The Nila Tenvach, known in common as the "Blue House", is the premier institution for arcane magic in Taychend, located in Nagar Vyechei. The mages of the Blue House, above all, seem to be dedicated to one purpose – unlocking and replicating the arcane secrets of the Slaver Nobles. While delving into the various schools of magic and attempting to unlock their full potential is an important part of that, studying magical relics – how they work, what they do, what they can do, is just as important. Successive Blue House mages will spend centuries meticulously unravelling the complex enchantments placed on Precursor items. As a result, they are experts in enchanting items, as well as creating powerful spell focuses.
Though most Taychendi with magical ability enter the employ of warlords, either training under other battlemages or taking up Precursor relics and becoming elite soldiers, those who wish to further their magical abilities or push the boundaries of arcane knowledge generally go to the Blue House for training. The Blue House is a strictly hierarchical organisation. There are four ranks – Initiate/Novice, Apprentice, Adept, and Archmage. Age, experience and ability determine your place within your rank. At the top of the hierarchy there is a council of Archmages called the Uyasmarai, variously translated as “the Pinnacle” or “the High Mountain”. This acts as the ultimate decision making body for the House as a whole. In theory, only the members of the Uyasmarai know what is going on across the organisation, though in practice, they still keep many secrets from each other.
See also: Magic in Taychend
Headquarters[]
Their headquarters, the eponymously named Blue House, or Nila Tenvach, dominates the skyline of Nagar Vyechei, its Precursor construction often described as looking similar to a Halessi High Temple, though it is notable for being lined with vein-like windows, through which the damestear-blue glow of magelight, used to illuminate the inside of the tower, shines through. This phenomenon is how the building gets its name. Within the monumental Nila Tenvach are innumerable laboratories, personal studies and libraries, experimental chambers and more. The Blue House has also reserved a significant portion of the vaults of Uyas Enret for themselves, housing their most devious experiments and precious artefacts there.
History[]
The Blue House predates the city of Nagar Vyechei itself, with the precursor ruin being occupied by one of Ebenanth’s lieutenants, the Mage-King Sulathrezhil. The city grew up around the building, growing in size and power once first contact was established with the Kheionai, slowly at first, then rapidly after the founding of Ameion and the beginning of Kheionai-Taychendi trade in earnest. As the power of the merchants began to rival that of the mages within the city, the Blue House “donated” a portion of the vaults of Uyas Enret to the merchants to store their gold in.
Before the Ambhen conquest of the city, the Archmages of the Blue House would have an unofficial but influential voice in the city, to contrast against the legal authority of the Valhathikutta. Though leaving the Blue House before your education is complete is prohibited – those that do are rendered as “deserters” – after becoming an adept, a mage can leave the Blue House and work as a mage elsewhere in Taychend. Some of these mages become influential in Vyechei politics, such as the ruler Jahlonand, who faced Laskaris.
It is known that the graduation ceremony for those who rise as Adepts, however, involves some sort of “anointing” ritual – it is theorised by some that this anointing places a binding geas on the graduate, rendering them unable to cross the Blue House or work against its interests. Nonetheless, many graduates who leave the organisation develop a resentment of it as an institution, finding their way to Katelperai, whom have a much freer approach to magical education.
Ambhen Rule[]
Much like the Cult of Neravali, the Blue House’s political neutrality allowed it to easily survive the various sackings and tribulations Nagar Vyechei has faced over the years – there have been many stories of Vyechei citizens, fleeing invaders during a sack, being crushed between the unyielding wards surrounding the Nila Tenvach on one side and the enemy’s swords on the other. The wards, it is known, never fall. This same neutrality allowed the Blue House to survive Laskaris’ invasion intact, as it was co-opted like most of the other Thekvrystana magical institutions.
The Blue House quickly became a respected, if suspiciously regarded, pillar of Ambhen magical infrastructure, giving Ameion the prestigious magical institution that they had previously lacked, being so far from Arpedifér and the other Kheions. Over time, Ambhen rule began to shape the institution as a whole, as the Blue House gradually adopted Kheionai magical paradigms as they accepted more Ambhen and Kleyeren novices – by the 1600s, they, alongside Néor Empkeios, had become a truly Kleyeren institution, though they retained the strict hierarchy and unrestricted morality of its pre-Taychend days.