Mautsmiths Academy of the Arcane

Structure

Mautsmiths is headed by the chancellor, an archmage that is elected from the Deans of the various schools of magic. The chancellor is the chief executive of the academy and has charge of hiring, discipline, and firing staff.  Below the chancellor are the four provosts of the residence houses.   The provosts oversee the students in their houses, including giving both guidance and discipline when appropriate.  The provosts also manage the duty rotation schedule for all students, which determines which students will perform what tasks for the university on any given day.  These tasks mostly rotate on a fixed schedule, but certain odious duties are meted out as punishment for infractions.
Each specific school of magic is led by a dean, who act as leaders in their chosen magical specialty. Each school of magic can have several instructors, who teach the enrolled students.
Mautsmiths does not have non-magical staff; students learn quickly that they are expected to cook, clean, and maintain the grounds of the school on a rotating basis.
The officer of the Academy that all students meet (hopefully only once, during orientation) is the Brander. The Brander is a former mage that has been cursed to experience no magic. The curse prevents the Brander from performing even the smallest of magical cantrips, but also protects the Brander from magical attacks, which fail against them. The Brander carries the HellIron Brand, a mystical branding iron forged from tartarite, believed to be a metal only found in the pits of hell. If branded by the HellIron Brand, a user of magic loses the ability to wield magic permanently. It is explained to young students that should they use magic to commit serious crimes, they will be Branded.
While a member of the faculty, the Brander will often leave Mautsmiths to hunt down and Brand those who misuse magic.

Culture

Mautsmiths' core philosophy is that magic should be taught to be used responsibly. The academy only accepts students that show powerful aptitude for magic and can pass the entrance examination. Once at academy, students are treated well, but are expected to work hard in all aspects of college life. Outside of the classrooms, instructors and students mingle freely and are collegial. Inside the classroom, strict discipline and concentration is expected and required.
Mautsmiths is divided into four houses, each emphasizing an enduring trait of magic:

	Gianteye Gianteye House emphasizes the strength of magic. House colors are blue and gray. Their common room and dormitories are located in Armory Hall. Members of Gianteye typically practice force and battle magics, and also train with more conventional weapons. The current Provost of Gianteye House is Sir Brontes the Bold, a seasoned archmage and retired Tempest Knight.
	Meramaid This house emphasizes and values the beauty of magic. Meramaid House colors are green and white. Their common rooms and dormitories can be found surrounding the Fountain Court. Meramaid students often practice flashy magics, like illusions and light schools of power. Meramaid's current Provost is Nerida Darya, a Salimar sorceress known for painting animated portraits.
	Longmous Longmous House values the cleverness needed to become a wizard. Their house colors are red and orange. Their common rooms are inside the Western Tower of the campus. Members of Longmous are studious and enjoy researching new spells and using their power to acquire knowledge. Many seers and oracles come from this house. Longmous' Provost right now is Pytho Fenice.
	Vidopnir House Vidopnir emphasizes boldness in the performance of magic. Their house colors are purple and yellow. Vidopnir's common rooms are in Twelvewands Hall, one of the few remaining original buildings on the campus. Members of Vidopnir tend to be risk-takers and the majority will end up as roving adventurers. Their current Provost is Flightmaster Renn.

Rumors persist of a secret fifth House directly created by Titus Mautsmith himself. According to academy legend, any student who can learn the name of this house and speak it aloud in the main quad wins entry into the house, which is fabled to contain a trove of magical relics.

Public Agenda

Mautsmiths Academy promises to train the very best into powerful wizards and mages.

Assets

Mautsmiths main asset is their academy building, which is built on a low lying cloud that was stained with the blood of immortals. Mautsmiths contains the largest library of magical tomes in the Lands of Legend (or so they claim), and a grand library on a huge number of non-magical subjects as well. Each of the four residence Houses that students are assigned to possess relics that belonged to the founders of the respective houses. It is rumored that somewhere on campus is a secret fifth house that contains magical treasures crafted by the titular founder of the academy, Titus Mautsmith himself.

History

Titus Mautsmith established his academy in the year 401 of the Third Age. The great archmage, who named himself the Mage Lord, was one of the greatest heroes of the Third Age. He claimed that he even set foot inside the Dark Tower and survived. He had gathered a group of eight powerful magicians, wizards, and sorcerers who helped him found the academy. These eight were a who's who of elite magical practitioners:

• Deepmire the Blue, the fabled Sea Mage
• Imaginez the Illusionist
• Miraculo the Sage
• Septimus Seventh Son, trained to be a wizard from birth
• Funflame the Pyromancer, known for her mastery over fire magics
• Rimbleby Longstrider
• Hypnotum the Mind Bender, master of the mind
• Tremenda the earth mage, mistress of rock and stone

The nine archmages collected clouds stained with the blood of immortals, which made them solid enough to build upon. On this cloud they built the Academy. Ostensibly, the Academy orbits the city of Lys. Almost immediately, Mautsmiths began attracting aspiring mages, with its original entrance exam being, "if you can get to the academy, you belong there."
Within a decade, the academy had grown significantly in size. At Titus' recommendation, the eight founders created the four houses, each emphasizing an enduring trait of magic.  While there is a friendly rivalry between the houses, Mautsmiths officers push for unity and cooperation from all students.
While Mautsmiths has had a large number of famous wizards as alumni, it also has had its share of infamous mages.  The Lizardfolk wizard Slann, vulgarly known as the Mad Lizard Wizard, graduated from Mautsmiths and is rumored to have researched his epic spell that created the dinosaur domains at the academy.  Mautsmiths funds research teams each year to attempt to reverse the Saurian Hex.

Demography and Population

Mautsmiths generally houses between 60-100 students at any given time.  Mautsmiths staff includes between 16 and 24 instructors, eight dean, four provosts, the chancellor and the Brander.  Mautsmiths also welcomes visiting scholars for short stays of up to six months; generally, less than a dozen such visitors come per year.

M clavis est ad omnia secreta

Founding Date

Year 401 of the Third Age

Type

Educational, School/Academy

Leader Title

Chancellor

Location

Lys - The Unintended Capital