See also:
The Cynosure (disambiguation)

Founded by Shara Graye and approved 20 Eleasis, 1373DR, by the First Freehold Council, the Cynosure was the first guild to be officially chartered in Freehold.

Designed to serve as a public entity aimed primarily at education and improving the quality of Freehold life as opposed to regulating spellcasters (the job of the government), the Cynosure is divided into three branches or departments, each headed by a Director: Service, Research, and Defense. The three Directors form the Guild Board, who report to an Archmage elected by the guild senior staff, but who are ultimately personally answerable directly to the ruling body of Freehold. The Archmage serves mostly as a public face and chief administrator for the guild, as much accountant as anything else, and is the liaison to the Council.

Within each branch, the Cynosure is legally permitted to organize and educate its members as it sees fit. The Director of any branch of the institution is held personally responsible for the actions of all guild members under his or her authority; while the Cynosure is expected to police its own membership, public complaints can be filed with the Council to request an injunction for irresponsible use of spellcasting. Members found to be guilty of misuse of magic are subject to all applicable laws, fines, and punishments, as appropriate. Guild members are ultimately answerable to the Council, and are considered public servants while they maintain membership with the Cynosure.

Members are granted access to a communal pool of resources and shared knowledge held by the guild, as well as any resources issued by the Council, and are expected to place the advancement of the community above other pursuits; those who misuse public resources are subjected to the strictest laws, fines, and punishments, as appropriate. In return, Freehold subsidizes the costs incurred by the Cynosure, enabling greater growth and expansion within the organization. To make use of public resources for any project, members must file a requisition with the relevant Director's office, which will then seek the approval of the Council. All such projects are subject to monitoring by the Council to ensure that public funds are properly utilized.

Regarding the disparate bodies of the guild, the Department of Service is dedicated to the study and creation of enchanted items and the supply of utilitarian magicks that enhance daily living or the productiveness of the community, as a whole, including (but not limited to) spells and effects that assist with community development. Service is also licensed to sell enchanted items and magical records, including enchanted scrolls and spellbooks.

The Department of Research concentrates on the acquisition and expansion of magical knowledge, theory, and records, including the education of new spellcasters and of the community, in general, offering nonmagical education to those without the Gift. Scholarships, grants, and work exchanges are available privately through Research, and publicly through the Council, for potential students that meet the requirements.

The Department of Defense contributes to the community in the form of sustained magical wards and similar or associated spells and effects, as well as organization of military-grade spellcasters through the institution of the Freehold Guard. Defense members are subjected regularly to the most rigorous ethical and psychological examinations possible; for so long as they continue to meet Cynosure and Council standards of approval, they remain licensed to wield military-grade magicks within the parameters described by the organization's charter. Guild members who misuse their combat license or are found guilty of a serious crime against the community are stripped of their license and prohibited from holding such license in the future, in addition to all other appropriate penalties and punishments. Guild members who hold a combat license must also serve three days of every tenday with the Guard, subject to Cynosure management. For security reasons, signing for a combat license requires the casting of an arcane mark cantrip, and spellcasters who cannot cast arcane mark are prohibited from holding a combat license.

Guild membership records are the responsibility of the Guild Board and are not available to the public; however, such records must made available upon request to the Council and are stored in duplicate with all other closed Council records.

The Cynosure is, as yet, a work in progress, more an informal agreement between community spellcasters than anything solid despite the existence of the charter. Work continues on the guildhall, the design of which is meant to reflect its purpose first as a school, and second as a haven for practitioners of the Art and other magic-users. Other than its founder and de facto Archmage, the only current recognized member is Vashiir il Luereth das Ferevan, although following the first annual Harvest Festival in Nightal 1373DR, two apprentices were adopted: Starla Kingshand and Kawashiro Katsura.

See also:
Cynosure Tattoo
Cynosure Adept