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Irhurman College

Adapted From the Magaambya
The Magic College in Irhurma is Gradus' oldest academy of arcane learning, even if many proud schools in Saskhaj have never heard of it. It was established by Old-Mage Enitan Teleayo and his Ten Magic Warriors during the Age of Anguish, and is still in operation thousands of years later. The College's feared flying Tempest-Sun mages ensure that both cultists of The Ravener King and raiders of the Qemnesh Cartel give the town a wide berth.

Public Agenda

Students of the College adapt quickly to daily life in Irhurma, encouraged by the Learned Ones’ style of teaching and sense of community. Teachers are encouraged to engage inquisitive minds they encounter while conducting classes in the city’s courtyards and piazzas, and students and instructors alike are expected to assist and befriend the citizenry whenever possible. Some of the student orientation exercises include a tour of the city, often accompanied by a scavenger hunt that is impossible to complete without the aid, or at least knowledge, of a native Irhurman.
Candidates sometimes travel to Irhurma on their own and present themselves to the College, but some Scholars dedicate themselves to traveling Mifob in order to identify potential students. Prospective candidates are given a series of tasks to determine where their talents lie. Failing the tasks does not automatically exclude a candidate from being accepted, nor does talent alone guarantee admission; recruiters also consider attitude and motivation before deciding. Larger towns and cities in Mifob host dedicated teams responsible for escorting students from their villages to the Irhurman College and providing a safe haven for the seeking mages between expeditions.
  For their first five seasons, or until they can pass their first series of tests, students are expected to complete their Perquisite, a period of public service. These initiates reside in the Hall of Old-Mage Teleayo or their host communities and maintain a fairly regimented schedule. In exchange, they can attend classes and study or practice under the watchful eyes of older students and teachers. Cohorts are often structured within groups of initiates, such that each cohort gets a different day of the week off and attends the same classes. In their free time, initiates are free to move about the city and receive a small stipend to spend as they choose. They are required to wear a visible string of beads that identifies them as College initiates should they run into—or cause— trouble. The string includes one bead that represents their sponsor at the school, and some beads are enchanted to summon a Proctor to its location if broken, a fact of which most citizens are well aware. Fortunately, such extreme measures are rarely required.
  Once students have completed their Perquisite and are accepted into the school as attendants, they choose a branch of the College in which they will focus their studies. From there, they gain more freedom to direct their studies, as well as some responsibility in helping the school educate others, such as by arranging classes for initiates. Though students can achieve higher ranks, there’s no official graduation nor any set term of study. Some decide to stay at the College and become instructors, while others get as far away as they can as soon as they think they have learned everything. Some crack under the pressure and return to their hometowns with stories of the city, while others settle into the mélange of Irhurma.

History

The legends say that after Old-Mage Teleayo had gathered the Ten Magic Warriors and defeated the most pressing foes, he turned his attention toward helping his people. In the village of Irhurma, he built a school from which he and the warriors could spread their knowledge and allow Mifob’s people to protect themselves, thrive, and create. The first project they built was The Circle, a structure made of pillars of stone, wood, flame, water, air, ice, light, and electricity that support a glass dome that still stands in the center of the College. A circle of benches are arranged beneath the dome on an ever-shifting mosaic map of octagonal tiles, depicting Mifob’s weather patterns, borders of jungles, shifting dunes, and paths of rivers. It also illustrates major disasters, like the occasional volcano eruption or forest fire, and can even display the effects of spells, given a large enough area of effect. The Circle was where the first several years of classes were conducted, and remains in use today as a classroom.
From there, 10 distinct buildings were constructed, one for each of the Ten Magic Warriors. Initially serving as homes and workspaces for the warriors to practice their arts, the buildings were expanded over time into dormitories and classroom spaces. Students came to learn from the greatest, first from surrounding villages and then from neighboring states, and eventually, as word spread, from the whole of Mifob.
  Black Heron proved to be a gifted teacher who pushed students to pursue and accomplish bigger and more complicated goals. However, Heron eventually turned on Old Mage Enitian and the other Warriors and left, breaking Old-Mage Teleayo’s heart and beginning the Warriors’ withdrawal from the world.
  Replacement instructors were chosen from those who had already proven themselves gifted spellcasters and teachers. Old-Mage Teleayo appointed the first Learned Ones, a quintet of the most promising pedagogues from around the continent, to run the college, and then vanished. When the last of the Magic Warriors disappeared from daily affairs, Irhurma built the city’s signature pillars, each bearing a depiction of one of Enitan’s 10 followers.
  The Learned Ones continued the traditions of Old-Mage Enitan Teleayo, providing leadership for not only the College but also the growing city. As Old-Mage Teleayo wished, they declined to lead the town and instead ensured that the people of Irhurma chose their own leaders from the citizenry. The town’s prosperity remained entwined with the school’s popularity for many years, however. Students continue to serve the city as part of their curriculum, and classes moved from within the school’s walls and out into the community.
  For some Irhurmans, the students of the College were their earliest contact with other ancestries. As word spread of Irhurmanan hospitality and neutrality, more people came and built their own enclaves in the city and sent their best and most suited folk to study under the Learned Ones’ watchful eyes. Eventually, these people became comfortable enough to contribute some of their ancestral magics to the broader base of knowledge. This exchange was at times controversial—there are still factions that believe non-elves should not be taught elven secrets or that certain magical and storytelling professions must be hereditary, but these factions mostly exist in other areas of Mifob's wilderness.
Type
Guild, Mages
Leader Title
Parent Organization
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