The city is run by five wizard factions.
That’s not hyperbole. Every Authority, every street patrol, every merchant contract, every courthouse, it all traces back to one of the five wizard factions or the new, burgeoning, divine faction. All members of Wuh-Zhei join a faction before adulthood.
That’s the system. That’s the deal.
The Wizard Factions
These are the five wizard factions that built this city. They each have a voting Senator (although called Senators this is a Pentigarchal Technocracy).
- The Paragons — Evocation + Abjuration
Stability through strength. Shields, fire, and moral certainty. One of three most ‘in power’ Oligarchs. Most prominent faction of plate three. They run the Enforcers who enforce the City’s law. - The Optimists — Conjuration + Necromancy
Creation and recreation. Everything always has a chance to matter or be matter or be recycled. They are currently at the top of the hierarchy. Their faction leader is the unspoken ruler of the City. - The Gilded Gaze — Divination + Illusion
The other of the ruling three factions. They see everything. Their visions and illusions often blur. They are the glue that keep the Paragons and Optimists in power. - The Transneuroclasts — Enchantment + Transmutation
They shape minds and matter alike. Change and improvement is their moto. Dominanted by lower plate Spellpunks and upper plate Old Money. They have handled not being in Senatorial power through crime. - The Chronomancers — Temporal + [Redacted]
The clockwork between the gears. Their second school of magic, Completion, is banned across the city. The smallest faction, feared and respected by commoners.
Together, these five hold the city in delicate equilibrium.
And Then There’s the New Faith
No arcane formulas. No sigils. No spells written by ancient hands.
The New Faith was recently given official faction status. Divine magic returned to the city of Wuh-Zhei in the last hundred years. It requires a permit and the proper registration to use on the upper plates (Three, Two and One) but has completely transformed the lower ones (Six, Five and Four).
About Those Pins
Everyone in Wuh-Zhei has a pin. It’s more than a badge, it’s identity, allegiance and even access. A physical magical sigil keyed to your faction. Although not recognized officially, there is a Seventh playable faction; the unpinned. They are either citizens who destroyed their pins or residents of “Plate Zero” (AKA Ground Dwellers) who never had the chance to obtain one.
