Tulara University

Taisha

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The desert and jungle lands of the continent of Taisha.

Nestled deep in the Rhegev Desert, this eminent university can be difficult to get to. It is a four night journey inland from Port Rhegevenian, which is a hot and dusty grind that can be very dangerous. Treacherous weather and extreme environmetal conditions are the norm, in Rhegev. Yet, even though the school sends guides of great skill and plentiful experience to both Rhegevenian and Kalimahari, specifically to bring students and faculty safely through the desert, still there are near death incidents each and every school year. Students and their guides generally travel in large caravans that also carry supplies to the city surrounding the university, which is a wonder of spired architecture and inspired urban planning, but somewhat lacking in natural resources.

Many of these incidents happen because the students and their guides must dodge and put off One True Church proselytizers as they pass close to the cult's territory around Gàol Lake, in the central desert region. Many of the school's travellers will go out of their way to avoid the religious fanatics, often leaving the road to do so, which can be quite dangerous if one is not familiar with the area. Temperatures in these parts can reach upwards of 110°F during the day, and without water and shade the landscape itself is fatal surprisingly quickly. The road itself is fairly safe, however, from bandits and beasts, although the odd scorpion sting has been known to happen. The school spends a lot of money keeping that road maintained and as safe as possible; it would not do to have students waylaid on their way to school.

Run away! by Hero Forge

While the residents of Tulara joke that the heat is "dry", thus making it somehow more bearable, they are all painfully aware of the brutality of their environment and adjust their lifestyles accordingly. Most activities in this part of the world happen at night, when the temperatures drop to a more reasonable level, and it is safer to move about out of doors. Buildings here sport cleverly designed wind-catchers to cool their interiors, and Tulara boasts sewers and indoor plumbing throughout the city. Public bath houses, beautiful buildings constructed of marble and polished granite, serve as hubs for social development and political discourse. The school's libraries are on a par with any of the great libraries of the world, save only the Bardic College conservatory in Greynor, and the laboratory facilities are literally non pareil. The advanced mathematics and engineering breakthroughs that come out of Tulara University have astounded people the world around for generations, now, and the school has only grown in popularity and prestige since 5435NG, when one of its freshmen invented a cheap version of the Tensersled that students could actually afford.

Structure Governance The Board of Trustees→Chancellor Academic Leadership Provost→Deans→Department Chairs→Faculty Operational Leadership Vice Presidents→Administrative Departments Culture Socially and politically, Tulara University is as traditionalist as an organization revolving around young people can possibly get and still make money. Students are expected to dress appropriately at all times, and to address faculty and staff with the proper etiquette and obeisances. Profanity and lewdity are harshly punished, usually with a dozen lashes of a whip-thin piece of cane and up to two days in the stocks. Promiscuous women are not tolerated at Tulara University; they are sent home in disgrace immediately upon being convicted of the crime.

Public Agenda

It is our schools sacred duty, and a treasured honor, to teach its students to maintain the traditions and values of the past, while forging ahead into the future. Our university, held in great esteem by the venerable Khalif, stresses its deep respect for the social conventions of our forbears, eloquent societal norms, and educated, erudite mannerisms. Among other things, Tulara University is a beloved finishing school that focuses not only on academics, but proper etiquette and a pleasing demeanor. Tulara University and its staff wish nothing more than to guide today's youth into real prosperity, and to introduce them to true happiness.

Metal Rules! by Hero Forge

Assets

The school, and the city supporting, it are entirely self contained, so over the years it has acquired all of the equipment and materials to be able to effectively do so. They have quite lucratively expanded their portfolio into commodities and raw materials, as well; meaning that not only do they do their own metallurgy and metalcrafting, but they own the mine that produces the ore in the first place, as well as the transportation company moving the materials through the desert to the school. The school also owns prolific farms in the southeast, using its transportation company to ship foodstuffs directly to the schools larders and kitchens. There is also very little wood in the Rhegev Desert, meaning that, to many people, the school's collection of wooden desks and furniture is considered wealth beyond any real measure. They own the quarries that produce the stone the buildings on campus and the surrounding city are made of, and they also own the construction companies that build with them. They own several precious metal mines throughout the mountain range known as The Buc Buain, northeast of the The Sea of Glass, as well as tin and iron mines further to the east, near Arhegev's Dunes. The school owns import and export companies, food preparation and storage businesses, breweries, vineyards, inns and restaurants. All in all, the school is lucrative and thriving, thanks in part to its strategy of diversification and strategic acquisitions.

History

The brainchild of Sheherizade the Temptress and al-Adin the Sailor, the two purported immortals founded the school as a joint venture in 4783NG. It was purchased three hundred years later by a consortium of merchants with the deepest of pockets, and an impetus to protect what they saw as a vanishing lifestyle of polished behavior and intelligent civil discourse. The school has had its fair share of ups and downs over the years, but it has remained a finishing school throughout its tenure in the southern desert, even as it pivoted into an academic powerhouse. The city that now surrounds the university, itself called Tulara, started out less slowly than many would envision, having been planned out and engineered from the very beginning. The vast majority of what stands, even still, was built circa 5119NG, although many expansions have been added to both the encircling city of Tulara, and the University itself. Much of the curtain wall has come down as the need for city real estate overcame the need for seige defense. Now only a portion remains, and that more for posterity's sake than any practical purpose. Now, it is the location of the "Home in the Wall Inn and Tavern", the most popular party spot in the entire city. Music and culture are celebrated there nearly every night, with poetry slams and acoustic music jam sessions playing a large part in the tavern's huge popularity and estimable longevity. Rhegev Desert Sands

al-Adin the Sailor by Hero Forge

Sheherizade the Temptress by Hero Forge

Territories

While ostensibly the school's sphere of influence is the University, the city, and a hundred-and-one miles in every direction, they own so many enterprises and fund so many ventures that their presence can be felt in every city in Taisha.