Tower of Flames

A College of Magic

<p>The following is partially created college of magic for FaerieMUD. It is known as the Tower of Flames. It's associated with a Genre? known as Fire Magic? which is an instance of the class Elemental Magicks?. The Tower of Flame is located high on a volcanic mountain called PyreTongue?. PyreTongue is in the Range.</p>

The Oaths

Every magical college will be defined in part by a series of oaths. These oaths start out very simple: basic requirements needed to be welcome in their libraries and towers. They extend to the very profound: The most powerful colleges will require extremely restrictive oaths which will be very difficult for members to hold to.

Not all members will necessarily have sworn the most difficult oaths. As each member works her way through the college, each higher level will require a more restrictive oath.

Oath of Visitation

The first oath is simply this: do not extinguish others' flames.

This is understood to primarily apply to fires you find in the cloisters of the nodes and libraries of the Tower of Flames. It can also be interpreted as an admonition about discouraging the enthusiasms of others.

Friend's Oath

I honor and respect every flame.

Such respect may be demonstrated with small gifts given to particularly large flames, something flammable being preferred.

Because the nodes of the Tower of Flames are protected from oathbreakers by strict guards at every level of access, those few who are allowed inside may bring twigs to throw in the braziers kept at every entrance.

The Story of the Mailman illustrates this.

Oath of Initiation

I swear the flames of the Tower are my teachers, and my teachers are as flames. I will listen to the flame. I will study under the flames. I will converse with all fire. Wherever my path is marked with a flame, I will bow respectfully to my master.

Membership Oath

I swear friendship to the fire, as flame is friend to me. I will do unto flames as I would have flames do unto myself. I will extingish fires only with great discretion. I will ignite flames only where the flames can be honored.

This implies complete equality and siblingship with fire. In igniting flames, putting them where they will be hated and extinguished does not honor them.

Oath of Envoy

I am a diplomat between our world and that of fire. I will seek justice for fire everywhere. Never will I allow the balance of our worlds to be toppled. Even in times of great need, I will always seek to make reparations as soon afterwards as is possible.

This gives the envoy great latitude in hir dealings with fire, especially when ze is far from hir tower. Whenever the pursuit of a greater cause requires the ignition or extinguishing of fire when it should not be normally, an effort must be made afterwards to restore a diplomatic balance for all parties involved.

The Intimate Oath

The Tower of Flames does not yet have an intimate oath.

Structure and Governance

The Order is the aspect of a magical college which defines the roles of its members, its organizational structure, its leadership and how that leadership is chose, as well as its rules of conduct.

Creating the Order<nop>

The Tower of Flames is defined in part by its structure and system of governance. This system started out very simple in the early years of the college's existence: a basic structure needed to make decisions for the colege as a whole. It now extends to a more sophisticated heirarchy, with a single leader in charge.

Not all subunits of an college will use the system of governance of the highest level. It may often be the case that while absolute obedience is given to a node's leader, cliques within the node may operate on the rules of anarchy.

The Order is also where the stories that the college knows reside. (See below)

Chosen of the Flames

The tower at PyreTounge? requires a very magical set of circumstances. Well, truth be told, it requires constant vigilance on the part of our leader. The Chosen is ze who is most able to maintain the strength and solidity of the island upon which the tower sits. Whlie ze may be challenged at any point for this title, it is generally held to be a position for life.

When the old heirarch dies (or retires), a new one must be chosen. The ritual involves all of the envoys of the Flame gathering around the base of the tower. The island quickly erodes after the power of the old heirarch wains, and needs strengthening. Each envoy then attempts to enlarge the part of the island in front of hir, and the successor is then readily apparent by application of a measuring tape.

The new heirarch then names his choices to lead each of the nodes and libraries from amoung the envoys. Ze also appoints all other lesser officals from the general membership. Technically, ze has complete authority in this, but ze often consults the envoys under which each will work.

Spells and Nodes

The Form is the aspect of a magical college 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 plant.

Creating the Form<nop>

The Tower of Flames is partially defined by its physical manifestations: the spells it teaches and the physical plant. These manifestions started out very simply in the early years of the college's existence: a node to serve as the focus of college activity. They have not grown very sophisticated: The most powerful node of the college is at PyreTongue? which a simple network of nodes connected to it.

The spells have grown with the physical plant.

The Node System

Now that the Tower of Flames has grown large enough to distinguish between roles in its magical identity, it requires more than one level of node. At its highest level, we find a complex at PyreTongue? where there is a school of fire located just above a flow of lava issuing forth from the side of the mountain (known as the Tongue of Flame). Further up the mountain a heavily guarded cave leads into the heart of the volcano itself. Protected deep within the violent core of the mountain sits a tower atop an island in the lake of molten magma at the bottom of the hollow core. This island is kept solid by the powerful magicks of the college.

Other nodes include less active volcanoes, hot springs, and versperous natural gas vents.

Statistics

Function<nop> Statistics

The primary statistic of the Function is its Creed?. The secondary statistic is its Agenda?, which is a measure of the current activities and plans of the magical college as expressed by the upholding of members' oaths.

Creed:

82

A Creed of 82? requires 82 members have taken the Oath of Visitation, 74 members have taken the Friends Oath, 66 have taken the Oath of Initiation, 48 have taken the Membership Oath, and 29 have taken the Oath of the Envoy.

The college is in a summer aspect. Our envoys know that their decisions are proper and just, without which the world would erupt into violence and disorder. This has benefits both to the tower and to the world it inhabits. There is very little conservatism, little stopping our younger, brasher envoys from trying new things. The conservatives are likely concerned by the large number of representatives whose position allows them to do things which could have drastic reprecusions, but no one is listening to them.

Form<nop> Statistics

The primary statistic of the !Formold is its Identity. The secondary statistic is its Assets? which represents the distinguishing physical assets which are considered owned or controlled by the magical college (buildings, areas, spells, artifacts).

Identity:

36

An Identity of 36? means the spell list can support a Node System as described above. A major crisis is in progress over the lack of physical identity for the Tower of Flames. The college is currently undergoing a major conflict over what it perceives its interests to be. This conflict is currently represented in different libraries expressing different wishes about the future of the college. The PyreTounge? node has long kept these conflicts under control with its authority, but now the conflicts extend even there.

This major conflict over the identity of the tower will not be resolved until the imperial power of PyreTounge? is relaxed, and the individual nodes are allowed to develop their own sub-networks of nodes, dedicated to varying interests.

At the current time, this seems unlikely, as the strongest foothold the conservatives control is the expansion into new nodes. Afraid that imperial power of PyreTounge? will be compromised if one of the competing nodes attains control of a new node, more powerful than PyreTounge?, the old librarians would rather stagnate than grow.

Order<nop> Statistics

The primary statistic of the Order is its Governance?. The secondary statistic is its Authority? which represents the degree to which the leadership structure is heeded by the entire membership, accepting the roles specified by the leaders and following rules established by the leaders.

Governance

43

A Governance of 43? implies a True Hierarchy.

The governace is in a fall aspect. While a clear plan of succession is present, many of the forms and terminology of the old days when we were still ruled by the founder are still used. The governance has recently gone through a period of liberalism and willingness to change, but that lead to experperimentation, which was not always successful, and new forms are now frowned upon. They are still allowed, but the older leaders do not encourage them as they once did.

Traits

How Values Derived from the Statistics Define the Magical College

Traits for Magical College objects are:

  • Unary traits:
    • wisdom 40? (Order)
      • defined as the pseudointelligence of the emergent pseudo-entity
      • Character trait equivalent -- intelligence
    • locations? 32? (Form)
      • defined as everything from the nodes to the largest citadel owned by the college
      • Character trait equivalent -- strength
    • commitment? 83? (Function)
      • defined as the quality of the commitment as it will affect the ability to be creative
      • Character trait equivalent -- creativity
  • Binary traits:
    • discipline? 42? (Order over Form)
      • defined as a measure of the influence the college has on its individual members
      • Character trait equivalent -- dexterity
    • artworks? 51? (Form over Function)
      • defined as quality as well as quantity of the body of art and music associated directly with the magical college (in the case of the art, it actually owned by the college)
      • Character trait equivalent -- grace
    • relevance? 60? (Function over Order)
      • defined as the college's ability to understand the needs and concerns of ordinary people
      • Character trait equivalent -- empathy
    • precepts? 58? (Order over Function)
      • defined as the rules as they determine how the college as a whole will act in a consistent manner
      • Character trait equivalent -- perceptiveness
    • possessions? 38? (Form over Order)
      • defined as all physical objects (loci) which are owned by the covenant but which are not art, money or real property (areas)
      • Character trait equivalent -- resilience
    • conduct? 60? (Function over Form)
      • defined as the degree to which the activities currently being undertaken by the covenant promote the goals and purposes of its oaths and beliefs
      • Character trait equivalent -- glamour
  • Trinary traits:
    • orthodoxy? 46? (Order over Form over Function)
      • defined as resistance to change
      • Character trait equivalent -- willpower
    • affluence? 54? (Form over Function over Order)
      • defined as resistance to damage to the college due to the assets available in hard times
      • Character trait equivalent -- stamina
    • faith? 62? (Function over Order over Form)
      • defined as the resistance to the mundane which derived from the faithfulness of the community to the oaths of the college
      • Character trait equivalent -- magistry

Stories

How the "Mind" of the Covenant Thinks About Itself

The stories of the covenant influence how its members perceive the world. The same stories are also important for the AIs which control the non-player characters who are members. Those same NPCs may react in some conversations by telling the stories if they think they are appropriate to the discussion.

See Also

— Stillflame - 13 Oct 2001