Wizard

Learned Mages

Wizards were a rare sight in centuries past, but arcane science has gone through a renaissance in the modern age, particularly under the Elvish and Satyr kingdoms. Knowledge lost in The Cataclysm⁣ is nearing a complete restoration due to the efforts of Wizards at universities across the plane, where spellbooks are copied and magic items are created. Though mistrusted by the upper crust, the average person views local Wizards as valuable and trusted community members, able to solve problems as wide-ranging as collapsed bridges and monster attacks. Most Wizards travel at some point in their lives, many of them joining adventuring parties for the practice and money they provide.

Universities

While universities teach nonmagical academic disciplines as well, their raison d’être is to preserve and pass on arcane knowledge. All schools of magic can be learned at these universities, though your Necromancy class may have to meet in an alleyway or tavern because it is off the books. Schools such as these are usually located in large cities, and are especially common in the elvish lands, Below is a list of the major Universities in Vrashyn, one of which your Wizard likely attended.

Ailinde, Gepira

Though comparatively small in size, this school is known for its research into Transmutation magic and the nearby Lake Okike, a body of water with natural transmutative properties. It attracts primarily poor but hopeful students from The Outlands looking to one day make a new life for themselves in the fertile lands.

Daer Ethir, Cirithas

Located within a few days’ travel of a diverse assortment of landscapes, the university at Daer Ethir specializes in the study of the physical environment, utilizing the Divination and Evocation specialties of some of its professors in this task. Despite this reputation, the university offers programs in all areas of study and is among the largest in Vrashyn.

Defteros, Tanalki

The swampy landscape that surrounds the city is a deterrent for most non-Satyr students, but those who do attend find a school known for training Illusionists, Enchanters, and War Magicians. It is one of the few universities to openly offer a Necromancy program and also boasts a number of Bullywug and Tortle immigrants in its student body.

Fana, Siligond

Located among the ruins of an ancient temple complex, Fana’s university is widely considered the finest on the continent. This reputation is aided by its central location within Rhovra and by the magical relics found in nearby archeological digs. Many of its scholars focus on studying these enchanted items and trying to reconstruct the history of the area.

Hyelle, Shatterfyne

Exclusively open to the duchy’s half-elf population, this university is best known for the stunning advances in Enchantment and Abjuration made there. The university also trains Artificers who help maintain Shatterfyne’s border forcefields and famous hexblade foundries. Though not the inventors of bladesinging, the Half-Elves of Shatterfyne are among the few to teach the technique.

Igwon & Guinaire

The twin cities of Igwon and Guinaire share a friendly rivalry in most things and academic achievement is no exception. Attended primarily by Elves but with aggressive foreign recruiting tactics, these two institutions split the schools of magic between them. Igwon, the larger of the two schools, has Conjuration, Divination, Illusion, and Transmutation programs, with Guinaire offering the other three polite disciplines.

Ithetri, Sakilos

On an island off the coast of Sakilos lies the semi-autonomous city of Ithetri. Populated by an assortment of races, a recently-constructed university now offers magical instruction to this population. Despite the best efforts of its administrators, most people only know the university for the conflict between the War Magic students and the burgeoning antiwar movement among other students.

Lorme, Masyros

The top of an academic network that spans Athrada and Masyros, the academy at Lorme is primarily known for agricultural and economic studies but has a robust magic program, particularly for Abjuration, Evocation, and Conjuration. As in most of the border region between the two lands, Elvish and Satyrkin residents happily coexist without a hint of the violence that divides their races in Rhovra.

Maelenor, Parthil

Widely known to be the largest and greatest city in Vrashyn, Maelenor also has what is arguably the world’s most prestigious Wizard education program. Students travel from far and wide to be taught by the best mages from across the continent, taking an entrance exam that is said to admit less than a tenth of applicants.

Qinthalas, Parthil

Famously the destination for many Maelenor rejects, Qinthalas has the largest university in Vrashyn by population. Its student body is so large that the city is composed almost entirely of students, leading to the not-inaccurate joke that the student council is more powerful than the official city government. Despite its reputation for playing second fiddle, instruction at the school is far from inadequate, offering a balance between all the polite disciplines but adhering to Parthil's strict ban on Necromancy.

Ramanthas, Ramanthas

Inheriting the seedy yet opulent reputation of the Dohirin Coast, Ramanthas is known for teaching what other universities might consider taboo, including Necromancy and mind control. Funded entirely by exorbitant tuition fees, most of the student body is wealthy. The school has no particular specialty and is large enough to cater to most of the arcane disciplines.

Tacaras, Cirithas

Nestled in the Ramanthi Woodland, this university specializes in the research of living things. For most prospective Wizards, this means a focus on Conjuration and Transmutation, though you can find classes for any school of magic at the university. A notable number of students here dabble in druidic magic and live as rangers in the woodland in the offseason. Tacaras is also notable for being the birthplace of bladesinging. Though there are no rules against teaching it to non-Elves

Hedge Wizards

Not all wizards go to university. Another option for creating a wizard (or cleric) in this setting is to be a rural mage trained in local arcane secrets. While high-level magic-users dedicated solely to the pursuit of magic are quite rare, many peasants dabble in ritual magic for economic reasons or simply for entertainment. These hedge wizards are usually limited to low-level casting, so if this is the route you take, come up with a reason that your character is able to progress without access to formal schooling.

Other Options

Between the lofty university graduate and the humble rural mage stand a group of Wizards who come by their arcane knowledge through more individual means. For specialists in the eight schools of magic, their parents may have hired a private tutor, often an Elf or Dragonborn, though this is a luxury only available to the most affluent of households. Alternatively, the parents or a mentor could serve as the magic tutor. War Mages and Bladesingers rarely come out of magic schools at all, instead being taught their skills in the barracks or on the front lines. For Wizards who grew up poor, mentorship and military service are the only realistic paths to this kind of education.