The Black Brigandines, often known as the Brigs or the Black Brigs, but formally known as simply the "Cair Dennun School of War" is a school which teaches combat and small group combat tactics. Boasting an unbroken chain of masters of arms stretching back to its founding over 600 years ago, the Cair Dennun School of War is the oldest place of learning left standing in Krag-a-Krach (a bit of trivia for anyone who thinks the Free University of Cair Bolun is older - it's actually younger by 13 years).
Founding
The school was founded by Godel Sootbelcher, a Dwarven Weapons master, during the middle of the Trouble Times. Sootbelcher was a soldier who fought with the Krachi army for most of his life; he was renowned for learning how to handle every kind of weapon he laid his hands on. By his old age he claimed to be a master in over 30 kinds of weapons, and a grandmaster in 9 of them.
The goal of his school was to teach students how to wield a multitude of weapons, how to think to use a weapon they had never used before, and become overall well rounded in all aspects of war so they could adapt to any situation and keep themselves alive. His teaching methodology was brutal... Sootbelcher often beat students with his famous candlestick (the original still allegedly hangs in the school, but there's some justifiable doubt that it's the original) if they messed up, saying "You'd be dead if this were war". This teaching style lost him many students, but he saw this as a bonus - he was concerned about keeping the good ones alive.
Legacy
Besides being known as simply the oldest place of learning in Krag-a-Krach, it's still known as one of the best places to be trained as a fighter. The style and armor of the fighters that graduate (called Black Brigandines after the armor they receive upon graduating) is unique, making them instantly recognizable to each other, and to many who are educated in such things. The Black Brigandines aren't a cohesive group - they're just graduates from the same school - however, there is often a sense of fraternity between Black Brigs, and many will avoid fighting each other if on opposite sides of a fight. To regular folk, there isn't a sense of "good or evil" when they see a Black Brig, rather they see someone highly trained in war who should be shown deference, or better yet avoided altogether.
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