Scrivener

For every twelve students who enrolls in the academy, on average, five will leave within a year, three will last longer than a year but leave before starting the Final Year, and only one will graduate as a mage . The three remaining -- those who complete all necessary courses to qualify for the Final Year but either opt out of it or fail to complete it to the satisfaction of their instructors, tend to become scriveners.     Scriveners, also referred to as "undermages" or "acolytes," are not recognized as mages and lack much of their specialized knowledge. However, they are still contracted by the Idiari government and typically serve in roles which aid the work of accredited mages.     Both the pay and the pension of scriveners is considerably less generous than that of mages, but their contracts tend to last for much shorter periods of time, and their schedules are less demanding. In fact, it is expected that while contracted as a scrivener, a person will continue with other work or training in their available time. And while the pay is much less than a mage's, it is not inconsiderable.