Although wizards and other magic-workers are as free to wander at will through the city as anyone else, they have established their own enclave at the mouth of the river and on adjacent islands.
There are good reasons for this.
There have always been individuals who are incompatible with things magical. They put out a sort of mental static that interferes with certain of the more subtle spells and scryings and makes the working of even basic spells harder. In past ages this mattered little, because such people were scattered thinly through the populace and their influence was not very strong. The mage could always shoo them away, either overtly or with a spell that made it uncomfortable for them to remain. And few of the spells that were done in public had the kind of subtlety where this mattered much.
But with the rise of science and non-magical technology this changed. The very people who intefered most with magic tended to make the best scientists and engineers. And the rise of technological industry gathered these people together into large groups and taught them to use their analytical minds, making their disruptive powers much stronger.
At the same time the technologists began to teach the magicians new ways of thinking, of analyzing the logical foundations of magic. They also began to discover and refine various chemical elements and to create other new and useful materials and artificats never before available. This led to the invention of spells that were useful in many new ways but which were also more easily disrupted.
Thus while the wizards had much to be grateful to the scientists for, they could not work well in their presence.
So the Wizard's Quarter was established, well away from the rest of the city. Its location at the river mouth allows the wizards to traffic with the creatures of the sky and of the deeps as well as with mortal men.
Back to the Ancient City.
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