The Darzan University

Archmage Darza's Universal Society of Knowledge, more commonly known as the Darzan University, is the greatest collection of scholars, mages, and archivists in the world. The University scours the planet for the brightest students, most powerful wizards, and most innovative researchers and inventors to absorb into its ranks. All arts natural and magical are studied here, though wizardry is generally the preferred magical art. Some bards, druids, sorcerers, and clerics are on staff, but these departments are small and malnourished compared to the great parade of wizards and scholars who make up the majority of the University's staff.
The Darzan University uses teleportation magic to maintain a worldwide presence, but they spend most of their time hidden away in their secretive bastion-island. Few individuals know where this island is, but it gets quite cold in the winter and seems far from any established states. The indigenous people of the island are trapped there as well, and many now work as the university's laystaff (though others try their best to ignore the University and continue business as usual). This secretive headquarters is also more of an access point to the upper university, which sits in a series of interconnected demiplanes hidden from the rest of existence. Most of the University's international presence is managed through a number of associated groups. The list of publicly known contacts includes:
Sunekan Contacts

• The College of Stars, the premier wizarding college of Suneka. Number one recruitment channel for wizarding initiates
• The College of Crows, the innovative up-and-coming wizarding academy in the Suneka
• The Sacred Monastery of the Order of Kata, a prestigious center of knowledge and natural scientific research in the Suneka

Stildanian Contacts

• The Temple of Awakening, the great cathedral-academy of the Empire of Kizen
• The Founding Academy, the first wizarding academy ever made and one of the most prestigious in the world, in the Empire of Eketen
• The Palace of Knowledge, an eccentric and reclusive wizarding school run by a group of Solar wizard-monks in the deserts of Southern Stildane. Provides wizards and Ederstone sorcerer recruits, as well as Ederstone research

Inahn Contacts (via proxy, as Darza herself is banned from the continent)

• The White and Gold College, the premier academy of wizardry in greater Calazen
• The Academy of Natural Science in Odija, the City of Lights - one of the leading academies in chemistry and material physics
• The Rahtesra Academy, a school dedicated to elite sorcerers, arts, and natural sciences.

Samvaran Contacts

• The House of Olsaya, the premier academy of Wizardry in Samvara
• The Great Grove of Truth, a Sumoxan druidic circle that provides druidic lore, contacts, and herbs for the University
• The Soul Foundry, a large complex between several Kima Cities that provides gems, materials, and research; based in Chushana 

Garadek Contacts

• The College of Warmages, the premier magical academy in Garadel, based in Prozga 
• The Cathedral of the Rogue Church, a supplier of magic items and alchemical research

Nafenan-Maradian Contacts

• The Grand Choral Academy, a premier bardic academy in the Sacred Kingdom of Nomion 
• The Artificer's Palace, a wizarding school and mass producer of acids, papers, and inks
• The Palace of Agamine, a wizarding school and supplier of Empty Constructs

Sonevan-Ibithi Contacts

• The Institute, a massive research and war-magic academy for the Empire of Runeva 
• The Illumination Club, a politically powerful center for regional lore and sciences

Ekratan Contacts

• The Great Hatchery, a massive Dragomander breeding complex and center of sorcery

Desmian-Izekran Contacts

• Saint Gwenen's Academy, the largest private (and therefore not affiliated with the Perpetual Conclave of Desmia ) wizarding academy in Desmia
• The Undermind, a mixed warlocks-and-wizards complex of monastic learning in the frozen body of a subterranean leviathan; used for research into eerie magycks
• The Arcanum, center of wizarding and magical knowledge in Asalay

But there are likely many secret contacts as well. Contact groups also work as a way for the University to dispose of its more unpopular members, who can be stationed as research assistants with these groups.
In exchange for access to research, personnel, and goods, the Darzan University provides access to worldwide sources of funding, technology, and rare resources outside of the traditional marketplace.

Structure

The General State of the Place

The Darzan University follows a system best understood as "departmental feudalism": powerful mages or revered scholars rule with their cliques over intellectual fiefdoms with a great deal of autonomy. Lesser cliques serve these cliques in exchange for funding and representation in the administration, and these lesser cliques have great autonomy as well. This goes all the way down to the recruits, who compete ruthlessly to ascend to carve out their own clique (or join someone else's).
At the top of all this is the greatest clique of all: that of the Archmage Darza herself. All may do as they please, but ultimately all resources flow upwards to her. A whole carousel of apprentices, admirers, and the like swirl around her in rising and declining favor, in their own world of wealth and power.
Most of the actual logistics are managed by Dean Inela of Novosem, a well-meaning Prism who seeks to follow in Darza's footsteps in becoming functionally immortal. Inela is quite the competent strategist and administror, but prefers to ignore the factional politics outright (hindering her ability to track who is doing exactly what in the University).
As a general rule, arcane power trumps all here. Powerful mages control one's physical ability to leave and enter the home base, and are more likely to accrue favor with the archmage.

The Collegal Fiefdoms

Beneath the Dean there are the Colleges, led by the Lesser Deans. There are three major colleges that reign over all: The College of Magic, the College of Sciences, and the College of Theory. Each of these Colleges have autonomous departments, led by Department Chairs. Beneath every department Chair, there are the Masters, who operate research cliques. Beneath them are the Full Members, who are able to do their own independent research and teach. Beneath them are the Junior Members, who must receive approval from someone above them to do independent research. And beneath them are the Students, who are somewhere between apprentices, students, workers, and agents of the University - as 'teaching' can be whatever their leader tells them, they might end up doing research, manual labor, studying in lecture halls, being personally mentored, or going on wild expeditions in some remote corner of the world. 
The College of Magic is the largest, most powerful, and most famous. It is de-facto led by the Department of Wizardry, of course, but Departments of Lore-Magic (Bardism), Divine Magic (Druids, clerics), Imbued Magic (Sorcerers), and Applied Magic (Magical Arts such as alchemy) are all here as well. 
The College of Sciences is far more equitable in its division of power. The Departments of Engineering, Living Science (biology), Earth Science (geology, climatology, and paleontology), and Chemical Science exist in relative harmony. 
The College of Theory is the most mocked of these departments, but has been protected and nourished by Darza's personal approval. It is a College devoted to natural sciences that do not have physical manifestations. Its departments are Mathematics, Physics, Metaphysics (planar cosmology and magical history), and Mortal Sciences (a mix of political science and psychology).

Culture

The Darzan University is one of the ego capitals of the world. Everything is a competition, everything is about proving you are the smartest and greatest of all. Of course, Darza finds excessive displays of "irrational" emotion to be worthy of mockery, so this all has to be done without openly saying it. And status is a big thing here: you can brag to your underlings, but bragging around your superiors is a one-way ticket to a bad time. So ego comes with its own little rules and games here that must be carefully observed to maintain one's place in the social hierarchy. Similarly, once you are part of a clique, there is a quiet social contract that you are to be loyal and protective of your clique-member's egos and reputation. Forming little social echo chambers is basically socially expected here. 
"Ethics" is another tricky subject. Ethics in this world is so often tied to religion, and religion is something of a banned topic here. You can speak of other people's religions of course (ideally in a polite but subtly condescending or exoticizing tone that distances you from it), but not your own. So pushing one definition of ethics over another is a serious risk to one's social standing, as it suggests irrational emotion, religiosity, and excessive sentimental attachment to one's culture of origin. So any discussions of what constitutes 'moral' or 'ethical' behavior are incredibly complicated social dances that most members of the University avoid unless some massively unethical activity is underway. A challenge to someone else's ethics can come in one of three forms: a philosophical appeal, a logistical appeal, or an invocation of 'the common sense of Darza'. A philosophical appeal is a complicated dance of attempting to prove that the other person's activities are 'objectively unethical', an extremely difficult maneuver that requires great rhetorical and social talent. A logistical appeal is filing a complaint to the Dean with an argument about how it hurts the University's reputation and bottom line; this is a slow bureaucratic approach that requires the other party to not be able to block your complaint from above, but tends to be the most reliable. The third route, invoking Darza, is a legalistic approach where you use previous instances of Darza's actions and commentaries to try and argue that the action is immoral by her standards; that way, they must either concede and stop or publicly insult the archmage.
Critical to both ethical and intellectual challenges is the public debate. Should one member of the University challenge another to a public debate in the Hall of Inquiry, the challenge is taken deadly seriously and must be met with public spectacle. Each individual may bring their cliques as backup, and their public reputation is on the line. Should someone of lower status challenge a higher-status person, the higher-status person may demand a price of some sort if the lower-status person loses. These can be monetary, but are typically in years of service. Department chairs typically handle these kinds of challenge-prices to both enforce them or mediate if a price is too extreme. A price is intended to greatly dissuade challenges from below while not making them impossible. A challenge can be an ethical challenge to research, a methodological challenge to a research's accuracy, or a challenge over the intellectual honor of the participants (the latter two being the most common).

History

The Darzan University is a relatively new institution, having been formed by Archmage Darza in the 1890s from the scattered refugees of the occupied College of Stars along with a number of curious Ayshan Solars. From 1905 to 1930, the University really took off as an international organization: Darza personally recruited talented likeminded mages and apprentices from around the world. In 1925, they scouted out their current headquarters as a base of operations and approached the native residents of the island to purchase the land. By 1930, the headquarters was built and the University as we know it was born.  
Part of the reason for relocating was security, part was political independence, and part was to hide from the Lunar God Haru (who was growing increasingly frustrated with Darza's indoctrination of their great great grandchild). By 1980, the University had taken over the entire island for 'security reasons', had grown twelve times in size, and had established outposts of influence around the world. Also by 1980, Darza had grown tired of directly administrating the University and handed most of the operations over to the High Dean Inela.

The bastion of the Darzan University, in Stildane

Founding Date

1895

Type

Education, Magic

Alternative Names

The Unseen University, the Hidden Academy, the College Beyond

Demonym

Darzan

Leader

Darza

Notable Members

• Arzet Devadov
• Darza

Related Plots

• Dark Academia
• Mages and Intrigue
• Welcome to Wizard School

The known channels of official contact with the Darzan University