College of Mysteries

Much smaller than the Arcanamirium, the College of Mysteries is the oldest school of magic in Absalom, dating itself back to the first pilgrims inviting to the Isle of Kortos by Aroden. It was originally known as the House of Secrets, and was a clandestine society dedicated to sharing secrets and techniques of magic from the different cultures that made up the early citizens of Absalom. Because many of the nations that made up Absalom's heritage believed sharing their cultural styles of magic, architecture, and even philosophy was a crime, the original House of Secrets restricted itself to advanced practitioners who could defend themselves from inevitable assassination attempts. These powerful individuals were, in general, the richer and more successful members of Absalom who could afford to buy whatever materials their new skills required and who sought to establish ongoing dynasties in the new nation of Absalom. After the Arclords of Nex created the Arcanamirium, the Assembly of Enigmas, the ruling board of the House of Secrets, decided a response was required. Their answer was a massive single structure, a giant dome of arcane fused gemstones and glass called the Lens in which the brightest, most talented, and most connected young progeny of Absalom's elite would be taught the mysteries of the world. Often referred to as the Crystal Ball and the Hall of Diamond, the Lens is the focal point of the College of Mysteries, and it is where the assembly of Enigmas still holds classes. Students must either be direct offspring of students from earlier generations or show a strong natural talent for one of the courses of study offered by the school. Tuition fees are extremely high (though sometimes waived by the Assembly) and do not include living costs, materials, or the bribes most students pay to be invited to social events geld throughout the Petal District. As a result, wealth is often more important than skill in ensuring a student complete a course of mysteries at the college. Instructors are seen less as teachers and more as custodians for a heritage of hidden knowledge. Called curators, they are well paid and well regarded in Absalom society, but must take loyalty oaths to the assembly of Enigmas that last long past their tenures. Most curators are themselves graduates of one or more courses of mysteries at the college, which by outsiders that the institution that once brought in new knowledge from across the Inner Sea has become an insular and incestuous pit of self congratulation. While innovation is certainly allowed, any new idea or theory must be approved by the assembly before it can be taught to students. The college covers a variety of subjects, all drawn from once secret cultural techniques and refined by 4 millennia of curators and students. Each subject is referred to as a "course of mystery," covering a concept from its most basic technique to complete mastery. Each course is broken into four stages representing four levels of mastery and each designed to take 2 to 3 years to complete. a student who completes a single stage of mysteries is considered a professional, able to work and be employed with their knowledge, while a graduate of all four stages is considered a professional, able to work and be employed with their knowledge, while a graduate of all four stages is considered a grand master, among the most elite practitioners of the skills taught. Students are called "riddles" until they have completed at least one stage of one mystery, indicating that their true self has yet to be revealed. Each stage completed grants a new title: "shadow" (as students' true selves are revealed in outline by the illumination of knowledge), "charade" (as students learn to conceal their true selves), and "labyrinth" (as their true nature is now complex and difficult to comprehend). If students complete a forth stage of a mystery, always taught one-on-one by a senior curator, they gain the title "enigma," and qualify to be invited into the Assembly of Enigmas (though not many ever receive that call). While outsiders often think of the College of Mysteries as a school of spells, specific incantations are actually a very small part of the college's curriculum. The college focuses on ways to use magic, from metamagic techniques to creating magic items, identifying spell effects, and utilizing minor spells for major effects. As a result, many sorcerers and bards take courses within the college, and even priests come here to expand their skill in spell use (especially clerics of Nethys, Shelyn, and Sivhana). Other subjects are taught as well, including healing arts, alchemy, riddling, architecture, tattooing, and script illumination. As students masters various mysteries, they gain the right to mark themselves with irezoko, bright tattoos on the face (especially on the forehead and under the eyes) and along the arms, legs, chest, and lower back. These marks are descended from the Varisian tradition of mystic tattoos brought to the college by early Varisian Enigmas but no longer have the same arcane power as true Varisian tattoos. Some Tian tradition influenced the irezoko as well, and as a result only those trained in the college know the exact meaning of the tattoos, as no two seem exactly the same (and students often embellish their irezoko with other designs) though they share a common script. A student with a new irezoko is sure to be invited to at least a few major fetes in the Petal district in the following weeks, as curious minor nobles seek to discern the mark's meaning, and more experienced trade masters and overseers seek to make contact with a potential aid or agent. The current High Curator of the college and master of the assembly of Enigmas is Brythen Blood, also known as the Painted Man as a result of his extensive irezoko. Master Brythen is a rarity in the life of the college in that he is an outsider to Absalom, from no known Great House or bloodline, and he plays none of the social games common among the school's students and staff. He is unquestionably a skilled sorcerer, however, and despite his lack of interest the powerful political factions of Absalom continue to seek his approval for their own agendas. A rumor suggests he is an old friend of Lord Aven of Diobel, and that his loyalty is already sworn to that man, though certainly no one can say that for certain.