I gave a lot of thought to necromancy in Theralis. I looked into its origins in real world history, read some books on medieval and greek necromancy, read through the necromantic spells in the PHB and tried to rationalize them... Illusion, I kind of just slapped in there. Sad, huh?
I even made illusion "technologically backwards" in Theralis. When the game started, you couldn't find three illusionists in all of Theralis who could cast
invisibility, although they
did win the "performance casting" contests every four years or so. With the advent of the war, however, the defensive capabilities of illusionists have begun to come to the fore, and a once disrespected "art profession" has started to gain social acceptance.
But you still don't hear much about great illusionist heroes in Theralis. So this Academia is about the Civilized North. It's also not quite as thorough as the necromancy one - more of an overview of what illusion is, and how it is used elsewhere. Like I said, I kind of slapped it in there..
But it's still cool
Academia: Illusion
From the Theralis website
Illusion centers around the creation of phantasmal constructs, semi-real objects and things which fool the senses. As the illusionist grows in power, the constructions take on stronger reality, even fueling their own strength with the belief of those who perceive them, and can become quite powerful.
Illusion magic does not directly affect the mind; the illusionary construct is actually present, reflects light, and so on. It simply isn't entirely real. Belief can impact it, but the illusion is there even if no one can see it.
Casting: An illusionist shapes and controls her creations with her hands, and gesturing is continuous through the course of her spells. Skilled illusionists can dispense with this somewhat, and there are additional constructs which can be learned which operate constructs independantly of the illusionist.
And also...
The material realm is the one we are accustomed to. The mountains that you can see with your own eyes, the dirt you can pick up with your own hands. Everything that is well known is in this realm.
Co-existing with this is the ethereal realm, the insubstantial plane of ghosts and spirits. Your mind, anchored to your body and bound in its material "stuff", exists in the ethereal. Ethereal objects which are not bound into an object are insubstantially visible as wispy, transparent things.
The ethereal realm is one dimensional slice away from our own, and has unknown properties. Connected to it in other dimensional directions are the many planes.
The illusionist is more than he seems. It is his nature.
The art of illusion is, on the surface, the crafting of
ether, carefully shaping it to your will and then expending that Will to force part of its existence into the crude material world, a phantasm given near-reality by the force of your personality, and further strengthened by the belief of others. Given sufficient strength and belief, an illusionist can even
shape reality, rather than merely fantasies.
Although uncommon among young nations at the frontiers of civilization, in the Old Lands, illusionists are respected in a staggering array of professions, from criminal to entertainer to soldier. The ability to alter perceptions is useful almost anywhere you look.
The Arts: Morphestos
Called
morphestos (shaper) in the Old Lands, many illusionists are content to focus on the artistic and performance side of their skills. Operating in troupes, they conceive and create vast tapestries of illusion, entire plays and events and "experiential moments" which take dozens of illusionists coordinating to pull off. Although some troupes are good enough to find a patron who sponsors them in a single location, most tour the Old Lands by "stage coach", vast, rumbling, rolling wagons which provide a simple, undistracting backdrop against which to present the illusions.
Shapers often specialize in particular fields within their troupe, and there are reknowned sound artists and musicians as well as those skilled in the creation and movement of "actors" or the skilled crafting of "scenery"... and most have a mood illusionist, who cunningly weaves lights, shadows, sound distortions, blurring effects and small, glinting details into the overall production to enhance its overall impact.
Most shaper troupes fall into one of three categories: vulgar, pure, and patroned.
The vulgar troupes are what you would expect. They tend to the tawdry, and more specifically, they tend to the
short and the
comedic. They go for thrills rather than emotion, pander to crude humor rather than taste, and rely on gags more than narrative. Still, they do well, and are generally the most popular, although they almost never have a patron. And many vulgar troupes branch out into other forms of illusion to allow special "shock" performances - for example, one troupe became almost infamous for having an invisible person physically on the stage so that when the sea sprayed foam, he could toss
something on the audience.
Pure troupes tend to be short lived, although they do well in good years - the business simply isn't consistent enough without a patron. Pure troupes are where the real
art is, however, and enough people enjoy it that they will always be around, if not in a stable fashion.
Patronned troupes are most typically former pure troupes... former because, as one becomes patroned, one gains both a steady source of income, and the requirement that the source of that income be kept happy. Still, a patroned troupe has steady income, a place of residence which can be constructed to enhance their performances, and leisure time to construct their illusions. It is an enviable life for a shaper!
The Arts: Adonesti
The
adonesti (sensualist) craft experiential illusions on a more personal level. They rarely work with other illusionists, and tend to be part of a brothel community rather than a spell caster community. Still, the best ones are often as reknowned as the best known morphestos composer.
They hand craft physical sensations, phantasmal partners, and more bizarre fantasies. Some also utilize illusions to enhance the public relations of the brothel, the appearance of the servers and the clientelle (it is amazing what enhancing the client's appearance does for sales), and other small effects.
The Arts: Idolates
The
idolates (an etymological riddle; their role is actually that of
orakeles) are shaved-headed guardians of temple joy. Meditating upon the divine, they allow divinity to enter them as they shape the ether, and the images they produce provide visions and guidance. The theory is similar to automatic writing and speaking in tongues... but is more vividly and directly experienced by the masses.
Crime
In Tuoma, at least, The Ten are the boogie men of law enforcement, a band (possibly a former troupe of morphestos) of illusionists who work together to rule the criminal underground of the city-state and organize it to a degree that is almost unheard of elsewhere. It is an accepted fact of life that only the wealthiest can hire the defenses needed to stop them, and that killing thieves is about the only way to reduce the problem... because they are almost impossible to keep locked away, and almost impossible to catch.
Shadows that coat the target area, invisible and silent burglars, false trails that appear from nothing, and streets that turn into shifting mazes... The Ten have never been found. They do all of their work through those they enhance with their magic. Even their number is suspect.
Other than Tuoma, illusionists rarely turn to crime. It simply isn't profitable in most cases, compared to other options. When they do, they typically operate as part of a small team of burglars, providing much the same service as mentioned above. The typical lifespan of a criminal illusionist is a few years before being caught, but with the right team, they can make a bundle before that happens.
War
In Theralis, illusionists have begun to be used in warfare to protect the arcanists.
Among the peoples of the Old Lands, this would be considered a waste. Here, illusionists
control the battlefield. They change the appearance of entire armies, provide invisibility to small squadrons to move into place, reshape the appearance of the land, often in subtly ingenious ways. A battle was won against tremendous odds (and superior enemy illusionists) when the smaller side built a physical cover over pits, then created illusions of the pits - when the enemy saw through the illusion and marched through, they died.
Invisibility, altered numbers and weapon types, shifted positions, terrain-scaping and even phantasmal assassins with just enough reality to kill... illusionists are one of the battle's mainstays.
. Although, who said anything about Akeros being a villain?
I want to see a bloody revolt. ^_^
Definitely enjoying your take on the temptation aspect. And seeing as how we don't really see a whole lot of "doom for your immortal SOUL!" type of thing going on, I get the feeling that converting to the dark side isn't the horrible abomination that it would be in some other settings. 
