Archmage
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Archmage, archmagi, or archmagus (rarely archimage) is a title used to identify an especially powerful wizard, usually within the context of fantasy fiction. The term is a neologism strung together from the Greek word arché, meaning "first" + magus, a reference specifically to the astronomer-astrologers of ancient Persia.
Archmages, although people or positions by those names can be found in the real world, are most commonly found in fantasy literature, roleplaying games, and computer games. They are typically portrayed as people who have, one way or another, gained the ability to influence the world around them in ways modern physics does not readily permit. This usually draws upon unusual energy sources, ranging from personal will-power to ambient arcane energy to naturally occurring ley-lines. In almost all cases they are a subset of wizards, magicians, druids, or other profession which uses said energy, albeit typically a highly disciplined and usually substantially more powerful and/or influential subset. A very good analogy (in most current fantasy uses) would be archmages are to wizards what a surgeon is to a doctor. Much more skilled in a certain area, although usually sacrificing some diversity in other areas. It should be noted, however, that this is not always the case, and is occasionally used simply to refer to a senior wizard, in much the same way that the Dean of a faculty is senior to an individual teacher within it.
[edit] Examples
The evil sorcerer in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene is named Archimago.
The archmage of the world of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea is a fairly typical example of an archmage, in that he is the head of a college of wizards, a primus inter pares or "first among peers". The character of Saruman in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth novels is also an archmage, though he is never referred to by that title; however, as the head of the order of wizards (as Gandalf describes him), he seems to occupy the place of an archmage in Middle-earth.
In Barbara Hambly's writings, the fantasy worlds of both her Darwath series and the Windrose Chronicles feature archmages, the leaders of the wizards of those worlds. In the Windrose Chronicles, the archmage's authority magically moves to another wizard on the death of the archmage.
In Dungeons & Dragons, archmage is the name of a prestige class whose features are documented in the 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. This prestige class was updated in 3.5 and included as a stock PrC in the Dungeon Master's Guide (the core ruleset for D&D). Their powers allow them to perform feats of magic available to few others, but at the cost of some of their spells.
In Warcraft III, the Archmage is the name of a hero type of the Human race. It is a title given to the most powerful members of the Kirin Tor, the ruling body of wizards. 'Intelligent' heroes, they have the powers of Summon Water Elemental, Blizzard, Mana regeneration and Mass Teleport. Archmages were previously referred to as unbalanced, mainly because of their Summon Water Elemental skill abuse. They were later balanced in following patches.
Many characters in the world of Harry Potter may be considered archmagi, most notably Lord Voldemort and Albus Dumbledore, the latter bearing the title of Grand Sorcerer.
In Gargoyles, the Archmage was a 10th century foe of the gargoyles who returned in modern times to lay siege to the island of Avalon.
In the DC Universe, The Archmage was a being of magic imprisoned at the heart of Zerox, the Sorcerer's Planet.
