Pheda

Overview

Pheda as an institute of learning is a more advanced academy of all kinds of Pastwalkers, be it those out in the field or the scholars who research their findings. Pheda itself doesn't teach basic techniques and basic knowledge, they focus entirely on advanced topics like how to preserve food, old scriptures or clothing.

Pheda is located in a bay west of Mearis, protected by forests, a few hills and on one side by the sea with white shores. The smell of the salty sea, algae, and hot sand is said to be calming, relaxing, and helps with good sleep. The proximity to the sea is also helping with experimental archaeology and training more advanced excavation techniques.

"I swear, I saw a Mermaid!"

Subjects & Topics

The normal universities and other places of learning cover the basics of archaeology, sometimes a few more advanced things. Pheda concentrates on more in-depth techniques like food, clothing, or how people preserved their food and other contents in honey.

Main focus of Pheda are languages, clothes, food, tools, architecture, and scriptures.

Languages

The subject evolving around the languages section is to study the evolution of certain languages over the centuries. This includes dialects and distribution of dialects and the language itself. It ties into the Scriptures, which concentrates on how to preserve languages in or on different types of scriptures like parchment, paper, stone, rock, amber, you name it. It also touches the area of holy speech - like in Hulwar - and common speech.

Clothes

The section of clothes evolves around how people sewed and crafted their clothes, shoes, garments, dresses, corsetts, you name it. As a secondary objective the scholars and pastwalkers try to find out how people long gone dressed in terms of patterns, colours, colouring-techniques/-materials, fabrics.

Food

The department of archaeology which is tasked with the study of certain food preservations researches recipes, their cultural significance for the ethnicities and cultures. They also research how food was preserved for bad times, famines, against time itself and so on.

Tools

The area of tools in terms of archaeology is more of a cross-section between all the other departments. Naturally the discovery of certain techniques unearths also various tools. These are given to the scholars and pastwalkers who research their development, their areas of application and if they can be used as a different tool than intended. The tools can vary from beard helpers to siphons and phials.

Architecture

The department of architecture researches the development and evolution of buildings, architectural style of times gone and the various kinds of buildings in different climate zones, like the huts and small houses of the Northern Realms or the style of Oldrir.

Documents & Co

Scriptures concentrates on how to preserve languages in or on different types of scriptures like parchment, paper, stone, rock, amber, you name it. It also tries to decipher the mechanics and teachings of old where people tried to write on different things, which also includes cloth. One of the scholars also concentrates on preservation of the scriptures themselves like making leather or parchment more long-lived.

Extended Research & Learning

The topics discussed above grant a valuable insight into the topics at hand. Every department has three scholars/pastwalkers and one head of said department. Every scholar/pastwalker working in the department can take up one student and can teach them. Some of those students stay, others go out into the world and discover more and more before writing books or just do whatever they want.

Some of these pastwalkers become Formulists in their designated area.

Staff

Pheda itself has around twenty people as staff, including horsekeeper, people for fetching (bath)water, cooks, cleaning staff and assistants for keeping the sites and exhibits clean and tidy.

The entire staff consists of

-Headmaster
-Head of Department (six)
-3 scholars/pastwalker for each department (18)
-four students (4)
-staff, consisting of cooks, cleaning personnel, falconers, messengers, horsekeeper (20)

Building(s)

The entire building of Pheda is an open one. It does not have defenses - the narrow walls hardly counts as a defense - and only a narrow gate to keep the horses in. There is a tower for the falcons, an entire building for the staff with seperate bathrooms and a building for the teachers, scholars and formulists. The classrooms are directed at the shore and the open sea, only some have a view into the large open plaza with the huge fountain and palm trees.

Technically it is not a building, but it belongs to Pheda: near the shore they had created an artificial excavation side where the scholars simulate various situations in a real excavation. Like water breaks, varies difficulties of earth, special excavation techniques for brushes or hammers, different times of day and night and whatever the scholars can think about. A huge number of those scenarios is based on real occasions, so the studying pastwalkers are experts the moment they graduate from Pheda.

Koria

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Map of the megaproject Koria.

Tales

"Back in the day we had not so much space to train and to learn. I love the way Pheda has evolved throughout the years. But in its core it remains the same. Everytime I am here, it feels like coming home."

— Traveling scholar

"Is it true that this Institute is the birthplace of the Formulists?"

"Not directly. The first Formulist was a scholar in the capital and he emerged from there. We just have the most graduates which evolve into Formulists over time. So...technically we are the source of the Formulists, but not the birthplace."

— Curious traveller with a scholar

"What if I research a field where another Formulist is already writing a book?"

"Well, then you can change your field of research, you can speak with the other Formulist or you can kill them."

"That is an option?"

"Not officially. It isn't recommended or endorsed, and it is sanctioned if you are found responsible and guilty, but it is an option. There are stories where a Formulist kills another one to take over their research, but those are rare enough. So do your thing and be a responsible Formulist if you want to become one."

— A doubting student with an older scholar