ARCHANA IUDICIUM

The Archana Iudicium, or "Arcane Trial" is something that every mage, who has been trained in the tower, has seen and been through. The Archana Iudicium is more commonly referred to, among the arcane, as "the trial."

The trial is of utmost importance and going through it marks an important milestone in the life of someone of arcane decent. The trial is, essentially, what allows an arcane to go from apprentice to mage.

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THE TRIAL:
The trial is more or less a test of not only an arcane's abilities and knowledge, but their moral standing as well. Little is said to apprentices, and those younger than them, about the trial. The mages who have gone through the trial are forbidden to speak of it to anyone outside of the circle and magic binds them to this silence. The apprentice is unaware of their trial until after they have already gone through it. During their trial, an apprentice is asleep and will remain in an unconscious state until the end of their trial. An example post will be made within the near feature in order to give members a better idea of what goes on during a trial.

PASSING THE TRIAL:
It is a big deal for an apprentice to pass his or her trial. When they do, a ceremony is held in their honor within the Circle Room, among the arcane masters. During the ceremony, offerings are made to the divines(excluding Aldor and Verena) and the apprentice is anointed with ceremonial oils(on their forehead). While being anointed, he or she repeats the words spoken by the Archmage, in the ancient language. This moment is when, officially speaking, the apprentice become a mage. The arcane master who was responsible for training the apprentice plays an important role in the ceremony as well, standing beside them as their sponsor. In rare cases, such as the death of the arcane master, it is customary for another arcane master to step in as the apprentice's sponsor. Usually the arcane master who steps in has some sort of connection(such as having been the master of the previous master, or even someone who just happens to be a close friend of the previous master or the apprentice).

FAILING THE TRIAL:
To fail your trial is less than ideal. Needless to say, it's embarrassing and, depending on the situation, downright shameful. There are some who fail their trial due to a deficiency in skill or a lack of daring and nerve to complete the test. For these people, it's more embarrassing than anything else. Still, the arcane masters are the only ones with the knowledge that someone has failed the trial, unless the apprentice should mention it(most don't because of the shame or embarrassment). Even then, there is only so much that an apprentice can say; they are bound by magic to not speak of the trial. The most they could tell someone outside of the circle is whether or not they passed or failed.

Another, more serious, reason that a person might fail his or her trial would be a lack of the proper morals or a lack of morals all together. Depending on how serious the situation is, a person could simply fail their trial... or be banished from the tower and circle completely. In the history of the tower, there have been very few who were exiled due to corruption, but it has happened. Each exile was a serious one and each one was well deserved. Corruption is, overall, what leads to the exile of an apprentice.