War Wizards

The War Wizards was a group of battle-mages and sorcerers who fought on behalf of the kingdom of Cormyr and its Crown. They were among the most well-regarded and even feared spellcasting organizations in all the Realms and highly respect by both the common folk and royalty of the Forest Kingdom.

Activities
War wizards served the kingdom as advisors, law-enforcement agents and powerful arcane combatants, integral to the success of the Cormyrean government and royal military. Among their responsibilities, war wizards were tasked with investigating shady business dealings, especially those surrounding the guilds of Cormyr.

They also directly served the Cormyrean royal family directly as bodyguards, counselors and even agents of espionage.

Because they spent much of their time in direct service to the nation, which left them little time for exploration or adventure. When they were free to do so however, they remained vigilant for any happenings that could potentially be important to the kingdom.

Organization
They war wizards were were led by the Royal Magician of Cormyr. As of the mid–14 century DR, this post was held by the great mage Vangerdahast Aeiulvana. Ford decades he regulated the war wizards, along with all notable practitioners of the Art in Cormyr. He was said to have maintained order in the royal court, manage the various power groups that could pose a threat to the throne, and in some regard, control the kingdom itself.

After Vangerdahast's retirement, the young battle-sorcerer Caladnei was chosen as his successor.


 * Laspeera : Laspeera was the second-in-command of the War Wizards through most of Vangerdahast's tenure and all of Caladnei's. Her husband, Aundable Inthré, also served the War Wizards by scrying over Cormyr through a crystal ball. Alusair Obarskyr attempted to become close friends with her in the wake of Azoun IV's death as she feared rogue War Wizards allying with enemies of the crown and needed an ally with lots of influence in the organization.


 * Ganrahast : After the tumultuous events of the Spellplague, and once things had settled down a bit, Ganrahast took the mantle of Royal Mage and leader of the War Wizards. He was not as war-minded as some others within the War Wizards would prefer, and has kept the ranks of the War Wizards both secretive and unstructured.

Orders
Within the War Wizards, there existed an order called Alarphons. They acted as an internal police force, and they spied on other members of the War Wizards.

Abilities
As part of their martial training, war wizards were experts at the fundamentals of spellcasting and even honed their abilities with weapons considerably more than other arcane spellcasters. They often wove these two skills together in battle, to great effect, wielding unique combat spells, such as lightning ripple, and the more–destructive, storm of victory.

War wizards were quite adept at applying metamagic modifications to the spells they cast.

Base of Operations
The war wizards took posts stationed all across Faerûn. As of the, around 90 of their members lived in Suzail, with another 20 or so in Marsember. Some 15 years later, Castle Crag kept of the War Wizards within its walls.

Possessions
Many war wizards wore magical cloaks that were unique to their order. These were occasionally also gifted to certain Cormyrean nobles or select agents of the crown.

Along with members of the Cormyrean royal family, some important figures such as the Purple Dragon knights and officers were given rings that were magically connected to the War Wizards. These rings allowed the wizards to scry and teleport to their locations, and respond to any threat, nearly as quickly as the ring was removed.

History
Powerful wizards in Cormyr have had a storied history,one that was nearly as old as the kingdom itself. The first Cormyrean Council of Mages was called around the, when the kingdom was being threatened by monsters from the King's Forest. Baerauble Etharr earned the position as the first Royal Magician and gathered forth all the local wizards to deal with the menacing creatures. This first group of wizard-defenders came to be known as the War Wizards.

The War Wizards experienced a great schism in the, when Regent Salmber plotted to kill his six–year–old nephew Rhigaerd Obarskyr II, who was heir to the throne. When the sitting Royal Magician Jorunhast made the order to kill the young king–in–waiting, he was exiled and the title of Royal Magician was dissolved. As a whole, the War Wizards were stripped of much of their power and prestige they enjoyed.

Around a third of the War Wizards were either killed or driven mad when the Spellplague ravaged Toril in the. Following that tragedy, surviving wizards dedicated themselves to protecting their nation from the impending threat of the returned Empire of Netheril.

Members
Many recruits were selected from among the children who petitioned to study within the organization. Those who received the honor of an invitation to the War Wizard Academy, were selected for their true genuine motive, demonstration of new and useful spells, or their ability to serve as an apprentice.

Not all prospective members were recruited from a young age however. Some soldiers of the Purple Dragons found they had what it took to join the ranks of the War Wizards. While many of these spellcasters studied as wizards, some of them possessed sorcerous powers, while others followed bardic traditions.

If selected, a recruit became the apprentice of an established War Wizard, a position a high honor. Training to become a war wizard, took five years. During any five-year period about half the candidates dropped out due to the high standards they were expected to meet.

Once the five years of training were successfully completed, the candidate earned the title of "battlemage". They signed a legal agreement that bore the name of the king and pledged an oath to serve him, under pain of a geas spell.

Some of these requested sabbaticals in order to travel the world and study magic in greater depth. Many of them sought to bring back knowledge that would strengthen the organization.

Notable War Wizards

 * Landraul Skatterhawk, a 8 century war wizard who was present at both the battle of Snowsblood Trail and the battle of Standing Stone's Blood.
 * Valantha Shimmerstar, the talented and charming mage-entertained who was quite popular at any grand Cormyrean celebration.

Trivia
The autobiography Twenty Winter's a War Wizard recounted the experiences of one war wizard, Estimyra of High Horn.