School of the Unblinking Eye

The highest form of magic, no matter what the rest of the rabble tell you.

The Imperial School of the Unblinking Eye is in many ways the first among equals when it comes to Lagash's imperial schools of wizardry. They are the oldest and the most prestigious, dedicated almost entirely to the pursuit of Astral Magic, the black heavens, and bending the fragment of stars to their will. They are mentalists, seers, scryers, and mind-hunting warlocks who command tremendous respect and envy among their peers. In recent years, their esteem has grown even further with the blessing of the Emperor himself who appears to have commissioned the school with... Something. No one outside the school knows what, or why the Unblinking Eye are the ones doing it rather than his own imperial cadre of wizards.

And they would pay beyond your wildest dreams to find out, adventurer.

Doctrine

The Unblinking Eye is focused on Astral magic to the exclusion of everything else. A school of mental forces, of the mind, of stars and distant constellation (both now gone after the End of All Things), they accept only students of great intellect and discipline... And have grown rather snobbish about the whole thing, to their deteriment. Their rivals claim that the school has become something of an old boy's club, more concerned with family lines and intellectual snobbery, but the school leadership dismiss it as the envious whining of lesser minds.

Example Astral Spells

With their focus, few of the schools wizards become directly involved in the many wars of Lagash - another point against them, in the eyes of many. They work their spells from the comfort of their grand estates and imperial chambers, scrying for enemy movement, reading minds from afar (or setting them on fire), and weaving great and powerful rituals to aid the empire-city of Lagash. Almost always, the Unblinking Eye comes last in the annual Apprentice League of Wrestling and other physical activities.

The School

A large, imperious building in the shadow of the Imperial Library, the school of the Unblinking Eye is built around the core of an old temple that landed there during the End of All Things. Made from a pale white stone with streaks of gold, it is believed to have been the shrine of some god, or even part of its actual planar domain before it was cast from it's throne. The streaks glow faintly at night, though more and more of the original structure have been covered by expansions, additions, and filth.
Since then, it has been expanded by two wings with additional libraries, teaching halls, and laboratories, with dormatories for students on the grounds outside. The yard are utilitarian - some would say lacking in charm in much the same way as the school itself does. Each additional structure is made from grey stone with minimal engraving or decore, save for a plentitude of gargoyles, enchanted to keep an eye on both intruders and students.
Seven arch-magi make their home in the School - three towers attached directly to the building, another two disconnected and standing in the yard, and the last two hovering gently above it. These towers belong to the most powerful leadership of the school, the dean, the teachers, and so on.

The Secrets

The Unblinking Eye now serves as a seat of the Emperor's most dangerous research - time magic. Thought to be impossible by most, the End of All Things have made many impossible things part of the daily life, and so the Empire-City has taken a gamble. Exactly what the Emperor intends to do with this power, however, is unclear, but most assume the regular old habits of imperial ambition and expansion, the destruction of ones enemies, and so on. Even so, the arch-magi of the Unblinking Eye are growing... Concerned. Some of their efforts are bearing fruit and the results terrify even them.
Unknown to the world, one of the Arch-Magi has already perished during the experimentation with time-magic, his body torn apart by a pack of primordial creatures referred to in myth as Raffle Raptors.

by Rawpixel.com (Freepik)

by http://www.tribalartasia.com/

Opinions on the Other Schools

The Ceaseless Flame

A bunch of pyromaniac loons with all the subtlety and grace of a wildfire. Point towards enemy and release.

Iron Rod

As inflexible as their elemental focus, or at least I assume so. Why would I bother socializing with the least of all of us?

Bound Waves

I'll stay here on dry land, thank you very much, and leave the fish fetishization to these freaks.

Tempests

If you ever want to party, party with these guys. Just watch out for the... Pranks.

The World Anvil

Ah, our favorite. Someone who can take care of all the drudgeries and soot of crafting, so we may enjoy the spoils.

Molten Lance

Well. That was horrifying. What did you call that spell again? "Apocalyptic Serpants"?!

Starfire

Our brothers in arms... In a manner of speaking. At least they understand some of what we're talking about when it comes to magical theory, though their focus on immediate application is boorish.

Shroud and Veil

I will let you know that I came very last in the discus throwing competition last year, and I trust this lot about as far as that rock went.

Tamed Wilds

They're more clever than they seem, but that's not necessarily saying much.

Caged Fire

I'm not sure what's more concerning, the psychopathic delight the Ceaseless Flame take in their pyromania, or the absolute dead-eye certainty of the Caged Fire.

Esoteric Wisdom

Our drinking buddies! The only ones who we can really talk to on an equal level, and they're possibly even worse than us in the League, so we can boss them around.

The Black-Cloaks

Yes sir, please let me know how I can help sir, please don't hurt us.