The Magus Academy of Arcane Arts

The Academy of Arcane Arts in Shale is one of the most prestigious and storied magic schools in all of Orund as well as it's oldest. Students are sought out personally by teachers at the school through divination magic or by happenstance and discovery, once the prospect shows promise in the arcane arts they are recruited for education around their 15th birthday. The school offers several continual educational courses, from basic wizardry to advanced alchemy and even Planar Binding and complete mastery can be studied for students willing to stay as long as needed to complete the arduous training. The School is one of Shale's beacons of Aracne Mastery as well as a hopeful future for the country in the form of the next generation of Magi training to become it's defenders.

History

in the days and weeks after the defeat of Magnus; Shale was a nation ravaged by civil war, but slowly recovering, and with the help of it's residence magical skill and knowledge the recovery was much faster than any other nation would have been able to achieve. Yet those four heroes that stopped Magnus and remained remained had more questions than answers left over from the conflict; Tallion Aileos called them all together on one of the Eastern Islands in Shale. A magical wood of great fey power resided here, making it much more malleable to enchantment and warding. Tallion suggested they had a responsibility of sorts to train a new generation of Magi to protect the Isles in the event something like this ever occured again. Regulus Blackstone confessed he found the Apprentice/Master method of teaching magic extremely outdated and unnecessarily lengthy. It would take a wizard twelve or sometimes fifteen years to impart basic knowledge of the Arcane to a student, usually producing 1 capable wizard as a result. With a new system in that time Regulus suggested they could teach hundreds at a time by creating classes of apprentices. Greenscale Val'Nax pondered why she was invited to this summit as necromancy and other dark magics were banned and therefore none of the new students would be able to learn them; Tallion and Regulus assured her that her abilities would still allow the students to learn how to defend themselves from dark magics; as well as know what they would face in the event of another Magnus like figure arising. Tavari Baz however, refused to participate unless the school could also be a home for the "Sorcerers" or those born with magical abilities or powers from their bloodline or being exposed to high amounts of magical energy, and "Warlocks" or those chosen by Planar or holy beings to wield power on their behalf in the material realm. The others agreed that all those that were magically gifted deserved a place in this new undertaking, and that they would need all the students they could muster if Magnus was to ever return somehow. It was around this point in the conversation they began using the terms "School" and "Academy" and within that year; Construction began on the Magus Academy of Arcane Arts
The school was built with a four class system, each led by one of the four founders; however over time it was realized a better system was to have a unified teaching and class system, thus creating the four houses the school is so famous for; House Talion, House Val'Nax, House Tavari and House Regulus.

House Regulus

House Regulus, founded by Regulus Blackstone, foremost and most legendary Alchemist in Andrim and Shale's history. Students of this house are creative improvisers with ambitions, as well as a mind for political and courtly statecraft or invention and discovery. Their common room is located in the Infamous Blackstone Spire a vertically shifting maze who's movements are only learned by the students who live theirin. The Mascot of House Regulus is that of The Pheonix, as Regulus kept one in life and often used their tears and feathers in his alchemical formulae

House Talian

House Talian, Founded by Talian Aileos, a warcaster in his early life, who then went on to be the first man to learn the ways of the The Keshal-Vidari leading to the founding and training of The Order of The Eldritch Knights. Talian was a warrior wizard like few other, feared with both a wand and a sword. Members of this house seem to value loyalty more than gold, and tend to be hard workers and in most cases quite brave. Many House Talian students enroll in the Magical Combatives course, becoming war casters or spellswords and Aurors upon completion. The Common room of House Talian was located directly adjacent to the great hall, and the main gate. Talian placed it there as a kind of shield, positioning his students to be the schools stalwart defenders and first responders in the event of an attack. The Mascot of House Talian is an Owlbear, known for their strength and Wisdom.

House Val' Nax

Greenscale Val'nax always felt like a bit of a black sheep amongst the other founders, yet she was pivotal in the creation of the school as well as the defeat of Magnus. The Green Lizardfolk woman, who was found as a small child by Lucien in the Jungles of D'Vesh went on to become his greatest apprentice, learning the ways of the powerful wizard first hand. When he betrayed the Circle, she was forced to make a difficult choice between her master and her country; She founded her house in a remembrance of the man that Lucien was before he became Magnus. And as a testament of sorts to the dangers of magic in the wrong hands, and how quickly the right hands and become the wrong ones. The Students of House Val' Nax are starkly intelligent, and often aware of this fact. Some have an insatiable thirst for knowledge of the Arcane while others seek to know everything there is to know regarding the history of Elves or dragons, becoming historical experts. Often house Val members take great pride in their personal appearance to the point of using illusory magic to mask their insecurities. On the subject of Illusion, subtlety and self preservation are also pronounced traits of the house Val.The Val'Nax common room is located in the east tower observatory, as Lady Greenscale was a devout scholar of the heavens and stars. The mascot of House Val'Nax is a mighty and poised Dragon Turtle. The ancient guardian of her ancestral homeland. D'vesh

House Tavari

House Tavari's patron and founder is that of the Eladrin Tavari Baz; Tavari was born an Eladrin, an exceedly rare subspecies of elf who's births signify great import to the elven people. Tavari was born a Summer Eladrin, his birth itself a prophecy of a new dawn amongst the elven gods. Over his long and storied life he held several titles and even aliases, eventually he found himself a king of sorts, in Kal'Dore. He met Lucien D'Valo and formed a fast friendship. Tavari was respected by Lucien as a stout magi and someone with an intimate knowledge of the Fey and magical creatures. Tavari was instrumental in defending Shale from Magnus as he negotiated with the fairy courts of both summer and winter to acquire their most ancient weapon The Neverendr to help defeat the Lich. For a time, he decided to assist with the founding of the school and its curriculum. He was the first amongst the founders to retire and be replaced, citing his inability to commit to things for any significant amount of time, even for an long lived elf. Students of the House Tavari are Precarious in nature, valuing wisdom and practical knowledge over the more intellectual pursuits of the Arcane. Many students of this house believe in an important balance between magic and nature and see this balance in everyday life, as well as philosophizing on this idea of nature and magic being one and the same or different forces entirely. An open mind and stark honestly and frankness are also classic traits of a member of this house. The common room of House Tavari is located beneath the schools Herbology Greenhouse next to the lake, the students access the school either by walking across the grounds or making use of the secret tunnel in the north ballista bathroom. The mascot of House Tavari is the noble Royal Elk, a prized breed of giant Elk that roam the lands of Tavari's homeland in Kaldore; the represent the power of magic and nature combining to create something beautiful.

Type

College / Academy

Owning Organization

Shale