Redbloom

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Redbloom is an Atral settlement that serves as the home of a prestigious arcane college dedicated to creating spellslingers to defend the Atral way of life.

## Government

From the Vardon Pavilion, the Marquis of Redbloom and by extension the entirety of the Province of Vardony governs the settlement, aided by a plethora of landed knights that maintain small keeps and towers throughout the fields that sprawl in all directions. Originally, the Marquis held direct dominion over the running of the Crimson College too, but in time it was ultimately decided such matters were better served by those involved in its day-to-day operation. Two Archmages, one serving as the head of the School of Evocation, another as Transmutation's equivalent both hold the additional title of Baronet of Redbloom, act to keep the standards of the College high, while holding the door wide for all to have a chance to learn of their arcane specialties.

Both Silvertowers of the Atral army and Gilded Guard of the Crown are stationed within the settlement, either by designation, or as part of their ongoing training in magical matters.

## Crime

Reputable businesses are not the only organisations interested in training their employees to use minor feats of the arcane. Many facets of 'Mundane Magic' find a use within the criminal underworld, ranging from underhanded manipulation of the taste or smell of rotting provisions to hide their state of decomposition to rapid cleansing of a crime scene. The presence of these individuals invariably results in many plying their trade covertly as they all the while present themselves elsewise throughout their teaching.

Although those found to be engaging in criminal activities during their teachings are subsequently barred from further training, initial intake screenings are lax to entirely absent.

## Description

The Guild of the Crimson Blossom was one of the ten magical guilds of Ahlus, specialising in the Schools of Evocation and Transmutation. When the Kingdom of Atralran fell before the Astedian advance in 974AG, the Guild was closed, owing to its heavy involvement in facilitating the defence faced by the Imperial forces throughout the Siege of Iron. Reclaimed after the ascension of King Eldarion I Goldlor to his throne, the settlement of Redbloom was founded to repair and reestablish the Guild, which has since come to be known as the Crimson College.

Surrounded on all sides by the fertile fields that cover much of the territory of Atralran, further investments came from a number of organisations large and small that sought to provide their employees with a passing understanding of paradoxically-termed *'Mundane Magic'*. In time, supported by continuous yields of agricultural produce, the population has ballooned, now the second largest settlement in Atralran, behind that of the capital of Chalimar itself.

The original buildings of the Guild of the Crimson Blossom were built within a forested valley, and with time landscaping and terraforming of the region by means of felling of trees and quarrying has flattened the valley to the extent of now existing as two shallow hills, with the now present Crimson College located in the cleft between the two.

As the settlement has grown, further smaller roads have been built, all connected to the central Doupter Road, which runs from Ashenwatch Redoubt in the east to Chalimar in the northwest, weaving a vine-like network through the settlement to all major markets, residential wards, guildhalls, temples and other locations of note. The Vardon Pavilion, the home of the Marquis is located on the northwestern edge of the settlement, near to the source of one of the two major tributaries of the Green River. Initially a minor settlement, the growing populace has driven a few away from Redbloom, considering the settlement too cosmopolitan and yearn for a life more provincial without isolating themselves too greatly. For these individuals, Ualune has become a viable alternative.

Many residents of Atralran and further afield travel to Redbloom to learn how to bolster their artisan skills with the arcane, and so the streets are filled with all manner of fleeting market stalls offering a wide variety of products and services, the coin earned intended for immediate use to continue their education. The surrounding farmland brings a wide range of fresh produce through Redbloom, with much bound for Chalimar and beyond.

The influence of the Gildhearth Throne is ever present in Redbloom, but many other guilds operate through the settlement, seeking to have employees trained to become magewrights and spellslingers. Shrines to the Principal Sixteen are dotted throughout, and a courtyard at the edge of the College dedicated to Divinus has become a place of pilgrimage for some.