(Redirected from “Marriage Law”) The “ACT OF GREATER LINEAGE 1702” was an act of the Magisterial Parliament of Greater Britannia. First proposed by Baroness Arch-Magister Sophia Beatrice Vernon 1 in 1699 following the Massacre of Tettenhall Wood; it put into effect the terms of a female’s critical role in Britannian Mage Society, and the duties that she would have in sustaining critical blood lines of magical power.

At the time, the impact of the Five-Years Midland-War, which is said to have to have killed nearly 60% of all known Gifted in skirmishes with the Fae, was keenly felt, with several powerful origin magics, and their Sigils, lost forever with their deceased masters 2.

With Sigil Transplantation known to be an unreliable procedure, and with the Penti-Kessemer Effect not scientifically documented but well-known about as a phenomenon 3, mage society felt the need to highlight the incredible importance of a female mages obligation to produce offspring for a prominent lineage as soon as she is physically capable.

Detractors at the time felt the act to be an unfair measure 4, citing increased stress for immature girls having to decide their futures at a young age, along with granting less autonomy to male partners. Despite these objections, the act passed with a 90% majority 5.

The Act made mandate into the Britannian law the following stipulations:

That a Gifted Female shall be married by the age of Fifteen to the unmarried Gifted Male of a family with no clearly defined Crested Heir.

[amended 1771- Or the the previous wife has not been able to provide a Crested Heir in six years of marriage]

[amended 1987- Or the previous wife has been confirmed medically diagnosed with late-stage Penti-Kessemer Syndrome, with confirmation of the diagnosis from two different practitioners of medicine, and there is no Crested Heir]. That negotiations for marriage of a female manifesting a gift can be handled her behalf by her family’s matriarch or patriarch.

[amended 1713- With the liberty of the final decision still being in the hands of the female marrying, unless said decision contravenes or deliberately defies Part (1) in whole or full; or is to be made to a direct male family member located within 3 generations, which the female marrying always has the right to refuse, and may exert this right in a court of law, overriding Part (1).] That it is a Male Gifted Sigil Holders grave responsibility to ensure, where possible, outside of times of conscription, wars or noblesse oblige, that his partner, married to him as of Part (1), is kept safe and free from physical harm. That deliberate physical harm to Female Gifted, outside of law-abiding duels, wars, noblesse oblige and other acts of the gods below, is to be considered an act of Manslaughter, rather than Assault, in the courts of Law. Similar actions leading to her death shall be considered First Degree Murder regardless of other considerations.

The law as a whole was considered as providing a positive impact to society in the century that followed 6 7, vastly increasing the proliferation of magical sigils which would otherwise be lost, reducing crime against the Gifted 8, encouraging social events, and preventing issues with inbreeding. It is popular thought 9 that Britannia would not have become the extensive empire it is today without this law, and Sophia Vernon is often cited as being a visionary 10 11.

With the rise of the internet and digital media, as well as the widespread manufacturing of effective firearms and alchemical ammunition that allow non-gifted to more meaningfully engage with dangerous magical beasts, undead, and fae creatures in the last century, which have also suffered declining populations12, some question the validity of this law in the contemporary era, and it was brought to Referendum in 2015. Despite this, the vote was 71.6%13 in favour to maintain the law; most supporters citing the fact that it is still critical that mage lineages are carried on, for both defence and the economy, as well as providing a sense of national pride, instilling family values in the Gifted, and providing peace of mind for the non-gifted.14

(Part of a Series: Codified Supernatural Laws of the Contemporary World)

The “MAGISTERIAL ARTS” or colloquially “MAGIC” in common terminology; is the ability to manipulate what mages call ‘The Vis’ to achieve pseudoscientific (sic. Magical) effects, which, among other things, have direct effects on known and unknown subatomic particles, forces, and the electromagnetic spectrum.1

Formally codified in 1550 by Magister John Dee 2, who was also responsible for the creation of the first mages society, The Ten-Sided Octagon, with the blessing of the final queen, Queen Elizabeth, the Magisterial Arts initially only included powers which had a direct and visible effect on the world at large.

Prior to this, there was often a blurred distinction between magics and magical practices used by humanity, and confusion with their origin even among seasoned users of arts.3 4

The Growth of the Magisterial Arts was explosive among the literate nobility of Europe of the time. It offered codified exercises that could, in nearly 20% of all cases 5, allow an individual to manifest supernatural powers of some degree. In a refined form, some of these exercises still exist today.

However, by 1568, Dee was defamed for his faith 6, as it became increasingly apparent through formal experimentation that Magisterial Arts had no connection to the angels of the Christian Faith, and were instead linked to the ‘Aether in the Blood’7, which modern historians agree to be one of the first known acknowledgements of Genetic Science, prior to its formal codification by Gregor Mendel in the 19th Century.

This would start a period of unrest where the Catholic Church set out to defame the Magisterial Arts, calling it ‘Blood Sorcery’8 and claiming it to be linked to the devil Lucifer, setting into motion a chain of events which would eventually lead to The Great Fire of The Vatican in 1599 and the death of Pope Clement VIII.

The Magisterial Arts offer several advantages9 10 over many more traditional arcane practices which has led to their dominance in the contemporary era. Notably, these include reliable exercises to manifest power, that they can be included as part of regular schooling, and powers which work reliably and constantly and which can be gradually improved to an extent with extensive training, and then passed on as knowledge to successors.11

A Magister has an Affinity, which is nearly always hereditary and passed along family lines through clearly identified Y chromosomes from the male line.12 However, if the female line has a stronger lineage in comparison to the male line, the X chromosome will, contrary to all expectations, overpower the incoming Y chromosome. This strange behaviour is still not fully understood by genetic science.13

An Affinity is usually a broad type of manipulation, evocation or conjuration.14 Many older, traditional lines favour clear and obvious effects (which were easier to confirm to less reliable tests, and hence passed along via natural selection).

However, there seems to be few limits on what an affinity can be related to, with effects as wide and varied as optical camouflage, graviton manipulation, and taste alteration15 joining more traditional effects such as pyromancy and aerotheurgy. As of the 2018 GLOMAKO survey, there are 2,171 unique classified affinities.16

The affinity is also considered by some to be the main weakness of the Magisterial Arts.17 A practitioner can practice effects with a similar or adjacent nature to their primary speciality with only a moderate loss of power, but this relative specialisation means that a specific individual lacks versatility even if their primary power and effect is also weak.

For example, a conjurer of flames could learn to manipulate their flames, and alter their temperature and movement, but it would be impossible for them to also conjure water, or change the heat of the ground directly.

Other magics, such as Druidic Rites and Alchemy, can perform more wide-ranging effects, but have other issues, such as a long apprenticeship period and the need for physical components respectively.18

Interestingly, it is popular scientific belief that the Magisterial Arts do not defy The First Law of Thermodynamics, and still adhere to Noether’s Theorem,19 as observations indicate that the power for utilising Magisterial Arts both comes from and then returns to the “The Vis”, leaving no lingering effects.

The strength of a Mage relies on their latent magical potential (LMP), which indicates how well their body and mind are able to take in this Vis, process it, and utilise it.

No Magister or Scientist has yet to fully answer the question of what “The Vis” is. Popular speculations include that it is the formless energy of the universe, an as of yet unidentified subatomic particle like the Higgs Boson, or perhaps a parallel dimension. speculation- citation needed

The “PENTI-KESSEMER SYNDROME” is a physical and supernatural disorder primarily associated with female practitioners of The Magisterial Arts, that unerringly develops in 98.4% of cases1, causing infertility.

It is always precluded by symptoms of Amenorrhea and Hyperprolactinaemia,2 and is typically diagnosed through Blood Panels focusing on the count of Vis-Reactive Proteins and Irregular V-Class Platelets. It can also be checked through Poly-Arcane Scans with specifically calibrated MRI units, with the intent to detect the suffusion of Penti-Kessemer Mutations in the patient’s cells.3

Penti-Kessemer Mutations are genetic mutations to cells caused by repeated usage of magical powers, especially those which evoke energy and forces or otherwise cause radiation4. These mutations are benign in most factors, sometimes altering the shape of cells but not their function. In fact, in some cases, the functions of the cells are improved5, especially with regards to their resilience to harmful outside factors and regenerative ability6. Liver cells affected by the syndrome start to produce special Vis-Reactive Proteins that help the blood conduct magical power.7

The only known Penti-Kessemer Mutation with a negative effect is when mutated Megakaryocytes start producing Irregular (V-Class) Platelets. These Platelets have equivalent functions to regular Platelets8, but often attack and consume other normal Platelets, leading to Chronic Thrombocytopenia, which can cause issues when the patient is subject to haemorrhaging and the wound cannot be tended to artificially.9

Though the Syndrome is primarily associated with female practitioners, it also equally affects males; but seems to have a negligible effect on sperm fertility.10

The condition as a whole was known about since the 1500’s, but was formally named and codified by Dr. Irene Penti and Dr. Alicia Kessemer in 1982, with their jointly released paper ‘A study of supernatural powers and their genetic effects on the female body’.11

(Redirected from “LMP”) “LATENT MAGICAL POTENTIAL” or colloquially “POWER LEVEL” in common terminology, is a method of gauging a mage’s base power level that was introduced as a new global standard by the Global Council of Magistry, following the Geneva Convention in 1946. Prior to, and during, the Second Global War, countries had unique and historical methods of measuring magical aptitude, with a wide variety of (sometimes ineffectual)1 tests.

LMP measuring is based on effective tests developed by the armed forces of Brittania and the Free American Territories for the wars 2. It assumes a sentient being to have a baseline potential ‘level’ ranging from 6-9, and with most animals (Fae Beasts and Wildwood Creatures not inclusive) having less than this 3. Humans with 10 or higher in the LMP scale are able to manipulate what mages call ‘The Vis’ to achieve pseudoscientific (sic. Magical) effects, which, among other things, have direct effects on known and unknown subatomic particles, forces, and the electromagnetic spectrum.4

As of the 2018 GLOMAKO survey, it is estimated that 49% of humanity can claim to have an LMP of 10 or higher 5, with 28% having an LMP of 15 or greater, which is enough to qualify one as being a ‘Mage’ and being able to manifest non-trivial effects. Those with an LMP of 30 or higher are considered ‘Magisters’, and 40 or higher is an ‘Arch-Magister’. The gains suggested by rising LMP are non-linear, arbitrary, and typically multiplicative, so cannot be directly measured, but on average 6, a baseline (30 LMP) Magister will be around 18 times more adept at manipulating Vis than a baseline (15 LMP) Mage.

Of course, each user has a very specific affinity, and as such, a Mage with a focused specialisation will be superior at that specific field than a Magister with a general or adjacent specialisation.7