Schola Borealis
From ScholaWiki
|
Locations · Characters · Species · Objects · Other |
The Schola Borealis is a school, much like the Schola Draíochta, that is designed to teach those of 'gifted' talents. This might include those with magickal powers, or those with genetic effects similar to magick, or even technology that may be mistaken for magick. Unlike the Schola Draíochta, the Schola Borealis is not bound by the planet Odin. Instead the castle rides a swathe of mist, travelling across the skies of the planet. This function can only be controlled by the headmaster of the school, who is currently Lysander. Isaac Hawthorne is the school's resident inventor and he developed an energy system that uses the mist itself to power up the floating fortress and the new teleporter pad. The Schola Borealis was steered over the Valle Dei Mondi by Lysander when he suspected a plot against him.
Contents |
Major Locations
The Arch
The great stone arch has long stood at the first point-of-call for anyone planning to enter the Schola Borealis. It is decorated with a frieze depicting a tale of the fortress' ascension to the skies on the backs of dragons. It also has two very defined Gargoyles protruding from the columns of the arch. These are two fixed, though sentient, stone creatures that guard the entrance. They will call an alarm should someone fail to pass their 'test' to enter. Just before the arch is the newly installed teleporter pad, designed by Isaac Hawthorne. This allowed people to be 'beamed' up and down at will, as well as allow communications to the guardian gargoyles via radio or other technological methods. Traditional magickal means can still be used, however, to both transport up to the arch and communicate with it. Leading away from the arch towards the fortress is a path with Will O'the Wisps lining either side, granting light during dark hours. It can be dangerous if crossed when wet as there are no rails to prevent people falling off, despite the wide-berth of the stone path.
Headmaster's Office
A small room used by the Headmaster of the Schola Borealis. It is mostly concerned with the general running of the school and the documentation that comes with it. The room does contain several magickal artefacts that are too dangerous to be left elsewhere. The room also contains the 'Navigation Table', which appears to be an intricately decorated table. However when used by the headmaster of the school, the map depicted upon the top of the table can steer the mist and fortress through magick. Lysander has left little personal impression upon the room itself, not considering it worth the time to personalise the space.
Isaac's Workshop
Isaac's Workshop is large room within the fortress dedicated to the machines and inventions of Isaac Hawthorne. Despite being a room of many mishaps, Isaac maintains a strict cleaning regime. Everything is always neat, tidy and washed. Many filing cabinets adorn the room to occupy all of Isaac's plans and documents. The room also houses the Generator, a machine that uses the eternal mist as a power supply for the fortress.
History
Construction
The Schola Borealis was founded by Lysander, a Light Elemental aged thousands of years. His plan was to create a fortress that would attract the light and energy of the Sun, allowing him to draw on that power for himself as well as feed his own reserves into the structure when necessary. For this the fortress had to be created from the dark, black basalt of the Valle Della Cenere, one of the many valleys contained within the mist of Odin. This valley was special, however. It was a dormant volcano, which produced the basalt needed, but also brought life in a very special way. Gargoyles. The gargoyles that evolved in the Valle Della Cenere were eager to help Lysander in his task and built up his fortress.
However his dream had not yet been realised. After the fortress was finished being built he still had to raise it closer to the light source to gain the maximum potential of the the sun. He aimed to use the very mist of Odin to shield the fortress from those below, but also use its properties to force the structure to remain airborne. It would also have to be manipulated to move the fortress wherever Lysander pleased. Yet he also needed to raise the structure onto the mist too. The task was daunting and he knew he could never do it alone.
Blood Pact
Lysander sought help. Eventually he met Alkondoion, a strange being claiming to be an Ethereal from a place called The Napping Cat's Dream. In Alkondoion Lysander met someone of comparable age, a rare thing for the Light Elemental, of shared aspirations and a potential for use. Alkondoion's telekinesis talent was beyond compare, able to move the very stars themselves. However, Alkondoion also told Lysander of a grimoire named Liber Sangomancy. This tome told of powers gained through the sacrifice of blood and age. For the spell to work. Lysander knew he would loose several hundred years from his life-span, yet he had lived so long that he did not care. Many years later, Mistress Procellifer and Killian Hughes would also come looking for the Liber Sangomancy to create the Blood Wards of the Schola Draíochta.
Lysander committed the Blood Pact and the mist was his to command, able to move it as easily as dough. Alkondoion rose the structure and Lysander moved the mist into place. That done there was one final task to be performed. The creation of the Navigation Table. Both Alkondoion and Lysander were familiar with the creation of magickal artefacts and so it was no trouble for them to devise the construction of a table with a map of Odin inscribed into its surface and, still using the power of Liber Sangomancy, bound it to the room that became the Headmaster's Office. The magick cast upon it indicated that only the 'owner' of the fortress would ever be able to manipulate the mist. Finally the fortress was finished to the standard Lysander had set himself. Alkondoion and many of the gargoyle species ascended with him, leaving the Valle Della Cenere behind.
Change in Function
After Mistress Procellifer had found him and the Liber Sangomancy for her castle, Lysander kept in contact with the Amazon-Lady. He was interested in watching how she reflected his own ambitions for the blood magick and its function. He bore witness to the change in function of Procellifer's castle, from royal residence, to school. When Lysander brought this news before Alkondoion and Killian Hughes, who had remained after he brought Procellifer for the Liber Sangomancy grimoire, they suggested that they follow suit and set up a school within the clouds. They emulated the newly established Schola Draíochta in many ways, including its selection of students and teaching subjects. Soon enough, Lysander had become the Headmaster for the Schola Borealis, whilst Alkondoion taught lessons in Sophomancy and Killian taught Somatomancy & Anthomancy. More teachers joined their ranks and students poured through its arch. The gargoyles continued to work as serving staff, guards and even, occasionally, teachers.
The Quiet Years
One significant event in the Schola Borealis' history was the arrival of Isaac Hawthorne. Alkondoion had been investigating a portal that led to his old home of The Napping Cat's Dream after hearing news of the world's imminent collapse. Isaac had been a recent resident of the Dream and, despite his paranoia, followed the Ethereal from the Dream and into the Schola Borealis, hoping to avoid death along with the Dream. Eventually Isaac made friends with Lysander, who tolerated Isaac's initial scientific probing, allowing Isaac to develop an emotional attachment. Isaac was given his own Workshop and from there he found a way to use the planet's mist as an energy source, transformed by the Generator into pure energy. The mist was constantly recreating itself underneath the fortress to such an extent that Isaac's invention actually helped to regulate the ever-gathering mass. He also invented a teleporter pad where once students and teachers had arrived via precarious magick. The teleporter allowed much greater control.
As well as Isaac, others joined the Schola Borealis, in particular the teachers Leonardo Iarodan, Ivan Alexei Fitzugh and Sally-Louise Ashton, who had loose ties with Killian Hughes as they were both of the same species; Juncturist. Leonardo, unlike the other two, did not get on with others and took a special disliking to the Headmaster himself. Their disagreements were well-known and Leonardo's disrespect for Lysander was often frowned upon by other teachers and even the students. However Leonardo was proven to be a brilliant teacher and had a head for administration, earning him the position as third in line for the role of Headmaster, coming straight after Alkondoion.
Relocation
The Schola Borealis was constantly changing its position above the planet Odin, sailing through its skies as Lysander saw fit. He would usually aim to steer the fortress towards the sunny zones of the planet, avoiding rain and dark clouds as often as possible. However Lysander's contentment eventually came undone. A new teacher for Sophomancy, specialising in Precognition, told him that one of her students had seen a terrible image during one of her classes. Hermione Hill, the teacher, had been giving the class a practical examination with crystal balls when a student, Jester, cried out at the image they had seen; the death of the Headmaster. Lysander had lived long enough to be unconcerned by such things, however he was concerned to learn that the image had been of murder. Murder was a crime by any standards and Lysander had gained some sense of responsibility for the students under his care. He would have to gain the support of an outside, unattached and objective audience to the troubles of his school. Killian Hughes volunteered to travel to the Schola Draíochta, ahead of the floating school, and discuss plans with Mistress Procellifer.
So as not to raise suspicion or alarm, the school was to arrive at the Valle Dei Mondi under the guise of a "student exchange program". Students would be exchanged between the two schools to learn some life-long experiences, whilst fresh eyes would be on the Schola Borealis both from the students and the Schola Draíochta teaching staff. Only Lysander, Procellifer, Killian and Alkondoion knew of this scheme. They hoped to spot the culprit through the haze of internal politics. Alkondoion pointed the finger at Leonardo Iarodan, convinced that the vampire's open hostility to Lysander would finally tip over to physical assault, yet Lysander did not want to jump to such an 'obvious' conclusion.
Related Characters
Player Characters & Other Major Characters
Alkondoion
- Main article: Alkondoion
Alkondoion is an Ethereal from The Napping Cat's Dream. His Ethereal siblings include the likes of Skrai, Nanas and Mortis. Since he escaped the destruction of the Dream, Alkondoion has wandered the Multiverse, gaining experiences of life that even he had never thought possible. He mostly travelled alone until he met Lysander, who asked for Alkondoion's help in constructing the Schola Borealis. He joined the teaching staff, lecturing in Sophomancy. However he did loose his memory in the past, having learnt his origins as an Ethereal sometime later. He still struggles with the concept and has yet to meet another Ethereal being since the loss of his memory. He is a private man, valuing solitude and yet he believes in the wealth of knowledge when passed onto others, hence his teaching role. He values intelligent friendship, selecting those he socialises with deliberately.
Angelique Johanssen
- Main article: Angelique Johanssen
Excerpt due.
George Patterson
- Main article: George Patterson
Excerpt due.
Ivan Alexei Fitzugh
- Main article: Ivan Alexei Fitzugh
Ivan Alexei Fitzugh is a cross-bred Kittora nii / Kitsune with a great talent for Elemental Magicks which he has come to teach at the Schola Borealis. He joined the school under Lysander and came to know Alkondoion, who was equally interested in magick theory. Fitzugh is 'down-to-earth' despite his lofty conversations, enjoying rowdy bar games and a lot of cigarettes.
Leonardo Iarodan
- Main article: Leonardo Iarodan
Excerpt due.
Lysander
- Main article: Lysander
Lysander is a Light Elemental and the Headmaster for the Schola Borealis. He is aloof, mild-mannered and of a generally pleasant demeanour that developed through age and experience. He is now several thousands years old and takes comfort in simple affairs. He runs the Schola Borealis more as a 'hobby' than a 'job'. He is from the planet Lux, however he has been absent from it for many centuries. He has managed to find friendship in Killian Hughes and Alkondoion due to their incredible ages, much like his own, sure in the knowledge that they will live just as long as himself.
Sally-Louise Ashton
- Main article: Sally-Louise Ashton
Sally-Louise Ashton is a Juncturist from the planet Altock of the Sirina Galaxy. She was used for promotional information regarding The Imperium, though how deep her ties to this Multiverse-spanning empire are is still unknown. She is known to have travelled across the Multiverse herself and first found magickal knowledge in the Great Library, however much of her skill in magick came from her studies as a former student at the Schola Draíochta. She then went on to become a teacher at another magickal school known as the Schola Borealis. She has ties to Killian Hughes and Garrick Keigwin, two other Juncturists teaching at the Schola Draíochta and has a brother named Marc Ashton.
Non-Player Characters & Associated Characters
None.
