Glad you’re enjoying the ride!

As for your questions, no, I’m definitely not trying to paint the Mage’s Association in a good light, because that’s not what they are. In fact, a solid reason for the existence of Supplement IV Equilibrium is to ensure they’re dealt with accordingly.

For those who may get the wrong idea at times, one must remember that the mages we’re often shown in Fate are usually far more relate-able than the true mages that inhabit the world. I merely continue the trend with Gabrielle and Gudao’s parents (specifically Gabby’s father and Gudao’s mother, who are the mages). 

As made obvious by Gudao and Gabrielle’s ‘carefree demeanor’ in regards to magecraft, they weren’t raised to the same mentality. So it’s safe to assume that though the parents wanted them to become great mages, they let them decide their own path as opposed to forcefully molding them into a family model. If it did happen, it would have been more apparent with Gabrielle since her lineage is similar to Waver’s: Stretches back a decent bit, but is far from a named, old house.

So that brings us to the questionable mages, who fill the ranks of most of the Clock Tower. As I touched on briefly, Equilibrium was purposefully designed to deal with the problems they present. They’re arrogant, morally bankrupt by normal human standards, and will do much if it means even the slightest chance of a miraculous advancement or prestige. Considering Chaldea is supposed to be a subbranch owned by a former lord that now holds a lot of “immensely powerful familiars controlled by weak mages?” Yea, that might actually make them throw away their infighting to unite and try and grab what they can.

In order to prevent constant underhanded tactics and attacks, I made sure the Clock Tower got a taste of what it needed to ‘keep them in line,’ so to speak. What’s a quick way to get it through their heads what these ‘powerful familiars’ can do? Have a far weaker shadow servant run rampant through the halls to the point it was only stopped by two Magicians. Could it have been stopped by fewer? Sure, but word of mouth is powerful, and more often than not, the many will be terrified it took two Magicians to stop a weaker servant. And Chaldea has over a hundred.

So it’s that fear, concern, and begrudging acknowledgement of power that mostly keeps them in check. It’s like bothering Aoko, Zelretch, the Barthomeloi head, or the mysterious Clock Tower Director himself. If you want the best chance to remain safe and advance your lineage, you avoid unnecessary and insurmountable trouble, and poking bears is a surefire way to get your ass handed to you.

Three points to address today.

1) Supplement IV: Equilibrium is on schedule. Sorta. It will be released tomorrow at the usual time, but my proofreader, SKYS, is on vacation. There may be a few more (usually 3-7) grammatical slips you may come across. Otherwise, the Prologue will be uploaded tomorrow, but twice-a-week updates will be delayed until next week. (As in, Chapter 1 will be out on the 18th and not the 14th).

2) The Fragments Series will have its first ‘major’ RETCON. You read that right. A key point in the series is being reworked, and I left an appropriate Author’s note for it. 

As you've likely read, Chaldea managed to completely remove Lancelot's Mad Enhancement. The removal of Mad Enhancement becomes a staple point in future entries as well, but this idea will be reworked in the future. Instead of being completely removed, any instance of Mad Enhancement being adjusted will just be a heavy rank down to the point it has little influence (like Beowulf’s E- Rank that does nothing). This change will not shift any plot points in the series, but is still important to note the difference when it's talked about in the future. 

It’s a much more favorable idea than removing the Mad Enhancement completely for multiple reasons, including the idea that just a potion (not saint graph surgery) removing a key berserker class trait was, I definitely admit, not the best decision.

3) The Discord is opening its doors one more time for the ‘closed beta’ test of sorts. Everything has been going really well, so I may be opening the doors completely in the next week. As a recurring reminder, no, the Discord does not replace anything on the tumblr. It’s just there for fellow fans to talk with each other and relax.

Here’s the link for 10 more uses. First come, first serve. Rules are located in the top left as their own channel.