Meletis Charlatan

The polis of Meletis is best known as a bastion of learning and magic, the center of free and rational thought. Its rulers, the Council of Twelve, work to maintain the reputation of the city in whatever way they can. But while the Council maintains that all intellectual viewpoints are allowed equal space within the city, the citizens of Meletis do not always share their open ways. Some schools of thought are difficult to swallow, even for the forward-thinking Meletians. Such ire is usually reserved for philosophies that argue against common sense and decency- and for many Meletians, the Scholl of Reflections satisfies these qualities.   Divine Detractors Also known by their critics as the School of Charlatans, the spellcasters, philosophers, and scientists that make up this organization all hold a radical belief that the world around them, including the divine realm of Nyx, are nothing but imperfect copies of the pure world. They believe that all magic comes from a place known as the Aether and that the Anther holds the true and divine from all things. For them, all magic is an expression of truth, and the physical is a dim reflection of the magical.   While some of Meletis' more fringe philosophers argue the beliefs of the Charlatans might not totally be without merit, it is the Charlatans' beliefs on divinity that have made them enemies. Spellcasters in the School of Reflectionists, known as Reflectionsists, work hard to master magic without the intervention of the gods, and claim that by doing so, they prove the gods have no real mastery of magic. Instead, they argue the gods are only imperfect expressions of magic themselves, taking credit for what the people of Theros could naturally accomplish of their own.   While the School of Reflection has met with little resistance from the gods themselves, another fact the reflections claim as evidence for their beliefs, the general consensus is that disaster is only a step away. While the reflectionistists remain a minority, they are not more than a nuisance, and certainly not a threat. But if their ideas were to spread or gain traction in circles with more importance, then the gods might take notice.