Magick: Mages

Anyone can  be a mage. Not everyone can afford to be a mage, either because of a lack of time, interest, or money.

Most magickally-gifted ren end up making a living by doing something completely unrelated to magick. Ren who become witches either end up as priests or priestesses, apothecaries, potion/poisonmakers, healers, or Hedgewitches. Mages who do pursue training can become battlemages, spellswords, scholars, and Dili'flin Order members as well as any other mundane profession.

Mages are viewed no differently than a non-magickal ren (NMR). and for the most part have the same rights as them. Untrained mages are seen as a nuisance. Most societies place trained mages somewhere in the middle class. In Nalxyn, they are the ruling class.

Not only do mages follow their nation's political system, they also must follow the Order's rules and regulations. This is unappealing to many ren. Mundane policies affect mages more than the Dili'flin Order's policies do.

To become an official mage, one must go through rigorous, expensive training under the supervision of the Dili'flin Order in Nalxyn. Another important, albeit overlooked, portion of magedom is revering the Ochaylaai Sellindie as well as the Ochaylaai Efalean. While the latter presides over actual magick, Sellindie is the goddess who first allowed ren to tap into it (thus creating mages).

There are five levels of mages: Haalo, those new to magick; Kensen, those who have been trained but cannot act without supervision from a teacher; Codwyr'ma, who possess enough skill to act alone (most ren quit training here); and Dili'flin, who are eligible to sit on the Dili'flin Order. Dili'flin must be trained by Jaxites.

The fifth level, Jaxite, is unattainable for all but eight ren. To become a Jaxite, certain Ochaylaai choose one Haalo to become the most powerful mage in their discipline. Following is a table of which Ochaylaai pick for which discipline. These Jaxites are chosen at a very early age and only are replaced when they die. The Jaxites are also referred to as the "Circle". They are in charge of EVERY mage below them, even witches. Their power has been described as god-like by some, but they are limited by their discipline. After the banning of blood and death magick, the Circle was reduced to six mages. Effo Meitre, the former Jaxite of Death, was murdered in his sleep. Rilo Bendrasiif, the Jaxite of Blood, was driven from Nalxyn.