The Lyceum and the Ephraim

'O might your knowledge fall upon me,

that which seeks to give and nurture;

for mine mind is yours to enlighten,

my body yours to work miracles through;

may your wisdom and guidance aid me.'

-Carinthian Creed

The two major centers of magic within the main continent of Azmarin, the Lyceum and the Ephraim house some of the most powerful mages within the world; and history says that many of 'The Nine' went to one of these two schools.
The founding of the Ephraim is said to have risen from the ashes of the Dawn War, though it's origins are clouded with an air of uncertainty, as no documents or literary texts telling of it's creation can be found.

The story goes that Carinthum, though better known as the Lyceum, was founded when the Gods granted the knowledge of the Weave and the gifts of magic unto the Quickling races.

It is said that as all the races came together with the knowledge of the Weave, they set to the West to create a place where magic could be used and studied under the strict guidelines of the Gods that it was not to be used to harm or hinder the races of Raslun.

Here, however, is where stories become muddled and diverge.

Stories say that as the Lyceum grew and flourished into an entire coast over a millennia, the scholars and learned of the city took note of, and documented, the passing of a solar eclipse that occurred at high noon every 488 years.
So it was that Carinthum set the date of the Arcane Harvest; a ritual festival in which the Weave and the Gods that granted this knowledge were to be worshipped and paid tribute, lest a terrible fate befall our world, and all that we know be taken back by our creators.
During this festival, scholars have said that the sun darkens due to the innate forces and coalescence of magic within the Weave creating a 'thin spot' in the veil.

As the boundaries between this world and the Weave weaken, the light of our sky is devoured by something only referred to as the Ephraim; a darkness of otherworldly nature that seeks to consume all that exists. The tributes and offerings given during the Arcane Harvest are said to appease the Ephraim, which in return does not consume the rest of our world entirely.

Some scholars speculate that this is merely a coincidental occurrence caused by the alignments of the planets and cosmic entities every so many years, while many thousands of magic wielders postulate that the threat posed by the Ephraim is indeed, very, very real, and that we should be thankful it has not breached the veil of the Weave and entered our realm to swallow everything we know.
To others, history tells a different tale.
Another story that has passed down through the ages details a group of mages and sorcerers that broke away from the teachings of the Carinthian Creed in an attempt to follow their own paths and studies on topics deemed 'too controversial' for the founders of the Lyceum.
It's said in these stories that this group travelled East to create a safe haven for all those that wished to study magic in all of its forms; and so, being a darker contrast to the purely beneficial teachings of the Lyceum, became synonymous with the great light devouring entity and eclipse known as the Ephraim.

Rumor is said to have spread of dark spells, blood magics, necromancy, and shadow arts pervading all levels of this schools teachings throughout its many years, and that not a single person residing there was not afflicted with some form of dark curse or corruption.

Over time it's said that the Ephraim became home to the darkest magics known to man, though any student of the school would surely exclaim otherwise if faced with such a claim; though non can deny the rumor of the presence of an incredibly powerful lich that resides within the walls of the Ephraim, watching over the studies and progress of all that attend.
All within the Ephraim know the rumor of his existence, and few of his name.
Legend says he seeks to further the study of all fields of magic by nearly any means possible; why let all this unknown knowledge go to waste?

After all, knowledge is power.

Type

Large city