Siantrin Tower

Deep in Griboli Forest is a massive structure which stands 100ft tall. Despite towering above the trees this building is difficult to find due to it’s remote location and the layers of magic concealing it.

Architecture

The complex was constructed of yellow sandstone blocks (much to the disgust of the architect who claimed it would barely last a century or two). The original design called for an outer wall to keep out animals and any other threats, and while the wall did get built, it was only 9ft high rather than the 20ft called for in the design. This was because the leaders of the college intended to use magic to protect the enclave and the wall was only reaally needed to mark the boundary with the forest, A single gate was built in the wall to allow access to any intrepid travellers who might make it there, but for the most part it was envisaged that most students and guests would be brougth by magical means.

Central Tower

The tower was divided into several areas reflecting it’s roles in the teaching and research of magic. The ground floor was dedicated to living quarters and practice areas for apprentices. On one side of this floor was a guest area that could be sealed off from the rest of the complex.
The higher floors were for experienced mages and once housed extensive libraries of magic. The principles behind the design of this building were used for the other colleges, with those of greater seniority having a room on a higher floor. The inconvenience of having to climb up further was offest by implementation of the levitation shafts that ran up the center of the building.
The basement area was used for storage and kitchens. Most food was prepared by the magical servants, but a small staff of cooks was also maintained to cook for the senior mages and any important guests. These servants, and those who supervised the maintainance of the buildings and grounds were housed in a separate building that like the guest area could be sealed off from the rest of the college. Unlike the guest area, the servant's quarters could be sealed from inside.

Outside

Gardens and practice areas were constructed in the grounds around the main tower. The practice areas were walled off from each other and ranged from simple open spaces to areas with rocks, plants, trues, and even fake ruins. The gardens were meant to provide an escape for those who liked to see more living things without braving the dangers of the forest. Most students would spend years at the college without leaving so it was considered wise to build facilities that would provide some incentive to go outside once in a while.
On the north side of grounds a small round building with no windows and single metal door was built. This building contained the telportation circle which was the main method for travelling to and from the tower. The door could be locked from the outside in case of the arrival of unwanted visitors.

Obiran Tower

This small structure on the west side of the main tower was used for practising sealing circles. The entire tower was protected by a powerful magical barrier which was designed to ensure extraplanar creatures could not escape. This provided a safety net in case a trainee’s own circle was not perfectly scribed. This wouldn’t do anything to help the trainee, but the masters of the college tended to believe that it was better for careless casters to meet their end somewhere that they wouldn’t hurt anyone else.

Defenses

The tower is protected by wards that block scrying and teleportation magic, and illusions mask it from being seen by flying creatures. Trees and bushes have grown to form a complex maze that stretches for miles. The forest itself provides an additional layer of protection as it is teeming with dangerous plants and animals.
The tower's extensive defences were in place long before the War of Ascension. Each new batch of students were encouraged to come up with creative ways to add more layers onto the defensive magic. As some students and teachers were from other schools, this helped to avoid all of the defences being from a single school. The multiple layers of defences alse ensured that even those who studied at the college would know about all of the protective wards that had been enacted.
During the War of Ascension the defences were reinforced to the point where they were sufficient to repel even the most powerful wizards from the other colleges. These later proved sufficient to hold off even the demon horde.

History

This complex was the first of the purpose built structures for the colleges of magic. While the colleges of necromancy and evocation were lobbying hard for work on their college to be prioritised, the leaders of The Alliance were much more comfortable starting with a type of magic that was loss destructive. At the request of the leaders of this college, a hard to reach location was chosen in order to reinforce the lesson that defence starts before casting any spells. Dwarven architects and masons were called on to design and build the main structure, with magic used to transport the materials there. The predominantly elven leadership of the college went to great lengths to ensure any damage to the surrounding forest was minimised.
In the first few centuries after it's construction the college was almost exclusively a teaching establishment. Considered more practical (and less violent) than some of the other schools, Siantrin was a popular choice for those seeking non-military sponsorship for their studies, though plenty of militaries sent students as well. This allowed for a fairly rigorous selection process which helped to boost the college's reputation further. There undoubtedly some places given to the children of the rich and powerful, but the final trial helped to ensure only those with the appropriate skills could graduate.
After several centuries the keaders of the college found it was getting harder to keep mages capable of teaching as they were being employed across the world for much more the college paid. To counter this Siantrin was remodelled to incorporate soaces for the research of magic. One of the additions was Obirin tower which allowed for the practicing the containment of highly dangerous fiends.
The tower was one of the places visited by Debrae during her quest to end the Days of the One. The researvhers proved key in finding a way to remove the barrier that sealed off the material plane.
During most of The Second Age the tower relied on regular deliveries of food and other necessities and there wasn’t time to build up supplies for an extended siege. When the demons came the residents were protected but with no way to resupply they ran out of food within a couple of months. Rather than die of starvation most of the residents decided to go out in a blaze of glory taking as many demons with them as possible.
During The Third Age Miluril Starbrow sent several expeditions to try to gain access to the tower. All of these attempts failed, as did the ones reported by The Empire. Following Starbrow's ascension to divinity he presumably had enough power to seize the tower but he seemed to lose interest in it, dashing the hopes of those who hoped to finally see inside.

Alternative Names

College of Abjuration

Type

University / Educational complex

Parent Location

Griboli Forest

Owning Organization

Colleges of Magic

Challenge Accepted

Siantrin was reputed to be the most heavily protected location in the world. Many claimed it's defences were impenetrable, which the colleges of divinition and evocation took as a challenge. Both colleges expended significant effort in trying to find ways to breach the defences, with apprentices and masters taking part in such attempts. It was inevitable that they woould eventually find a way, with the diviners being to first to succeed. When they then refused to explain how they had breached Siantrin's wards it nearly led to an outright war between the colleges. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and college of divination was paid for their efforts in finding a weakness. This led to an ongoing competition between the colleges with those at Siantrin declared the winner if their defences could not be breached.

Levitation tubes

In order to reduce the effort required to reach the higher levels tall cylinders were constructed that ran from the basement up to the top. These tubes were wide enough to hold one person comfortably or two at a squeeze. An open archway on each floor allowed access to the tubes. When someone stepped into a tube they would begin floating up or down. Each tube was contructed to allow movement in only one direction with arrows painted at the entrance to indicate which way it went. Timing your exit took a bit of practice and new visitors would frequently require a few attempts to get off at the right floor. Modesty was raised as an issue when multiple people were using the tubes so they were adjusted to create a black mist beneach the feet, obscuring the view of anyone further down the tube.

Locked and Barred

Despite being a college of magic and there being several ways of magically locking doors, every personal room in the college also had a mundane lock and many of the residents fitted bolts or a bar as well. This was encouraged as the college taught that defence was best when implemented by both arcane and mundane means.