Arcanamirium

Arcanamirium

(Organization)

Type

Magical college

Leader

Archdean Lady Darchana of House Madinani

Alignment

Neutral

Headquarters

Absalom

Goals

Increase use of magic throughout society

Scope

International

Source: Faction Guide, pg(s). 6–7 (1E)
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The Arcanamirium is not only the largest and oldest school in Absalom, but quite possibly the most prestigious arcane magic academy in the entire Inner Sea region of Golarion.

History

The Arcanamirium was established by the Arclords of Nex not long after they had formed a power bloc to fill the void left by their departed lord Nex. In the centuries since, it has become a mainstay of the city's Wise Quarter and one of the most influential non-governmental bodies in all of Absalom.

Its founding led to the refocusing of the College of Mysteries, an older institution that dates back to the first migrants invited to the Isle of Kortos by Aroden. Then known as the more occult and esoteric House of Secrets, its ruling Assembly of Enigmas formalized their order into an educational institution in response to the Arcanamirium's founding.

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Structure

The Arcanamirium's tall towers overlook its beautifully landscaped campus, which is surrounded by a thick wall of black stone. Reaching 80 feet in height, its towers are the tenth-tallest buildings in the city of Absalom. Its sole entrance is a thick, blackened stone gate secured with a portcullis and pike-wielding guards in red robes.

Management

Prior to the 4717 AR disappearance of Primarch and First Spell Lord Gyr of Gixx, the First Spell Lord was an appointed official who handled all questions of magic within Absalom and its holdings. After Lord Gyr's disappearance, the Second Spell Lord assumed responsibilities over magical education in Absalom as well as the title of Archdean of the Arcanamirium. As of 4719 AR, Lady Darchana of House Madinani held the title of Second Spell Lord.

Academics

Admission

Admission to the Arcanamirium is a multistep process beginning with an annual open exam. Applicants journey from all across Golarion to partake in this test, which not only proves their mettle as an arcanist but also ranks them as an apprentice, journeyman, maven, or an esteemed arcanscenti. Arcanamirium docents occasionally travel to other cities to scout for and recruit arcane talent to the school, but regardless of how one gains entry into the university, magical talent is an absolute requirement.

Tuition

Tuition is costly, and the Arcanamirium offers few scholarships. Every tenured teaching spellcaster employed by the school is allowed to sponsor one student each year. These students are given basic living quarters and secondhand equipment, but they receive their education free of charge. This places tremendous pressure on docents, who are often bribed, threatened, or immorally enticed to sway their awards.

Similarly, traveling members of the school faculty have been known to pay (up front) for the education of a particularly promising student found abroad. Archdean Lady Darchana personally grants her annual scholarship to students who demonstrate a talent in teleportation, and is rumored to have a secret teleportation network that connects to many of Golarion's cities—including Goka, Highhelm, Katapesh, Magnimar, Nerosyan, Sothis, and Whitethrone—that allows her to bypass the Scholar's Law and other import duties and customs requirements.

A strict hierarchy within the student body ensures that pupils are not only divided by ability and experience, but that apprentices serve journeymen in their efforts to learn as well as pay the often steep tuition. Likewise, many students offer basic magical services to the public to help cover their costs, and "mage-brokers" serve as agents to connect potential clients to student practitioners—including a handful who violate the varlokkur's laws forbidding the employment of certain spells and magical devices and rack up significant bounties as a result.

Curriculum

Unlike many comparable arcane institutions, the Arcanamirium promotes universal study over specialization, shying further from the schools of illusion and necromancy than the other demesnes. Any form of magic is also encouraged, and students who have the inclination are supported in mixing magic with martial skills, stealth, divine rituals, and even mundane talents, resulting in a student body well-versed in "practical magic," the ability to use spells and magic tools to accomplish direct, measurable results in the material world. This focus comes at the expense of performing less esoteric research.

Classes are arranged toward goals rather than theoretical concepts, with programs including Artifice and Enchantment, Battle Magic, Fabrication, Magical Theory, Magical Transportation, Performance Magic, and Relic Studies.

Extracurricular activities

The Arcanamirium is also known for its dueling fields, at which many students hone their magical combat abilities.

Arcanists

Several members of the Arcanamirium are arcanists, who blend the techniques of wizards and sorcerers. One professor is believed to be an arcanist, and Lady Darchana holds that arcanists and wizards should work together more, in order to help commoditize their magic and explore its effects on society.

Alumni

Graduates of the Arcanamirium are renowned as skilled and versatile spellcasters, and each is required to apprentice with a prominent organization. The Harbormaster's Grange, Absalom's Office of Prisons, the Pathfinder Society, and the Scriveners' Guild have all hosted Arcanimirium apprenticeships. Many go on to professional careers with these organizations or become artificers, magical service providers, or politicians.

Magical products

The Arcanimirium also engages in commercial, for-profit magical item creation, a controversial business that draws the ire of the Guild of Spears and Union of Carpenters, Stonemasons, and Metalworkers.

Notable members

See also: Category:Arcanamirium/Members

• Maren Fuln, journeyman
• Judae Tarshem, docent
• Kah'la
• Kralte Grisham, docent
• Lemedor, animal handler ca. 4708 AR
• Poshment the Peculiar
• Vanissi Gaatan, student
• Metadame Vannessir of House Tevineg, sargeant-at-wands
• Venorium Blorm, student

Notable publications

• Oridius Uldor. (4519 AR). The Art of Remembrance. A work that included the memory palace form of mnemonic matrix for spellcasting.
• Aram Zey. (4702 AR). Forgotten Wonders: A Discourse on the Foundations of Arcanism. A work in review of the Tools of Creation approach to magic theory.

Favored familiars

Members of the Arcanamirium share their preference for exotic and clever familiars—such as archaeopteryxes, homunculi, rhamphorhynchuses, tuataras—with their founders, the Arclords of Nex, though with more variety.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.