Still taking suggestions for fantasy world names btw. Had some great ones so far ^_^

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Thaumite is the common currency of arcana in the Empire. It is a lustrous ore, mined from rare veins on the far frontiers and transported along the long roads to the Colleges, where it is processed and stabilised into gold-pressed wafers.

One coin = one miracle. Other thaumaturges, like druids or alchemists, have their own wells of power, but for wizards, thaumite is their only fuel. It is all that makes them practitioners of magic rather than mere academics of it. For that reason, the Colleges, the Empire, and its infrastructure are tightly entwined. The wizards keep its roads clear and its citizens safe. Because if the Empire ever falls, they fall with it.

There’s always the temptation to hoard the little coins. When you’re out in the field as a young acolyte, and down to your last few, the world can be a scary place. But matters of supply and demand are for archmagi to concern themselves with. Acolytes are expected to spend them as and when the need arises.

And then there is the honorarium, a small stipend of thaumite that wizards may set aside to repay, ex gratia, any acts of kindness encountered upon the road.

A mended gate hinge, a productive cow, a healthy newborn. Whatever the blessing, a wizard always pays his debts.