University of Wynarn
The feeling of potential and philosophy fill this space like a perfume, mixing with the open collionades and tall windows to create a feeling of idyllic learning.
The University of Wynarn claims the title of the oldest institute of learning in Khorvaire, easily outdoing other Five Nations colleges such as Morgrave University in Sharn and
Sembaal University in Flamekeep. The university was founded by none other than Governor-Prince Aundair ir'Wynarn, the son of King Galifar I given authority over the nation that would become Aundair. Some other nations take issue with this claim, of course, since the Korranberg's univeristy and Rekkenmark Academy were founded earlier, but these institutes have been closed for periods during their lifetimes whereas the University of Wynarn has stayed open even through the Last War.The university itself is made up of six different buildings, housing dormitories, classrooms, and faculty housing, and the student body is extremely diverse. During the Last War, attendance steadily dropped and by the end of the conflict the university was persuaded to relax its admission standards and accept applicants form across the Five Nations and even beyond. Today, nobles and commoners, humans and goblinoids, shifters and eladrin all walk the lawns of the university and sit in the classrooms. Many professors and Fairhaven residents are dissatisfied with the change in the student body but others are overjoyed by the diverse opinions and discussions that can now be heard. This clash of ideologies led to a series of protests in the 980s and 990s which shut down portions of the Knowledge Wards when crowds of students and sympathizers on both sides took to the streets. Debate continues, but the university chancellors have made it clear that they are not going to change the standards back and that the current population will be the face of the University of Wynarn for some time. That includes the protests as well which have become a regular thing and now are held for a variety of issues from archeological rights of orcish tribes to support by the university for unpopular national policies. Residents in the Knowledge Ward are only half-joking when they recommend planning on an extra hour going anywhere near the university or that "crowds" are a new type of storm localized to this part of Fairhaven.
Connection to Arcanix
Curricula in the University of Wynarn are primarily focused on mundane topics, but include some more exotic faculties. While arcane learning is still much more the domain of the Arcane Congress in Arcanix, students not capable enough to stand among the students of Arcanix can still get a strong education in the arcane arts here.In fact, the university of Wynarn has a strong connection with the floating city of arcane study Arcanix, and for some classes, professors will even come from the floating city by means of a teleportation circle on campus grounds.
Aundair Library
This well-respected library has the ground floor of an entire university building and is open to anyone with the recommendation of a university faculty member. The library is the best in Khorvaire for many subjects but foremost are arcane history and theory and orcish prehistory.The library publishes an annual pamphlet known as the Arcane Testimony which circulates throughout Khorvaire and is eagerly awaited by many arcanists and researchers. The pamphlet reviews that year's advancements of magical practice and theory and its records stretch back for nearly three centuries. Under the direction of the university's Arcane Studies Chair (see below) the library faculty's opinions and positions, reflected in Arcane Testimony, have been diverging from those of the Arcane Congress in Arcanix to the south. While not "radical" by any means, the articles in Arcane Testimony over the past decades have taken distinctly populist and progressive tones, no doubt in response to what has been happening at the university itself. While individuals at the University of Wynarn and at Arcanix have had fallings out, the institutions themselves have changed their relationship only a little because of the pamphlet.
Drekaal Museum of Cultural History
Founded a century and a half ago, this museum has some of the finest collections of artifacts from the Age of Monsters in all of Khorvaire, in addition to historical items of great value from the founding of the Five Nations and the establishment of Galifar. Everything from tools to tablets to massive statues recovered from orcish sites can be found in the museums halls and archives, as well as the earliest examples of Gatekeeper parchments known, which it co-curates with the Aundair Museum on the other side of the university grounds. Needless to say, many orcish tribes and activist groups (including sympathetic non-orcs) decry keeping these artifacts from groups which see themselves as their rightful heirs. Many of the items are on display for the public, but hundreds more are in the vaults below the museum and inaccessible for orcish tribal leaders in the Starpeaks and Eldeen Reaches even if they were willing to go through the official channels. So far, the Kech Motrai has not been willing to help liberate orcish items but there have been Dakhaani artifacts missing which the group may be responsible for.Plot Hooks
- TROLLS! IN THE DUNGEON! TROLLS IN THE DUNGEON
Type
District
Location under