"Pray you expect me!"
The Inquisition of the First Mage, informally but more commonly known as the Nightmare Mages, are an organization in the Sular Empire with the goal of enforcing the Edicts and stamping out heresy. Although ostensibly a mechanism of the Sulars, branches of it exist in nearly every nation on Nesilene. Managed personally by the First Mage, and headquartered in the College of Runes, their presence is regularly felt by every student on that campus.
Origins
During the Sular Supremacy, local authorities would occasionally arrest people in accordance with regulations established by the Edicts, but there was no special process. Sometimes, offenders were even processed through normal, secular courts rather than religious ones.
With the collapse of the Sular Empire, however, secular Sular authorities now only operated in the small area remaining under their control. It became necessary to establish a system of enforcement that operated entirely within the Rune Religion. Various temporary organizations existed under the First Mage, however these were always under threat of being (and often were) dissolved by the Emperor, who saw them as diminishments of their authority. But this did not last for very long.
The chaos following the collapse led to the Sular monarchy becoming much weaker than it had been. The office of First Mage, previously viewed as lesser than that of the Sular Emperor, now became a far more prestigious position. In a concession to the First Mage, Emperor Troepa IV agreed to the establishment of an official inquisition that operated under the First Mage’s control. This was, again with the pressure of the First Mage, solidified with the issuing of the 154th Edict upon Troepa IV’s death. Notably, the Inquisition was given powers outside the bounds of Sular law, including the ability to arrest, try, and even depose Emperors.
To say this dramatically changed the balance of power in the Sular Empire would be an understatement. This resulted in a line of royals known as “The Marionette Emperors”, as the Inquisition ensured the throne remained firmly under the influence of the First Mage. The 158th Edict reversed this by making it much harder to arrest Emperors, and while it restored a great deal of independence to the throne, the First Mage remained both more prestigious and powerful on the island as a whole.
Despite all this, the First Mage remained nominally a vassal of the Emperor, with even the Sular royals making use of the Inquisitions in their grander power struggle with the Hegemon of Nesilene. Interestingly, the Nesilene-wide extralegal authority of the Hegemon is sometimes believed to have inspired the Inquisition in the first place.
Operation
The Inquisition was empowered to operate in any jurisdiction where the Sular Cult of the Runes still held any authority. Even after the fall of the Sular Empire, this still included most of Nesilene (although some realms had banned the organization altogether). It was divided into different local branches, each operating semi-autonomously but all answering to the First Mage in Runia. In fact, inquisitors themselves are exclusively selected from the top students at the College of Runes.
When a person is suspected of having committed a religious crime, an investigation is launched. The nature of the investigation varies widely depending on context, but the inquisitors are empowered to spy on a suspect for an indefinite amount of time. Sometimes, a person will be the subject of a lengthy secretive investigation and have no clue. If the inquisitors decide to either charge someone with a crime or arrest them (the former not being required for the latter), they had a sweeping array of possible tactics to solicit a confession. Torture, blackmail, or bribery were all on the table. The only restriction was that the detainee could not come within close range of either death or permanent disfigurement.
This process was dramatically reformed by First Mage Corzic I, who restricted the forms of torture which could be used and greatly restrained when torture could even be implemented. But regardless, it remained an option as a last resort.
Once the inquisitors have collected their evidence, the suspects are brought before a theological court to undergo a formal trial. Inquisitors are forbidden from simply holding subjects forever, since this would likely antagonize the local residents, who aren’t stupid and keep tabs on local Inquisition activity. Trials are weighed in favor of the prosecution, but they were not for show.
The Inquisition, a Sular institution, is only tolerated outside of Sular territory because it stamps out heresy, something everyone hates. Political boundaries are trumped by shared religious desires and beliefs, allowing the Inquisition to flourish. However, it could only flourish so long as it retained its aura of effectiveness and legitimacy. In some places, simply criticizing the Inquisition could see you charged with heresy, but in places where it is less popular a more delicate approach is taken.
Role in Carrying Out Punishments
The Inquisition is merely one part of the wider Sular religious bureaucracy, mostly tasked with simply locating crimes against the Edicts. However, it also plays a small part in carrying out the sentences of those convicted in a theological court. The Inquisition is sometimes tasked with rehabilitating heretics, ensuring they don’t relapse during their imprisonment. For some crimes, courts will refuse to issue the death penalty unless the convict relapses.
As every inquisitor is a mage, they are also responsible for much of the magic used during this process. The possibilities opened by magic allow for many more different forms of rehabilitation, sometimes resulting in the earliest forms of therapy on Nesilene.
The College of Runes
The campus city of Runia, better known as the College of Runes, is the headquarters of both the Sular Rune Religion and the Inquisition of the First Mage. As the place where the religion’s future is regularly born, is by far the most intensely watched location on Nesilene. Most students are on the receiving end of an investigation at some point during their tenure. Many of these are secretive, some simply involve an inquisitor dropping by to ask a few questions. Others were… more intrusive.
Given the First Mage’s presence at the College of Runes, investigations there can sometimes involve them directly.