Koura
𝔅𝔢𝔞𝔰𝔱
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2023
The ancient city of Caledor lay nestled on a large island in the Bay of Dusk, its many white towers rising towards the heavens. No-one alive could recall exactly when the city had been founded — elven tribes had been living on the southern parts of the grand continent for centuries before Alith Anar, the first Phoenix Queen, had brought together the discordant and bellicose clans. This had taken place more than two millennia ago, back when the elven sages had merely dabbled with the arcane. It had been Anar and her mages that truly came to understand the nature of magic, harnessing the primal energies like none before them. It was the war mages that won Anar’s wars and allowed her to build her empire nigh unopposed.
With eight generations having passed since the days of Alith Anar, the tales regarding the founding of the Phoenix Empire were now all but legends. The ancient records were full of misunderstandings and embellishments added by scholars who had never met the Phoenix Queen themselves, yet claimed to understand her motives. While much had been forgotten, it was widely agreed the mages that had won Anar her empire had established the Academy of the White Tower to formalize the study of magic. During the years following Anar’s death, the once small town Caledor had grown rapidly into a bustling city with many noble families building their estates on the surrounding hills.
Nearly two-hundred meters tall and half as wide, the White Tower was magic made flesh, arcane energies thrumming along the tall pillars and arches that supported the weight of the white marble. It was said that the tower would collapse under its own weight should the magic woven into the stone ever fail. Within its hallowed walls the elven sages and seers plied their arts, studying the arcane as well as passing the knowledge to the young. Hundreds upon hundreds of young elves flocked to the ancient halls every spring in hopes of being accepted into the academy with the sages testing each and everyone for aptitude. Not everyone was born with the ability to tap into the and not everyone who could had the mental fortitude to truly channel the power. Every year, hundreds of young men and women would have to return home with the knowledge that the doors of the White Tower would never open for them. But for each fourty or so souls turned away, one would be called to join the academy — to don the white robes of an acolyte and dedicate themselves to the study of arcane. While in theory anyone could join the academy, the vast majority of the students hailed from a small number of noble families known for their mages and the potency of their bloodlines.
The academy was led by a council of seven men and women, each holding a seat associated with one of the colors of the rainbow. This tradition harkened to the seven seers that had first sworn their allegiance to Alith Anar when she had first risen to prominence. Seven seers that had won the Phoenix Queen her empire. Each of the seven was a master of magic and arcane, each having spent decades or in some cases even centuries studying and perfecting their art. It was these men and women who were tasked with teaching the next generation of spell-wavers that would serve the empire. The elven mages graduating from the White Tower had many responsibilities. Some learned to read the waves, guiding the dragon ships around the dangerous shoals and allowing the distant cities trade with each other. Others learned to shift the winds, ensuring bountiful harvest by carefully altering the rain patterns according to the season. It was mages that allowed the elves to mine deep into the mountains, harvesting precious metals and gemstones coveted by the northern realms. Without magic, the empire could simply not exist.
With the survival of the elven empire tied to the magical prowess of its people, much responsibility was laid on the seven masters. Each and every failed student was felt keenly, just as each and every graduate was a source of immense pride. The masters were protective of their students, sometimes to the point of being obsessed with them. This meant that each student had to both learn to control the powers they possessed and to manage the whims of their teacher.
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