Identity
The aspect of the covenant which defines its outward form as others understand it is known as its Identity: its material assets such as halls, nodes, or towers; its uniform or livery (if any); its flags, emblems, blazons, crests, or seals; and, indeed, anything which can serve as a focus in the physical realm (which can even include such things as words, passwords and handshakes).
Magical Colleges: Spells and Foci
The FormHold? of a magical college is the aspect which defines its outward identity. It can also be thought of as the physical aspect of the college, especially as its spells are manifest in various kinds of physical identity.
Creating the FormHold
Every magical college will be defined in part by its physical manifestations: the spells it teaches and the foci it manifests out of. These manifestions start out very simply in the early years of the college's existence: a focus to serve as the central node of college activity. They grow to the very sophisticated: The most powerful college will manifest physically in a wide variety of foci: identities, spells, genres, nodes, towers, libraries, webs and labyrinths.
The spells will grow with the physical identity. Some possible choices are outlined here (note that the names of the foci may not be used by a particular college):
Incorporative Balance
Individual
At the most basic level, the identity of a magical college is carried only by its members because every member has witnessed the oaths sworn by every other member. Such a nascent college can teach only a limited number of spells known to the spellmasters within the group.
The exact group that the Identity is will be determined by the number of members in the college.
Impulsive Balance
A Single Anchor
When the college has grown large enough that all members have not been witness to each others' oaths, a physical anchor for the magical college is needed. The anchor may be a password, a node, a kind of robe, a tattoo, or any other kind of focus.
If the college owns a single piece of real property (a loci which is also an area?), the traditional name for it is a "node," although each college can call them whatever they wish.
A single focus is the smallest physical manifestation of a magical college, requiring a single, simple magical identity which is expressible in a shared body of knowledge (usually a group of spells from the same Magical Genres).
The exact group is determined by the number of mages that can draw mana from the physical representation.
Imperial Balance
A Node Star
Once the magical college has grown large enough to distinguish between roles in its magical identity, it will require more than one foci.
After a college has developed to the point where it requires multiple foci, one of them may be selected as the primary focus of the college. This prime focus will connect with each of the other foci, thus making the structure representable in terms of levels? - one level at the prime focus, and one level for all foci connected directly to the prime focus.
The prime foci may be associated with the principal "library" of the college (as for instance if the focus is a node, the library can simply be located in the area? which constitutes the node). The library's identity will be more complex, clearly differentiated from that found in the lesser foci. Ley lines will connect the lesser foci to the prime focus. This library will house a varied body of spells, which may well be beyond what any one mage in the college could know.
Lesser foci will have simpler book collections, unlikely to extend beyond a single Genre.
The prime foci cannot draw support from more than 18 foci connected to it directly in this way, and the number of foci will determine the specific group expressed by a college. The first two groups in series A represent the taking of two foci within close proximity to the prime focus. After that, along series B, foci must be aqquired which are more distant from the prime focus, one each in the directions north, south, east and west. Continuing, foci will be aqquired from diagonal directions, as well as in close proximity to the NSEW foci, until both series B and A are filled in.
Direction Above Prime Below Prime K - Ca N Co Sc Ni NE - Fe - E As Cr Se SE - Zn - S Br V Kr SW - Cu - W Ga Ti Ge NW - Mn -
Choice of direction is arbitrary, but this describes the general progression as connections are made. Referring to a periodic table, as you progress along Period 2, the element corresponds on the above chart to the connection that must be added to the node star.
Interpersonal Balance
An InterTower? Tree
As the college grows, multiple levels? of nodes emerge. While some nodes may only connect to the next lower level, some will also connect to a level below them. Level in this situation is taken to mean the number of nodal connections between a given node and the prime node. Also, the number of connections any node is allowed to have is reduced from 18 of the previous period to 6, in response to the increased complexity of the new structure.
Thus, moving from the previous balance requires a complete restructuring of the ley lines. The two nodes above and below the prime node (which produced K and Ca in the previous balance)do not take on extra connects below themselves, but simply remian connected to the prime node. This is following the principle of making connections to the node closest to you. The four nodes in ordinal directions (NSEW), remain connected to the prime node. The nodes above and below each of these four then take on connections to those nodes, rather than the prime node (to which they connected in the previous balance). The remaining four NW, NE, SW, and SE arbitrarily make connections to one of their adjacent ordinal nodes.
The group of the college along this period is determined along series A by the number of levels the structure is allowed to have. In other words, find the node which represents the largest number of steps back to the level which connects directly to the prime node. Further levels cannot be acquired unless the Identity is simultaneously increased to a group which allows it
Along series B, progression is found through increasing the number of nodes any given level is allowed to have. The following chart makes it clear how many levels and how many nodes on each level are allowed:
Series A
Rb Sr Group Group IA? Group IIA? Levels 2 3 Nodes/Level 6 6
Series B
Y Zr Nb Mo Tc Group Group IIIB? Group IVB? Group VB? Group VIB? Group VIIB? Levels 3 3 3 3 3 Nodes/Level 7 8 9 10 11
Group VIIIB
Group VIIIB? Ru Rh Pd Levels 3 3 3 Nodes/Level 12 13 14
Series B
Ag Cd Group Group IB? Group IIB? Levels 3 3 Nodes/Level 15 16
Series A
In Sn Sb Te I Xe Group Group IIIA? Group IVA? Group VA? Group VIA? Group VIIA? Group Zero Levels 4 5 6 7 8 9 Nodes/Level 16 16 16 16 16 16
Institutional Balance
Widespread TowerWebs?
Once a college becomes spread beyond the bounds of the area from which it began, it must have identities adapted to each area where it is found. Local TowerWebs? may actually have to be disconnected from each other. Such disconnection will likely result in individualized identities, but the imprint of the most prominent area will still be felt everywhere the TowerWebs? are founded. Each disconnected TowerWeb? may feature a different Genre, but at least one significant library dedicated to the spells of the Genre associated with the most prominant TowerWeb? will be found in every TowerWeb?. For this reason, multiple spires may emerge from the citadels of many node.
Local towers will help develop individualized libraries with different sets of spells.
Interidividual Balance
Universal Labyrinths
By the time the physical manifestations of the order spread evenly throughout all of FaerieMUD (which is, of course, very rare), the libraries must be highly individualized and universally variant. Each independent citadel of learning will have grown to contain many libraries (probably with multiples towers as well) connected in such a complex manner as to suggest that each be considered a labyrinthine network unto itself.
See also Covenants, Religious Orders, and Colleges of Magic.
— Scotus - 11 Nov 2001
