Glittering Jewels in the Endless Night

For all of its wildness. All of its frank and earnest struggle for simply surviving to the next day, a set of glittering jewels are scattered throughout the Northern Marches. Those jewels are beacons of higher things than just surviving. They are the blinding lights of education, of learning, of study, of knowledge and civilization. 

Created by brave souls, stubborn individuals, or steadfast orders, those 'Jewels', glittering in an endless night are known as the Five Fonts of Knowledge: The Great Library of Exodian; Madame Astoria's School of Thaumaturgy; Storiah's Observatory; The Great Sanctum of Arcana; The University at Crux.

Each one of the ‘Jewels’ has a focus on knowledge, through learning, study, research, teaching, or chronicling. These fonts of knowledge are precious and too few. Most are very well protected from the more barbarian urges of man and beast, with powerful inhabitants and skilled protectors. It has not been unheard of in a counter incursion for the sites themselves to be assaulted. To date, none have fallen.

The Jewels:

The Great Library of Exodian 

Named for The Great Chronicler and Scribe, Exodian, The Great Library of Exodian was the actual library of Exodian during his unusually long life. Exodian lived his middle life there, chronicling the Incursions, the People, the Geography, and the History of the Northern Marches. He became a much sought after font of knowledge, and his Great Library became a storehouse of many things mundane and arcane. Often, because of Exodian's charisma and indomitable trust, the unconquerable, the powerful, and the exasperated would turn to him and his library as a source of minutia and long lost lore, or as a the recipient of uncovered arcana and lore. 

Exodian knew what he had become, and despite his astounding longevity, he prepared for his passing by securing a place for all of the stored knowledge that he had acquired. He had the Great Library built and laced with protection for its precious contents, he endlessly recorded what he had learned about the world, the people, and the mysteries of the Northern Marches, and he set to secure permanent financial support for the library.

And so on the day of his passing, the Great Library became a beacon of light for all of the people's of the Northern Marches. Open to anyone. Run by a Board. And secure in its future... 

Madame Astoria's School of Thaumaturgy  

Madame Andromeda Astoria is the flamboyant and dramatic headmaster of Madame Astoria's School of Thaumaturgy, the celebrated school for teaching the youths of the Northern Marches touched by the kiss of Laeterius (the folklore being that granted magical power for a simple kiss). A former adventurer and voracious collector of magical tomes, objects, and oddities, Madame Astoria soon learned that she had an unending ability to understanding the complexities of all the branches of the magical tree, but that that she was never able to delve the depths of any of them. Theory, conjecture, process, practice, research, study, all were in her grasp and expertise, but all advancement stopped after a few years. She desperately sought a way to break the barrier that was holding her back. 

What she finally understood, was that she received a special gift from Laeterius, a gift no one else has ever professed to have. She understood all magic, save that of divinity, and its complex interactions, which were greatest at the lower levels of study. She was a Jack of All Trades in the magical arts, but she is the undisputed Master at lower level magics, and is able to utilize magics across types, almost at will, for astounding or devastating affect. A master of combinations of spells and wizardry that leaves all the fireballer's and lightninger's in awe and agape.

And so, when she embraced her gift, she became a famous and highly sought after companion. And when she had amassed a sizeable fortune and an impressive collection of thaumaturgy, she ended her adventuring days and opened up her school, teaching those children, youth and adults who are awakening with the gift. 

Madame Astoria has built a modest but well respected school to ensure those who need to control or desire to harness their gift has a safe place to learn and be nurtured to survive. The school has approximately 35-45 staff that includes teachers, grounds and facility crew, protectors, and administration. The grounds are on a piece of her estate that lies a days ride to the east of the The Great Library of Exodian and the famed Summer Gardens of Chatswain Manor.   

Storiah's Observatory - "To gaze at the stars and understand their purpose and nature, but to derive no false or romantic purpose or portent." -Cosmo Storiah

The above quote is attributed to Cosmo Storiah when asked at the Benefactors Ball following the graduation ceremonies at The University of Crux, exactly what he was going to do with his advanced paper in Astronomical Realities of a Divine Cosmos. Ever the practical mathematician and dispassionate observer, the aptly named Cosmo Storia never fit in with the more gregarious and emotional members of his family. Growing up outside of Knobtown, with a human father and halfling mother, Cosmo never fit in anywhere. He was a headscratcher to most, and his parents were the subject of much scorn, ridicule, and cruel jokery. But they did not care. They were adventuring companions that simply, in the crucible of the Fifth Incursion, found solace and love in each others arms. And so Cosmo was not a surprise, but a blessing, 'a gift from the stars' to his parents. 

But it did not feel that way to Cosmo. He had a difficult upbringing and was anti-social. Hard enough for a human, deadly for a halfling, and being both at once, he simply did not fit. But what did fit was his advanced understanding of the physical mechanics of the world around him. At a young age, he would help his father with projects on the farm, often improving on his fathers solid design for a building, a mill, an irrigation screw, or a bridge. His most famous work was the Circle Bridge, a shortcut he built to cut his family's walk time to Knobtown by half a day. 

Having no love of place, he begged to be sent to Harbor Town and the newly opened University at Crux. He was let to go and it was there that he discovered the stars. For most of his life his head was down, firmly planted in solving terrestrial challenges, but at Crux, he was actually allowed to look upward, and try to solve the mysteries of that inky and brilliant canvas. And he was hooked.

And so following graduation, and having impressed at the Benefactors Ball, Cosmo Storiah had a line of credit from 3 separate benefactors to build a fantastical contraption to study the stars. Without the distorting nature of Magic. Without the cloudy perceptions of Divinity. Without the romantic edification of Ignorance.

What was constructed is what is known as Storiah's Observatory. The most recent of the 'Five Jewels'. It also bears the distinction of being the only one with a living namesake. A complex of stout buildings, glass roofed greenhouses, observation decks, and the central domed structure holding Storiah's famed contraption for viewing the stars. Storiah's, as it is known, is north of The Great Library of Exodian and south of the the ruins of the Great Palace. And in it dome, Cosmo Storiah still tends to his work, not trying to unlock some mystery or revealing some ultimate truth, but through reason, documenting, and  observing he remains vigilant, trying to understand the blanket of darkness and light above.    

The Sanctum of Arcana - 

The Great Sanctum of Arcana lies on the rocky banks of the Great Lashing River that runs from the heart of the Purple Mountains south then east to the Coast of Tears. Nestled in the hard rock hills that lie at the foot of the Purple Mountains, The Great Sanctum of Arcanum was started by a cabal of Wizards, Alchemists, and Academics known as the Black Moon Brotherhood to house as much knowledge of the arcane arts as was possible. Originally a private venture whose true reason was the accumulation, growth and use of magical power to enslave and subjugate the Northern Marches, their order was destroyed in the Autumnal Conflagration, and all that remained were the empty halls of their seat of power, the Ashen Towers. 

The Council of Nine, along with the Imperial Magic College, The University at Crux, and all of the magic houses knew the threat the Ashen Towers could become in the wrong hands. It was decided to entomb the works the Brotherhood had collected, catalog it, and protect it from falling in to the wrong hands. It serves as a cold reminder of the lust of men and all humanoids to possess and control power at its highest. It has become a place of high scholarship and expensive research, and high level magic practitioners may study there, for a price. Staffed by mages and scholars and protected by Council Troops, Imperial Troops, and Others, it is a highly contested site that sees a fair share of unrest and turmoil. Since its formation following the Conflagration, no less than 3 major battles, 7 minor battles, a dozen skirmishes, and countless clandestine sorties have been fought for the Sanctum. None have been successful and mighty are its magical and mundane protectors. 

      

The University at Crux  

Established at the same time as the famous Crux's Fort by Edwardo Crux, The University at Crux is a stout collection of hard stone buildings, with interior courtyards and a complete crenellated wall and gate house directly adjacent and connecting to the Fort.

Edwardo Crux, while desperately trying to establish a safe mooring and harbor along the Coast of Tears, also desired to have a bustling town driven by trade and commerce, knowledge, arcana, and academic study. And thus the University was born. At first a humble walled keep was erected at the time of the fort's construction. It has been added on, redeveloped, expanded and walled in each time, creating a maze like series of walls and areas with each expansion. The areas naturally began to cluster into academic areas of study. They currently include the following 10 Colleges: Magic; Divinity; Geography; History and Arcana; Alchemy and Enchantment; Language and Discourse; Generalship and Admiralty; Healing; Celestial Study; Nature and the Elements; Art and Design.

The University is a center of active academic study and research, graduating scholars that disperse throughout the Northern Marches as well as the Southern Empire. Many simply stay in Harbor Town and further develop its knowledge, culture and society.  

- Cordius Roceffilo - Chronicles of the Great Incursions