Blue Isle

This isle off the northeastern shore of the Caragan Sea is named for the hundreds of blue spruce trees that cover its surface. In fact, the tree cover is so heavy that nobody from shore can see what is happening on the center of the isle, even with the help of a looking glass. It is for that reason that the several magicians elected to build a university on the island when the Irillian Empire was in its infancy.

The university's buildings are still the only real structures on the island; although several small towns have been built along the sandy beaches to take advantage of fishing and trade opportunities.

When the First Irillian Empire was starting to expand its borders and solidify their hold on the various tribes that lived in the area — Blue Isle was little more than a small retreat where Mordanii lived and practiced his art. Mordanii was considered just an average practitioner of his craft, but the research notes he shared with his few close friends were considered the best of the age. So, as more masters found the Empire hostile to their own interests they came to the island to study with him.

This influx of people caused him and his friends to raise several small houses from the land so the new magicians and their apprentices could live and study. Mordanii disliked so many visitors to his island and showed no signs of leaving, but he was also intrigued about what opportunities would be opened up by working with some of the more skilled masters. Before this moment magecraft was a very solitary art with masters exchanging on a few notes about promising new research. Mordanii envisioned a whole community dedicated to simply magical study.

As the community and the buildings continued to grow under the canopy of spruces the word began to spread even farther — causing even more masters to journey to Blue Isle to study. Finally, the trees could no longer contain the building necessary for study and the magicians raised four large square towers connected by a central keep above the treetops. For the first time the magicians of Blue Isle made their presence obviously known to all that cared to look.

In the years that followed the number of masters and students studying at what has come to be called Mordan University has varied wildly, but even in the worse times the university motto, “Forever questioning”, has never been forgotten.

The entire university is run by a chancellor who has absolute authority in all matters affecting the university and the island. However, this authority is offset by the fact that the chancellor is selected by the masters of the university and could just as easily be asked to leave (which has happened only once in the university's history). While the chancellor is typically one of the masters of the university, this is not a requirement to be selected for the post. The only requirement is that the chancellor must be an accomplished magician and learned scholar.

See also: Republic of Irill

See also: Ellendar

See also: Kingdom of Dakar

See also: Three Kingdoms

The university maintains a few dozen men-at-arms to keep peace of the island. Most of these people have loved ones inside the university or were once students themselves that failed their own studies. The island's defenses are mostly its difficult location and the masters who teach at the university. There have been two separate attempts to take the island, both by the Irillian navy. In both cases the masters on the island allowed a single ship to sail away to report the disaster to the fool who ordered so many of their sailors to their deaths. There are persistent rumors that the dead Irillian sailors wait at the bottom of the sea to be called to the defense of the island.

The university survives by supporting several shoppes at cities along the coast to sell magical spells and artifacts to those who cannot do these things on their own. These shoppes also serve to ferret out any potential new students that might not seek out the university on their own. The most profitable creations are those specialty items demanded by the wealthy, which are only made by the masters and their most skilled apprentices.

To further reduce the costs of operation the university when most of the people who study there are not wealthy enough to maintain themselves and the school — all graduating students are required to give back something to the university when they graduate. Often this will entail time spending fixing the school, running one of the merchant shoppes, or going on an expedition to return the artifacts and difficult supplies the school needs to survive.

There is no official religion or even any attempt to organize one. The masters of the university allow freedom of the people to worship who or whatever they so desire.

Although known among the more scholarly magicians that live within the area, the university at the Blue Isle is not well-known by those that live only a few days ride from the shore. This is because the inhabitants of the isle tend to stay alone and concern themselves more with research matters than the affairs of the world beyond the island. Many of the masters at the university have spoken out against this isolation, but with the fall of the Sorcerer's kingdom still in known history and the rise of the Temple of Light their voices are rarely heard.

For those that do know of the school it is a place of mystery and wonder. The libraries are without peer in both terms of size and depth of material. While there are still plenty of books they have yet to obtain, several masters and their apprentices have made it their mission to complete the library. Contact with the library is strictly limited; however, journeymen often hire themselves out as researchers for those on the outside in search of knowledge.