The Sanguine Academy

The bloodstained hall of royalty

Avisong and his magicless kin have gotten away with this for too long. We know he has stolen from the people of Ilysium, and we will put up with it for no longer!

— Thedusi Putrace, conspiracy theorist

One of the many rooms of the Imperial Palace, the Sanguine Academy has gained notoriety among the people of Ilysium over the past generation. The cause of this new focus is a conspiracy surrounding the Empire, House Avisong, and the disappearances of barely-associated commoners.

The Facts

Like all good conspiracies, there is a kernel of truth at the center. Most believes focus on two key aspects, and embellish the rest to fit their needs.

Imperial Palace

The Sanguine Academy is a real room inside of the Palace. It is place where the Imperial family, especially the crown prince or princess, have been tutored in the sorcery they possess. House Avisong in particular has hired a large number of tutors for the children raised within the palace. Over the centuries, it has grown from a single room to a complex tower, filled with a library, laboratory, and a classroom more luxurious than many entire houses on Ilysium.

Sorcerous Experiments

During the mid-Sorcerous Age, many groups tried to determine the source of the new magic becoming more and more present in the Blue. The Imperial House at the time, House Undersmith, participated heavily in these experiments. Some of the worst of these tests were only revealed long after House Undersmith fell from power, and one in particular involved draining a sorcerous slave's blood and pumping it into another test subject to see if they gained the abilities. As horrendous as this is, the study appeared to show that magic is not a property of the blood in a person's veins, though this result was only shown much later.

The claim that we would abuse our citizens like this is unbelievable. We have worked tirelessly to protect Ilysium and her people from the evils of the Trade Union, and honestly, I think these ideas are spread by those who only want to see our way of life upended and tossed aside.

— Princess Vedia Avisong V

The Conspiracy

The entirety of the conspiracy is too long and complex to recount here. The important pieces are thusly:

• The Emperor and his family are actually non-magical, with absolutely no sorcerous ability. As such, the sorcerous ability they display is unnatural in some way.
• The disappearances of commoners on Ilysium has nothing to do with crimes they have committed, or any black market activity, but instead are kinapped by the Avisong family.
• House Avisong drains these kindapped commoners of their blood and magic, and uses this to grow unnaturaly powerful.

"Proof"

Initally, the ones primarily pushing this narrative also dissappeared. For about a week, news of these new, definitely politically-motivated disappearances spread like wildfire. After realizing that this only seemed to prove the conspiracy right, the offenders resurfaced, and were conventionally charged with crimes that allowed them to be sealed away from the public. Since then, a few people have made attempts to prove aspects of this conspiracy true. Some witnesses surfaced, claiming to have seen the labs deep inside the Imperial Palace where these horrid practices reportedly occurred. None of them have been able to provide concrete proof, however.

Imperial Response

As said above, initially the Empire reacted very harshly to people spreading these rumors. However, after this backfired somewhat, they backed off in intensity. Instead of jailing or disappearaing people, they have resorted to simply trying to discredit the 'liars'. On several occasions, the Crown Princess herself has made a public appearance to refute the claims. This has done little to dissuade the true believers, but it has certainly cemented the opinion of the masses.

Secrets

This article contains secrets, which are unknown by most or all of the people of the Wilde Blue.
View Secrets

I personally think the spread of these ideas are due to an inherent dissatisfaction in their lives. The culture of fear that this cold war has cultivated is surely hasn't helped either.

— Pontia Orosius, Professor of Society

Origin

The source of these claims is hard to find, particularly because of the amount House Avisong has muddled the waters. At least in part, they were heavily encouraged by Thedusi Putrace, a lesser heir of House Putrace, who benefit greatly from any ill will spread towards House Avisong. Currently, Thedusi still rants about the corruption of the Emperor to large crowds in the capital.

Spread

This conspiracy has not spread beyond Ilysium for two main reasons. Firstly, the proximity of the Imperial Palace, towering over the city, means that it is far more present in the minds of commoners than colonists. Secondly, the disappearances are of commoners, which most colonists do not have any connection to.

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