Valordian College

## Brief History and Ethos

There are old tales that saturate the history books with stories of the power and of the might of the age of blood; when savagery and brutality was the way of life and there was nothing so eloquent as the power of the Source. Then there was only the power of the Blood Pits of the Skagriagaard, the alchemy of the Zoranethi, the mysticism of the Giant Kin and the Glamour of the Fae. There was war and chaos and anarchy and then the Void came seeking words of power that had been lost to its unknown master. Those words are, if pre history is to be believed, the power to shape worlds and to master the building blocks of all magics. It is also known that these words or words closely akin to them were carved into the comet that blazed its way across the sky and came to impact the crust of this world in the deep wilds of Helgath where Eaölfheim prospered. When that most great and glorious of events embraced the world so too did our ancient power and from it all power that spreads across Daer Akmir today.  So the comet was named after the power that it created, the power that gave life to the world that we now inhabit, that created the races of the world and birthed the Empires and the Kingdoms of this great civilisation. It was called the Source Comet.

The source Comet represented Magic long forgotten from another time and another age where it was referred to as the Nexus. With it came hidden secrets and beings from some dystopian place, some oppressors some oppressed and they spilled over into the world. Their power was dubbed the Arcane and was nothing like we had ever seen before; it dwarfed all other forms and realms with its strength and ability to change reality around it. However this power lasted but mere moments from histories point of view as the Gillieabad Spirits, so free roaming for so long, bound themselves to places of power to neutralise this strength. To the Earth Tribes it was the ultimate sacrifice, to the beings of the Nexus it was an act of war but to those that were to come later it was a gift that could not be over looked. The power Arcane was greatly diminished and it was a power that could never truly be mastered by those inhabitants of the world however the Source of all magic to come was left behind and that was ours to take.

For many years after the arrival of the comet early mages tried to master the power that now saturated this world. Many become extremely proficient in its art but these were spirited away by the Arcanists that arrived with the Nexus; The Kaytaar. It took many years for the College of Sourcery or Council of Magic as it was then to form under the guidance of the Kurt Nagerson whose impressive power in the realm of the Sourcerer led him to become an Emperor of the three Kingdoms (as was back then). During this time the mysterious Kaytaar had established themselves as a force in the world but where once, in their home world, they were eternal, they were made mortal by the forces of Vaklam. To counter this problem they undertook a task to locate the legendary Zoranethi, the Sea Tribe who had mastered the arts of transmogrification of the body and the soul. When they found them they used their terrible power to enslave them, a move that would haunt them in aeons to come. Together they caused the collapse of the Gillieabads power in the Forests of the Chosen, stole the second moon from the Sky and created the Shadowed Lands where they would come to dwell. Much of the College turned its attention to this new threat born of the comet, but it was soon to be discovered that this world was not the only one touched by power.

The world of Ruaeth Kajhar was a great world of gases mingling together in the early stages of development when Vaklam was a seething mass of Earth Tribes and battle. Already life was forming there, life that would form into what many of the ignorant folk of the world would call Elementals and Fundamentals but this was before the time of the great sundering, before the Mazamarati, before Vorok Core and the founders, the Nexians. In this baptism the world was changed along with the three other worlds that hung around an infant Sun and through their skies a great blazing fire screamed across the heavens giving birth to a power that bears many, many similarities to the Source that gives us the power that we have experienced: The Sourcerers have come to know that Comet was the home of the Kaytaar and that it came to Vaklam with the intention of reforming their power and their own world here. What we were unaware of, even until recently, was that the Nexus was home to many other forms of life including the Founders of whom we will speak to at the end of this text, let us first examine the beginning of our contact with Ruaeth Kajhar.

It was Aberaith Karyastak, a Lairdan Gain, who is now the head of the South Tower who followed in the footsteps of Quinn Shadowreaver in exploring other worlds who established the first portals with Ruaeth Kajhar. Here he met and spoke with the Lords and Ladies of a place in that world known as the Collegium of the Thundering Hosts where the power of the Valordian Winds brings life. Through debate, the exchange of power and a final agreement a pact was made between Karyastak and the Collegium that bound the College to the service of the Elemental Houses in return for the essence of their magics. For it was that the power of the elementals, great though it may be, was enhanced by its strengthening here in Vaklam under the influence of the comet. When Aberaith Karyastak returned he petitioned the College of Power to create Valordian which were the four declarations of tutelage given by the elementals. Each college was divided into four Towers, the Fryan (North), Delvone (South), Iwayes (East) and Kalvik (West); to each of these towers a house from the Collegium gave its allegiance and lent its power and wisdom to those that would train there.

So the years rolled by and the College became powerful as did the other elemental Colleges. But there was infighting amongst the Arch Mages and their protégés and a war between the wizards threatened to endanger the lands. Those that knew the ancient words of power or commanded great strength came together and formed the College of Controlling Power to govern the other five and to give opposition should the Clergy rise to political strength. The formation of the College of Controlling Power (CoCP) heralded a massive change for all of the Sourcerers and a settling of power. Despite the clear power that was flowing from the four realms the early conclaves had greater dangers that drove the dynamics of the direction that we as a collective would take. The Daemon Foe were at our door and the Sourcerous Colleges were not only older and more heavily established but they were also seen as natural, pure and drawing power from the world. The term "Source" was called into question and the right of our followers to designate ourselves Sourcerers was stripped from us, we were renamed fully to Elementalists, as we know now, an incongruous term.

During those early years it was difficult for us to develop our potential with the Collegiums, the rules of the CoCP had yet to expand to understand what we were; we did not draw power from what was understood to be the Source of Magics. We were drafted into combats against Daemon Kind that we could not win, our magics were different, whilst they were effective the corruptions of Nagerson, now Morrigun College, did not enhance them as it did theirs. However Shadowreaver College came to the fore in combats and we were allowed to fall back at our own pace and develop as we needed to as Lore Masters and manipulators of the world around us. Sadly even after our relevance to the projects of the CoCP was realised the four realms never made its way onto the Council main, outside of Quinn Shadowreaver himself and so Valordian College now served two masters; the Elementals and the CoCP as well as their own ends as they tried to fully master the power that was at their command.

But time has passed and Valordian College has become a centre for diplomacy and learning, focusing on those arts and the skills of movement through the celerity of the world. Battle and warfare have never really been a part of their code and ethos although they will always take the field of battle if they are needed. Instead they have made the difference to the disasters that have befallen the Basin and indeed the world through their actions however sedentary they may seem. Despite these actions their open door policy on those that they admit for training from various corners of the world have led them to be mistrusted and excluded from some of the higher echelons of power. However the internal struggles of the Colleges cause the formation of alliances that none saw coming and this is often overlooked. Alongside us The CoCP soon became one of the most powerful political groups, standing off frequently against the clergy. However its superior organisation and its unbreakable consolidation has allowed it to become the closest advisor to the Crown. The wisest choice and decision for all involved.

## Founder Overview

The people of the Vorok Core, what we have known as the elemental planes, have their own fables and myths about their creation, the dawn of their power and the words of their makers. Over the years we have come to understand and help to unlock the true mysteries of their dawn, it is important that we touch on that knowledge as we cover the early days and current standing of the College. The general knowledge of the people was that long ago the skies were lit by the great eye of the Founders, which we now know to be the Comet, as it passed over the four worlds of Ruaeth Kajhar, Jorven Kel Karenik, Beyleethe and Zartherinyialial. As the eye glared down its power was felt among the earliest inhabitants of that world and the Founders first gave their power to the worlds. As the eye passed so the Vorok Core was left behind, the home of the Founders, the Nexus, the heart of the Harrowgulf (a legendary place between the four worlds) and the place where all of their knowledge would be learned. From here it is said that the Founders taught the Mazamarati, then the ruling class, the building blocks of Magic and that they in turn taught the lesser races of the world but bought with them the subjugation of those that they taught.

As time has gone by we have come to realise that the Founders were one of the races of the worlds, great amalgamations of the races that inhabited the four realms. They had learnt their skills from the Nexians a race that shared their origins in the same home world as the Kaytaar. However the Nexians were a benevolent race that taught the Thirteen Founders the mysteries of the Universe on the grounds that they would only reveal a fragment of their knowledge to their followers, the Mazamarati, for fear that their power might be corrupted. When the Mazamarati learnt of this they rose up and nearly killed the Founders and a great war was fought as they struggled to overcome their teachers and take the power of the Nexians for themselves. In the aftermath the Founders fought among themselves but eventually destroyed the power of the Mazamarati and banished them to the Harrowgulf. In the days that followed the races of the four worlds became masters of their own destiny but the dreams of the Nexians were forgotten and war consumed the Vorok Core.

### The Dreams of the Nexians

Much later we of the Colleges and the members of those that houses to whom we are allied once more made contact with the Nexians and learnt much of their intentions from their first arrivals. They came to bring unity and their power to all beings, that it might be shared by all and understood by all. They came to build portals to the worlds that touch the edges of their own and to bring learning to them also. Alas the greed of those that serve power overcame their intentions and that dream was ended, in their madness the Mazamarati tried to enslave the Nexians and even through their power to entrap drakes and angels. Can these dreams be rekindled? Only through the power of the Colleges joined with the Realms do we believe that they can but the teachings of the Nexians should not be forgotten. Remember even the simplest of their wisdoms:

*“I have seen things you people wouldn’t believe things that will change how you see this world. Enough to drive men to madness. What is the largest number? Are the worlds infinite? Might every event repeat again and again and again? Your intuition is of no use here, faith alone can’t save you, where does the multiverse begin? Is Vaklam one of uncountable copies tumbling through an unending void in one you are rich on another you have yet to be born, these are the deepest mysteries of the universe. Pray silence as I present to you: Infinity.”*

### Code of the College of Controlling Power of the Black Table

* The CoCP stands above the individual Colleges with regards to the following issues:
* Ratification of any new College Policy
* Delineation of any training outside of standard guild policy.
* Ratification of any policy that crosses the Golden Table
* Expenditure of Black Table Resources
* Control and reclamation of any Arcane artefacts
* Control of the Words of Power and associated masteries.

#### The COCP expects

* Full respect to all Colleges regardless of which you owe affiliation to.
* The adherence to the laws of the College and the land and to tolerate no disrespect or slight from members of the many lesser guilds and clergies.
* To show adequate respect to the laws of the College and the members of the Black Table that uphold them.

#### Code of Valordian College

* The pact that you enter into with your Elemental house is a bond of the most sacred trust and will never be broken. To break such a trust will result in immediate expulsion from the College and your right to cast Sourcerous magics revoked for all time.
* You will show all deference to the rigid guild system of seniority showing respect to and obeying the instructions of those above you in the chain of command.
* Those in positions of seniority will not abuse their power nor their subordinates, tolerance of such action will be short and retribution swift.
* Members are encouraged not to act outside of their departments unless absolutely necessary. Where it is necessary you are required to report your action to department heads at the earliest opportunity.
* Every incantation that is taught to you represents your ability to manipulate the gentle weave of magic that surrounds each one of us. Once you have learnt to control that weave you are expected to use that power responsibly. Sourcerous power is not for show or the entertainment of the common folk. This is the realm of conjurers and prestidigitators, we are Sourcerers and we control the raw powers of Chaos and the elements.
* We are not guilds, we are Colleges. We represent a faculty that has been established for over two thousand years. We are not a loose collection of half-trained rabble. You few chosen to walk our halls were chosen because you were considered to be the best and most able of your brethren. You will act accordingly.
* Exploration of Ruaeth Kajhar remains one of the major directions and codes of the College; it is an extended duty for the Ueahrn to learn more of their origins and for us to assist them.
* The summoning of any Ueahrn or others of their ilk is a sacred ritual and the undertaking of any such action will involve either a predetermined agreement or an arrangement that occurs in favour of the Ueahrn when it is summoned.

**Words of the College**

The Wind whispers the truth to those who listen

## The Four Towers of Valordian College

When a potential candidate for membership first comes to the Valordian College they travel the prospective towers that will cover their training and also teach them the ethos that will lead them through the coming years. Each Tower is pacted to an individual House that serves the Collegium of Thundering Hosts and it is from them that they, themselves, draw direction. The Towers are very private areas, away from each other and with their own approaches; whilst the College is very much united the individuals that serve it are often private and insular folk who would prefer their directives to be their own. When the tour is over the initiate must make their choice and begin the teachings of that Tower.

### The Fryan (Fry-e-anne) Order - The North Tower

The Fryan Order teaches the Wisdom of the House of Thunder, we are the Hosts of Warriors who protect the land and rule from afar.

**Let Lightning be my Blade and Thunder my Shield.**

#### Ethos

The Fryan train specific arts of battle meditation that were handed down from the Ueahrn to our Tower when we first met their kind. It was an immense undertaking and as mortals we could never truly master the art but it is the size of the undertaking that underlines out ethos. Through calm determination we learn our art, knowing that we can, in our lifetimes or perhaps in no-one's lifetime can ever achieve. What we can do is protect the people that we shoulder in our duties, in their quest for knowledge or their right to protect one another. We work hard, endlessly, tirelessly. We train daily, nightly, constantly. We prepare perfectly, endlessly, harmoniously. There is a rage in all of us and in no place less powerful than the heart of the raging storm and that is what beats at our heart and that is what we must overcome each day.

#### Areas of Power

* Control of Anger
* Battle
* Defence
* Leadership

**Head of the Fryan Order and Head of the Department of Response:** Sten Darkstorm (Granite Heart Courtesard):Darkstorm was born in 1962 atop the Sternhold peak in the Razorback Mountains. His parents had been caught away from their homes in the time of the Velakay Stormcades and it was during one of these that he came into this world. It is said that in the Mountains there is a Nexus Gate that was being built long ago by the Founders that would take any who crossed through its threshold into Vorok Core. The Gate was never completed but it is also known that every few generations the power flares in the mountains in what is called a Stormcade and that only one person has ever lived through one. The power that was unleashed in that calamity was caught up in his veins and he was soon after given to the College. He is full of the rage and anger of the storm and has received all meditation training techniques from the Ueahrn that keep him on an even keel. His own personal Response team, the strike, are a feared group of those that embrace the power of the storm and call the lightning from the storm he carries with him.

##### Duties

Alongside the Code of the College we follow a specific list of Duties and general orders that keep us within the remit of the College:

* Protection of the other members of the College during the execution of their own duties
* Answering the call to Battle that the CoCP will put out during times of crisis
* To lead missions operated by guildfolk from the various guilds should no other College Official be present.

##### Ueahrn House of Thunder - Allied to the North Tower

**Lady of the House:** Shasheeth Shar

**Owing Fealty to**: The Collegium of the Thundering Hosts

**Vassal Houses**: The Houses: Stormborn of the Valordian Winds, of Rasheet Rhar, the Storm Blade guardians of the Thundering Hosts.

**Specialising in**: Fearless Battle, Summoned hosts, protection and guardianship, Rulership.

**Enemies:** The house of Granite, The House of wisps and smoke, the house of Bitter Winds.

**Ethos:** The House of Thunder have long been the house most favoured by the Collegium of the Thundering hosts, dispatching their justice and forming the predominance of the elemental armies on the plane of storms. Honour, duty and composure are watchwords for the extremely noble house of Thunder, ruling as they do over thousands of their kin, they are expected to be wise, fair and quick to action against threats to those that they protect. Such attitude has won them the respect and admiration of many of the other houses and their own people, which they return in kind and modestly endure.

**House Symbology:** The houses carries an angry storm cloud as its symbol.

**Expected Duties:** Those pacted with the House of the thunder are expected to act with honour and integrity when dealing with allies and potential friends. They are expected to protect those that are seen to respect or serve them and bring a level head to any difficult situation. Failure to do so will result in the immediate breaking of the pact between the house and College member.

##### Pacting to the House

When a character joins the Northern Tower they become pacted to the House of Thunder and are expected to follow its ethos. It is to this house that you will owe your duty in return for the strength and powers that they give you. With them you will perform many duties and see your power swell as the pact between you strengthen.

### The Delvone (Dell Vone) Order - The South Tower

The Delvone Order is the face of the College, training in the fields that will lead us far across the Seas in trade and in friendship.

**Let the hope of fair weather fuel out exploration.**

#### Ethos

The Delvone Order is the most open of the Towers and constitutes our drive to create a unified world around us with wings dedicated to multiculturalism with a number of Ueahrn stationed within its grounds at any one time. It is our goal, aim and dream to provide a place where the ideals of Massportation and indeed, the portalisation of such magics for the movement of goods en masse be provided. Through the application of the magics of transport and trade we improve the friendships and the communities of those individuals, Duchies, Countries and Empires with whom we come into contact. It is through these actions that we hope we can achieve a spirit of enterprise and exploration by unified confederacies of civilisations that will lead us to a brighter and a better future.

#### Areas of Power

* Travel and Transport
* Commerce and Trade
* Friendship and Community
* Hope and Unity

**Head of the Delvone Order and Head of the Department of Research and Development:** Arn the Lost (Lairdan Gan Hysarn):

Arn was bought to the College in 1745 by the previous Order head Angelica Verith who had trained her. Arn had reservations about taking up the position, she is a very skilled individual but some thirty years ago she ran afoul of a Terrefian Priestess who had gone rogue from the church. In a pitched battle Arn defeated the Priestess but suffered the wrath of the Goddess and picked up the title the lost when she was cursed. It was a crippling blow for someone who is so well travelled and so well accomplished as a diplomat; Arn frequently loses her way unless she expends great portions of her power. However this has not affected her knowledge and ability to pass it on to her students, her temper, sadly, has become as foul as the deepest storm. Whilst she is well loved her practical's are only attended by the pluckiest or the newest members of the College.

##### Duties

Alongside the Code of the College we follow a specific list of Duties and general orders that keep us within the remit of the College:

* Maintenance of diplomatic relations between Valordian College and the other Guilds, most specifically the CoCP
* Maintenance of the Massport Guild Network and the movement of resources critical to Basanic and other allied groups survival.
* To support College Missions and to represent the College in Courts and through Trade across the Realms.

##### Ueahrn House of Storms and Portals - Allied to the South Tower

**Lord of the House:** Galikish Ghor

**Owing Fealty to:** The Collegium of  The Thundering Hosts.

**Vassal Houses:** The houses of: The Warming Winds Of the South, The Eyes of Thunder and the Lightning Skies.

**Specialising in:** Travel, Trade, Storms, Friendship and Community, hope.

**Enemies:** The House of Lembar, The House of Tides, The Sacred order of the Black Knives (Devourite sect)

**Ethos:** The House of Storms and Portals holds its lands and keeps along the edge of the Stormwind Sea and commands the main commerce of the Plane of Storms and the realms to which it touches. They have spent long building links between the houses of all elemental planes and attempting to further the communities of the Storm Planes. They are the soft breeze of spring and summer constantly blowing across the plane, bringing hope and renewal to their realm and the realm of others. Their people are far travelled and widely welcomed in most of the courts across the multiverse.

**House Symbology:** The House of Storms and Portals carries a golden coin on a blue background.

**Expected Duties:** Those pacted with the House of Storms and portals have few duties as such, they are simply expected to act in a manner of friendship and openness to any that they meet.

##### Pacting to the House

When a character joins the Southern Tower they become pacted to the House of Storms and Portals and are expected to follow its ethos. It is to this house that you will owe your duty in return for the strength and powers that they give you. With them you will perform many duties and see your power swell as the pact between you strengthen.

### The Iwayes (ee-Way-Es) Order - The East Tower

There are great areas of knowledge that belong to the past that have been locked away inside structures and items of power. It is our duty to reclaim and control that power.

**Power is strength and strength is greatness.**

#### Ethos

The Iwayes order was founded by those who most would consider to be the truest of the Sourcerers, those with the greatest affiliation to the CoCP an Morrigun College. We remain the most secretive of the Orders but we are dedicated to the furtherment of the Ueahrn and all that they stand for. However we guard the knowledge that we find and realise that it is often locked away by the old builders, the founders, in architecture and artifice. These are *secrets* they could have been passed down but they were not equally they were never destroyed; they were left for us to find and uncover in days to come. These secrets will allow us to unlock the past of the Ueahrn and harness the power that will bring them to the unity that the people of Vorok Core and the Colleges so need; under our watchful eye and wise guidance of course.

#### Areas of Power

* Artifice and Expertise
* Magical Architecture
* Secrets and Old Knowledge
* Mastery of the Sourcerous Arts

**Head of the Iwayes Order and Head of the Department of Artificery**: Fei Lu Dozan (Rice Empirical Human Hysarn):

Fei Lu Dozan has been the head of the Department of Artificery since transferring from the Sacred Temple of the Iron Heart twenty five years ago. He is an extremely skilled and delicate artificer whose lessons are said to be like a play wrought by the greatest of bards.  He himself appears to be in his late eighties and is always accompanied by his servant Mao Motso; both favour the garb of their homelands and still continue to follow the traditions of their homelands. He originally had a tour during his training with Valordian College and returned many more times during his advance through the temple in which he served, however his celestial nature, as only those of the Dragon may use our magics in the Rice Empire, kept him at home for many years before he was called up here.

##### Duties

Alongside the Code of the College we follow a specific list of Duties and general orders that keep us within the remit of the College:

* Collection and guardianship of knowledge that has been lost to the Ueahrn of the Collegium and to pass on our findings to them
* To harness and utilise the power of the Comet and the Nexus and to make them as one
* To decide which secrets should remain so.

##### Ueahrn House of the Bitter Winds - Allied to the East Tower

**Lord of the House:** Panetheek Phar

**Owing Fealty to:** The Collegium of the Thundering Hosts

**Vassal Houses:** The Houses: of biting winter, tallest spires, whispered secrets.

**Specialising in:** Artificery, Architecture, the harnessing of power, hidden secrets and old knowledge.

**Enemies:** The House of Thunder, the House of Echoing Caverns.

**Ethos:** The house of the Bitter Winds were once the great power in the Collegium, obsessed with discovering more and more secrets of the powers that the Plane of Storms possesses. When the Elemental Planes were touched by the people of Vaklam the House of Bitter Winds bent their will to learn their secrets and forged alliances that would lead to their downfall. Since their replacement by the House of Thunder they have retreated to the screaming canyons where they continue to harvest knowledge and harness the power of the Storm plane. They have caused much animosity to emerge between themselves and the other houses of many elemental planes by keeping the secrets of their learning hidden from those who rightfully believe that it should be theirs.

**House Symbology:** The House carries the symbol of a Sceptre on a Blue background.

**Expected Duties:** Those pacted with the house of Bitter winds are expected to excel at the fields of research and creation, specifically they are asked to become skilled at the harnessing of raw elemental power. Any elemental power. All information and research completed by a College member pacted to this house is expected to be shared directly with the house of Bitter winds or the offender can expect swift reprisal.

##### Pacting to the House

When a character joins the Eastern Tower they become pacted to the House of the Bitter Winds and are expected to follow its ethos. It is to this house that you will owe your duty in return for the strength and powers that they give you. With them you will perform many duties and see your power swell as the pact between you strengthen.

### The Kalvik (Kayle Vik) Order - The West Tower

Our path has led us to the land of the Ueahrn where we spend our time learning their ways and taking their greatest teachings as the words that should guide us.

**Diplomacy sheds light in dark places.**

#### Ethos

Kalvik Order long ago decamped its main force to Ruaeth Kajhar where we could learn to identify with the Ueahrn and their most direct teachings. It is their greatest wish to learn and to understand, specifically to learn of other forms of life and existence beyond their own. The concept is to understand the lore and languages of a civilisation before they are first approached and before they come to know the Ueahrn or in this situation us. Once this primary contact is made the Kalvik move in to establish diplomatic ties with the leaders of these nations and to help them to establish good relations with the allies that we have already gained. Ultimately, as with the rest of the College, we seek a unity it is just that our unity is sought through diplomatic means.

#### Areas of Power

* Lores and Anthropology
* Diplomacy and Scholars
* Mastery of Languages
* The extension of life

**Head of the Kalvik Order and Head of the Department of Lore**: Serendipity (Human Courtesard):

When people speak of Serendipity they speak of her with great sorrow. They say that she was once of good heart and great power, so great that she could walk the worlds beyond this one with a thought and see beyond the banality of the struggle for power. She walked among the people of the Ruaeth Kajhar learning their ways, their histories and their fables. They say that she heard the stories of the Shuroeth Veil and that she sought it, though in truth we believe that she knew what would happen should it be uncovered. They say that she found it deep in the wastes of Penvash and that she looked into it and knew the root of all things. Sometimes she speaks some of the wisdom that she has learnt, sometimes they say that she remembers her true name.

##### Duties

Alongside the Code of the College we follow a specific list of Duties and general orders that keep us within the remit of the College:

* To have a depth of cultural understanding that will allow a member of this Tower to approach any civilisation with wisdom and understanding.
* To act in a diplomatic that will further the aims and desires of the College at all times.
* To preserve life where possible.

##### Ueahrn House of the Weeping Scholars - Allied to the West Tower

**Lord of the House:** Kashirik Khar

**Owing Fealty to:** The Collegium of The Thundering Hosts/The College of the Four Winds

**Vassal Houses:** None

**Specialising in:** Runes, Lore, Diplomacy, Language, Life.

**Enemies:** None

**Ethos:** The house of the Weeping Scholars is a house unique across the Planes of all elements. Its origins were born of mortal error and the compassion of those left in the wake of tragedy. The first Sourcerers, dedicated to the development of Air Magics opened a rift into the Plane of Storms and, unprepared for its raw elemental power, caused massive damage to the delicate resonance of the Crystal Caverns on the plateau of harmonious sounds. Eventually this damage lead to the destruction of the house of Songs that dwelt there. Those responsible faced great retribution but their dedication to the saving of the culture of the house of Songs was legendary. Eventually over 70 Sourcerers petitioned to become one with the element of Storms and replace the House of Songs in order to restore the  harmony that had been so damaged.

**House Symbology:** The House carries the symbol of a single white musical note (quaver) on a black background.

**Expected Duties:** The house of Weeping Scholars are the strongest link between the realm of Vaklam and the elemental planes. They are expected to act as true diplomats between the elementals and the people of Vaklam although their devotion to the inhabitants of the Realm of Storms is supposed to be complete. They are to travel the lands, gathering knowledge, travelling to summits, assisting the gears of diplomacy between all peoples and the elementals and most of all they are dedicated to life in all of its forms. Eventually all members of this house, via an unspoken pact, are expected to devote themselves to the path of becoming at one with the element of Storms.

##### Pacting to the House

When a character joins the Western Tower they become pacted to the House of the Weeping Scholars and are expected to follow its ethos. It is to this house that you will owe your duty in return for the strength and powers that they give you. With them you will perform many duties and see your power swell as the pact between you strengthen.

#### Roles of College Members

The members of the College are trained to act as the Ueahrn teach us and as such we fall into the three roles that emulate the rankings and positions of the scholars of the houses of the Collegium:

#### Courtesard

A Courtesard is a scholar true who spend the majority of their time in learned study of lore and languages. Many of the meditations and techniques of learning have been taken and absorbed by these ancient masters keeping their access to the mysteries of Ueahrn pure. They are the most skilled in mastery of the arts of magic and also diplomacy, widely respected they have little ability in the martial field. They often tend to be teachers and scribes and those that venture into the field do so in search of knowledge rather than excitement and adventure. However on any journey into Ruaeth Kajhar it is always preferred to have the Blessings of a Courtesard to watch over you.

#### Hysarn

A Hysarn is an initiate of the fields and meditations of the way of warrior and the mysteries of the Sourcerer however they are a master of neither. They are the most common of the acolytes of the Valordian College and have a presence in many of the other guilds and courts across the land. Whilst they do not exert such influence as the Courtesards they spend their time teaching, speaking and following the traditions of the Ueahrn. Hysarn's make up the backbone of the Guildic groups that travel through the lands doing the will of the Iron Table.

#### Halyard

The Haylard are the Warrior Class of the College and as such they are usually tied to the Northern Tower where they train the ancient meditations and learn the Way. They always spend at least two years at our cousin order; Ithyarn learning the secrets of blending Sourcery with the martial art forms and when they return they keep that knowledge safe under whatever oaths they are bound to whilst there. Understandably the Halyard spends much of their time serving the Basanic armies but when they are not they are found most commonly in the service of the other orders of directly powerful Ueahrn.

#### Ceremonies of the College

There are several ceremonies that are performed during the year by the College that mainly revolve around the teachings of the Ueahrn. There are many political and intricate observations that have to take place before we leave this realm and travel to theirs but these are not truly what you might call ceremonies. We are at best believers in the Gods, Spiritualism is not something that we embrace however we can respect the sacrifices that are given in the name of the defence of this land.

#### Major Centres of Power

The Colleges are very, very old and as such they have bastions of varying size and power everywhere; every major city, every populated area, every place where daemons may be present there can be found a place of Sourcerous power. Commonly these buildings are towers which are well shaped for the control of the Source as well as flaring of Daemonic corruption and from our point of view the movement between worlds. However each of the four orders has a Tower in what are considered to be key, powerful locations crossing Ley lines of direct importance. The originals were either moved or destroyed when Maryat fell but they all exist now in one form or another in the capital of Haven.

#### College Uniform

The College is not in the habit of enforcing a dress code; during powerful ceremonies the traditional robes that have been marked with the appropriate runes should be worn. This is often, mistakenly believed to be the Sourcerers most common garb but is a misnomer. Robes provide the most expansive materials and coverage; most deep rituals require the presence of thirty plus runes and markings and space is a premium to clothing. In the field we recommend whatever is comfortable and most sensible with as much holding potential and protective capability as possible. In court or similar areas a College Member should appear both regal and imposing in order to establish themselves as a power without the use of words. They should not be in the habit of following fashion.

In all Circumstances the College Member must present the colours of Valordian College: the emblem of the College, a blue background with a white diamond and the symbol of the elemental house to whom they are pacted.