Mage's Association

Mage's Association (魔術協会) is an international, self-preservative organization created by western magi for the purpose of controlling, concealing and developing Magecraft. Founded around the Middle Ages by those who foresaw the decline of Magecraft, they decided that in order to preserve their power Thaumaturgy should drift apart from society and become a secret known only by a necessary minimum number of people.

It has many laboratories and research bodies that seek to advance the progress of Thaumaturgy, as well as institutions that transmit their secrets to the next generation. Although the emphasis lies on the pursuit of knowledge, the Association also seeks to increase its own military strength so it can defend itself against those that might threaten it, such as the Holy Church, other mystic organizations and supernatural forces seeking to punish mankind for meddling with areas that should not be touched.

It also imposes and enforces laws over the use of Thaumaturgy. However, on that aspect the Mage’s Association is mainly concerned with the preservation and concealment of Magecraft. So, as long as a magus does not becomes a threat that might reveal the existence of Thaumaturgy to the common public, the Association will not interfere with him, even if said magus causes the most hideous crimes.

Internal Workings
The Mage’s Association is divided into three main branches: Clock Tower, Atlas and the Sea of Estray. Even since Clock Tower became the official headquarters, the Three Great Branches as they are called started to drift apart from each other.

Many systems to rank their members exist within the Association. One of them is seven-rank system that serves to grade one’s capacities as a magus. The top rank is called Grand. Mature magi without any outstanding powers such as Lord El-Melloi II are around the 4th rank, while complete amateurs and students that just started learning such as Ayaka Sajyou belong the 7th bottom rank. Touko Aozaki rose to the rank of Master (not the Heaven’s Feels ones) when she was 20 years old, while Satsuki Kurokiri of Atlas was the youngest to achieve the same feat at 15 years old. Magi with extraordinary powers receive titles according to a color system and those who receive one of the three primary colors (Red, Green and Blue) are acknowledged as being among the greatest of their time. The further down you go, the less your rank is. Note that there is no rule about only one person for each color. The Association will, without any stinginess, award a color to you if you’re a magus of great stature or one with an unusual talent. Finally, the Noble Colors system is used for the classification of special abilities related to Magecraft, such as Mystic Eyes.

As long as he/she does not possess a Sealing Designation, a magus may leave the Association at any time without facing any restrictions. However, this is rarely done, since the Association provides its members with great amount of resources, stored knowledge and other benefits. And so many mage's from all over the world gather and devote themselves day and night to the study of magic, while at the same time, are busily tripping over and being tripped over by other factions and competing for power and budget. The organization is anything but harmonious and has a complicated bizarre structure, but the magical research there is without doubt the leading edge. Despite its academia facet, the magi of the Association rarely share the result of their own researches between each other.

External Relationships
The Mage’s Association and the Holy Church have a non-aggression agreement between each other for quite a while now, but armed conflict still happen often in a off-the-records fashion. Atlas however, is case in itself.

It has bad relationship with the organizations of magi of the Middle East and is at odds with those of the Far East due ideological conflict between their Thaumaturgical schools. Still, it has been working towards at least building a stance of neutrality between them.

Clock Tower
Currently the headquarters and main branch of the Mage’s Association, the departments that compose it as well as the workshops of its members (which are mainly underground facilities) are located in the British Museum. It is only a venerable museum to normal people of course, but at the deepest part, there is a special area called the “Bottom of the Bridge” where the Association confines many sealing designated magi deemed to be “dangerous because their talents were too outstanding.” Also, apparently the Gazamy the “Evil Spook”, treated as the number one disaster in the Association, is locked up at the bottom of the London tower. However, some affiliated buildings and institutions are known to be located elsewhere. An example of those would be the Norwich Student Dormitory, where the first meeting between Luviagelita and Rin took place. The receptionist Octavia Leyland recounts the fight that resulted in this particular case as the worst incident in the story of the building.

From the outside, Clock Tower appears to be an appealing and welcoming place, but the truth is not so bright. Actually, the inner workings of the place are ruled by the power struggles between several factions of magi. In Heaven's Feel True Ending, Rin described her trial in London as being more a parade than anything else: although it had over 300 participants, the majority of them were magi who wanted to gain favor with the higher ranks.

Clock Tower is currently under the control of a pseudo-aristocratic elite called the Lords. Each Lord holds great political power within the Association just by himself, and there is also those who associate themselves to other talented magi or an important magi lineage in a sponsor-sponsored relationship so to increase their influence.

Maybe due this elitist background, preconceived and discriminatory behavior is somewhat widespread inside Clock Tower. Rune and Witchcraft Thaumaturgy are not very popular in the main branch, the later not being taught as an academia at all. The Enforcers are looked down upon by the upper ranks. Discrimination against Asians is common, which might be a factor on why so little of them are members of the Association.

The person of highest position in the Clock Tower, the “Director” has been the same person for the 2000 years since the founding of the organization, and because of this it is thought to be something more than human. While the Vice director of the Mage's Association, Lorelei Barthomeloi, is known as the "Queen" of London's Clock Tower.

Admission of new members also involves exams to test one’s knowledge of Magecraft, but is possible to bypass this through letters of recommendation or if one is the successor of a distinct lineage of magi. Said “outstanding” individuals receive special treatment such as individual rooms in the dormitory or the right to bring along a couple of apprentices. The apprentices won’t have to pay for enrollment or go through the examinations themselves, but they won’t be seen as members of the Association either. The organization handling patents relating to magic is also the Clock Tower, and the current finances of the Tohsaka family is being by covered by the patent royalties that are being transferred to their account.

It has been said in Clock Tower that there are three possible disasters within the Association: Gazamy the Wraith, Sealing Designations and the Enforcers.

Departments that are known to exist are:


 * Department of Mineralogy (鉱石学) – studies the mystical properties of mineral substances such as jewels. Luviagelita Edelfelt and Rin Tohsaka are enrolled in this department.
 * Department of Spiritual Evocation (降霊術) – aka. Eulyphis, it studies the summoning of spiritual beings. Merem Solomon’s power to create his Great Demon Beasts also falls along these lines.
 * Department of Spiritual Invocation (霊媒術) – studies Magecraft that work through a spiritual medium such as spiritual surgery, spiritual possession, etc.
 * Department of Universal Research – broadly studies all worldwide and historical matters. The department where Touko Aozaki, Souren Araya and Cornelius Alba once worked together at.

Atlas
Also known as The Giant’s Pit, it is located somewhere among the mountains of Egypt. An institute focused on the study and development of Alchemy, but with members that diverge from the classical view of the alchemist from the Middle Ages and are more worried about the greater truths of the universe. The most independent of the Three Great Branches, it has its own terms of relationship with the Holy Church and other magic organizations. Not surprisingly, these traits cause Atlas to be disliked by the Clock Tower and the Prague Association.

Members of Atlas utilize a method of prediction based on Laplace's Demon. After its first director theoretically predicted the end of the world, the alchemists of Atlas have dedicated themselves into developing methods capable of avoiding it. However, because anything potentially capable of preventing the end of the world might also create even greater devastation, eventually rules dictating that everything created in Atlas must be kept and disposed of within the domains of the organization were established. On that account, the Prague Association has a saying that goes “Lift not the seal of Atlas lest ye wish to not have the world destroyed seven times over”.

Atlas has a number of unique customs for a magic association. One of them is that, at times, the institute has been known to lent its alchemist to other organizations such as the Holy Church, although the particulars of the process dictate that the other party must possess one of the seven special contracts that Atlas has printed in the past. One of the organization's main concerns in the present is the recovery of said contracts. Another custom is for the directors of Atlas to adopt the name of Atlasia during their time in office.

Known members are Satsuki Kurokiri and its current vice-director, Sion Eltnam Atlasia. Seems that most of its members cannot perform Magecraft that goes along the line of nature interference due lack of Magic Circuits.

Sea of Estray
Also known as The Wandering Tomb, a conglomerate of minor organizations of magi that are spread throughout Europe. The base of the Sea of Estray is in Northern Europe. This base, with the nickname of the Moving Stone Coffin, is itself a moving mountain range. Normally it is wandering at sea as its name suggests, but sometimes it comes up on dry land. It seems they research mainly body alteration, but the specifics are unknown. Said to be “the original Mage’s Association”, together with the Atlas Institute, Nrvnqsr Chaos was originally a magus affiliated to the Sea of Estray. Among the founders of the Mage Association, there had been many heretical magi who were exiled from the Sea of Estray and the Atlas Institute and had no place left to go. Known institutions among those that compose it are:

Prague Association

An organization that researches on Alchemy, its members follow the traditional precepts of alchemists. Consequentially, they are in bad terms with Atlas.

Sponheim Abbey

An institution that works closely with Clock Tower, Cornelius Alba was supposed to be its next director.

Thule Society

A group of magi that study Rune Magecraft, it possesses the original runic scripts.

Related Terms
Average One

五大元素使い - Godaigenso tsukai

User of the Five Great Elements, the title given to those who possess Elemental Affinity to all the five primary elements. Very valued by the Mage’s Association. Includes Tohsaka Rin.

Lord

ロード

In the Mage Association, no rather, the Clock Tower, there are a number of families that hold sway. They are called Lords and are the objects of fear. There are three major families of Lords and about 20 families of relatives. These families are well-known even in normal society. The history of one family is at shortest 500 years and the longest is over 2000 years. They have been plotting and plotting since a staggeringly long past.

Second Owner

管理者 - Kanrisha

Supervisor. When the Association entrusts a family of magi with a spiritual land, the current head of said family receives this title and becomes in charge of administrating all supernatural activity within its territory. Once a magus fixes residence in a spiritual land of the Association, he is expected to seek the permission of the Second Owner before setting his workshop. However, just like Kiritsugu Emiya did in Fuyuki, it is possible to remain hidden from the Second Owner depending on how well he performs his job.

Spiritual Land

霊地 - Reichi

Mystical grounds where strong leylines of prana can be found, places that increase the power of Magecraft and, in the case of those of top class, where Magic can be activated. The Mage’s Association has the ownership of most of the high quality spiritual lands around the world but, for practical purposes, actual administration of the land is left to a local lineage of magi that is related to the Association. Among the spiritual land of Japan, the one under the care of the Aozaki family is the only location where Magic can be activated. The Fuyuki Grail Wars, however, were created as an excuse to concentrate the necessary amount of prana needed to enable activation of magic on the spiritual land of Fuyuki. In the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night, it is successful and the third magic is activated. Although the second magic is also activated in the Heaven's Feel route, it is irrelevant to the spiritual land of Fuyuki, as it uses the Jewel Sword Zelretch.

Wizard Marshal

魔道元帥 – Madougensui

A title given by those who possess a certain degree of military authority within the Association, so far the only known Wizard Marshals are Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and Lorelei Barthomeloi. Note that while Lorelei is the Wizard Marshal in change of a group of 50 elite magi, she is also the assistant director of Clock Tower.

Workshop

工房 - Koubou

The magical laboratory of a magus where he performs his researches and experiments. During its construction, the most important procedure is to prevent the prana inside of the workshop from leaking out so its presence can be concealed. Magi usually set up bounded fields around their workshops to protect them. Stepping into the workshop of a magus without his permission is seen as an act of open hostility. Referred to in the Aniplex of America translation as an atelier (French for workshop.)