Sonnigtal College
Sonnigtal College is the oldest academic institution in the Ynys Archipelago, and the second most acclaimed after Foxbridge College in Dunwulf. It is located on the island of Amwythig in the Gulf of Pengwern, and dates back to early days of the Kingdom of Wuffa. Wuffa herself granted the charter to the Gelehrte des Tals (Scholars of the Valley), a group of philosphers and academics who founded the school. The faculty of Sonigtal like to point out that this was several decades before the establishment of Foxbridge, and dismiss those who claim that the Coleg Cerddorion in Mathrafal had older roots, since it wasn't officially recorded as a school until over a century later.
During the height of the Kingdom of Wuffa's power, Sonnigtal was a hub of noble society, and students there formed connections that persisted throughout their lives. Clubs and secret societies were formed, and many of the graduates of Sonnigtal could pull invisible strings of influence that stretched across the Northeastern Region. Even the royal family of Wuffa sent their children there, to learn how to be proper rulers of the kingdom.
When Eofa's rebellion shattered the Kingdom of Wuffa, Amwythig and the College came under the control of the Kingdom of Pengwern. While Pengwern was a short-lived kingdom, Sonnigtal basked in the proximity of the royal court in the nearby capital of Llawenydd. When accusations of the dark deeds and perversions the royals of Wuffa were accused of reached the island, the administrators of Sonnigtal assured the people of Pengwern that the branch of the family in Llawenydd were innocents. This support was used as evidence against those adminstrators when Creoda invaded and conquered Pengwern and revealed what was hidden beneath Pengwern Castle. The Creodans barely permitted Sonnigtal to continue existing, and only refrained from destroying it as long as the entire administration was exiled and replaced with loyal Creodans.
Since then, Sonnigtal has been surviving on the dregs of their past glory. Nobles who had sent their children there for generations have chosen to patronize Foxbridge instead, while the inhabitants of half-abandoned Llawenydd whisper about what horrors the faculty permit in the vaults beneath the school grounds, particularly in the medical college. Some report that those who work at Sonnigtal have grown weak and ill, only to recover shortly after leaving their employment. Combined with the gloomy atmosphere of the Gulf of Pengwern, the college has gained a reputation as a haunted and sinister place, and the teachers and students there are viewed with some degree of suspicion.
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