The Vargus School

The Vargus School, formerly Malvont University, is a boarding school and institution of higher learning in East Willa, Malvont. It consistently ranks as the number one educational institution in the world, and is well known for its vigorous course of study, numerous famous graduates, and extensive and ancient campus.
== History ==
The University was founded in 1077 by Talnec Franco, a visiting mage from the University of Nyasa in Nyasa City, Nyasa. He founded the school on a grant of land and treasure from the king of Malvont, who asked him to build a new learning institution capable of providing top-notch training to Malvont citizens in the Divine and Arcane sciences. Franko founded the school on three guiding principles: pertinacia, scientia and pax, the three qualities he hoped graduates of the school would bring into the world after graduation. These words appear constantly throughout the school's architecture, particularly in the pantheonic chapel. The school's motto is fortitudo fortis defendit.
In 1100, the campus was extended by royal degree to include all of Willa West. A new library was added, as well as two copying rooms and chapels for the worship of Pelor, St. Cuthbert, and Heronious. The syllabus was expanded to include degrees in history and music, and the school became home to one of the premiere theaters and music conservatories in the world.
In 1430, the Board of Masters and King Avimeus officially changed the name of the school to The Vargus School in honor of the celebrity politician and activist Edmund Vargus, an alum (class of '14) who had just been elected, against all odds, to the Chairmanship of of the Baldur Ruling Council, making him the first human from the Guildhome System to hold that position in over 200 years.
== Program ==
The Vargus School takes applicants as young as 6 years for humans or 70 years for elves, and offers apprentice, journeyman, and master and archmaster degrees. The full program takes 30 years to complete, but many students leave after achieving journeyman or master level training due to the time, difficulty, and ultimate challenge of the ultimate degree. Upon admittance to the school, students are expected to join a Society based on their mental and physical aptitudes. These Societies do not directly determine your major or course of study, but there is often a correlation.
=== Societies ===
There are six Societies active on campus. The Saucers Club is a major Society which is directly involved in many charitable activities in the Malvont Outdocks. Membership in this Society requires a minimum number of hours of charitable work, rescue and recovery volunteering, and a vow to remain substance-free while enrolled at the school. The Club is based out of Saucer Tower in West Walla. The Galintine Society is a major Society based on the combination of physical and mental excellence. This Society is involved in many charitable construction efforts throughout the city, but more often members serve as volunteer members of the City Guard, Civil Defense Unit, or Merchant Marine. This Society meets along the edge of the Spire of Lorata in a parapet bunker. The Macavia is an intellectual activist Society for students with unusual magical abilities. This Society promotes interracial understanding in poorer parts of the city. The Macavia meet in the library, and are mostly students on scholarship. The Pinnacle Society is the most selective society with a yearly due of 1000 GP and several other requirements based on intellect, wisdom, and breeding. They are devoted to the advancement of the diplomatic, fine, and commercial arts and often fund guest speakers, lecturers, and mass spectacles. The Society has it's own palace on campus. The Ace of Hearts Club is a mish-mash collection of artists, poets, and musicians who live in the Freedom House to the soutch of campus. The club is known for throwing magnificent vegan dinners and for having several busts in the last few years of students distributing Halfling Weed, Wolves' Milk, or even Absynthium Orientalis.  Finally, the Futurian Club is a Society for the advancement of civilization through technological and arcane means. This quirky Society is on the cutting edge of Arcane and scientific research, and uses its funds to provide dozens of scholarships to students wishing to pursue their Archmaster certification. The Futurians meet in a floating balloon over East Campus.
=== Majors ===
As of 1443 there are five divisions, each with two or three majors available through that division. The oldest division, the Division of Arcane Arts and Sciences, offers degrees in Arcane Art, Arcane Science, and Alchemy. The second division, the Division of Theology, offers three degrees in Religion, Medicine, and Planar Studies. The Division of Natural Science offers two degrees in Biology and Agriculture. The Conservatory of Culture offers three degrees in Music, Art and Rhetoric and the Division of Leadership offers three degrees in Naval Studies, History, and Philosophy.
==Notable Professors==
There are hundreds of professors and staff members at this large research university, but there are some you should know.
Harricar Bulba, Professor of Necropotence
Galia the Enlightened, Professor of Music, Dean of the Ace of Hearts
Maridor of Malvont, Headmistress
Rystil Macavia, Professor of Artifice, Dean of Macavia
Mystria Avo, Professor of Transmutation
Reja the Summoner, Professor of Zoology
Kryde Applebottom, Librarian
== Notable Graduates ==
There are hundreds of notable graduates of The Vargus School, but there are some more noteworthy than others.
Edmund Vargus, History, Galantine 1414
Admiral Whitebeard, Naval Studies, Saucer 1400
Ethan of Malvont, Alchemical Science, Futurian Macavian?! 1435
Ariana, Arcane Art, Macavia, expelled 1439
Prince Avimeus, Religion, Pinnacle 1441
Sir Tobo of Port Brogan Rhetoric, Ace of Hearts 1437
Highman Grax Arcane Art/Philosophy/History, Macavia 1430
Icania Vandril Arcane Art, Pinnacle 1434
Lando Jackson Arcane Art, Futurian 1420
Category:Locations
Category:Malvont