Arcanology

As an Arcanologist myself-a̶l̶t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ ̶I̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶b̶e̶l̶i̶e̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶c̶h̶ ̶a̶ ̶t̶e̶r̶m̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶r̶a̶y̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶t̶r̶u̶e̶ ̶p̶o̶e̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶e̶e̶p̶ ̶m̶e̶d̶i̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶Glamour ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶s̶t̶i̶t̶u̶t̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶i̶e̶l̶d̶,̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶m̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶l̶i̶k̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶U̶l̶l̶o̶r̶ ̶C̶o̶u̶r̶t̶ ̶a̶f̶f̶e̶c̶t̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶--I find it proper to give a short history of the field that will accurately convey its true essence and economic impact.

-1500: The Founding of "Arcanology"

The Why

Nearly 3000 years ago, on the cusp of Gallowtide the Briarheart Circle declared a state of emergency in expectation of the historically disastrous return of new magic to the land. Given that magic systems inevitably change or are remade wholesale after the slate-clearing effects of Hallowtide, the population of erstwhile magical practitioners had regularly dropped by over 50% as previously innocent incantations such as lighting one's cigarette with a small thumb-flame could result in summoning a greater demon. With the exception of certain (̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶p̶a̶r̶a̶n̶o̶i̶d̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶:̶ ̶s̶a̶y̶ ̶r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶a̶b̶l̶y̶ ̶p̶r̶e̶p̶a̶r̶e̶d̶)̶ magicians who may have happened to inscribe hexagrammic wards on each cigarette filter merely as a preemptory measure, many magicians perished in spectacularly gory and unpleasent ways.

Formation

In an effort to avoid such drastic fluctuations in the magical population, and the accompanying logistical nightmare of producing supply/demand curve stabilization charms on a national scale, The Briarheart Council convened a new branch of The Academy whose primary task was to catalogue and identify new strains of magic as they emerged, cross-reference them with previous magical systems, and provide up-to-date risk analysis models in a timely manner to any magician who wished to emply prior magical systems.

Within the first decade of its inception, the field of Arcanology contributed to a significant decrease in accidental magical deaths(averaging ~40%), a figure that was previously unheard of within the first 300 years of a new Gallowtide and the previous process of supernatural selection that eventually resulted in a stable practitioner base.

Beyond the mere loss of life averted, however, the contributions to the stability of the magical commodities market resulted in significant financial gain.

---

Elmadin Shadowspinner, Keeper of the Forgotten, Probationary member of the Board of Arcanology.