The Brotherhood of Sorcerers was the oldest organization of mages in the Northern Kingdoms. Formed in the aftermath of the non-aggression pact established by the Novigradian Union in the 8th century, it united and had control over most of the magic users, magic academies like Aretuza or Ban Ard and institutions, such as Rissberg. It was led by the Conclave, which consisted of two main governing bodies that guided magical practice for centuries before dissolving completely as a consequence of the events that transpired during the Thanedd coup in 1267.
Conclave of Mages
The most distinguished practitioners of magical art first founded the Conclave of Mages to institute codified rules on the use of magic, but the creation of a new hierarchy of order sparked brief civil war, costing the life of Raffard the White, who opposed its formation. Later, another body, the Supreme Council of Sorcerers, was established to aid the Conclave in administering and regulating practitioners of magic. In particular, the Council focused on magical experiments, research, and expanding magical knowledge.[1] Within the Conclave, the Chapter of Mages formed the higher chamber, while Council of Mages acted as the lower chamber, but the latter also wielded important authority in the Brotherhood.
After the coup, former Council member Philippa Eilhart established the Lodge of Sorceresses. Unlike the Brotherhood, the Lodge is female-only and includes sorceresses from both the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire.
Prohibitions
While it was still active, the Brotherhood regulated and oversaw the use of magic, making sure that practices such as demonology, necromancy and Artefact compression (labeled "black magic") were kept to a bare minimum, and the practitioners of such magics were given fair and just sentences; these sentences usually being shackled in dimeritium for several centuries. Individuals who ignored the ban, used to be excluded from the Brotherhood and were considered as renegades, e.g. Alzur or Idarran of Ulivo. However, though all mages are equal before the law, some of them are actually "more equal than others"; an open secret was commonly breaking the bans in Rissberg until it came to light after deaths of Grandmaster Ortolan and his favourite Sorel Degerlund.
Trivia
- Danusia Stok's translations of the Witcher saga use the term "Chapter of Wizards" throughout.