During court it was decided that Mages would be required to wear an armband that signifies them as a member of one of the Guilds recognized by the Gothic empire. This edict was in response to complaints from some peasants that blamed mages for crops growing weird and other odd happenings.

While I agreed, that maybe a mage could be responsible for those things, this edict seemed like a poor way to handle this. It was reasoned that if Knights and Priests have to wear marks of their order, why shouldn’t mages? While I had some small pride in becoming a mage, others were concerned that marking mages would make them easy targets for malice.

It is a foolish thing, choosing to inflict violence upon a Knight or Priest is unthinkable for most of the citizens in Runeheim. Who would dare to incur the wrath of the powerful knight houses or go against the words of Benalus by attacking his devoted?

But mages are sometimes not afforded this protection. Some view mages as either heretics or heretics waiting to happen. Some view mages as perverters of the natural order, greedy men and women who defile the land with every breath they take. If a peasant decides to blame a mage for his crop failing and decides he has nothing to lose by stabbing the mage in the back, Would the guild swear vengeance for their fallen comrade? Or would a rival mage just see a threat to their power removed without their hands being dirtied?

I worry that this edict puts myself and the other mages dedicated to Runeheim in danger. I can only hope I fostered enough good will amongst the people in my Woodwise duties and my efforts in defending the town from the undead to feel safe with my back turned on people I’m trying to protect.