Madrisse Nar

The center of magical learning on the Hidha-On peninsula, Madrisse Nar (or School of Fire) is found within the Temple District of Jahal's Folly. The Madrisse has always been obscure compared to the great centers of learning within the Clockwork City, however it is now rising to prominence in wake of the Clockwork City's sacking. Madrisse Nar is headed by the Council of Five Magi, which include Kardal Hamid, Musin Nouri, Mahibah Chahine, Zafirah Sabir, and the Merchant Lord Yasir Harroun.

History
Madrisse Nar was founded in the year 840 SA by the newly appointed Archvizier Shihab Shafi the Firekeeper following his ascension to the position after the defeat of Almakhadi the Usurper. Almakhadi was originally the first in line for the position of Archvizier and head of Madrisse Nar, however his attempted coup against Prince Jahalabad ensured that he would never see the day the madrasa would finally open its doors.

Early Years
Archvizier Shafi was the sole head of the madrasa until his death in the year 881 SA, at which point the position was passed to Taz Maroun, also called "Taz the Unready". Taz was an accomplished mage, however he inherited a major problem that not even Shafi was able to fix: the slow death of the Mazadhir Valley. Taz's reputation as a "do-nothing" arch-vizier is not a well-deserved one, as he did try all that was within his power to irrigate and bring the rains back to Mazadhir, however it was unfortunately all in vain. The valley continued to try despite all his attempts to solve the problem, and would be nothing but desert by the end of the era.

The Council of Three
After Archvizier Maroun's death in 981 SA, Madrisse Nar had lost much of its prestige after it failed to bring the rains back to Mazadhir. To hopefully preserve the madrasa's image, it was decided that power should be divided into a Council of Three. The first three members of this council were the wizards Timin Mansur the Wise, Tut Samad the Strong, and Ayna Niazi the Sublime, who were the three most prominent members of the madrasa at that time. These three Archviziers lead Madrisse Nar into a golden age of growth and learning by making contact with the Silondren across the bay and arranging several treaties with them in which arcane knowledge was exchanged.

Historical texts show that though these treaties lead to Madrisse Nar gaining new power and influence within the field of arcane scholastics, the same could not be said for the politics within Jahal's Folly itself. The treaties were largely decried by the Alethi temples and Prince Hazhilmedi himself even denounced the Council for its dealings with the Silondren, who were loathed enemies to the Alethi peoples. These grumblins were largely ignored by the Council of Three, who had made it clear to the people of Jahal's Landing that they would always put the wants and desires of the madrasa over the wants of the city.

The Death of Hazhilmedi and the Reformation
In the year 34 TA, Prince Hazhilmedi and his three sons were slaughtered by a guard who had been afflicted with a Dominism spell. Hearing that their prince and his lineage had been slain at the behest of a rogue mage, public outcry against Madrisse Nar grew to a fever pitch, prompting the Council of Three to respond. The Council is said to have worked alongside the Circle of Viziers, the regency that was set up to fill the power vacuum left behind by the assassinations, to come up with the following reformations: a ban of all teachings related to Dominism and a burning of all books pertaining to it, and the addition of two new viziers to the Council of Three that would be picked by the Circle of Viziers.

These reformations were hugely unpopular among the students and staff of Madrisse Nar, who blamed Archviziers Mansur and Samad for them. Archvizier Niazi was a highly vocal opponent of the reformations, but was said to have been overruled by who colleagues who desired peace with the newly established regency.

The Night of Sublimation
In the year 37 TA, Archvizier Niazi, began a rebellion within the city of Jahal's Folly alongside fellow like-minded wizards, chiefly enchanters who were displaced by the Reformation, and a full cohort of dominated soldiers. The rebellion was short-lived but bloody, with Archviziers Mansur and Samad meeting Niazi in personal combat, dispelling her magics, and entrapping her within an entropic field of anti-magic. The remaining mages were systematically hunted down and executed by the newly established military arm of the regency, the Crownsmen.

For her role in the rebellion, Niazi was sealed away within a tomb hidden in the Mazadhir Valley, which was then said to have been sealed in an earthquake that was conjured by Mansur, the same fate that met Archvizier Almakhadi some 400 years prior. In response to the tragedy, Archviziers Mansur and Samad agreed to ban not just the discipline of Dominism, but the entire school of Enchantment from being taught within the halls of Madrisse Nar.

The Mooring
In the year 567 TA, the first anchor from Heart's Grief fell on the Hidha-on peninsula, in the center of the port city Ealaa Albahr. The city quickly fell to the fiendish invaders, but Madrisse Nar students that were present in the city were able to send magical communiques back to their colleagues at the madrasa, giving the city of Jahal's Landing an advance warning. Madrisse Nar oversaw the preparations for the defense of the city, and ensured that magical wards and planar anchors were placed throughout the city, preventing a portal to Heart's Grief from being opened within the sky. The forces of Heart's Grief responded by dropping an anchor in the area that would become known as Zaybaq's Watch and hoping to invade Jahal's Folly from there, but without the element of surprise the battle would not be nearly as one-sided as it had been at Ealaa Albahr.

The Council of Five, made up of Archviziers Sadek the Clever, Zakaria the Kind, Samaan the Windkeeper, Darwish the Crafty, and Jabbour the Tall, lead a large contingent of Elementalists and Battlemages alongside the army of the Lordsmen to prevent the hellish host from advancing upon the city.

The Battle of Low Stones
The armies of the Lordsmen and Madrisse Nar met the army of Heart's Grief in a valley known by the locals as Hijaratan Munkhafida, or "The Valley of Low Stones", named for the many boulders present in the valley There, the mages sought to draw out the hellish host into the open with a feint: Sadek the Clever ordered his siege mages to stand in front of the battle lines and bombard the Camibrae with fireballs and lightning blasts, knowing that such magics were not as effective against them. When the Camibrae saw the mages overextended and using ineffective spells to combat them, the Camibrae charged forward, hoping to kill the mages while they were far ahead of their lines. At this moment, mages led by Jabbour the Tall used their magic to hurl the many boulders in the valley at the advancing army, smashing through their front line and blunting their charge. Jabbour himself used a powerful geomantic spell, opening up a large chasm under the feet of the still approaching fiends, where they made easy targets for the geomancers and siege mages.

In response to this trap, the Camibrae attempted to send a murder of winged monstrosities to fly over the chasm and catch the mages as they continued to blast the fiends that were trapped at the bottom of the chasm. However, the Council of Five had also anticipated this maneuver, and had a contingent of aeromancer lead by Samaan the Windkeeper to harry and assail the murder as it flew across the chasm, buying the overextended mages enough time to get back to their front lines. The murder's advance landed right against the front line of the Lordsmen and the accompanying battlemages, and a pitched melee ensued as battlemages slew fiends and abjurer's banished them back to the Frozen Hells.

By the time the murders had been routed, the remaining infernal host had finished crossing or maneuvering around the chasm. Though they were badly bloodied, they still stood a strong chance at annihilating the mortal army, and are said to have still outnumbered them 3 : 1. In an act of desperation, Archvizier Zakaria overextended her magical reserves to the limit, summoning a mighty meteor which crashed into the fiendish lines, obliterating a large portion of them, and setting the battle more in favor of the defenders. This act of desperation ultimately cost Archvizier Zakaria her life, and it was said that her body crumbled into dust at the moment the meteor impacted the enemy lines.

Under the leadership of the Council of Five, the mages of Madrisse Nar alongside the Lordsmen were able to turn the tide against the fiendish host, and wiped out the attackers to the last man. This was highly costly, however, as less than half their full number were said to have survived the battle.

Assault on the Anchor
Fearing further insurrections from the Dark Anchor, the Council of Five ordered a forced march on the anchor to hopefully wipe out the enemy while they were still weak. Though two other Camibrae legions had moved on the cities of Almaaq and Satreq, they pulled themselves back in order to attempt to protect the anchor. Knowing that the other legions were on the way, the Council of Five met with Batel Zaybaq, the leader of the Lordsmen and a Paladin of Darinus, and gave the order to attack the anchor straight away. The ensuing battle was chaotic and messy, with whole troops of men being ordered to simply run themselves at the enemy as part of a series of diversionary tactics. Batel Zaybaq himself lead this diversionary charge, hoping to draw as many Camibrae away from the anchor as possible so that the Council of Five could reach it and begin banishing it.

It is said that Zaybaq killed an entire century of fiends single-handedly before he was finally cut down by the Camibrae Demilord Zothkiel in single-combat. However, his death was not in vain, as the Council of Five was able to successfully reach the Anchor and began dispelling it. A soldier present at the battle was said to have written "We watched with horror in our hearts as the other two legions crested the hills on our northern and southern flank. But then, just as we had resigned ourselves to our fates, a blinding flash of light burned out skin and marred our eyes as a terrible noise tore the air. When our vision returned to us, the anchor was gone, as were the legions. Nothing remained of that horrid scene besides entire hills of dead men and the blood soaked ground."

Curriculum
Students at Madrisse Nar are taught magic from the schools of Abjuration, Divination, Evocation, Illusion, and Transmutation, with a marked focus on the disciplines of Aegimancy, Spiritualism, and Elementalism. Students are expected to practice spells daily and to experiment with new spell formulae. Students are allowed to practice their spells within the Qaeat Aleanasir, the highest room in the Madrisse's central tower.

Though students are free to experiment with the school of Conjuration, it is not officially practiced at the madrisse do to concerns of fiends being summoned within some of the most densely populated quarters of the city. The school of Enchantment was banned in accordance with the wishes of the Merchant Lords and the Chantry of Toshan, and the school of Necromancy has been banned since the founding of the school.

Structure
Madrisse Nar does not allow open-admissions, and hand-picks all of its students, usually at a young age. Students of other universities may apply to transfer to Madrisse Nar, however historically these transfers are not typically granted to non-Alethi mages. Most novices are trained at a young age, rarely above the age of 14, and are expected to become apprentices by the age of 18 at the latest. Failure to achieve this is usually grounds for expulsion.

The ranks within the madrisse in ascending order are as follows:


 * 1) Mubtadi: Young students below the age of 18. Typically only know minor cantrips. Ascend to the rank of Nijara when they demonstrate an understanding and the ability to cast spells of the first sphere.
 * 2) Nijari: Junior students that have demonstrated the capability of casting spells above the level of cantrips. Granted more freedoms, such as the ability to leave the grounds of the madrasa for weeks at a time.
 * 3) Ba'rion: Students that are capable of casting spells of the 3rd sphere and have picked a school to specialize in that is taught at the madrasa. Ba'rions are permitted to teach Mubtadis the basics of magic and must complete one season of classroom hours to be eligible to apply for the position of Ayli'mon.
 * 4) Ayli'mon: Students that are capable of casting spells of the 5th sphere and have applied for the position. Ayli'mon hopefuls must present a thesis pertaining to their chosen field of study and successfully defend it.
 * 5) Rayiysu: The highest ranking members of Madrisse Nar below the Council of Five. Rayiysu must demonstrate an understanding and capability of casting spells of the 7th sphere of magic. Rayiysu are expected to have leadership positions within the college, often heading entire departments and being the chief experts of their fields of study.
 * 6) Mustashar'on: Members of the Council of Five, the official heads of Madrisse Nar. Mustashar'on are the diplomatic heads of the school, and make all executive level policy decisions. To even be eligible to become a Mustashar'on, one must display an unparalleled understanding of magic, up to the 9th sphere, and must be elected by a panel made up of the Rayiysu.