The Wizard classes have to be the exception since there’s very little one can make of Wizards in myths and especially histories given that these characters (think Merlin and Circe) existed outside of societal hierarchies and in most sources that I know they were often shadowy personages even if they existed. There was never a profession that consciously classified itself as a “Spellcaster” aside from Priests (especially Bokors who used “Medicine”, the African equivalent of Magic, to weave their effects) but most of those cases involve some form of intercession, which is the case in this game’s lore. Thus, Wizards, although they’re considered an Acceptable Break from Reality in MMOs due to our modern cultural expectations about “classes”, struggle to find an identity which is not “synthetic” or “artificial” since most of our ideas of “Arcane Spellcasters” stem from modern Fantasy.
If you’ve noticed, the nearness of a class’ theme to a historical counterpart is more pronounced for the Swordies, Archers and Priests who were part of hierarchies compared to Wizards. The exception to this rule is the Featherfoot who is an aboriginal Australian Shaman/Witch (although their description leans on the edgier side of such examples). Notice that although it has a real counterpart, this counterpart is considered one that operates in the edges of society and is usually a trickster figure of some sort. I would even venture to say that the example of the Featherfoot is the exception that proves the rule rather than the other way around.
TL;DR The concept of an Arcane Magic user has essentially been absent from historical hierarchies and as such do not have very visible historical equivalents . Thus, one can make an exception that mages are unrealistic although this is not always the case.
Personal opinion: I want a Magic Swordsman. But I want it to be a Wizard class.
