Brunnhold

= Brunnhold = Main article: Geography > Anaxas

Brunnhold  is the first university of sorcery. Located in eastern Anaxas, it is home to over five thousand students, a thousand working professors, and an extended faculty of almost 700. Apart from galdori, Brunnhold also houses a substantial wick, passive and human population in its college town, the Stacks.

History
Brunnhold was established around 100 BT (the exact date is lost to history) as an early settlement of galdori. Then called Bruanhald, it was built from red sandstone from the surrounding hills; its name means "red home." Construction of the massive university would continue for several hundred years until Brunnhold was roughly the size of a city.

Over the centuries, Brunnhold has been the backdrop of numerous technological and magical advances, including the first production of artificial fire, the mapping of the brain, the discovery of timekeeping, and the invention of steam power and hydraulics. It houses several prominent intellectual gatherings, such as the annual Clock's Eve festival (which functions as a fair for new spells and inventions as well as a religious rite), the  Arts Fair, the biannual  Southern Galdori Convention , the  Gala of Physics  and the  Cartographer's Convention.

Academia
see also Brunnhold Course List

Brunnhold begins accepting students at the tender age of 10, the age when the galdori mind becomes receptive to magic. Prospective students are subjected to a lengthy initiation test, which is graded on a  decimal scale  of 0 to 10. In order to be admitted to the school, a child must test with a score of above 2. A  failing score  means the child is a passive galdor. Any passive is turned away from the school, though they can continue to live in the Stacks as laborers or business owners. In addition to passives, wicks are not allowed to learn at the school, though in some rare cases the child of a galdor and a non-galdor can pass his test and achieve admittance, provided his true parentage is kept secret.

The accepted students study for ten years in an environment which has produced the majority of the world's intellectuals, a rigorous program intended to instruct them broadly before allowing them to choose a single (or even two) areas of focus and specialize them. The program intends to prep young galdori to be the movers and shakers of society. Often, students are taken on as  apprentices, either to the extended or the resident faculty; this puts them in an ideal situation for moving up in society.

The extended faculty at Brunnhold are usually magisters, scientists, explorers and other high intellectuals who use the campus for their research. They occasionally give guest lectures to the students and faculty.

Apart from teaching, the faculty of Brunnhold serves another purpose - to elect the  King or Queen  of the country. The  Headmaster of Brunnhold, who is elected from within the faculty, chooses the next King based on the nominations he receives from the  Chairs , a group of ten galdori who serve as the Headmaster's advisory board. The Chairs are also elected from within the faculty. The basis for this system is the belief that the highest intellectuals in the land should choose who they want to lead the country. With this system in place, it is often unclear where the real power in the country lies; the King is often little more than a figurehead, and the Headmaster of Brunnhold is allowed to make other executive orders.

Campus
The large and expansive campus of Brunnhold houses such structures as dormitories, lecture halls, classrooms, a large galley, the Long Hall (where important lectures are given), the Banquet Hall (where state dinners are often held), the Church of the Moon (a galdori church), various laboratories, and a huge Library of grimoires. These buildings and more are all surrounded by a sandstone wall ten feet thick, which encircles the perfectly round campus.

The  Cloister  is a courtyard, proctored by professors, where students can feel free to experiment with magic, duel, or simply watch as others do so. It is relatively safe as it is staffed by trained professionals. It is located within the Church of the Moon.

The  Field of Practical Application  (often called  the Lawn ) is an expansive field where galdori instructors give lessons to students; it is also used for spell-circles, constructs, and other casting aides. Because dangerous and experimental spells experience their trial and frequent error on the Lawn, many students avoid it entirely, preferring the safety of the well-monitored Cloister.

At the southern side of the campus is the College Town (called the Stacks) where students can spend weekends and holidays. The Stacks is home to many taverns, bars, shops, bakeries and other attractions. It is also the home of many humans and some wicks, who run the businesses and profit off the disposable income of the young galdori. Since students tend to have more liberal views towards humans and wicks, it is a relatively peaceful area.

Brunnhold also houses a religious sect called the  Everine, who live and work at the Church of the Moon. The priests study Time and everything associated with it. Many students go on to serve within the ranks of the Everine.

Daily Routine
After breakfast in the cafeteria, students attend class for most of the day. These classes can be in many forms - lectures, practicals, demonstrations, field trips or other formats, depending on the teacher. Most students have around six classes in a day, an these classes can be one, two or even three hours in length. There is a one-hour break for lunch and tea. Dinner is eaten after classes end, usually around 22 o'clock, and students are then free until curfew, at which time they must check in to their dormitories or get a pass to study in the Library. There is not usually much homework, but teachers usually assign students spells to practice and long-term papers or projects.

The students have two days off at the end of the week (the ninth and tenth day of the week). They may do anything they like on this day, including go to the Stacks.

Students eat together in a cafeteria for most meals. Each day of the week, a formal dinner is served for a single form. For example, on the first day of the week, the first year students eat together at the Banquet Hall with the Headmistress; on the second day, the second form, and so on. This is called Formal Supper and is dreaded by most students, for there is always a chance they will have to sit with a teacher or (goddess forbid) the Headmistress. The purpose of the supper is to foster good manners and social conduct by forcing students to eat under the supervision of their teachers. Skipping formal supper results in detention. Ninth and tenth year students, whose suppers fall on the weekly days off, are especially unlucky, but are obligated to attend nonetheless.

Students are held to a strict curfew when they first arrive at the school. Until fourth year, the curfew is 28 o'clock (generally considered to be nightfall), and it is extended to 30 o'clock (midnight) until sixth year. After turning 16, students have no curfew.

Terms and Breaks
There are two terms in the year. The first term ends at the beginning of Roalis, and a second begins in the middle of Roalis, with a short summer break in between. There are usually exams at the end of both terms.

Brunnhold has small, one-or-two-week vacations scattered throughout the year, usually coinciding with major holidays but often happening at the discretion of teachers. During the Gala of Physics, for example, students get twelve days off. The longest vacation is Winter Holiday, which lasts the entire month of Ophus, beginning on Dally Day. The initiation tests are done during the vacation, and school officially begins the day after Clock's Eve, though most students begin to move back in around the 25th.

Living Arrangements
Dormitory floors are arranged by form. There are four dormitory buildings - 2 for girls (forms 1-5 and 6-10) and 2 for boys (forms 1-5 and 6-10). Each floor has a single person in charge. The girls have Matrons and the boys have Patrons. The lower form dormitories have common sleeping rooms where students live with ten roommates; there are several rooms like these on each floor, as well as a study, lounge and washroom. The upper form dormitories have individual rooms for each student. Although the rooms are small, the students appreciate the increased privacy that comes with age, and sixth year is a highly anticipated year.

Culture
Brunnhold has its own unique culture, different from that of the rest of Anaxas. Many galdori children find it difficult to get along outside of the school once they leave, for they are so used to the University's language, code of conduct and other social constructs.

Ironic humor is valued highly at the school. Elaborate and sometimes risky pranks are commonplace among both the students and the often eccentric teachers, and dry wit is considered a prerequisite for conversation. The students delight in one-upping each other, a practice which carries over quite well into the world of politics.

The students have an intricate social structure of their own. The hierarchy is based on magical skill, with the most talented galdori heading up the bunch. Less popular students tend to be the slower ones, and they are ruthlessly bullied. Most teachers encourage this practice as, in their opinion, it breeds a healthy competitive spirit.

Many students have active night lives, spending much of their free time in the Stacks, getting drunk at various bars or playing magical games in the streets. The residents of the Stacks are often annoyed at the rowdy students.

Because the professors at Brunnhold rarely leave the university, they are quite close with one another. When not competing for a promotion or gossiping, many professors engage in steamy forbidden romances with each other - sometimes even with the adult students.

Slavery
One of the dirty secrets of Brunnhold is that it houses a number of  slaves  culled from the small population of passives. They are referred to by the administration as servants, but do not receive pay and are not allowed to leave campus. Mostly, these slaves are gathered through the courts; passives are often brought up on invented or inconsequential charges and, whenever there is a need for more hands at the school, they are sentenced to slavery (or "indentured servitude") to pay off their debt to society.

There are galdori who oppose this practice, mostly students, but since they benefit greatly from this arrangement it remains in practice. The slaves prepare the food and clean up the University, and sometimes perform other services, such as butlers or doormen or couriers between departments.

In the University

 * The Cloister
 * The Library
 * Field of Practical Application
 * Gardens
 * Observatory
 * The Lounge
 * Church of the Moon
 * Long Hall
 * The Crypts

The College Town

 * the Stacks

Other Links

 * Brunnhold Course List
 * Brunnhold School Uniform