[Skarg]

Cultures with high illiteracy, and wizardly assistants in TFT, can manage to do most things just fine. Literacy is still a great and no-doubt pretty common talent for wizards to have, but none of that means it ought to be free.

Of course, it can be fun and interesting when a GM adds a whole layer to character creation where different choices for background can have effects on what PCs start with, and what their situation and connections start out like.

I assume it is pretty common that many wizards learned some non-wizardly talent(s) before it was sorted out that they had wizardly gifts and ought to be studying magic rather than their family trade, etc.