Education

Witch parents take a very active role in their children's education. They serve as one of their children's teachers. There are some who believe it is the parents who set their children up for failure or success when it comes to the use of magic. This is probably true in the olden days when the aristocrats or main family had tutors. However, tutors being a strictly higher member of the clan thing changed five hundred years ago when a witch Astrea took the throne. Tutors are witches who specialize in teaching witch children magic. They are the teachers of the witch world. Through, witches rarely call them teachers.

There are tutors that teach witch children the basics of magic. This is especially useful for those children born to parents who display very little or no magical abilities. Then there are those tutors who specialize in a brand of magic. Each witch who is capable of magic has a specialization--a classification of magic they have the easiest time using or in the cases of those witches who have very little magical abilities the only classification of magic they seem to be able to use. Through, really talented witches will seem effortless with a large number of the specialization if not most all of them. Anyways, a specialization tutor either introduces a child to a specialization or takes him further into that specialization if the child shows great potential for it before the specialization test or if that specialization is the one the child is declared to have after the test.

There are two tests all witch children are required to take before they become a full-fledged member of witch society. The first test is the specialization test. This test as many of you might have gathered determines the witches specialization. Even a child who displays no sign of magic are required to take this test because enough witches have shown to have magical abilities during these test even if they previously displayed no such abilities. This test, as well as the second test, can be taken when a witch enters their magical puberty. The second test is called the leadership test, and it is a test that decides whether or not a witch can hold a position of power. A clan head might name their child heir to their clan, but that title will not become official until that child passage the leadership test. If the child fails the leadership test the position of clan heir must be given to someone else.

There is no real rush to take either of these tests. Through, a witch will tend to take their specialization test as soon or a few years after they had hit their magical puberty. There are still a time limit on the tests--especially the leadership one. This test must be taken by a witch's hundredths birthday. If the witch fails to take it by then that witch can never be considered an adult. The leadership isn't only a test to determine if a witch is suited to hold a position of power but it also serves as a rite of passage from childhood into adulthood. It does not matter if the witch is declared leadership material or not the simple taking of the test are what makes it considered adults in witches' society. After taking the leadership test the witch is asked if they wish to remain with their birth clan or swear alliance to another clan. There is no shame or stigma from joining another clan, but it is still a rare thing. A witch who is branded a child is not given this option. They must remain with their birth clan.

The actual tests changed in the course of time. During the witches' dark ages they were a literal fight for survival. A witch child would be sent into The Forbidden Forest with only the supplies they can carry to face whatever horrors laid inside. And there are no shortage of things within this forest that would and could kill a witch if given the chance. Many witches lost their lives during these tests. The witch was sent in alone during the specialization test, and require to survive a certain amount of time within the forest--usually a fortnight. During the leadership test, the witch is required to escort a group of humans to a destination. Humans were picked because while the witch taking the test might die they would not extend that same risk to another witch, but humans were not given the same courtesy. This test required the witch and his group of humans to be inside the forest just as long as the specialization one. In order to pass the test a certain percentage of the humans had to make it to the destination. A witch could die during this test and still pass the leadership test, but that is a moot point.

Five hundred years ago, witches were still sent into this forest but they were sent in with a specific task in mind. For example, Astrea was sent into the forest to bring her father the head of the Noroci. The task that the witch was given was determined by how badly their parents wished for them to passed. They used magic to seal the forest off from any of the other foul things that dwell within. Now, during the modern days, the tests don't require the witch to be sent on a special quest in order to pass through a witch can request to take the test of old even with all the risk involved. Through, many opt for taking the tests of old request the safer option of taking the test through a more virtual reality like environment, where if they die during the test they aren't actually killed.