Yekarian Colleges

The Yekarian Colleges are the greatest institutes of higher educational in Ferraria. They are also the only place in Ferraria where the teaching of magic is legal. They were set up during the reign of King Geoth III in response to the Republian invasion of Ferraria in King Ferran IIIs year. It was known that the Republian forces were able to easily overwhelm the Ferrarian guard in battle because of their use of the arcane arts rather than their tactical ability. Geoth III didn't want to see this happen again, especially after his father Acanth I fought so hard to throw the Republians out of the country and reclaim the throne.

Magic was a taboo subject in Ferraria for multiple cultural reasons, but Geoth and his advisors realised that the country wouldn't last if it kept on living in the metaphorical stone age of magic. Yet, Geoth knew he still had to work around the delicate social issue of magic. So, he hired some of the greatest travelling mages in the world to come to Ferraria and help him build a place where they could teach their art and pass on the knowledge.

The mages were smuggled into Ferran's Hold under the cover of night and they met with the Ironmoot. The mages explained that Lake Yekar was the optimal site to build a centre of magical learning, as the iron that still lay on the bottom of the lake enhanced their magical abilities. That same night, the mages departed the city for the Branuk home castle of Swatholm after hours of intense debate with

Construction on the colleges was quick, very few other projects were being undertaken in the realm at the time. People were told that six schools were being built, but the fact that they were magic schools was kept a close secret. The six mages invited others of their kind over to teach at these places, and soon there were nearly a hundred mages of every kind staying hidden in Swatholm. Eventually, the Branuks grew tired of all the mishaps the presence of so many witches and wizards caused, and evicted the mages from the castle. A lesser lord, Lord Vance, invited them to stay in his keep. He lived slightly inland from the lake, but his land bordered onto the grounds of one of the colleges.

The colleges opened within two years, and the king sent some of the mages out to tour the land and find the most magically gifted children in kingdom to become its students. Education in Ferraria was extremely basic, nobles could afford to pay a private tutor to teach their children, but the merchants and workers had to rely on wandering learned men to give lessons where they could. So, the prospect of a free advanced education was very tantalising for almost everyone. The second son or daughter of all the high lords were offered places, and each Decarch was given ten scholarships they could hand out to anyone who wanted them. Each college had an initial capacity for two hundred permanent students, and these places soon filled up.

Throughout the reign of Geoth III, the students of the colleges were taught the basics of magic and how to use it for combat. Weapon enchanting was also taught, and soon the colleges were producing thousands of enchanted blades for use by the army. Defensive wards were taught, and those skilled at them were sent to the frontier territories to bolsters the defences there. Soon, magic was becoming common place in the military, but those who used it were sneered at and looked down upon in society.

After Geoth III died, his son Geoth IV took the throne. Geoth IV ended most of the wars his father had started, reducing the need for warrior wizards. Geoth IV kept the colleges as a state institute, but no longer restricted what they were allowed to teach. Each college diversified into different areas of magic. Those that learned there went out into the world to practice their art, which caused some civil unrest amongst the more conservative citizens of Ferraria. This tension culminated in the Burning of Malbern Crossing, where veterans and soldier citizens gathered at the gates of Malbern Crossing College, demanding its closure. Lord Vance deployed his household guard to but a stop to the trouble, leading to a three-way fight that killed nearly a hundred people. Magic grew even less popular.

In an effort to relieve tensions, Geoth IV ordered all colleges to cease lessons in all subjects except the healing arts. Freshly trained healers were sent to some of the poorest regions in Ferraria, where the cost of hiring a doctor was unfathomable, to do their work. This greatly increased the popularity of magic users among the poor, and before long, lessons were back to normal in the colleges.

Under Geoth IV, the chief mage of all the colleges is known as the Collegiate, and he sits on the Ironmoot and in some of the Chambers. His wisdom on matters of magic is a great asset to the king and the rest of the Ironmoot. The most powerful Ferrarian born mage is also invited to serve as the court mage in Ferran's Hold, a move designed to show that the king doesn't fear magic and that he makes use of it.

Over time, towns built up around the outskirts of the colleges to support the people learning and working there. A boat service runs across the lake, taking people to and from the colleges. Other places of learning also built up around the region, and by reign of Pulus I, the Yekarian Colleges were associated with general learning rather than just magic. Many roles in government require a certification from one of the colleges, and many great Ferrarians trained in one of the colleges, including Qamron Osvar.