Ministry of Art

The Ministry of Art, colloquially known as the Ministry of Magic, was a governing body consisting of arcane spellcasters, created in the city of Ravens Bluff in the mid-to-late 14 century DR.

"While the Art, as they call it, certainly affects all our lives, it is the guidance of the ministers of faith, not of magic, which shall best advise the Council and the Lord Mayor. Practitioners of secular magics have their place in the city, but not in such solemn matters as governing the people."

- Sirrus Melander of the Clerical Circle

Organization
The Ministry of Art consisted of fourteen Seats: abjuration, alteration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, illusion, invocation, necromancy, fire, water, earth, air, wild magic, and wizardry. The Seats represented magical specializations, and the Seat of wizardry was reserved for those who practiced magic with no focus on one specific school or aspect. The fourteenth Seat was also added to avoid Beshaba's unlucky number thirteen. No Seats were referred to by their numbers except for the fourteenth Seat&mdash;wizardry, and the thirteenth Seat&mdash;wild magic. The term "first Seat" was always only used in reference to the Seat held by the Ministry's elected speaker. The first Seat represented the Ministry in the Council of Lords of Ravens Bluff.

All Seats were held by powerful mage residents of Ravens Bluff; however, recent transplants were eligible. A significant number of the Ministry's Seats was filled by members of the Wizards Guild, who, in turn, when accepting the position, were to forgo all past loyalties, but to the city of Ravens Bluff.

Activities
The Ministry of Magic was responsible for handling all things magical on behalf of the Ravens Bluff government. These tasks included investigation, magical research, city protection, subtle magical interrogations, lawmaking, issuing of magical permits and inspections of enchanted items, tracing driftcouds of dead-magic, and divination, as well as scrying during the times of war.

Base of Operations
The Ministry of Art headquarters was located in the Tlasbras neighborhood of the Southside district of Ravens Bluff. The neighborhood was also home to most members of the Ministry. The compound was a large building nestled between Deepaxe Way to the east, Whisper Late to the west, and Conant Court to the north.

Relationships
Historically, the Ministry of Art and the other major magical institution&mdash;the Wizards Guild, were bitter rivals, often quietly hostile and sometimes openly erupting in violence. Visitors to Ravens Bluff could easily confuse the two organizations. The Ministry mages, or the "Mins", were members of the government, while the spellcasters of the Wizards Guild, or the "Guilders", were allied with the city but retained autonomy and independence. Both organizations were designed to function in close parallels to eachother.

History
The Ministry of Art was formed shortly before Flamerule of the, during the rule of Lord Mayor Charles Oliver O'Kane. The Lord Mayor's order to form this new government body was met with staunch opposition from some, including Sirrus Melander, the leader of the city's Clerical Circle. He believed that mages had no place in governing Ravens Bluff. Another opponent of its formation was Saldo Presto of the Diviner's Guild, who was disgruntled over a non-guild diviner being assigned to the Ministry. Saldo called the formation to be careless and demanded that appointments to the Ministry be electoral. Others complained that the distribution of male and female members of the Ministry was artificial, while others complained that most of them were humans, and Gnomes of Ravens Bluff were convinced that only a gnome could adequately represent illusion magic, yet non-gnomes often pointed out that the best illusionist mages tended to be humans. It was a significant concern that the Lord Mayor's agenda was completely political rather than legislative.

In Alturiak of the, several giant slug emerged from under the city and began menacing Ravens Bluff. The representatives of the Ministry of Art announced via the Ravens Bluff Trumpeter that these creatures inhabited subterranean depths and their appearance on the surface was uncanny. Later the same year, the city's famed magic shop, Chemcheaux 223, was destroyed in a disaster of magical nature. The Ministry of Art vowed to investigate the alleged incident and uncover the truth of the event. The Ministry expressed hope in their statement to Ravens Bluff Trumpeter that another sagely organization would open a magic shop in Ravens Bluff to fill the niche. In Nightal of 1368 DR, the Ministry of Art investigated a strange appearance of mists outside of Ravens Bluff. The mages could not detect any magic in the phenomenon until a band of missing adventurers emerged from the mists. These individuals brought stories of dark lands in the Domains of Dread. The Ministry conducted interviews with all who emerged from the mists to uncover the truth behind their disappearances.

The city of Raven's Bluff was shaken by Lord Mayor Charles Oliver O'Kane's adduction in Flamerule of the, the mysterious diviner mage named Oracle from the Ministry was the first to arrive to the crime scene, mere moments before the City Watch. The diviner kept his findings to himself and refused to comment on to Ravens Bluff Trumpeter. As the war with warlord Myrkyssa Jelan raged across the Vast, Ministry of Art became stretched thin using numerous layers of protective magics to shield the city from being scried and teleported into.

In Ches of the, Ravens Bluff Trumpeter announced the unification of the Ministry of Art and Wizards Guild. The two wizardly organizations allied their functions and leadership under a new name – Guild of Magical Arts. The unification was a desperate act caused by the war with Myrkyssa Jelan that taxed both organizations' magic and resources really. The Ministry of Art and Wizards Guild often found themselves working for the same goals and on the same problems without consulting with eachother or pooling resources. All Ministry seats and ranking members of the guild unanimously approved of the merger. Each Seat began to coach and lead Wizards Guild's members who specialized in the same school of magic, and the Archmage of the Wizard's Guild Alcides Von Tighe headed the new organizational structure. This unification was to be temporary until the conclusion of the war in the Vast. The Guild of Magical Arts did not last. It was barely two months old when Ravens Bluff Trumpeter reported its disassembly in Tarsakh. Ministers began leaving the joined organization to reform the Ministry of Art after becoming quickly disillusioned with Alcides Von Tighe's leadership. Those seats that remained with the Guild of Magical Arts at the time were alteration (Emellin), conjuration (Alskander), invocation (Variance Klane), necromancy (Begoas), and wild magic. However, the wild magic Seat's position was a forced one as Glora Vano was on the run after being accused of treason after aiding Myrkyssa Jelan. Both organizations were unsure of how to proceed, and no plans for recruiting new Ministers were made.

In Mirtul, 1370 DR, Begoas the Inquisitive was the only Minister among those elected to stay with the Guild of Magical Arts who returned to the Ministry of Art. Back in the Seat of necromancy, Begoas headed an investigation and search for the traitor Glora Vano. His investigation uncovered an ancient tomb that was believed to be the ex-Minister's hideout. The Ministry of Art disclosed the tomb's location to any and all adventurers willing to bring Glora Vano to justice. By Flamerule of the same year, it was decided that the Ministry of Art was to fill the Seats left open by the Ministers who stayed with the Guild of Magical Arts. The new additions were named the Junior Ministers: Nuelman the Oracle who took the Seat of illusion, Grimalkin – the Seat of divination, Cordwainer – the Seat of enchantment, and Sam Shock – the Seat of abjuration. Minister Glora Vano was at last officially suspended from the organization, with Gideon being assigned as the temporary Minister of wild magic.

As the war with Myrkyssa Jelan was over, another blight came upon Ravens Bluff in the form of a planar threat. In Tarsakh of the, tanar'ri targeted the Living City. The Ministry of Art and the Mages Guild issued a rare joint statement that both organizations were to cease all summoning magics until the field threat was over. The wizards suspected one of their own to be behind tanar'ri summoning within Ravens Bluff. In Flamerule of the same year, Dean of the Ministry of Art for Fire Elementalism Azoth Malishar retired from active duty after helping the recently erupted Firestorm Mountain to settle down. Azoth's health was damaged by the ordeal. The same month was marked by a heist of the Ministry's offices. Sarah DeMarcus stole a powerful enchanted helm to try and brainwash her misguided husband into a life of evil and villainy.

The following month, mages from the Ministry of Art were summoned to verify the authenticity of mithril coins from a place in another world called Glantri. The coins came from a mammoth tax payment done by Vernon Condor to the city of Ravens Bluff. The authenticity was confirmed as well as some minor enchantments placed on the coins were discovered by Oracle, the recently reinstated Minister of Divination. During that period of time, a magical phenomenon known as Soulstorm was ravaging the city, caused by the presence of the Veil in Ravens Bluff. Both Ministry of Art and the Wizard's Guild were at their wit's end, unable to dispose is magics. The two organizations announced that casting of any conjuration/summoning spell or similar magic was now illegal due to the raging disaster. The law was to remain in place until the Soulstorm crisis was resolved. The Soulstorm began to dissipate in Eleint of 1371 DR but by another joint announcement, both Ministry of Art and the Wizard's Guild reiterated that the ban would stay in place until further notice. In Marpenoth, Soulstorm was completely gone, and both wizardly organizations vowed to investigate its long-lasting effects on Ravens Bluff, if any. The ban on conjuration/summoning magic was lifted.

Members

 * Alskander of Chessenta, a bronze-skilled athletic, beautiful young man, the first mage who held the conjuration Seat.
 * Ambassador Carrague, an aged mage and an honorary building inspector in Ravens Bluff who held the Seat of Wizardry in the late 14 century DR.
 * Begoas the Inquisitive, a necromancer from Mulhorand or Unther, the first mage who held the necromancy Seat.
 * Cluhurach Fair-Eyed, an aged gold elf and the first mage who held the enchantment Seat.
 * Cordwainer, the second person to hold the Seat of enchantment.
 * Emellin of Ravens Bluff, a retired half-elven adventuress, the first mage who held the alteration Seat.
 * Gideon, the Acting Minister of Wild Magic, who was assigned to Glora Vano's Seat. 
 * Glora Vano, a mercurial relative of Gaius Varro and the first mage who held the wild magic Seat.
 * Grimalkin, the second person to hold the Seat of divination.
 * Harasiim the Blue, an immigrant from Turmish and the first mage who held the abjuration Seat.
 * Indigo Suris, a southern mage, rumored to had arrived to the Vast from Halruua, the first mage who held the air Seat.
 * Larraine Blacktree, an aunt to the famous Lord Charles Frederik LaVerne Blacktree IV, the first mage who held the fire Seat.
 * Marilene DeVillars, a socialite relative of Lady Lauren DeVillars, the first mage who held the illusion Seat.
 * Nuelman the Oracle, the second person to hold the Seat of illusion.
 * Old Mag, a strange elderly woman who delighted in portraying herself as a characteristic rural witch, the first wizard who held the earth Seat.
 * Oracle, a mysterious soft-spoken male diviner, the first and the third mage who held the divination Seat.
 * Sam Shock, the second person to hold the Seat of abjuration.
 * Sylvia Dawnwatcher, a Lathander-worshiping mage, the first wizard who held the water Seat.
 * Variance Klane, a female Cormyrean spellslinger who served as one of Vangerdahast's War Wizards – the first mage who held the invocation Seat.