Magicians were once top talents with exalted status in all nations; they were creators of miracles, defenders of countries, as well as meticulous engineers and educators, also the guardians of various secret knowledge. Not to mention the noble families with inherited bloodlines, even commoners confirmed to possess magical qualifications could make a name for themselves—national states would grant them noble status, sometimes even hereditary titles.
However, this enviable status began to decline rapidly with the emergence of conglomerates and scientific technology. By the middle and late stages of the great war, magicians' treatment was not much different from that of ordinary technical troops, completely lacking the grandeur and generous treatment resembling the nobility on their excursions. By the time the Empire was established, magicians became targets of hunting and exclusion.
The Empire does not need magicians.