Supernaturals
The supernatural world exists right below the mortal one, living among them but apart at the same time. The world that Callisto exists in has all manner of supernaturals.
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Like the wider world, there is no global structure or hierarchy. It varies wildly what sort of supernatural controls an area and their style of rule vastly depends on the personality of the rulers in question, from old monarchies passed from parent to child, or uneasy democracies comprised of a board of supernaturals of near equal power.
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As for Callisto, there is considerable sway from the Academy in supernatural politics but with the university focused on internal politics, there remains a void in power in the island proper
An OOC Note
We have deliberately provided the history of the world and the island but left over-arcing supernatural politics very vague but for broad strokes of the magical schools.
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The purpose in doing so is to provide players a chance to create their own stories, histories and politics. Rather than enforcing harsh lines and factions, we invite players to create their own and develop the story of Callisto through their characters and writing.
The Magical Traditions
The magic traditions are, by no means, a unified force in the supernatural world. Traditionally, they are secretive and private, with their art being passed down from teacher to student and heavily guarded. Conflict between the different schools has waged, bitter and fierce and even bloody as each seeks to raise their own art to primacy as the dominant force in the world.
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Through witchhunts, Faith rose as the dominant school for quite sometime. Plenty of other practitioners are still bitter at that school for silently egging on the bloody hunts that mostly took out innocent humans but the pervasive fear helped to stifle interest in other schools for some time. The acceptance of 'miracles' allowed them more leeway for some time until the age of Enlightment which saw the Hermetic rise to ascendency again, having been suppressed since the fall of Rome.
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Necromancers and Psychics have been dogging the Hermetic Order's heels for some time, coaxing along the rising interest in the occult and the afterlife although neither had a chance until the Hermetic order split in two, forging a new - and seventh - school; Technomancy.
Witchcraft
Passed traditionally inside family lines, often from mother to daughter but there are plenty of male witches as well.
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It is not uncommon for ancient witch families to value their bloodlines and look to make matches with other powerful witch families.
Hermetic
The intellectuals of the mages, this order rose to power for the first time in Ancient Greece. They were the first to attempt to meld emerging scientific thought with the art of magic.
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Their rituals are elaborate and a single Master make take multiple students or refuse to take any.
Technomancy
The youngest of the schools. Technomancers broke from the Hermetic Order in the last fifty years but they are fast growing.
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Unlike other orders, they tend to view modernizations with approval. Learning Technomancy tends to feel very much like learning most other highly skilled crafts under a master's hand. They are the driving force behind modernizations such as the Academy and formalizing disparate practices into a unified standard.
Elementalism
Often solitary practitioners, it is the normal custom to wait for a student to reveal themselves and seek out a teacher.
Proving oneself worthy is a common theme, as is more monastic leanings of self denial and restraint.
Psychic
The most self-trained of the schools of magic, psychics often come about because they have abilities that they can't control or explain. It leads them to look.
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Most Masters take on students to help spare them a trip to an Aslyum. Psychics are the most likely to be found of all the arts due to the nature of their gift.
Faith
Although the Church is often what comes to mind, mages have come up in almost all organized religions.
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The Masters of this art look for the devout as their students as belief is key. Most of them believe their art is truly divine in nature.
Necromancy
Necromancers vary wildly. They are typically very solitary practitioners and often the fewest in number of all the schools because it is rare to find a master interested in working with a student.
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Honestly, that's a relief for many of the more organized schools as when the rare group of necromancers crop up, it gets bloody quickly.