The Wizard School





The Collegium Magorum, commonly known as the Wizard School, was founded during the upheavals of the war against Isfar the Bold (476 - 485) AR.    It prospered because it allowed followers of the magic arts, previously scattered and disorganized,  to effectively communicate, pool their resources and advocate for their interests against the other powers in the Commonwealth.

476 - 642 AR

According the historians of the School, Gorria the Wanderer came to the region of the Buried Giant in 476 AR, having fled the Mountains due to the fighting between Chancellor Cheren V and Isfar.   There he came to contact with three bands of wandering magic users, themselves displaced by the upheavals of the time. 

The leaders of these three bands would later become the first Regents of the School.  The first was Meiga, who with her coven had also fled the mountains.  Some say that she and Gorria had known each other in the days before the war.  Second was Exezunius the Loremaster, who with his disciples had fled the Hinterland, accused, it was said, of practicing  Necromancy to plumb the secrets of the past.    The third was Sehrgar, who had travelled to the Buried Giant in search of an ancient spirit, said to dwell in the Forest of Saĝo.

In return for his support these three made an alliance with Gorria who then waged war upon Malbela Lágbrún, bandit leader and self-styled Count of the Giant.     He proved stronger than expected, but after a bitter fight Gorria, with the aid of the Wizards, was able to defeat him and drive him and his followers out of the region.  

(Malbela fled to the Great Slum where he later pledged allegiance to Lady Nila when she assumed the Bandit Crown.  His descendants continue to hold land in that area, famed for their strength and cunning, if not for their beauty).

As promised Gorria turned over large tracts of land in and around the Forest of Saĝo to the Wizards, who began the construction of the stronghold that would become the School.    In the Charter of the School, the Wizards promised their support to Gorria and his succssors in return  for guarantees of self-government, non-interference and protection, especially from the Church, which had in the past often been hostile to magic users. 

Deep in the Forest of Saĝo, Sehrgar discovered the legendary Old Oak, an ancient spirit alluded to in the Black Book of Rabat.   Many would later travel the forest paths, seeking wisdom and guidance from the Spirit.

Barely a year after the establishment of the School the province was again consumed by war, as the Chancellor briefly drove out Gorria, and was in turn defeated by Isfar.  The Wizards - their stronghold uncompleted - remained in hiding in the Forest.   After Isfar's victory they returned to the site of the school, to find it garrisoned by Isfar's men.   In return for their aid however, Isfar renewed the Charter, and after assisting in the completion of the stronghold, withdrew his men. In the future the defense of the School (should it be necessary) would be entrusted to the "Proctors", spectral warriors summoned from beyond the Veil.

The masters of the College kept their bargain with Isfar,  supplying him with powerful spells to assist in controlling his Shadow legions; they noted with concern how his interest in Dark Magic grew over time, becoming almost an obsession.

For the next three years war passed by the Buried Giant.  The School rapidly expanded, as Magic users from throughout the Commonwealth took refuge there.   Noblemen, rich merchants and even some Prelates began to seek advice there.

Not far from the School the town of Herberg grew up, as a marketplace for the School, and resting place for travelers coming to consult with the Old Oak or the Wizards. 

In 484 however, Cheren once again assailed the province.  He defeated Isfar in a series of battles.  The doors of the School were shut.  Cheren, distracted by other concerns, did not move against them.

With the coming of peace Cheren, after consulting with Nila, his designated successor, renewed the Charter.  He slightly reduced the  guarantees of non-interference,  instead demanding that the Prelates be "consulted" before major new avenues of research were opened.   This requirement was generally ignored by the Wizards, and would be a frequent source of friction.

Upon her succession, Nila expanded the Charter.  At the request of the School and with the backing of the Nobles and of Isfar (who was at that time still ruling an independent kingdom in the Hinterland), the School was designated neutral ground, to which any person might journey and return in safety.  All quarrels were to be set aside at its doors.   This rule was generally followed, with only occasional exceptions.  The Wizards reserved to themselves the right to punish transgressors.  Obviously this restriction failed to apply to the internal quarrels and rivalries of the Wizards, which fortunately rarely rose above the level of the occasional poisoning.

The School was divided into Colleges focusing on different branches of magic.   In keeping with the policy of neutrality, the School began accepting pupils from among all the promising youth of the land, not excluding applicants from outside the Commonwealth.   Chancellor Nila and her daughter Sina generally favored the School in its disputes with the Church. Research into some hitherto forbidden areas of magic was quietly undertaken.

The prestige of the School continued to grow under the Azure dynasty and after the Sable Restoration.  Among the Commonwealth it began to be said  that a Noble family ought to give  three children: One for the Sword (for the Chancellor), one for the Lord (for the Church) and one for the College (the Wizards school), although, of course, this happened infrequently in practice.

The leaders of the School began to think of themselves as the spokesmen of what they called the "College of Magic"; representatives of all magic users in the Commonwealth and beyond.  This claim was regarded with skepticism by most people, include many magic users.   However, the term "College of Magic" was sometimes confused in the minds of men with the Wizards School itself, although there remained, and always would remain, many magic users not associated with the School.

During the Senatorial War the fighting mostly passed by the Buried Giant, and the Wizards were left in peace.  Following the restoration of the Sable dynasty, the influence of the School declined some, although its reputation continued to grow.  Nera and her successors were more inclined to favor the Church, which now attempted to ban the practice of what it termed the "Dark Arts".   Nominally the Regents complied, but secret research into Necromancy and Alchemy continued.

During the Long Peace the School prospered, marred only by a protracted dispute with the Church over the practice of Alchemy.  In this case the Prelates were ultimately victorious.  Following a trial conducted during the Second General Synod of the Commonwealth,   Regent Varázsló was forced to expel the entire Faculty of the College of Alchemy.   The Alchemists fled to the Hinterland, but their skills would be in demand during the war with Fehér.

The Regents consoled themselves with the thought that the Necromancers, now organized into a  secret group within the School (known as the "Hidden College of Necromancy") had escaped the notice of the Church.   Unknown to all but a handful of the most senior Faculty was the fact that the conflict with the Church had been foreseen by Prophetess Nabia, Dean of the College of Prognostication. She had advised the Regents on how to meet it, and made it possible for them to protect the Necromancers, but they could not save the Alchemists.   Agents of the School maintained contact with the exiles, looking to the day of their return.

During the discontents that began with the accession of Iswed III, some of the secret societies began to be active in the School.   During the conflict itself agents of both Hazin and the Chancellor sought the allegiance of the Wizards and the faculty was often divided.   The general effect was to undermine their loyalty to both the Chancellor and  Count Hazin.

After the fall of the Plains the seat of the Commonwealth was briefly at the School, with the Senate meeting in the great hall.  The Faculty were dismayed by the use of the Dazzle Spell, and like most people in the Commonwealth, they were demoralized and angered by the sack that followed the reconquest of the Plains.    Even Zolta's use of the Taming Charm in his attempt to extort information from the Old Oak was not sufficient to restore their loyalty to the Chancellor (although it particularly angered the faculty in the College of Prognostication and scholars of the History of Magic).  The school reluctantly aided Zolta in his conquest (in the name of Fehér) of the Buried Giant.  

In return for their support Fehér renewed the Charter, with Zolta - at the insistence of the Regents - also swearing to uphold it.   Fehér granted extensive lands in the Buried Giant to Zolta, although he respected the lands of the School.   Zolta and his descendants were often a thorn in the side of the Regents.

During the regency of Bishop Urpa, the school came once again under pressure from the Church.   Urpa's policies generally favored the Nobility of the Buried Giant, and the Regents were forced to make concessions to them.  

Tensions eased when Bàn son of  Fehér reached his majority, as he was suspicious of Zolta's kin and supported the School as a counterweight to them in the Buried Giant.  

Following his death and the Regency of Archbishop Garra, the Wizards  faced the future with concern.  On the one hand they were pleased that Garra had no connection with the nobility of the Buried Giant.  On the other hand the fact that she was a Prelate, and worse, rumored to have ties to the Dark Priory, meant that the School could expect little sympathy from her in any disputes with the Church.


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