Petellia's Academy

Petellia's Academy is an informal school of wizardry in the village of Herdonia. Petellia herself is an android who can be credited with the initial, and most substantial, work in reconstructing ancient Cyrdian arcane knowledge. She makes frequent trips into the ruins of the old Cyrdian city of Riedonum which surround Herdonia, where she searches for surviving texts, especially those regarding wizardry. While she mostly understands how to decode a spell's written form and cast it, she is wary of unintended consequences of not understanding the underlying principles governing how arcane magic works. For that reason, she now dedicates most of her time to the theory of wizardry, hoping one day to understand it well enough to create her own spells.

Petellia, and by extension her academy and her students, is quite famous in Old Cyrdia for all her work. While this has garnered her a lot of admiration, especially from other inhabitants of Herdonia, it has also attracted less favorable enemies. Even among the androids of Herdonia, there are some who oppose the rediscovery of wizardry, believing that it is what caused the previous civilization's destruction (which is, in an indirect way, true). Outside of Herdonia, superstitious clans of hunter-gatherers fear both the magic itself and the ways it might be used for conquest of their people, and in other developing civilizations with comparatively little knowledge of arcane magic, there is jealousy and resentment for the resources Herdonia has access to. This has so far not amounted to anything more than aggressive groups of outsiders yelling and throwing stones from the edges of the village, but many in Herdonia worry that full-scale violence could erupt or, alternately, someone may try to assassinate Petellia. Petellia herself is aware of these concerns but prioritizes them only secondarily to her work.

Structure

Petellia is the only teacher, and only ever has a few students at a time (she's never had more than ten). There is no formal structure. Rather, the academy functions much like an apprenticeship, and Petellia herself is learning along with her students. The closest to a true class structure that exists are the academy's seminars, when all the students are gathered together and discuss magical theory along with Petellia. Other activities are more practical, largely involving students practicing their spells and exploring Riedonum's ruins, either with Petellia's company or not.

The academy doesn't just focus on magic. A significant amount of Petellia and her students' time goes into history and archaeology. After all, there is a lot to discover about the civilization that preceeded Herdonia, especially regarding the Cyrdian language, which the androids understand without knowing why. The origin of androids and the soul forges that create them are sometimes just as interesting to the academy's students as the magical arts.

Culture

Petellia encourages curiosity in her students, urging them to experiment and philosophize on their own, then discuss their ideas and findings with her and the rest of the academy. Students are constantly uncovering new spells in the ruins, and there are frequent academic debates regarding the nature of magic

Public Agenda

Petellia claims two reasons for both the establishment of her school and her study of magic. The first is knowledge for its own sake. Being innately curious, she is always seeking to understand more, both about magic and the world in general. The second is to discover or create spells that can help Herdonia survive, thrive, and grow. Even the very ruins that surround the village can be very dangerous, and the android inhabitants have not been living there for long. Everyone in Herdonia knows their way of life is constantly at risk, and Petellia seeks to lessen that risk as much as she can.

Assets

On top of all the spells that Petellia and her students have deciphered and made use of, the academy is also in possession of a large number of texts (both spells and general magical theory) whose meaning they have yet to unravel. Usually, this is because it is written in ancient Foshian, which the academy has only partially translated in Old Cyrdian, the language all androids are born fluent in.

However, most of the texts recovered from Riedonum's ruins is non-magical in nature. These include anything from tax reports to informal letters, and are still of great value.

History

While several of the androids in Herdonia had discovered texts containing magical theory and spells before her, Petellia was the first to puzzle out their meaning, a task which took years to show results. For some time, she was the only wizard in Herdonia, but after a few years of that, one of the younger androids, named Virido, expressed interest in the subject. Never one to hoard knowledge for herself, Petellia took on Virido as an apprentice. Before long, other inhabitants of Herdonia became curious about wizardry as well, and Petellia officially established her school.

After some time, the earliest of the academy's students had learned enough that they could start to teach the newer ones the basics. This freed Petellia to spend more time researching undiscovered magic and discussing higher-level theory. At this point the academy's structure transitioned into its current discussion- and exploration-based form.

Herdonian School of Reconstructed Magic (Arcane School)

You studied magic in Herdonia, learning spells that were found in the ruins of the Foshian city of Riedonum.

Curriculum
Cantrips: prestidigitation, sigil
1st: command, enfeeble, phantasmal minion
2nd: darkvision dispell magic
3rd: cozy cabin, lightning bolt
4th: clairvoyance, unfettered movement
5th: sending, wall of stone
6th: dragon form, repulsion
7th: contingency, planar seal^U
8th: disappearance, unrelenting observation
9th: foresight

School Spells
Initial: protective wards
Advanced: community restoration

Size
Small
Scope and Influence
Local (Herdonia, moderate)
Goals
Discover new spells in the ruins of Riedonum, understand the theory of arcane magic, teach wizardry

Founding Date

693 A.C.

Type

Education, Magic

Location

Herdonia

Allies
Herdonians
Enemies
Looters, book-burners
Assets
Spells, academic text
Membership Requirements
Petellia's approval (after an interview)
Values
Curiousity, studiousness, willingness to share knowledge and accept criticism
Anathema
Hoarding or destroying knowledge, plagiarism

Petellia (curious feminine android wizard) leader of the academy, a skilled wizard with a passion for learning and teaching
Virido (dedicated masculine android wizard) Petellia's first apprentice and the academy's most learned student
Farne (irritable female hobgoblin student) student at the academy, lacking in talent but not in commitment