When you’re the best of the best, you might as well get a medal for it.

To draw from an example from a distant universe, in the same way that during the cold war the Olympics was a convenient way for opposing world powers to demonstrate just how amazing they were at producing super-soldiers without having to launch nuclear weapons – the All-Arcanaeum Wizarding Cup Series (AAWCS) is a way for the nations of Rami to demonstrate that they are best a producing Wizards. The Wizards are also the nuclear weapons in this metaphor.

Indeed, while some nations might be lucky enough to produce the odd powerful Sorcerer or Warlock, cultural and military supremacy can only come with the sustained manufacture of trained and disciplined Wizards. And if you have wizards who can cast Fireball, you want everybody to know. The AAWCS was created to give nations this chance as an alternative to proxy wars (with limited success).

Where there are bright patriotic youngsters, there are Arcanaeums (Wizarding Colleges), and these hold local and lunar competitions all-year round in order to find the most talented examples to send to the AAWCS to make their nation proud. Medals from different levels of the AAWCS serve as resume and renown boosting currency for the Wizard who wins them, opening up opportunities to land lucrative research grants or scholarships, access to the most coveted libraries and archives in the Rami system, and of course, high ranking commissions in their nation’s militia (or even others, if one doesn’t mind being named a traitor and made a target for assassination).

The AAWCS faction leader is the Chairman of the Steering Committee, who’s 10 board members are drawn from participating nations. Their role is organise local, lunar and system-wide competitions, setting rules and criteria, developing the tests, upholding the extremely important standards of ethics and integrity, and fostering a culture of friendship, camaraderie (and only very occasionally conflicts of interest) between members.