This is an interesting thread to me, as I personally never took Thaumaturgey (as a whole and potential path) to be so intrinsically and necessarily connected to Ul'dah so much as Ul'dah is connected to Thaumaturgey. Especially by the nature of the magic originating from one's own Aether. I'll quote a bit of text that the receptionist of the Thaumaturge guild gives as some history on the subject.
"The nation of Ul'dah inherited its traditions from ancient Balah'dia, a city founded by the descendants of the first mages. Â The secrets of these illustrious sorcerers were ultimately entrusted to the priests of the Order of Nald'thal, who have passed them down from generation to generation ever since. Â Focused and refined over the centuries of use in the Order's funeral rites, the arcane magicks of our ancestors eventually emerged as the art we now know as thaumaturgy."
So:
* Ul'dah inherited traditions based on Balah'dia.
* Balah'dia was where these sorcerers were located for a time, and was the city they founded (not Ul'dah).
* The sorcerers themselves were the ones first able to conduct the aetherical practices, they simply chose to reveal them to the Order of Nald'thal.
* Those of the Order preserved them, and used them during funeral rites.
* The practices have been revised (and likely witnessed) since.
Thus:
- Ul'dah may not be the only place that has taken on these traditions, the city simply holds them in high regard.
- These sorcerers may have also imparted this knowledge to others beyond the Order of Nald'thal. (but maybe not.)
- However, the practice of the magic itself was likely possible without the Order of Nald'thal's influence, since the Order is not its origin.
- The Order modified the practices for their own uses, using them during funerals which others likely bore witness to. Â Thus, anyone who bore witness could possibly look into the practices themselves, and may have some luck in figuring it out, if they have the resources and sufficient aetherical reserves themselves.
- The practices have changed and evolved over the centuries, meaning there is not necessarily a strict singular method to them.
 It's true, that the Thaumaturge Guild in Ul'dah holds a high place on the social ladder.  It's made very clear that there are a number of important Thaumaturges that do contribute to lawmaking, and have high roles in political dealings in Ul'dah, though the way the current (not the 1.0) Thaumaturge is presented, it appeared that, while they have a clear connection with Nald'thal (as their magic comes from a study of death and through the preservation of teachings), the Thaumaturges gathering in the Ossuary for their guild was likely a logical jump, but not a necessary one.  I got the impression that the devout followers of Nald'thal and Thaumaturges often overlap and coexist, but someone can be one without necessarily being so strictly the other.  I could be entirely wrong about this, especially considering the 1.0 story-line, which has religion and aetherical practice much more closely connected, but in 2.0 it seems a bit more lax.  The leader of the guild and his brothers seem more of the sort to focus on the aetherical practice, and less on any strict, religious doctrine involved in its history.  Since the practice no longer seems to be purely for funerary preparation, I see Thaumaturges now being more like how one might pay homage to their patron god and then go about their business, almost like a sailor of old might have a reverence and great respect for a god of the sea, as opposed to Thaumaturge being a 'strictly religious class'.  There is a difference between one who is a respecting believer, and someone who is a devout priest.  And it seems to me that general Thaumaturges of this time were more the former than the latter, unless they chose to delve deeper into the religious aspects itself.  Especially since the readings from all the texts that the guild master and his brothers give you mention nothing of the religious aspects, focusing much more on the spellery and its application alone.  The black mage storylines were brought up, accusing those in the Ossuary to be heretics, and while this is a clear split in thought between the two sides, it definitely shows that Thaumaturgy is possible without the 'strict morality' so to speak.
Furthermore, as you said, there definitely ARE Thaumaturges outside of Ul'dah, and of different races who don't necessarily hold the same views, so I don't think Thaumaturgy itself is solely tied to the city, it is simply that they've found themselves a stronghold there; and as it turns out, Ul'dah based their traditions on these mages who had given a number of their teachings to the Order of Nald'thal. Â It follows that they'd have a strong presence there. Â Of course, I don't know the exact history of Ul'dah either; it could be that some Thaumaturges themselves helped found it, which might also explain their place of power, but I've never seen it as Thaumaturges being exclusively tied to the city, so much as the city ties itself to them.
Since Thaumaturgey relies heavily on one's own power and aether, I think it certainly is possible to learn the art without the ties to Ul'dah specifically, from an RP perspective. Â And honestly, if you wanted your character to join the guild in Ul'dah, then I think she could go through it as it was presented in 2.0. Â Clearly there may be debates and conflict among the 'more devout' and the 'less devout' sides, as is shown in the Black Mage storyline's outset, but if that isn't a problem and is something you want for your character, I think it'd be completely reasonable. Â No one's to say that the less devout (or even more devout side, for that matter) is necessarily 'right', but I think it's viable to do. Â
I'll add I might be completely wrong in my interpretation and if I am, someone shoot me down and correct me (please, because my character might be studying this too and currently, is definitely not on a priestly level, just a greatly respecting one, with his views of Nald'thal), but this is how I took it given all the information presented, and based on the dialogue screenshots I've taken of all the Thaumaturge quests. Â
It honestly makes me wonder if people consider that there are ways of teaching an aetherical art outside of their respective guilds. Â Is it possible to have outside mentors in the subject, or is the only way that you will learn through joining one of the guilds? Â On Conjury, it seemed more limited and less likely (given the nature of how it came about and the source of its power), though still possible. Â Though, someone doing this might get themselves in trouble. Â But with Thaumaturgy, I thought it was certainly logically possible, since the power comes from one's own Aether. Â And in that sense, the amount of reverence and religious devotion to Nald'thal would be dependent on whoever is teaching. Loyalty to Ul'dah, in my mind, is completely unrelated.
(( Tiny edits for clarity. I'm sorry, I have a thing for a billion commas. *lays down* ))
"The nation of Ul'dah inherited its traditions from ancient Balah'dia, a city founded by the descendants of the first mages. Â The secrets of these illustrious sorcerers were ultimately entrusted to the priests of the Order of Nald'thal, who have passed them down from generation to generation ever since. Â Focused and refined over the centuries of use in the Order's funeral rites, the arcane magicks of our ancestors eventually emerged as the art we now know as thaumaturgy."
So:
* Ul'dah inherited traditions based on Balah'dia.
* Balah'dia was where these sorcerers were located for a time, and was the city they founded (not Ul'dah).
* The sorcerers themselves were the ones first able to conduct the aetherical practices, they simply chose to reveal them to the Order of Nald'thal.
* Those of the Order preserved them, and used them during funeral rites.
* The practices have been revised (and likely witnessed) since.
Thus:
- Ul'dah may not be the only place that has taken on these traditions, the city simply holds them in high regard.
- These sorcerers may have also imparted this knowledge to others beyond the Order of Nald'thal. (but maybe not.)
- However, the practice of the magic itself was likely possible without the Order of Nald'thal's influence, since the Order is not its origin.
- The Order modified the practices for their own uses, using them during funerals which others likely bore witness to. Â Thus, anyone who bore witness could possibly look into the practices themselves, and may have some luck in figuring it out, if they have the resources and sufficient aetherical reserves themselves.
- The practices have changed and evolved over the centuries, meaning there is not necessarily a strict singular method to them.
 It's true, that the Thaumaturge Guild in Ul'dah holds a high place on the social ladder.  It's made very clear that there are a number of important Thaumaturges that do contribute to lawmaking, and have high roles in political dealings in Ul'dah, though the way the current (not the 1.0) Thaumaturge is presented, it appeared that, while they have a clear connection with Nald'thal (as their magic comes from a study of death and through the preservation of teachings), the Thaumaturges gathering in the Ossuary for their guild was likely a logical jump, but not a necessary one.  I got the impression that the devout followers of Nald'thal and Thaumaturges often overlap and coexist, but someone can be one without necessarily being so strictly the other.  I could be entirely wrong about this, especially considering the 1.0 story-line, which has religion and aetherical practice much more closely connected, but in 2.0 it seems a bit more lax.  The leader of the guild and his brothers seem more of the sort to focus on the aetherical practice, and less on any strict, religious doctrine involved in its history.  Since the practice no longer seems to be purely for funerary preparation, I see Thaumaturges now being more like how one might pay homage to their patron god and then go about their business, almost like a sailor of old might have a reverence and great respect for a god of the sea, as opposed to Thaumaturge being a 'strictly religious class'.  There is a difference between one who is a respecting believer, and someone who is a devout priest.  And it seems to me that general Thaumaturges of this time were more the former than the latter, unless they chose to delve deeper into the religious aspects itself.  Especially since the readings from all the texts that the guild master and his brothers give you mention nothing of the religious aspects, focusing much more on the spellery and its application alone.  The black mage storylines were brought up, accusing those in the Ossuary to be heretics, and while this is a clear split in thought between the two sides, it definitely shows that Thaumaturgy is possible without the 'strict morality' so to speak.
Furthermore, as you said, there definitely ARE Thaumaturges outside of Ul'dah, and of different races who don't necessarily hold the same views, so I don't think Thaumaturgy itself is solely tied to the city, it is simply that they've found themselves a stronghold there; and as it turns out, Ul'dah based their traditions on these mages who had given a number of their teachings to the Order of Nald'thal. Â It follows that they'd have a strong presence there. Â Of course, I don't know the exact history of Ul'dah either; it could be that some Thaumaturges themselves helped found it, which might also explain their place of power, but I've never seen it as Thaumaturges being exclusively tied to the city, so much as the city ties itself to them.
Since Thaumaturgey relies heavily on one's own power and aether, I think it certainly is possible to learn the art without the ties to Ul'dah specifically, from an RP perspective. Â And honestly, if you wanted your character to join the guild in Ul'dah, then I think she could go through it as it was presented in 2.0. Â Clearly there may be debates and conflict among the 'more devout' and the 'less devout' sides, as is shown in the Black Mage storyline's outset, but if that isn't a problem and is something you want for your character, I think it'd be completely reasonable. Â No one's to say that the less devout (or even more devout side, for that matter) is necessarily 'right', but I think it's viable to do. Â
I'll add I might be completely wrong in my interpretation and if I am, someone shoot me down and correct me (please, because my character might be studying this too and currently, is definitely not on a priestly level, just a greatly respecting one, with his views of Nald'thal), but this is how I took it given all the information presented, and based on the dialogue screenshots I've taken of all the Thaumaturge quests. Â
It honestly makes me wonder if people consider that there are ways of teaching an aetherical art outside of their respective guilds. Â Is it possible to have outside mentors in the subject, or is the only way that you will learn through joining one of the guilds? Â On Conjury, it seemed more limited and less likely (given the nature of how it came about and the source of its power), though still possible. Â Though, someone doing this might get themselves in trouble. Â But with Thaumaturgy, I thought it was certainly logically possible, since the power comes from one's own Aether. Â And in that sense, the amount of reverence and religious devotion to Nald'thal would be dependent on whoever is teaching. Loyalty to Ul'dah, in my mind, is completely unrelated.
(( Tiny edits for clarity. I'm sorry, I have a thing for a billion commas. *lays down* ))
