Scholars' Collective

== Overview ==
The Scholars' Collective was a highly prestigious establishment dedicated to the furtherance of learning, understanding and knowledge. Established in 111 AG by Rorne and Aleria Euphratuman, the Collective acted as an official body for esteemed scholars to convene and discuss various matters. The Collective met annually at various chosen locations. 
== Structure ==
* Head: The leader (head) of the Collective was principally entrusted with admitting new members and coordinating their intellectual output. A new head is selected at the wish of the current head, in the form of a written name to nominate.
* Others: Others include anyone who is not the leader, as scholars are given equal footing to encourage mutual collaboration in the Collective. 
Anyone admitted to the collective is awarded the title 'Master of Artistic Thought' as an indication of their membership.
Under head Verhelm Fairmid, a scholars' apprentice scheme was introduced to encourage elders to pass their ideas and methods down to younger members. In order to be eligible to tutor, one had to have been a member of the collective for at least 20 years, and in order to be eligible to be tutored, one had to be a member for under 20 years. 
== Known members ==
Chronological order upon first admittance, (up to and including 301 AG)
* Rorne Euphratuman (Head, 111-178 AG)
*Seldor Laydern (Head, 179-194 AG)
*Sterhila Fairmid (Head, 201-207 AG)
* Jorjaeryn III Grenthyx
* Harolde Silversmith (Head, 194-201 AG)
* Forkoux Fyth (Head, 207-279 AG)
* Geroldin Seeder (Head, 279-280 AG)
* Tr'cupen
* Bentros Root
* Uriah Hiedlande
* Xavier Solme
* Verhelm Fairmid (Head, 283 AG-)
* Pyter Fyth
* Cherva Blumoor (Head, 280-283 AG)
* Helene Hiedlande
* Gheff III Tersaut
* Irisi Sura
* Tamaria Solme
* Zeria Joie
* Ula Daeys
*Stormulan Euphratuman
* Rommon Braitbirn
The collective was known to contain groupings, with vaguely defined boundaries and members, aside from the Consortium of the Nine, which was far more formal in nature. The following are examples of members that pertained to particular groupings:
=== Elders ===
* Forkoux Fyth
* Cherva Blumoor 
* Geroldin Seeder
=== Consortium of the Nine ===
* Uriah Hiedlande
* Helene Hiedlande 
* Gheff III Tersaut
* Irisi Sura
=== Forkouxites ===
* Verhelm Fairmid
* Tr'cupen
* Xavier Solme
* Tamaria Solme
* Pyter Fyth
* Rommon Braitbirn
== Heads of the Collective ==
 	111 AG - 178 AGRorne Euphratuman
 	178 AG - 194 AGSeldor Laydern
 	194 AG - 201 AGHarolde Silversmith
 	201 AG - 207 AGSterhila Fairmid
 	207 AG - 279 AGForkoux Fyth
 	279 AG - 280 AGGeroldin Seeder
 	280 AG - 283 AGCherva Blumoor
thumb|220x220px	283 AG - Verhelm Fairmid
* Rorne Euphratuman (111-178 AG)
* Seldor Laydern (178-194 AG)
* Harolde Silversmith (194-201 AG)
* Sterhila Fairmid (201-207 AG)
* Forkoux Fyth (207-279 AG)
* Geroldin Seeder (279-280 AG)
* Cherva Blumoor (280-283 AG)
* Verhelm Fairmid (283 AG-)
== History ==
=== Formation ===
The Scholars Collective was the brainchild of Rorne and Aleria Euphratuman. In 111 AG, with a desire to expand the scope of House Euphratuman's presence in cultural institutions. Aleria organised its systems, while Rorne assumed the title of head of the collective, the first to do so. After attracting 30-40 scholars, the institution boomed, becoming a highly respectable institution and assisting in re-establishing House Euphratuman as a dominant cultural force on the Capital. 
=== Growing Tension ===
During the waning years of the 72 year-long tenure of Forkoux Fyth, followers in the Collective subscribing to many of Uriah Hiedlande's ideas began to grow in number, creating tension between other members such as Verhelm Fairmid, Tr'cupen and Zeria Joie. The group were a sub-collective in their own right, being informally known as the Consortium of the Nine. These tensions increased significantly when, following Forkoux's death in 279 AG and subsequent need to appoint his nominated head, Geroldin Seeder was appointed. This rasied concerns for many members of the collective, yet followers of Uriah Hiedlande remained, to them, suspiciously non-chalant about the appointment of a man the collective had entirely written-off as something of a waste of space prior. Nevertheless, the appointment proceed and Geroldin became the head of the Collective. In the short, 15-month period Geroldin presided over the collective, he frequently coveyed a confused, senile and feckless character, rarely saying any substantial, and when he did, he bounded from topic to topic apparently with no logical between them. In late 280 AG, he died after being incapacitated for a time at his home in Truvenscia. 
Following Geroldin's nomination of Cherva Blumoor as head, Verhelm worked with other scholars over the following 2 years in order to establish if indeed Uriah and his followers had tampered in the processes of the Collective. Cherva would do little to prevent this, with his already failing health declining yet further, rendering him in a constant state of needing care to treat his severe respiratory and heart problems. Over this time, Uriah began to accumulate yet more new scholars devoted to his ideological positions. Finally, and only shortly before Cherva's innevitable death in 283 AG, other scholars uncovered evidence that Uriah's followers, in 279 AG, had forged a document which claimed to nominate Geroldin into the position of head, so that Uriah could build his influence without the scrutiny he had experienced under Forkoux. Geroldin would seem to them a conservative enough choice to avoid excessive controversy, and conspicuous enough for them to grow their influence in the Collective, feeding Geroldin scrolls to bring to the Collective to consider and eventually to admit new members. Indeed, Uriah's influence was such that he persuaded Geroldin in his defunct mental state to nominate Cherva as the next head. Cherva, to Uriah and his followers represented a father figure for their ideas, giving them a strong foothold to eventually nominate one of their own once Cherva's time had come, which Uriah knew would not be long as his health issues were well documented. 
With Uriah and his followers potentially exposed, Verhelm's followers and more neutral scholars agreed to appoint Verhelm as the new head following Cherva's death in 283 AG, so as to respect Forkoux's wishes expressed in his obtained documents from 4 years prior. However, Uriah and his followers possessed a great deal of leverage over Verhelm; should Verhelm have dismissed any of them, they were now sufficient in number to oust him. Estimating that he could best serve his cause by holding back Uriah's in his position of power, he opted not to risk an all-out coup in which Uriah would have successfully installed his friend and fellow scholar, Gheff III Tersaut. This situation persisted with increasing division and intensity into the 300 AGs, mirroring a broader socio-political pro-Grenthyx shift throughout the layers of power across the Continent.