War Wizards

The War Wizards were a group of battle-mages and sorcerers loyal to the Crown of Cormyr. They were led by the Royal Mage of Cormyr.

Around a third of the War Wizards were either killed or driven mad around 1385 DR caused by the Spellplague.

Recruitment and training
All new recruits (most of whom are children) were taken in as Cormyrean battlemages. From there, only a select few would be invited to study at the War Wizard Academy and become a War Wizard.

If selected, the recruit became the apprentice of an established War Wizard, which was considered to be a high honor. Training took five years, during which time about half of the candidates dropped out due to the high standards required. Once the five years had been completed successfully, the candidate earned the "battlemage" title.

Although new recruits were mostly children, adults occasionally petitioned the War Wizards to be trained. Most requests were met with suspicion, but provided the candidate could show genuine motive, such as demonstrating a new and useful spell, he or she could potentially become an apprentice.

On completion of apprenticeship and earning the "battlemage" title, some candidates requested sabbaticals in order to travel the world and study magic in more detail, aiming to bring back knowledge that would strengthen the organization.

Leaders of the War Wizards

 * Vangerdahast : Vangerdahast was perhaps the greatest mage to have ever taken up the mantle of leader of the War Wizards. For decades he controlled the Kingdom of Cormyr, in fact if not in title. While the king would fight the wars and sit on the throne, Vangerdahast would keep the court in order and keep control of the various factions who wished to dethrone the king. He could also to a large extent control the Harpers who reside in the kingdom. He eventually retired and through an arcane ritual transformed himself into a dragon: a dormant guardian until such time as Cormyr needs him again.


 * Caladnei : Replacing Vangerdahast after his retirement, Caladnei proved to be a capable leader, if perhaps renowned for her feisty and opinionated personality. Unlike the wizard Vangerdahast, she was a sorcerer and also trained in the martial arts.


 * Laspeera : Laspeera was the second-in-command of the War Wizards through most of Vangerdahast's tenure and all of Caladnei's. 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.

Outposts

 * In 1372 DR around five War Wizards were stationed at Castle Crag in the north of Cormyr.
 * In 1357 DR between sixteen and twenty War Wizards resided in Marsember.
 * In 1357 DR around ninety two War Wizards were estimated residing in Suzail.