Editing Journey of the Strange (section)

==The great Magic Schools==
Magic is rare in the New World. Even more rare then in the Old World. The Art, as it's called, requires immense dedication to wield even a bit of mystical power. Only the truly blessed, and there are some few of them about, ever gain magical might of any true potency.

Therefore, The Art is rarely the focus of study for most so-called Mages. The magical schools of the Old World- there are 4 in total- tend to teach only the most fundamental magic to the vast majority of their students. They instead prefer to give a well rounded, complete education with a greater focus on more worldly and practical knowledge. Science, geometry, natural law, and languages. Only those with an obvious gift- called Sorcerers- are taught high magic, usually by private tutors. None of the schools ever has more then one of these pupils at a time- there simply aren't enough gifted students for them to have more.

Due to offering a deep and immense education, graduates of the magical academy are highly sought after for government positions of all kinds. Therefore, tuition rates are wildly exorbenant. This confers two benefits: 1) it keeps the low class riff raff out of the hallowed halls, making room for more deserving nobility. 2) It makes the schools enourmously wealthy.

Each school has it's own charter and is run in it's own way, but they share a few common elements. Due to their extreme wealth and myriad political ties and prestigious alumni, all four schools are world powers in their own right, rivaling almost any nation. They all keep vast libraries of information, occult, scientific, and heraldric. Their students are often called in as legislators for legal issues- whether their education specialized in law or not.

Finally, the few truly gifted magicians they educate tend to be enormously powerful . While they are rare, their ability once educated is worth the wait. True Sorcerers at the height of the ability can end wars with a word, vanish and reappear across the globe or create an item that will make a legend out of whomever touches it. It is fortunate there are only a quarter dozen known Sorcerers in the world, as reality could hardly bear the strain of any more.