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A city floating in the center of a lake, Ravok is a place of dark beauty, romance and culture. Behind it all though is the presence of Rhysol, God of Evil and Betrayal. The city is controlled by The Black Sun, a religious organization devoted to Rhysol. [Lore]
Located in the City Center, the Institute of Higher Learning is operated by the Ebonstryfe. It is where selected individuals may find training in various magical disciplines and gain access to knowledge otherwise forbidden to all but the most influential citizens. It appears much like a cathedral with its many spires, stained-glass and cavernous interior. The outer facade looms over the City Center as one of the largest buildings in the nearby area. Statues of ebonstryfe wizards adorn the various balconies while the monstrous yet strangely exotic forms of otherworldly creatures have been carved into the walls. The Institute's entrance is perhaps its most impressive outer-architectural offering in that it looks like the face of a Dravlak; semi-divine beasts that embody the essence of Lord Rhysol's chaotic domain. The beast's maw is open wide with long, serrated teeth threatening to shred all who may enter. It is said that only those having attained an official invitation to join the Institute may pass through the entrance unharmed.
The grounds of the Institute are surrounded by a tall, thick stone wall topped with iron. Not a sound can be heard coming from the other side and those viewing over the wall from various vantage points around the city find their vision immediately turns blurry and their eyes burn as if having had salt thrown in them. Onlookers are effectively blinded for a few short moments with each viewing. This effect occurs regardless of eye protection and any magical enhancements to vision less than Master level fail to affect the blurring, burning effects.
For those gaining entry, they find that the Institute is indeed as vast on the inside as it seems from the outside. An immense grand hall sporting awe-inspiring, arching, twisting and curving architecture, dominates the view immediately upon passing through the main entrance. Dozens of heavy wooden doors line each side of the hall and lead to corridors extending outward; branching off in all directions. At the far end of the grand hall is a pair of very large, black steel doors each adorned with a single human skull. The skulls look as though parts of them have been liquefied then solidified afterward. These are the doors leading to office of the Institute's Headmaster.
The floor of the hall is covered in numerous glyphs both magical and gnostic. All manner of magical rites and rituals are performed in the hall and the glyphs aid in such things.
Entry into the Institute may be requested at the Vitrax where certain members of the Ebonstryfe are responsible for reviewing and accepting would-be applicants.
Locations of Interest Headmaster's Office Classrooms/Laboratories Staff Offices The Grounds
Possible Training Training programs are tailored to individual students thus not all of the listed types of training may be available upon request.
Auristics - Up to Competent Flux - Up to Competent Hypnotism - Up to Competent Leeching - Novice only Reimancy - Up to Expert Alchemy - Up to Competent Glyphing - Up to Competent Magecraft - Up to Competent Morphing - Up to Competent Architecture - Up to Competent
Interrogation - Up to Expert Philtering - Up to Competent Poison - Up to Expert
To enroll, one must have a recommendation from someone currently or previously enrolled at the institute.*This can be a PC or NPC Members of the Ebonstryfe and Black Sun are automatically enrolled, and can show up for classes any time they wish. Storyteller approval is also required to be enrolled. It may be possible to pay off enrollment fees in other ways. Also, you don't have to pay for seasons in which you didn't actually thread going to any classes.
What is Included in Enrollment?
Basic Enrollment - Access to the grounds and library, day and night. May study one subject per season, training up to Competent levels.
Advanced Enrollment - Access to the grounds and library, day and night. May study up to three subjects per season, training up to Expert Level where available.
Complete Enrollment - Access to grounds and library, day and night. No limit to subjects studied, training up to Expert level where available. Access to magical laboratories outside of class. Complete access to anything the Institute has to offer.
Ebonstryfe Apprentice - Advanced Enrollment for free. Ebonstryfe Soldier and Above - Complete Enrollment for free. Black Sun any Rank - Complete Enrollment for free.
Other NPCs :
Name: Kelvin Gyatt Race: Human DOB: Winter 19th, 484 AV POB: Ravok Title: Architecture Teacher Skills: Architecture - 78, Mathematics - 66, Politics - 22, Drawing - 35, Teaching -28 Description: Gyatt is an honest guy, pleasant, but more focused on his academic pursuits. Though he has a side job teaching, his real focus is actually designing buildings for Ravok. He takes great inspiration from the current designs, and always likes to add a bit of flair to his creations. However, he does aim for the practical, as those are generally more commonly needed in Ravok.
He has a big heart, and is actually quite caring... but he knows when to stop. In a city like Ravok, where one has to be careful about such things... he knows that. He does have some controversial ideas, but he keeps his mouth shut about them. Only his closest friends know about the thoughts, but otherwise, most view him as a pleasant, intelligent man... little else.
Name: Sariven Drolore Race: Human DOB: Winter 22nd, 460 AV POB: Ravok Skills: Interrogation - 60, Intimidation - 30, Medicine - 25, Observation - 35, Persuasion - 30, Teaching - 40 Other Information: Sariven Drolore’s family would never have believed that his inability to stick with any one vocation would result in the skills for a career as interrogator. They were wealthy enough to see him placed in positions of stable advancement. Secure in the assurance that he would have a lucrative history to fall back on. Instead, he went forward to become the premier trainer of interrogators at the Institute of Higher Learning.
Seeing a fascination with anatomy in their son early on, they used their influence to get him medical training, thinking he could do his part in Rhysol’s cause with The Healing Hand. It was at this time that he learned about the anatomical structure and interworking of the body’s functions and systems, the amount of damage the various parts could take and still be restored. The strong and weak points, the nerve clusters, and how people reacted when they truly feared a diagnosis…or treatment.
His observational and intuitive skills grew further as he worked for The C.E.B., assessing applications for business loans and advocacies for various special services. He listened intently to applicants as they stated their cases, learning to assess exaggerations and hidden details. His movement from department to department gave him a backlog of experience with a variety of different aspects of life, and the inherent motivations for misrepresentation and outright lies.
His discovery of an anti-Rhysol infiltrator resulted in his being allowed to observe the subject being put to the question. His impatience with the tactics used was, at first, treated with annoyance. But when the angry interrogator tasked him to ‘do better’, he broke the man quickly and exposed the beginnings of an organized rebel movement. He rose quickly in the field after that, and though his current position is not one of great influence within the governmental ranks, his words carry surprising weight, as he is always able to provide witnesses to support them.
Credit to Inoadar
Name: Nickolai Causten Race: Human POB: Sunberth DOB: 3rd day of Spring, 466 AV Title: Hypnotism Instructor at the Institute of Higher Learning Skills: Hypnotism - 56, Persuasion - 50, Teaching - 50, Rapier - 39, Subterfuge - 28 Other Information: Once a self professed adventurer by trade, Nickolai will often be the first to admit his days of gallant treasure hunting and fearless monster slaying earned him a reputation as grand and as far reaching as whoever was in drunken yelling distance from him at the time. Regardless of how renowned he may or may not have been however, Nickolai, at the very least, was good at one thing, and it was a skill his father had drilled into him when he was still just a young boy in Sunberth. As it turned out, that skill was the magical discipline of hypnotism. Though his true love was hunting down ancient mysteries or dangerous creatures, Nickolai found he was much better at talking his way out of unfavorable bar fights and into people's pants, than he ever was into the lauded treasure chests and ancient ruins he so passionately pursued.
For whatever reason, the hypnotist ultimately found his far flung journey across the vastness of Mizahar stalled while traveling through the northern reaches of Sylira. With little explanation or warning, it was there that Nickolai apparently decided to drop everything for the secret pursuit of a search that lead him up and down the shores of lake Ravok for nearly two seasons straight, subsequently burning through his wealth and eventually forcing him to live off the land. Destitute and exhausted by the end, Nickolai inevitably became beguiled, and eventually enthralled, by the city on the lake he would so often spy in the distance. This curiosity soon extended to the odd inhabitants of said city, who themselves were less than enthused by the attentions of the adventure as they would commonly have to chase him away after discovering disheveled hands rummaging among their goods for scraps of food. After finally managing to scrounge up the coin needed for the ferry ride, Nickolai made his way into the city of Ravok for the first time and was immediately overjoyed to stumble upon an old friend waiting for him there. Luvet, an instructor at the Institute of Higher Learning, and apparently good acquaintance of the down on his luck adventurer from many years previous, was not only happy to take in the starving and delirious Sunberther, but also gladly introduced Nickolai to the city which would later become his new home.
It wasn't long after until the mage was convinced to put his skills of hypnotism to better use as an instructor at the institute. Surprisingly spry and full of vigor for his age, many of his students now know him as the charming, if not overly scruffy, teacher whose attention to his classroom is quite often distracted by both his day dreaming and the helpless nosiness he displays towards everyone and everything roaming the halls of the institute. This rarely stops the more daring of his pupils however, who can't help but hear of his curious tales of days gone past. The final quest around the lake in particular has become the latest favorite, as many are eager to learn just what it was exactly the strange man was chasing all those years ago. Excitingly enough, Nickolai's final adventure has remained a mystery even to this day, but every once in while, its been rumored that the hypnotist was seen wandering the wilds again, looking and searching for the final treasure that continues to elude him.
While dear friends with Luvet and easily likable for the most part, almost all other the teachers at the institute avoid the man like a plague. For even as a confessed hypnotist who has lost the power of discretion required by those of his subtle discipline, Nickolai still manages to retain his unnerving ability to have people do exactly what he wants them to do, when he wants them to do it, especially once those people have convinced themselves that they've already figured out his schemes.
