Who are they?
The Masters of the Ithrimir are those who are born with a thinning of the barrier between themselves and the Life Force that resides in all things on Redolan.
This particular Life Force is native to Redolan, and only those with the blood of the original inhabitants of that world can touch it.
This ability always manifests itself in a moment of heightened emotion, often of fear, anger, or sorrow, and always happens during or before the seventh year of life.
Those Masters who are also native Ithrimirians, and came to this world after the destruction of Ithrimira, are descendants of those who had children with Redolanians.
Ranks:
The Ithram: Leader of all the Ithrimir. Elected by vote, serves until death.
Head of the Mir: Leader of the mir. This person organizes and directs the members of the mir in various missions, both for the mir itself and for the Ithrimir as a whole. They answer to the Ithram but are also held accountable for their leadership by their mir.
Counselors of the Mir: In each Mir, four High Masters serve as the Head of the Mir’s Council. Those High Masters and the Head of the Mir rotate in service as members of the High Council of the Ithram.
High Master: Highest level of knowledge possible in their mir. While they have attained that rank, they never stop seeking knowledge. High Masters answer to the Ithram and the Head of their Mir.
Arch Master: The second-highest level of knowledge possible in a mir. Once one reaches Arch Master, they can choose a second mir, but they must first establish a primary course of study. Arch Masters have the freedom to leave the Isles if they wish.
Master: Masters choose a mir to study. They can take as much time as they need to prepare for their entry exam to their mir, but they only get one chance to pass. Fail, and they must choose another mir.
Fellow: Students who have finished most of their education and are preparing for their test to become Masters. Fellows spend a set time of study in this level of education—four years, split into eight sections of half a year, to be spent with an Arch Master of one of the eight mirs.
Adept: Second level of education. Adepts have slightly more freedom than younger students and take many of their lessons privately, though they do have lessons with other students at their level of education. Their teachers collectively decide when they are ready to take their tests for Fellow. Adepts spend as much time as necessary on their studies before moving on—two to six years in most cases, though some spend ten to twelve.
Apprentice: First level of study, spent on rudimentary education and control of their magical skills. Students spend as much time as Apprentices as their teachers deem necessary. Sometimes, this is as little as four years, but never longer than ten.
The Young: Children who are under the age of eight. They spend their time in play. Children who manifest the ability to touch the Life Force are brough to the Isles soon after, some as young as three years old.
The Mirs
Purple: Spell Weavers
Masters of the Ithrimir who choose to spend their time developing spells and studying all aspects of the Gift. Those of the Purple Mir are often very strong with the Life Force.
Red: Warriors
Masters of the Ithrimir who choose to use the Gift to excel at weapon craft and as soldiers.
Orange: Scholars
Masters who prize learning above all else. They spend their time and energy seeking out all knowledge, no matter how old they are or what they have to put themselves through to acquire that knowledge.
Yellow: Teachers
Masters who choose to spend their lives teaching others the learnings gathered by the Purple and Orange Mirs. Not only do they teach Apprentices and Adepts, but also children in countries outside Pannarius and Maker’s Island.
Green: Hunters
Spend most of their time and efforts searching the world for children with the Gift, or those who practice the Black Arts, or those who escaped being sent to Isles of the Ithrimir as children and now use the Gift without the ability to control it.
Blue: Counselors
The smallest mir, consisting of Masters who serve as advisors to rulers and nobility in Caeldenon, Lithonia, and Thynn.
White: Healers
Those who use the Gift and acquired knowledge to heal others. They also teach others what they know of herb craft and medicine.
Brown: Crafters
Those Masters who use the Gift in manufacture, in the fields of blacksmithing, tailoring, woodcraft, and others.