Seizan Spires (say-zen)

Shapers are a mix of the arcane traditions of Doronuma and Kazanshiro, mages that seek to rebuild the world into a new era of peace, prosperity and order.

Structure

The Shapers are organized through their colleges, with colleges overseeing operations within their juristiction.

Chancellor: The head of the college and primary administrator, responsible for overseeing projects, hiring staff such as teachers and researchers and managing the affairs of the college at large.
Board of Ethics: Various administrators, local leaders and local citizens chosen at random are tasked with reviewing research or experiments that may be ethically questionable, whether they may have an outsized impact on the environment, local wildlife or civic functions or may be particularly destructive. If a project fails a review by the board it must be revised or outright scrapped.
Dean: The head teacher of a specific field at the college, a specialist reknowned in their field. Usually responsible for teaching all the students of that subject, but may have other teachers to assist in particuarly large classes.
Archivist: In charge of libraries and other repositories of knowledge and for retrieving said knowledge for researchers, students and occasionally outside visitors.
Magister: A graduate of the college who has done additional training and research, having keen enough understanding to teach and be contracted out as a representative of the guild.
Adept: A fresh graduate of the college with a working understanding of their field, but not enough to instruct other students.
Scribe: Many students are contracted as scribes to help pay for their schooling by local governments or organisations to transcribe various documents such as legal proceedings, books, arcane scrolls and other works.
Apprentice: A student at the college who has not completed their training.

Culture

The Shapers are very focused on individual and community improvement through study, magical augmentation, research and structure. They always think life can be improved, constantly striving towards progress. They believe in nurture over nature, that we can make the world better through being disciplined and deliberate in everything. They often work to include the locals in their colleges, particularly those with arcane aptitude. They are very curious, disciplined and serious, working closely with their communities to observe various phenomena, both magical and mundane. Shaper magic is particularly well suited to construction and maintenance of infrastructure and houses, they constantly repair roads, bridges, and various structures damaged by monsters or magic.

Ideals

Discipline: Hold yourself to a high standard of honor and respect, for yourself and those around you.
Duty: You are a servant of the people and your comrades, you must be humble, disciplined and eager to serve. Pursue power to help others, not just it’s own sake.
Wisdom: You must be curious about magic but also cautious of the effects it could have on you and your community.

Relationships to Governments

• Shogunate of Kazanshiro: Friendly but tense, the universities within Kazanshiro flourish with Imperial Support while branches within the Wastes or Doronuma feel as though they've been forgotten by their northern brethren.
• Council of Isamaru: Polite but unfriendly. There's a lot of baggage lingering from the war, both of mages laying waste to Isamaru's land and people and of Isamaran resistance fighters killing such mages with extreme prejudice. The Spires are working to build goodwill but it's a tough road.
• Pearl Pact: Well funded and supported by the Pact and their Dragonlords, the Spires are a key part of their vision for a new Doronuma. Their construction of public works on the Pact's behalf has swayed public opinion in their favor and garnered political support from Kazanshiro.
• Emerald Alliance: Universities in Alliance territory are similarly well funded and popular to those in the Pact but are always seen as struggling to compete with them. Both do their best to poach scholars from eachother but the Pact's closer ties to Kazanshiro pose a problem.
• Crane Concord: Well regarded, the oldest and most prestegious universities fall within Concord territory. Many staunch Doronuman patriots flock here to study magic unfettered by draconic influence.
• Chamber of Five: They have a friendly relationship, as the Chamber desires to expand their infrastructure throughout their territory without conceding sovereignty to their neighbors.
• Court of Crows: They have a very friendly relationship with many relationship with the many universities within their territory and arcane curios aplenty to research.

Arasaka Shun is a Female Triton Titan, an outspoken proponent of the Crane Concord, radicalized against Kazanshiro's involvement in the war. She believe there's a solution to the conflict deep within the Azure Archive, The Tide Tamer- a magical staff infused with O-Nanami's power that would grant it's wielder command of the seas.

Public Agenda

Goals

Order: Seek to help your community run smoothly and orderly, help those around you whenever possible.
Understanding: Gain knowledge and insight into the world and how it works.

History

Magical schools have existed since the Time of Myths, seekers of knowledge testing the limits of the arcane with ravenous curiosity. These scattered schools varied dramatically in size, quality, and philosophy across Kizudo. It was only in the Age of Founding when complex government bureaucracies arose to manage the fledgeling kingdoms that formal arcane academies were established by the states. Akato Academy was founded in the Scarlet Spires of Konda in Kazanshiro by Yomiji the Scroll King, specializing in magic concerning stone, fire and lava. Aoshoshai Academy was founded in the Azure Archives of Yukora by High Captain Izumi in Doronuma, specializing in magic concerning water, wind and storms. Other smaller colleges were established throughout both regions but lacked the prestige and funding of the flagship academies. The schools shared an academic rivalry that was a matter of national pride, competing to create magical marvels that would outdo the other, mostly in terms of magical theory or practical usefulness to common people such as enchanted items, irrigation, transportation and other infrastructure. But as the Sundering War loomed on the horizon their magical experiments became more militarized, eventually resulting in many of the academies mages being drafted into the military or tasked with devising weapons to gain advantages in the war. Many mages would be captured as prisoners of war and studied by their rivals. Throughout the course of the war both of the academies would be destroyed by disasters, the Eruption of Mount Akuta in 311 AD burying the Scarlet Spires in ash and toxic fumes and the Drowning of Yukora in 318 AD. While the world reeled from the disasterous war and devestating storm, academics from both nations sought to cooperate to help prevent another calamitous conflict and to rebuild the world. Together they formed the Seizan Spire Academy in the town of Seizan, seeking to unite their techniques and teach magic to the masses.

Shape the Mind, Shape the World

Azorius Color alignment (White Blue)

Type

Educational, School/Academy

Alternative Names

Seizan Shapers

Demonym

Shapers

Leader

Grand Chancellor Mashiko Umezawa

Founders

• Pirate Queen Izumi Eiko, The First High Captain

Associated classes: 

1. Artificer
2. Fighter
3. Monk
4. Rogue
5. Sorcerer
6. Titan
7. Warlord
8. Wizard