"They call us 'heretics' even as the fruits of our labor serve their guilds against the very mists they accuse us of worshiping. I say to hell with the Guardians. We'll find our own way."
—Finigel Autrova, Founder of of the Mage Guild Malleus.
Arcane magic has been studied and practiced for all of known history - that is to say, as the historical record begins after Mourclesis, and the mists brought magic into the world, the time before such power existed is effectively a thing of myth. A spellcaster's life on Asherah has always been fraught with peril: the mere act of casting spells attracts and sometimes spawns monsters out of the darkness, and anti-mage hysteria grips the populace every few generations.
The Goddess Tower has long shown great ambivalence toward spellcasters. On the one hand, magic is often held to be a sin; on the other hand, enchanted items and the occasional arcane ritual are a necessity for the Tower's guilds. This moral quandary has typically been navigated by making a distinction between those born with "sorcerous souls," whose very nature is bound up with high magic, and those who willingly and knowingly seek out arcane power, who are considered heretics.
It is not enough for many Magi - some of whom do not even accept the Tower's categories as legitimate - to hope that their work will be deemed acceptable. The Levantine Inquisition was not ended so long ago, and it was hardly the first of its kind. For their own protection and advancement, as many as 50% of Asherah's spellcasters belong to one of the so-called Mage Guilds, independent organizations of Magi who operate outside of Ascelia's territory and authority. The largest and most respectable of these is Malleus, made up largely of Ascelian expatriates who practice the arcane arts in Maelthrazra.
Unfortunately for Malleus' and the smaller Mage Guilds' public image, the only other groups of particular notoriety, the Grey Ashes and the Shards of Kethra, both have an openly radical or even heretical bent. The Goddess Tower's ongoing campaign against the Grey Ashes guild is subject of great concern among all Magi - will they be considered as one with the Ashes' depravity, and if so, will they be the next to be hunted?
