The College of Ashes

The House That Doubt Built

Think for a moment. What does the phrase "happily ever after" truly mean? It's a cheap trick, a cop out. That's not how it works. There's always more to be said. There's power there, and it sits buried beneath layers and layers of disjointed thoughts and passing days. Happily-ever-after doesn't exist, even if it did... the other side of the coin is far more interesting, and far more important.

— Cinder, founder of the College of Ashes

The College of Ashes is not a famous college. Tales of glory and Valor, the tales we all know and love... not their forte. The College of Ashes focuses on one thing: What happens next? They delve into history and seek out the leftovers. They seek out the fine details that everyone else misses. Footnotes in a bardic ballad catch their interest, the ones that speak of strange contradictions and unspoken feelings. A King's wife who shies away from her husband can tell you so much more about the man than any historical text. The same woman who eyes one of the king's knights with longing can do the same. Gritty realism is found in abundance in their work. Boundaries are pushed and rarely is a taboo left unexplored.

These things are not explored without reason. A bard of ashes doesn't push boundaries for the sake of doing so. What they want lies in the negative spaces between the lines of verse and prose. They choose to focus on what is left out. When the battle is over, they want to know about the ones who cleaned up the bodies. They want to know about the disease that those bodies spread to nearby villages. Most importantly... They want to know why no one helped them in this time of need.

Waste and Ruins

When other bards would pack up and leave, the bards of ashes remain. They watch and chronicle events that unfold, fascinated by the aftermath. Works that come from this college tend to ramble. Attention to detail can often be considered a fault. No detail left out. All is set In stone with ink and pigment.

Many historical texts that come from the bards in this college are regarded as the most accurate and unbiased in the world. The downside to this is that these works are often talked about much more than they are read. There are very few painters in the college even though they are present. Most bards in this college prefer the written word as their medium. The college is filled with relentless novelists and brutally honest poets.

The House Of Ashes

The House Of Ashes has been many things since it was first erected. It is one of the oldest buildings in Estoya, beginning as a simple inn. Due to events that even the bards cannot ascertain, a tragedy struck in a fire broke out killing many.
The building was torn down and rebuilt into a jail. During the Harrow dynasty, the jail was used to house those who spoke ill of the Royal Family we're simply those who were considered undesirable for one reason or another. It also burned to ashes, killing everyone within.

Once again the building was rebuilt and used as the headquarters of a mercenary group working under Bertrand Roux as Expedition Artio was being put together. within days after its completion, it spontaneously caught fire. The fire was not caused by any normal means. The building simply did not want to exist. The bards of the college are still unsure of why this was or how it is such a thing could occur.

The building was torn down and rebuilt into an orphanage. The orphanage ended up suffering the same fate, though it was a wandering bard that changed the course of events. A recent alumni of the The Bardic University of Estoya, Lady Valentina, the current poet laureate, stormed the burning manor and saved every soul.

Becoming the College

No one is really sure how it became a bardic college. It is likely that the founder, who took the bardic name of Cinder, felt the power of the ashes within the manor, and somehow found a way to read them. The Manor still stands as it has since the fires were put out. Ashes litter the floor of its halls. Gaping holes linger in the roof, covered by taps to protect from the elements. The Manor is always dark, for lighting a fire it's impossible once inside. The bards within must cast spells that summon light to assist them.

The vault is located in a basement. Many of the books are damaged in some way. The most prominent feature in the vault are shelves filled with ceramic containers. Each container was once a book or a painting, kept and preserved in the loving embrace of the college.

Joining the College

While one has to be an alumni of a bardic university, there are no other requirements. The bards of the college are technically squatters. The college is found in the Roux District of Yithwitch Their usefulness is what allowed them to be acknowledged by the university, but they do not have any claim to the land they live on.

Cyphers in her smile

The College of Ashes deals in secrets. Members of a college often leave messages in ashes. These ashes are never just left out in the open. They use these ashes in their ink and their paint so that only someone in the know would know where to look. The college always finds commissions. There are many who would like to keep their secrets safe. What better way to do so than hide it in a painting above your mantle.

Cold cases

Bards of ashes find the best paying work comes from The Judges of Law and Merit. Sometimes even the judges unable to solve a crime. On these occasions they may bring evidence before members of the college and ask them for assistance. Members of the college are very good at investigation though it is almost impossible to get them to stop once they start which has led to the ruin of many. It has also led to the mysterious death of a few bards who strayed to close and refused to listen to warnings.

by drac