"If an Archmage could be persuaded to serve in such Office, much would be simplified thereby. I am curious, considering this, what Authority is held by Morgethai, whether Formal or Understood, among the Mages of Andoran. Though at any rate in Difficult Cases it would be the Authority to commission a Party to destroy or apprehend the Lawbreaker that would fall to the Schools, under my own Musings. Though the Funds would have to be of the Crown, at whose expense Justice is done, for is it the fault of the Schools if a Mage turn to Villainy?

"I would say, very rarely, though I have seen some colleges of Necromancy be not all what they should be. It seems to me that the system you propose does bring advantages. As to Morgethai, in her letters to me, she has portrayed herself as a mere Provost and not political. Though to an archmage, even sitting on a chair not speaking becomes political, as we have seen today."

(Professor Coeliaris has exchanged two letters with Morgethai, over the course of the last century, almost completely in magical argot and formulae)

"Traditional adventuring parties are mixed to cover one another's weaknesses. I imagine, perhaps too fancifully, a system where the churches enforce laws against the mages who enforce laws against out-of-control militaries who crack down on ill-behaved churches. It has a symmetry to it."

Alonso's heart is racing, still a bit overwhelmed from confronting Ibarra. He steadies himself. He doesn't have opinions on the paratitles, and so that topic sailed over his head. But now they're back on who should do the enforcement.

"I agree that the academies, or any wizard who takes on an apprentice, should not be responsible for bringing down the ones that go bad. I think they should just be held responsible for having educated them to begin with, and aid in efforts to capture them."

He nods to Carme. "There is a Hellknight order that specializes in handling mad wizards and clerics, especially as they form cults. Perhaps we should encourage the convention to establish them as the Chelish Varloaker, and set some other organization to watch over them." (He doesn't manage to pronounce it correctly, having just heard it for the first time.)

"That's 'Varlokkur', but otherwise it seems a valid proposal. As to the symmetric system that my fellow educator proposes, I suggest that it may be rather too symmetric- churches frequently have fighting men, us arcane folk have golems, and in some circles the undead. It seems a recipe for one faction becoming dominant over the other two. The actual composition of the enforcing body does not seem as significant as the governing body. I might suggest spell lords such as in Absalom, though perhaps only those with an ongoing endorsement by a Good church? But we're getting off topic. Education- shall we allow unlicensed magical education, or not?"

"Why not start with, shall we issue licenses, if so how, and if so what will become of magical education outside of this licensure."

"Certainly. I rather believe we should hold a vote to see where the sense of this committee lies on the question. Speaking for myself, I am in opposition."

"I am in favor," he says quickly, "but am also a bit confused about the point of this convention. Are we settling the law ourselves, or merely making our wishes known to the Queen? If the latter, it seems better to tell her why we want licenses, rather than that she must issue them."

"I am also in opposition, but I believe we are here to make laws on behalf of Her Majesty, which laws she has promised to accept as a favor to Archmage Elie Cotonnet, who I believe with his wife possesses most of the magical power on Golarion."

"I am opposed, though not to hearing your Reason. A Constitution sets down in written law those Customs and Practices for which the Law traditionally appeals to Precedent or Immemorial Custom, and is the First and Highest of all Laws; the purpose of this Convention is to draft such a Document, which the Archmage shall set before her Majesty. The form of this Document is that of a Law or Code of Laws."

He doesn't have a really strong opinion, probably licenses or no licenses the schools will find a way to screw over the working citizen wizard.  And he can't tell which option is more loyal or more good.  It looks like the majority is opposed, so he'll join with that.

"Opposed."

Hopefully they get to loans sooner than later.

"Against licensure."

"In favor, however futilely."

He can't do fancy wizard math, but he can count; the licenses have lost this committee vote. But at least he wasn't totally alone, and that's enough encouragement for him to give a little speech.

He turns to Lluïsa. "I don't pretend to understand magic or how best to govern it. I simply believe that it is too powerful to not govern. I am here because a wizard of moderate power can wreck a village with a single spell, and a fresh academy graduate can wreck a life with a single spell. It is already illegal to murder, steal, and rape, but magic enables those crimes at grander scales than a normal person could manage."

"Licenses won't stop that," he says sadly, "but having a list of wizards in a city can help narrow down investigations, and some criminals were caught because of school record-keeping. If you tell me they have a better solution in Absalom, I don't see any reason to doubt you, but let us not forget who our laws could protect, and leave them unsheltered."

Lluïsa nods. "I myself possess fireball, though it is not among my Typical Choices for Preparation. Were I to go Mad, and cast it in a Populated Area, I would expect to be Apprehended presently, notwithstanding any Regime of Licensure; but Law-Abiding wizards look with Skepticism upon such a Regime, envisioning that an Official with whom they have a Petty Quarrel would forego any true Investigation, naming them as chief Suspect based solely on possessing Wizardry. As for Prevention, I do prefer the City in its Unburnt State; absent Prophecy such Preferences are perhaps the only true Restraint on Crime." Small smile.

"Licensure fails, then. As to our other topics, we then" (she nods at Carme) "have the financial survival of Wizardry and its Academies. I believe that until this moment, the academies were funded by the debts of the wizards?"

"By their tuition fees. Entrants who did not need to take on debt to pay them were not required to do so anyway."

"By their debts.  The wizard schools take on children at a variety of levels of potential, then fail out a third of them by their failures as teachers and their Asmodean cruelty and their Infernal petty tyrannical power games and their inability to recognize the forms talent can take.  The novice wizards' debts can then last for a lifetime given the interests rates they need to pay down.  Even if the novice wizard can later claw their way up from cantrips to 1st circle there isn't a way to earn enough to pay down the debt given the typical rates 1st circle spells actually sell for.  If being cut off from this Asmodean con game of borderline enslavement puts the schools out of business, then let them fail and let better schools which don't have deliberate failure of a third of their students built into their basic methods of operation take their place."

He is visibly angry by the end of this speech.

"No screening method is perfect. A student who appears bright enough to succeed as a wizard to Detect Thoughts may be unable to keep up with the required work ethic and challenging educational environment. That does not mean that their teachers should work for free."

Yeah he can see the obvious insult there, but he has a worse one ready to deploy: disloyalty and heresy.

"The teachers should be obligated to work without inflicting their petty Asmodean bullshit on students, and those students that endured such should not owe them money for their failure to teach, and anyone that says otherwise should be reported to the Excising Diabolism committee for their clear Asmodean sympathies."

She may out circle Fernando, but her loyalty is far more questionable.  If he's lucky, maybe she's at least 3rd circle and will have shown up to the detect evil search the excising diabolism committee ran earlier.

"Now, now, we can all agree that it would have been better for you not to have been misled into thinking that you would be likely to be able to pay off your tuition costs, but many students from marginal backgrounds have benefited from financing options. Else we'd only teach the rich."

Mephistopheles demand specific performance Erastil burn the seed corn what is with today and throwing around accusations.

"I have a simple set of proposed rules for loans applicable not only to wizard schools but also to apprenticeships, indentures, and emergency financing which should help set things right in this land, no, in this Nation, by undoing the treacherous work of Asmodeans in binding its people, its citizens, in underhanded contracts.  Although this committee's work will naturally be focused on wizard schools, with proper care to wording and detail, our proposed legal terms may be useful to and draw support from the abolishing Slavery Committee and the Excising Diabolism Committee."

His voice is energetic.  For once in his life his stutter hasn't interrupted him at a critical moment.

"Go ahead, Delegate. Let's hear your proposals."

Coeliaris passes a note to Carme, using a mage hand. What are the cunning thresholds for schools?