Pax Magus

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Pax Magus (パックス マガス, Pakkusu Magasu; lit. Latin for Magic Peace) is the term coined by historians to refer to the ongoing period of relative peace, development, and prosperity that has swept the continent of Ishgar for the last century, mainly a positive consequence of the World Wizard Wars of the X880s. The current period has been marked by high technological development where magic and science have moved in greater harmony—which has normalized the use of magical airships and vehicles thanks to advancement in lacrima-based engineering. As a result of a noted rise in the number of magically capable humans, guilds have seen considerable growth as well. One of the most striking attributes is the absence of the Black Arts, which was eradicated more than a century ago, leaving the deviants of the world to lesser classes of dark magic. However, in response to the continued advancement of magic comes a certain demystification of the magical arts, which has earned the wrath of the Back to Magic movement, a traditionalist movement that ranges from peaceable separatists to militant zealots such as the fabled magic knights of the Order of Merlin or the enigmatic sisters of the Witches Horde. However, it has not been a golden age of conformity.

While Mage Anarchism may have died more than a century ago during the times of war, notions of mage supremacy did not. In response, there are serious strongholds of anti-mage sentiment across the continent, from militant reactionaries to those that simply frightened. The destruction of the World Wizard Wars created a breeding ground for anti-mage thinkers that call for magic to be reevaluated as a natural resource and mages as a scourge. For these peoples, they find solidarity with the People's Empire of Pergrande, a transcontinental colossus established by the legendary Golden Horde known for its intense anti-mage policies, lacrima-powered weaponry, autocratic society, and powerful non-mage combatants. However, there is talk of a cult of anti-mage radicals that have torn themselves away from magic through some unknown use of White Lacrima and are thus without magic, though these rumors have been waved off by the Magic Council. According Jaime Cosway, it is fine time for anti-mage radicals to run wild at the far eastern reaches of the continent due to the hegemony of imperial Pergrande. However, since the Vista Reformation some two centuries ago, the council became powerful and proactive enough to meet these threats in kind.