Table of Contents

Magical Society

While most of the 30,000 Wytches in the UK often work and live in Norm society, working in Norm companies and running small businesses, Wytches across the country also tend to band together by their schools - Pyromancers with Pyromancers, Hydromancers with Hydromancers and so such. As such, five distinct organisations have grown over the centuries with which most Wytches associate or participate.

The oldest of all such organisations is the Apocrymancers' Bedivere Hall, a college in Oxford secreted away from the Norms for the study of Apocrymancy and research into the depths of magic; Aeromancers, more recently, have grouped together in the safety and security provided by The Magic Sphere, an organisation of Wytches using magic to trick and deceive Norms for their own purposes; Geomancers group themselves into a union known as The Heritage Trust, a society for the protection and utilisation of natural resources across the UK; Hydromancers, often preferring a solitary life, have become known as The Islanders, people who prefer isolation and quiet over the noise of the city; and Pyromancers, and other hot headed Wytches, band together in small gangs collectively known as The Pyros.

Within these factions, magic of the specific school is taught to wytches, and members work to expand their knowledge and their own interests. The factions do, of course, associate with each other, and a Wytch's life and opinions are not necessarily dominated by their faction, but they provide structure and assistance. Most tend to stick to their natural society, but it is not unknown for, for instance, a Geomancer to acquire a scholarship at the arcane institution of Bedivere Hall if they pull the right strings.

Wytches are of course by no means restricted to social interaction within just their faction and often will form good cross-school friendships and relations.

The Law

Due to laws imposed by the Hammer, it is currently illegal for Wytches to use (or attempt to use) magic for the following ends:

Wytches are also prevented in law from doing the following, with spot blood checks enforceable by the Hammer to moderate:

Over the years, active Wytches through cooperation with the Hammer have managed to narrow an originally much longer list of prohibitions down to those listed above. While many are happy to settle for this in exchange for not being hunted relentlessly, there are dissenters in the crowds and some Wytches do talk of revolution to try and change things - peaceful protests are often ignored or hushed away by the Hammer.

UK Borders

As of the 1930s, travel out of the UK by Wytches is prohibited by the Hammer except in the direst of circumstances in which they should go with a Hammer escort provided and have applied directly to the Grand Inquisitor.

Coming into the country is a slightly different matter - Wytches from outside the UK are warned not to visit and by EU and UN treaty may be prevented from leaving after arriving in order to prevent provoking illegal magical immigration out of the country.

Technology

While Wytches are capable of using most modern technology, and may well use it regularly in everyday life - cars, phones, the internet, and so on - they see little need to work to advance it. Magic allows them to achieve many things technology is not capable of, and so while the Norms invest in advancing their technology, Wytches prefer to work to advance their understanding of magic.