Origin of the Mages Guild                                       Salarth                                                                                                                                                            )	    1     	  B      The Origin of  The  Mages Guild            The idea of a collection of Mages, Sorcerors, and assorted Mystics pooling their resources and talents for the purpose of research and public charity was a revolutionary concept in the early years of the 2nd era. The closest organization to what we today know as the Mages Guild was the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum. Magic was something to be learned by individuals, or, at most, in intimate covens; mages were, if not actual hermits, usually quite solitary.      The Psijic Order served the rulers of the Sumurset Isle as counselors, and chose its members by a complex, ritualized method not understood by the common people. Its purposes and goals were likewise unpublished, and its detractors attributed the worst evil as the source of its power. The religion of the old order could be described as ancestor worship, an increasingly unfashionable philosophy in the 2nd Era.      When Vanus Galerion, a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis, began collecting mages from around Sumurset Isle, he attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unsensible) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more shocking, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligensia.      Galerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold, Rilis XII, and made to state the intentions of the guild he was forming. The fact that Galerion's speech to Rilis and Iachesis was not recorded for posterity is a tragedy, though it does allow the opportunity for historians to amuse one another with lies and persuasions Galerion might have used to found the ubiquitous organization. The charter was approved.      Almost immediately after the guild was formed, the question of security had to be answered. The Isle of Artaeum did not have to have a force of arms to shield it from invaders interested in stealing its treasures -- when the Psijic Order does not wish someone to land on the island, the island and all on it become insubstantial. The new Mages Guild had to hire guards. Galerion soon discovered what nobles have known for thousands of years: money alone does not buy loyalty. The knightly Order of the Lamp was formed the following year.      Like a tree from an acorn, the Mages Guild grew branches all over Sumurset Isle and then to the mainland of Tamriel. There are many records of superstitious or sensibly fearful rulers forbidding the Guild in their kingdom, but their heirs or their heirs' heirs recognized the wisdom of allowing the Guild to practice. The Mages Guild was a powerful force in Tamriel, a dangerous foe if a somewhat disinterested ally. There have been only a few rare incidents of the Mages Guild actually becoming involved in local politcal struggles. On these occasions, the Guild's participation has been the ultimate decider in the conflict.      By tradition begun by Vanus Galerion, the Mages Guild as a singular institution is presided over by a council of six Archmagisters. Each guild location is run by a Guildmagister, assisted by a counsel of two, the Master of Incunubula and the Master at Arms. The Master of Incunubula presides over a counsel of an additional two mages: the Master of Academia and the Master of the Scrye. The Master at Arms also has a counsel of two: the Master of Initiates and the Palatinus, the leader of the Order of the Lamp.      One need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully constructed order is often nothing more than an illusion. As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly, leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands, "The Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting." 