Wizards
	Despite the persecutions of the templars and the sorcerer-kings, every city has its share of wizards. Of course, you will never meet one who openly admits to his art, but there are nevertheless mages in every city.

Defilers

Cities are the hardest places for inexperienced Defilers to survive. Not only are they hunted by the agents of the monarch, but few citizens will provide them with refuge or assistance - in addition to fearing the king's wrath, most people resent what the Defiler's magic does to the land. For this reason, most Defilers lead solitary lives of constant apprehension, associating only with the shady elves who sell them spell components.

The Veiled Alliance

Mages have life a little easier. As members of the Veiled Alliance, they have a network of friends and allies to whom they can turn when they need support. The alliance helps them procure spell components without exposing their identities to untrustworthy elves, warns them about nosy templar agents, protects them from psionic and magical probes, and helps them escape the city if they are discovered. Joining a Veiled Alliance is no easy matter, however. From what I understand of the organization in Tyr, for xample, before a Preserver is asked to join, a current member must propose to the entire organization that they extend an invitation to the prospective associate. If any of the current members states a reason for excluding the candidate, he is not invited to join. Only after all the members have been polled and no one objects does the proposing member extend an invitation to the candidate. Such invitations are seldom refused, for by the time Preserver is offered membership in the Veiled Alliance, he is well aware of the benefits it can provide. As a courtesy, most Veiled Alliances extend their protection to Alliance members from other cities. Once, I was in the company of an Alliance member when he requested such a courtesy. First, we sought out a tavern that we had heard Alliance members frequented. As we entered, the Preserver covered the lower part of his face with his hand. This did not appear to be so much a secret password, however, as an indication that we were looking for a member of the city's Veiled Alliance. After we sat down, we were approached by a psionicist. This woman asked us several questions, and all the while I could feel her probing our minds for lies. At first, I thought that she found our answers unsatisfactory, for she simply stood and left without saying a word. A short time later, however, a waif came to our table and informed us that a guide was waiting for us. This guide took us to the home of a high-ranking Alliance member, who acted as our host and protector while we were in the city. He did not introduce us to any other members of the Alliance, and, though he treated us courteously enough, I was aware that if we had acted in a manner that could be considered even slightly suspect, we would have been killed in our sleep.