Tower of the Moon

The Tower of the Moon in Esterra is the home of magical learning in central Thraddia and arguably the most highly regarded wizard's college in the known world. Given that acceptance of magic varies across the nations of Thraddia, its presence makes Esterra a favourite nation among practicers of magic and nearby Ishtar a veritable haven for mages of all kinds.

### History and Traditions

Named for the fact that its door rotates around the base of the tower in line with the cycles of the moon, the exact origins of the tower are undocumented, but most historians place its building at sometime in the Decade of the Severed Hand, probably in 1022 AG. Because the wizards deliberately do not keep many written records, the vast majority of the tower's history is known through oral tradition. It has, for over 200 years, been willing to accept anyone who wishes to practice magic, but has a very strict policy of not teaching or fostering the practice of any kind of necromancy.

The hierarchical structure of the school is a shifting one, with the various levels and positions in the tower alternating between having two members and one member each time the head of the school, known as the Diadem of the Moon, dies or retires. There is currently only one diadem (Gwydion Gorlannion), below him are two arch-diadems who will both replace him when he exits his post. Below them is one master conjurer, and his subordinates are two conjurer adepts. This structure continues down, shifting upwards each time the head of the tower leaves his post for any reason. This has, in the past, created problems when two diadems have been unable to reconcile their differences, but it also serves the purpose of ensuring that no one wizard ever holds total power and influence for too long. If a lower ranking official of the tower, such as an arch-diadem or conjurer adept dies or abandons his post, he is replaced with an untitled wizard. This ensures that murder and deception cannot be used to 'climb the ladder' so to speak.

The full list of positions are as follows:

* Diadem of the Moon
* Arch-Diadem
* Master Conjurer
* Conjurer Adept
* Keeper of Tomes
* Bursar
* Headmaster
* Master

The keeper of tomes is essentially responsible for ordering and maintaining the collected knowledge and magical scrolls of the tower's substantial library, with the bursar, headmaster and masters (essentially teachers) responsible for the day-to-day running of the scholarly side of the tower.

### Architecture of the Tower

The tower itself is under a constant spell, similar to the Magnificent Mansion spell, essentially making the interior of it a pocket dimension which contains the entirety of the school grounds and living quarters. These grounds are roughly 5 square miles in size and include a stable, library and brewery. The actual, physical interior of the tower is hollow and inscribed with magical glyphs and runes which are responsible for maintaining the portal to the pocket dimension. They also enable it to float roughly 20 feet from the ground, meaning that anyone wishing to enter must either find a way to climb up or use some kind of levitation or teleportation spell to get in.

Near to the tower is a small outpost which contains a garrison of guards and a few Master wizards, their job is to aid visitors and aspiring wizards in entering the tower, as well as to warn the occupants of any danger that may be approaching.