The Gallowyn Institute for Martial and Arcane Training

Young minds are meant to be molded

— Tasar Yinric Gallowyn

The Gallowyn Institure for Martial and Arcane Training is located on the north eastern side Trisza. The walled building is known for its three distinct towers that can be seen from anywhere in the city. Founded by Tasar Yinric Gallowyn, The Gallowyn Institute is the only university in Kaigan that teaches arcane and martial arts.

History

The Gallowyn Institute was created by Tasar Yinric Gallowyn after he ended up teaching several young students in both the arcane and martial arts, forming teams of students who could use that exact knowledge and training to divert dangers and protect others, which was necessary after the collapse of the previous government during the The Prime Revolt. As the country was trying to establish peace and many skirmishes broke out, having a capable group of leaders and protectors was key. Tasar claimed the destroyed Aeswick Keep from the previous monarch in Trisza and rebuild the whole structure to both teach and house his young students. First he rebuild the walls that had been destroyed during the siege, mainly for his own protection as many citizens didn't like the idea of having a way of training guards that would later suppress them again.
During the first year twenty students lived at the Institute and trained under the diligent teaching of Tasar. They used the, mostly intact, main hall for almost every part of their day. Under the intact part of the roof there were tables for meals, a small cooking area was setup in one of the corners and bedrolls replaced the tables during the night. On the other side of the main hall the training took place. Slowly as more students came to join Tasar, they rebuild more and more of the complex, forming a common hall and dining area in the middle that connected the two wings. The left wing was dedicated to training in magic while the right wing became the martial side. In the years that followed the amount of students grew from twenty in the beginning to over a hundred by the end of the fifth year. By that time they also added a third wing, branching out from the middle common area, for housing the students in dormitories.
While most students left the Institute after a couple of years to help rebuild the country, some stayed with Tasar and became the first teachers and researchers that lived and worked in the Institute. This pursuit of knowledge let the grow of the Institute and gave it the recognizable name it has today

Current state

Currently there are about a thousand students and a little under a hundred teaching staff that live in, or near, the Institute, not including the cooking and maintenance staff. When students enter they can choose to pursue one of the two directions and specialize or combine the martial and arcane to become more universal. While it is common for students to specialize in one arts or the other, students are free to follow whatever class they so choose.
Classes are given in blocks of forty-five minutes with a fifteen minute break from eight AM till one PM and from two PM till seven PM. After dinner teachers often host research meeting or extra lessons, but there is also room for sports and leisure activities. Classes often span multiple blocks. The Institute provides breakfast, lunch and dinner for students and staff, but students are free to leave the grounds and go into Trisza during their free time.
When students are admitted to the Institute they are given a school uniform which consists of a light grey cloak with a lining and a trim in the color of their wing. It is generally accepted that these cloaks are worn over nice clothing as to show the status of the Institute both inside the grounds as well as in the city and in the world.

Architecture

The wall

Surrounding the grounds and the main building is a high stone wall to protect the inside. The wall has a walkway on top for the guards that are on patrol. The walkways are lit with everburning torches. Along the wall there are several watch towers with open tops. On the inside of each tower there is the school crest with a jewel in the middle. Together these crests form an invisible barrier made to protect the school from outside forces, but also to protect the capital from the Institute if there would be a magical disaster. On the west side of the wall there is a gate that is guarded, but open for students to go through.

The grounds

Inside the wall are the school grounds. These feature a big garden with various flowers and trees and seating spaces for students to relax. There is also a greenhouse near the left wing that houses magical plants and herbs, used for study by the arcane students. By the right wing there are various outside training facilities such as archery ranges and practice dummies. Next to the Martial tower there is also an obstacle parkour run that is both use for both individual training as well as timed runs and challenges.

The main building

The main building is located in the middle of the grounds. It's a large circular building made of light stone and is two stories high. On the front is a small extension that holds the entryway to the main hall. Each floor has large vertical windows that are inlaid with stained glass.

The main hall

The most noticeable feature in the main hall is the giant spiral staircase in the middle of the room. It is made from white marble with elaborately decorated metal latticework handrail that depict various magical scenes of people fighting with monsters. The staircase is held up by a white marble pillar in the middle to which each stair is attached. The stairs are free floating with only the pillar and the handrail connecting each step.
The floor is made with the same white marble as the stairs. Large round tables are located throughout the main hall for students to use during meals or in their free time. The walls are littered with buffet style tables for meals that are served and contain different kinds of snacks and drinks in between meals.
Besides the main entrance there are three other doors in the main hall. The one directly opposite from the main entrance leads to the dormitories. The one left of the main entrance leads to the Arcane wing and the one on the right leads to the Martial wing.

The library

The floor above the main hall holds a large library. Various shelves that reach from the floor to the ceiling frame tables and other study spaces. Each window has a cushioned window still which makes for excellent reading spots that look out over the grounds and the rest of the city. There is a librarians desk located next to the stairs for students who want to use the books outside of the library.

The three towers

The three doors leading out of the main hall lead to their respective wings. A smaller roofed corridor connects the main building to the three towers. The corridor has open sides with stone arches holding up the wooden roof. The floor is made of simple light grey stone tiles. The three round towers are smaller, but higher than the main building, going up four floors. The towers are made from the same stone for both the walls as the flooring as the main building with smaller windows.

The Arcane wing

The Arcane tower has on each floor a hallway going through the middle dividing the floors in half. In the middle is a spiral staircase that goes both up to the higher floors and down into the basement. The accent color of this wing is navy blue. The ground floor contains two separate offices for teachers to work on one side of the hallway and four smaller meeting rooms on the other side. The upper floors house classrooms for theoretical lectures. The basement has a more sprawling layout and is not confined to the round tower shape. Here there are several laboratories that can be used by both staff and during practical lectures as well as training rooms that are equipped with strong magic protection for practicing and experimenting with spells both in combat and non-combat situations. There is also a ritual chamber with a ritual circle pattern already on the floor for easy tracing.

The Martial wing

The Martial tower has quite a different feel than the Arcane tower. While the staircase is the same, this tower does not have a basement. The accent color of this wing is ocher yellow. The teachers offices are located on the up most floor in the same orientation as the Arcane wing. The other three floors are all open and made to accommodate fighting in different styles. The ground floor has a sand floor instead of the standard marble flooring, the first floor has weapon racks lining the walls and straw dummies set up near the south side. The second floor has various gymnastics objects that can be used for athletics training such as bars and obstacles which the students can freely use when there are no lectures.

The dormitories

The last tower houses the dormitories. Students are free to live on their own in the city, but if they don't have a place the Institute offers space in the dormitories. The same hallway with spiral staircase divide the floors into two halves, the left side is dedicated for boys while the right side is for girls. Each side is divided into multiple chambers that can house multiple students in bunk beds. The spiral staircase leads to a basement that houses bathing facilities, also divided by gender.

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Further reading

Alternative Names

The Gallowyn Institute, The Institute

Type

University / Educational complex

Ruling/Owning Rank

Headmaster

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Aerosphere