Vargus Archive

Osrith

Overview

Consisting of one massive walled city, Osrith is home to the Arcanus Imperium (more commonly known as the University), the premier school of magic in Vargus. As a center of learning and idea exchange, Osrith draws many who seek knowledge, both magic and mundane. Osrith also houses the Infinity Library, a public library the size of a town which contains at least one copy of every written work ever published.

The kingdom is ruled by the High Council, a council of wizards from all over Vargus who deal with both issues within the kingdom and for wizards across the continent. Relations with other kingdoms are largely positive, but tension is high between Osrith and Zian, who have opposing views of magic and how it should be used.

The University

Located in the heart of Osrith, the University trains all types of arcane magic users. Whether someone is there to learn to cast magic and be a wizard or is a sorcerer born with powers they seek to hone, both are welcome in the University's halls.

The majority of wizards have trained at the University, and those who haven't are not officially recognized as wizards and are not given any manner of authority or positions of power. That said, all one needs to become a student at the University is a willingness to learn and an intent to help the greater good. Other types of magic such as divine and psionic are not taught at the University but spellcasters of all sorts are encouraged to come to Osrith and share their knowledge. Those other kinds of spellcasters usually have their own establishments for training.

Warlocks, those who make pacts with devils and other entities to acquire their powers, are somewhat of an outlier. Making a pact to gain power is considered academic dishonesty at the University and is grounds for expulsion if one does so as a student. That said, if one is already a warlock and comes to the University seeking knowledge to improve their abilities, they will find some who will teach them, but not all professors are willing to do so.

Culture

Osrith as a kingdom highly values learning, idea exchange, the arts, and creativity. All throughout the city are sculptures, murals, and other art installations made by artists both famous and not. Street performers of all sorts are a common sight, as are authors writing their manuscripts at the many cafes scattered throughout the city.

Because of the large concentration of spellcasters, magic which makes everyone's lives easier is much more common than in other kingdoms. Horseless carriages that move on their own are commonplace, teleportation circles to quickly move around the city are available for public use, etc. While some of these conveniences can be found in other kingdoms at this point, they are considerably less available and generally expensive to use.