Academy of Varshalshka
The Academy of Varshalshka (Varshalshken: shanVarshalshka Shuqsenaw' ("Academy of Varshalshka") or klheTsukhir Shuqsenaw' ("Academy of Magic")) is the largest university west of Grand Erbekan. It sits on the southern shores of the Tetyj Khir, and magically-gifted children from all across Varshalshka travel there when they turn six.
Public Agenda
The Academy is an extremely powerful organization in Varshalshka, with many duties as a result. The Academy has a dual purpose according to its original charter. The first is the furthering of the magical arts and collecting, collating, and storing information pertaining to all things. This tends to be the more actively-pursued goal, and in its furtherance the Academy's agents range far and wide to collect lore. Closer to home, the Masked Mages engage in numerous aquatic investigations, delving into the sunken ruins of ancient Ishtakar in order to discover the secrets of that long-dead society. There are few avenues of magical research that are forbidden in the Academy, with the exception of pact magic, although this has less to do with any sort of moral conundrum and more to do with academic integrity; it allows one to use a mastery of a few specific magical schools to overcome any examination. Once students become full-fledged members of the academy, the restriction is lifted.
Political Influence & Intrigue
The Academy of Varshalshka has a goal besides its more obvious one of magical knowledge. It serves to keep the Varshalshken confederacy from fragmenting into its constituent pieces by forging a distinct, Varshalshken identity as opposed to the many cultural identities of the nation-tribes. The academic language used in the Raven Conclave has become the widely-accepted standard within Varshalshka, and the mages wield considerable political influence due to their monopoly on magic (excluding Khabze folk-shamans, who lack the organization to compete in any meaningful sense). Without magic, the isolated and parochial villages would be even more so, and the federation's armies would be unable to stand before the might of outsiders; Varshalshka is sparsely populated, and so lacks the numbers to resist foreign invasion without relying on its excellent battle-wizards. For these reasons, even those that resent the Academy's influence must deal with it. While Varshalshka does have a king, the true power behind the throne is widely known to be the Academy, which ruthlessly protects its privileged position as a result.
"Only knowledge is good, only ignorance is evil."
Type
Education, Magic
Alternative Names
The Raven Conclave
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Masked Mage
Leader
Gw'ne Tlepchuk
Leader Title
Parent Organization
Divines
Related Ethnicities
Comments