Ainur Insitute of the Arcane
A bet that turned into a college
The aged and longest standing school in Sciadan, the Ainur Insitute started from mere, humble beginnings in a petty Elven contest, and evolved into something much more.
Structure
Dean
The dean, eternally the ancient elf, Nym Yesxidor, oversees all the major duties of the school, and has final say towards all his staff, whether it's hiring or not.For a time, Yesxidor was dead while he waited for his new body to be built, so he appointed 'Blindfold' to act as Dean in his stead.
Head of Studies
Another unchanging position, initially held by a childhood friend of Yesxidor, he went on to enlist in the Royal Guard in the endless war against Lord Chaffinch, so the position now is held by an eternally youthful immortal by the name of Athanasia Ilfirin.Subject Heads
Below Athanasia, and appointed by both him and Yesxidor are the heads of the major school subjects, Occult, Arcane, Divine, Runesmithing, Magical Implements and Alchemy. Unlike Athanasia and Yesxidor, these positions are prone to change.Culture
The learning culture in the Ainur institute is a lot more relaxed than most other schools, not in the sense of less work but more in the sense of it being catered work. When students enlist in the school, whether it be for their particular field of magic/study or simply general studies, their work ends up being a lot more field work and specialized assignments rather than traditional learning with students regularly being seen out in the streets of Larc, and if Athanasia steps in to teach, the students may find themselves teleported to other countries.
Many from the Runecrafting and Occultist departments are even known to go out and assist members of their community with forging or the paranormal.
Many from the Runecrafting and Occultist departments are even known to go out and assist members of their community with forging or the paranormal.
Public Agenda
All staff at the Ainur Institute make the same pledge that Athanasia and Yesxidor pledged when creating the institute, a pledge also upheld by the Kieran Collegiate of Bards, a codex of rules:
1. Nurture the arcane spark with everyone, for everyone has magic within them.
2. Protect every generation to come through to us.
3. Raise and uplift every generation, from young to old.
2. Protect every generation to come through to us.
3. Raise and uplift every generation, from young to old.
Assets
Physical Assets
The Ainur Institute has a wide variety of magical trinkets and artifacts at their disposal, kept in a vault under the school from both Yesxidor's and Athanasia's lengthy lives and travels.Additionally, the institute is home to the Larc Public Library within the campus grounds, though still open for the publics viewing. The library itself has actually come alive due to its proximity to grimoires and other magical artifacts, the pages of some books turning into small origami birds, while other books have just become sentient and form a Living Library in the center of the establishment.
Faculty of Note
Athanasia Ilfirin
An ancient immortal elven man from ages ago who once belonged to a hidden tribe deep within Karica's woods, Athanasia encountered Yesxidor during his out of country travels and the two had a fight, one that the locals didn't see but felt due to the extremity of it, Yesxidor managing to push the immortal to the brink of death despite his power, though holding back and making a vow with Athanasia and bringing him onto his staff as his most trusted advisor.Nym Yesxidor
An ancient elf from the High Elves of Giants Rest, Yesxidor is theorized to be one of, if not the, first person to become a bard, being able to completely neutralize opponents without lifting a finger to hurt them, Yesxidor like Athanasia has been alive since the early ages of humanity, back when magic was pure and powerful, so he seeks to teach his students in the older ways.Harpe Nyxsia
The Head of Studies of Magical Implements and Archivist for the college, Harpe is an older Fleshwarp who once graduated from the college a few hundred years ago and decided to work for Yesxidor, mentoring directly under Yesxidor Harpe is like him, a skilled bard though spends more time harnessing a variety of implements for their use.Narin
The head of an enigmatic organization known as the Arbiters of the Magi which formed after Rylbray and Cedrick's Eclipse was halted, Narin is attributed to be the strongest Chronomancer in the world and while not a direct member of faculty, the Arbiters travels take Narin across the world to teach and pick up new students to mentor in her ways, regularly stopping by the Ainur Institute.'Blindfold'
A younger monk of unknown origin who always wears a blindfold, he does not particularly do much or care for the institute, simply running it in the absence of Yesxidor.History
The Ainur Institute started from petty roots, originally named the Yesxidor College of Bards, the school itself was founded on nothing but a bet, when Yesxidor and his hunting brother at birth, Lysanthir Kieran, to who could make the best Bardic College. The two made their institutes on opposite sides of Larc, Kieran on the West and Yesxidor on the East. Initially, Yesxidors college was suffering, and he was losing the bet, mainly due to him not being a very good Dean and his proximity to the working dock district made people shrug off his school for the other.
It wasn't until later when Yesxidor, when taking a trip through Karica, met and promptly dueled Athanasia Ilfirin, and despite Athanasia being a master of potent and primordial magic Yesxidor managed to best him. It was after this duel that Yesxidor recruited Athanasia as his right hand man and reformed the school into the Ainur Insitute of the Arcane, named after the elven word of 'Ainu', meaning 'Holy One' or 'Chosen One', the word being plural in the schools title to represent both Athanasia and Yesxidor, two chosen elves who swore to uplift and protect many generations of children and magic users to come.
The college later had a discussion and agreement with the Kieran Collegiate of Bards, which has actually spread to a few smaller institutes within the city of Larc and larger towns elsewhere in Sciadan. Yesxidor and Kieran altered the agreements of their bet, to be a bit more lax in their rivalry with each other due to Lord Chaffinch's increasing presence in Osteodor and his continued attacks towards Sciadan, the two elves decided to bolster each other with a more mutual, light-hearted rivalry between the two institutes.
Ever since Athanasia had joined and the school rebranded, Yesxidor has actually been winning the new bet, becoming one of the largest and most prestigious schools in the world, and the largest in Sciadan, even going on to help form the Accord of the Arcane with a man named 'Blindfold.'
A couple hundred years later and in his own office, Yesxidor was unfortunately found and killed by the famed bodystealer Ratham, his body being used by Ratham to further a plot of his, though Yesxidor's soul was strong enough to remain in the material plane. After Ratham's defeat at the hands of a noble group of heroes and adventurers, Yesxidor roamed as a ghost through the halls of his school, making a deal with 'Blindfold', the current leader of the Accord to run the school until a new, mechanical body was built for his soul to inhabit, so Blindfold had the Runesmithing department work on that posthaste.
During modern times Yesxidor runs the school again though unfortunately no longer as an elf but as a construct, his original body buried under the newly built fountain in the center of the institutes garden.
"Harness the arcane spark within you all."
Type
Educational, School/Academy
Alternative Names
Yesxidor College of Bards
Leader
Leader Title
Founders
Location
Notable Members
Comments