Silver Tower
From Mizahar Lore
Located in beneath the Pitrius clan citadel, the Silver Tower was built by the presiding Lord Pitrius in the years following the Valterrian. Possessing the skill to manipulate djed not seen since his passing, Pitrius raised the tower from a single vein of silver and molded it into the beautiful structure that it is today. Made up of multiple levels, many of which extend deep beneath the rest of the clan city, the Silver Tower is home to the Sentinels, the practitioners of various magical and magically-related disciplines. The inner confines of the Tower are also made of pure silver and through a vast array of enchantments, only those marked as Sentinels or students may roam the metallic halls. Few outside of clan Pitrius are allowed entry into the Tower yet those who do experience wonders and horrors beyond mundane imagination. The Tower itself is a sentient construct, a wonder of magecraft and Izentor performed at the highest levels of mystical might rivaled second only to the Citadel of Sahova. Only a master of magecraft can hope to become Master of the Tower and employ its full capabilities.
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Location
The Silver Tower was built nearly 100 years after the Valterrian in the cavern below Pitrius Citadel. Lord Pitrius, the last of his race to possess such immense amounts of magical skill, used that skill to mold and shape an existing silver vein within the cavern. As if molding clay, Pitrius drew the silver up from the cavern floor and shaped it into the form of a tower structural reinforced with magic. Resembling a giant shard of silver growing out of the cavern floor, the Tower is located in the center of the Pitrius clan city. It is over four hundred feet tall with a number of balconies offering breathtaking views of the vast cavern and city below. The Tower glimmers with a soft eerie light, light from the city reflected off the Tower's surface. There are no walls or fences surrounding the Tower as it possesses its own mystical protections from any unwanted visitors.
Outside the Tower
The Tower grounds form a circle around the Tower itself. The grounds are not as expansive as one may think. The Tower itself sits in the center of a five acre circular parcel, the outskirts of which are marked with a series of small silver shards rising up from the ground. The shards stand twenty feet apart from one another and are covered in countless magical glyphs. It is believed that the shards channel magic in a circle around the grounds, forming an unseen mystical barrier that prevents all but the Sentinels and those with specific permission from entering. Whether this is true or not is known only to a select few. Yet, over the centuries since the Tower's creation, those rare individuals who attempt to enter without permission have found their entry barred by some impenetrable, unseen force. The grounds are otherwise gently decorated with strange, exotic, seemingly out-of-place trees, bushes and shrubbery. In the absence of sunlight, this flora makes up centuries of experimentation on the part of a number of Sentinels: plants that live entirely off of magic alone. Marble walkways streaked with tiny veins of silver weave through the grounds forming bridges at times over tiny pools of water. In these pools, more experiments take the form of small creatures straight out of one's own imagination. Many kinds of fish and tiny aquatic animals inhabit these pools, all created by Sentinels throughout the years of the Tower's existence. Sustained by magic, these creatures offer onlookers a glimpse at the more unique crafting methods exercised by students and masters alike residing within the Tower.
Inside the Tower
The only physical entrance into or out of the Tower is a pair of magically reinforced, thick silver doors covered in glyphs. Once inside, one will find themselves standing in a large, open chamber. In the center of the chamber is a statue of Izurdin. Unlike other statues found throughout the Kingdom, this one depicts Izurdin wearing an Isurian Battle Robe. From his outstretched arms and open hands, blue, crackling energy delicately dances from one to the other. A series of archways allow for travel throughout other parts of the tower while a silver staircase encircles the statue, extending up into the higher levels of the tower and below to the under levels.
The ground level consists of classrooms, laboratories and lecture halls. The under levels house a series of forges as well as the Tower vaults and more specialized laboratories focusing on specific magical disciplines. Tower storage is also found in the under levels as is a sort of dungeon where many magical experiments are housed and studied. The upper levels are primarily designed as student and faculty housing while also containing faculty offices. Private laboratories belonging to the prominent instructors are also found here.
Faculty and Instruction
The faculty and students alike at the Tower are referred to as Sentinels. Instructors at the Tower are some of the most respected individuals within the city, regardless of actual clan affiliation as are, to a lesser extent, the students. There are but 30 instructors at the Tower, most residing within. At most, there are roughly 200 students at any one time though the average is roughly half of that. While magical disciplines are the primary areas of study, the Tower also instructs in the arts of poison, philtering, mathematics as well as maintaining skills in blacksmithing and other crafting talents.
Magical Disciplines taught, while few, are highly focused and intense. Though not all known disciplines are taught at the tower, a wide array of lore on such otherwise absent disciplines is available. Included disciplines taught are as follows:
Reimancy
Voiding
Shielding
Alchemy
Glyphing
Magecraft
Summoning
Students undergo a vigorous course regimen during their time at the Tower. In addition to their primary course of study, they attend classes on magical history, dangers, benefits and theory (includes the rudimentary basic knowledge of all known magical disciplines). In addition, students must attend daily physical training exercises that are designed to push their bodies to the limits of isurian capabilities. The idea is that in order to fully harness the potential of the djed they are learning to manipulate, their bodies, not just their minds, must be sculpted for the task.
Tower Resources
Apprentices, as a part of their program of study, are granted use of many of the Tower's resources. When studying a particular discipline, the apprentice is granted all the resources they may need to study, practice and train that discipline within the limits of the Novice skill level (L1). Advancement in a discipline beyond the Novice level requires the apprentice to either pay for required materials or provide goods and services of equal value back to the Tower in payment. For example, a Novice Magecrafter (L1) looking to practice their skill in Magecraft would be allowed to use the Magecraft facilities of the Tower for free until they reach a Competent level (L2). They would also be granted the materials needed to make Magecrafted items with an MC 2 or less free of charge. After that, the Competent Magecrafter (L2) should have their own tools and may be able to use the Tower's facilities though they would need to pay for their Magecraft materials for any items created. If the character's finances are too low, they may provide goods or services of equal value in exchange. In the above example, the Competent Magecrafter may construct a number of low level Magecrafted items and trade them to the Tower for the resources needed to craft more advanced items.
The Sentinels are always looking to build their supply of magical items thus they are more than willing to engage in trade.