court, although the Ish Consortium has grown in power lately due to the rise of Spiritual Alchemy. Even so, the Celestial Court remains the core authority on matters of magic throughout the human kingdoms and isles in south-eastern Ashanor.
The laws of the Celestial Court also govern the conducts of mages throughout the land. Illegal mages are typically hunted down, but not actively so, unless they cause any serious disturbances. Freemages are otherwise allowed to walk and practice their magic freely in south-eastern Ashanor so long as they adhere to the local laws set by the Celestial Court.
A highly secretive
covenant of Black Mages; many of whom are witches, necromancers and
other renegades. It is unknown how old the Black Lodge is, or indeed how
it was originally formed. It is said that it was founded in Kirnstone
by a dozen witches who met together in a decrepit lodge, somewhere in
the deep forested wilderness, and those original witches supposedly
still lead the Lodge.
Overall the Black Lodge seeks to resist the oppression of those who are different, but their methods are often seen as vile or too extreme. The fact that they willingly recruit almost any mage who wishes to join them, means that their members will consist of many individuals who can be seen as dangerous and unstable. Wild mages, necromancers, witches and all sorts of renegades come together to form an unpredictable and threatening pot of magic wielders.
It is difficult to say whether the Black Lodge is an Order acting on the prospects of justice and goodness, since its members are often so varied in their wishes and efforts that no group among them seem to act in a similar way. It seems that the main point that unites them as a whole is their fear and hatred for those who would do them harm. Under a pretense of safety in numbers, Black Mages might find the Black Lodge to be a safehaven of their kind.
Caed'Kadri, meaning
"The Exiled Children", is one of the first and most powerful of the
kafari Caste Clans in eastern Ryumar. In its earlier days it was a small
clan which consisted of less than a hundred kafari spellcasters, but
over the centuries as Arcane Awakenings occurred more frequently, the
Caed'Kadri grew as other clans sent or exiled their Awoken members to
the Caed'Kadri. The many clans still send their Magically Awoken
children to the Caed'Kadri, but nowadays it is firstly because of
obligation and law. Although, in many clans and villages, the fear of
magic is still strong, and those who experience Arcane Awakening are
most commonly forced to join the Caed'Kadri, if they aren't captured and
lynched first.
There are three castes within the Caed'Kadri; the Torva'Su, the Maga'Su and the Suran'Su. Torva'Su, "The Chosen", are the leaders and high ranking members of the Caed'Kadri, who possess large quantities of mana and magical abilities; with the discipline to control them. The Maga'Su, "The Servants", are the regular spellcasters of the Caed'Kadri who train and become trained in the arts of magical control and respect. The Suran'Su, "The Torn", are members of the Caed'Kadri who were considered too dangerous, too weak or too undisciplined to become Maga'Su, and instead were exposed to Magical Castration; meaning that they more or less have little to no control over magic anymore.
The Caed'Kadri are variably respected in the lands of the kafari, but most clans still fear them for their magic. All who show signs of Arcane Awakening must join the Caed'Kadri, where their abilities are judged. Those too powerful and without control have a choice: execution, or Magical Castration. Those who refuse to make the choice or flee are hunted down to be killed, and in some cases they might be drained of their energies and turned into emotionless slaves.
Laws regarding magical use is very strict in lands dominated by kafari society, and it is up to the Caed'Kadri to enforce those laws. Most kafari clans fear magic and consider it to be too dangerous to be wielded freely. But when magic or other matters concerning arcane energies begin to cause chaos in the land, the Caed'Kadri are sent for to solve those issues; either by neutralizing the energies causing the instability, or collect it to be locked away in hidden, deeply buried Caed'Kadri vaults. The first and most important lesson taught by the Caed'Kadri is that great power is dangerous, and must thus be controlled or eliminated; for the greater good of the Clan Castes.
Smaller, lesser known Mage Orders also exist in the world. Most are considered to operate legally, typically having purchased teaching and sanctuary licenses from the governing groups in their situated nation or city. These Lesser Orders might include small schools, sanctuaries for unaffiliated mages, or the unpopular hidden sanctuaries; the latter of which are considered illegal in most nations, as they harbour illegal mages.
Lesser Orders don't typically possess large membership numbers, and will at most maybe hold a dozen members or so. Their influence in nations and cities is little to none, and they hold basically no power in the sayings of governance or mage laws. Lesser Orders are basically beholden to the rules of the greater Mage Orders in their area.
In most cases these Lesser Orders were founded as a means to gather like-minded freemages who want to study and practice their magic without being affiliated with a greater Mage Order. But depending on their whereabouts and whether their intentions are legal or not, Lesser Orders must always register their Order in a registry to allow governing parties or the greater Mage Orders to keep track of them. As such there is in actuality little freedom for Lesser Orders since they must obey the mage laws regardless.