Headquarters of the Department of Patents and Intellectual Property

"That's it right there - the DPIP! All the secret knowledge of the ancients just waiting for us to discover it. Maybe if you study really hard and learn to read, you'll be the one to find the secret to curing Magichem poisoning inside.

— Anita Willforth of the Slate Scarrs to her 10 years class.

The Headquarters of the Department of Patents and Intellectual Property (DPIP) is a squat building located in a long forgotten block of Caledonia. Historians believe that it once contained many people who sat at large tables and were all literate and read and did math all day long. They believe that this building is the place where knowledge of the ancients - all their brightest inventors - was collected in one place.

It is difficult to fathom exactly why anyone would do such a thing. There are professors at the University of Caledonia who have said that the ancients used to own ideas, and the DPIP was the place where they registered their ownership of those ideas so no one could steal them. It is very hard to believe that someone would own thinking, but in modern times, we are glad that they did, because the DPIP has revolutionized our lives since the Slate Scarrs first explored it, and recognized it's value to transform human lives.

The impact of the DPIP on modern life cannot be understated. The drugs and inventions - countless solutions to modern problems that have come from it have transformed our lives and our society. Because of it, medical treatments have sprung forward. Pain is something that can be faced, and we have medicines now that treat pus filled wounds because of the ancients Riltraga. Transportation is now faster and less expensive because of the ancient's invention of the Bjod Keipr, and the continent is smaller - all this, and none of these things require the use of cursed and unreliable magic! Because of the desirability of DPIP products, warlords are motivated to put away fighting and engage in trade - leading to the first period of peace that Eryia has seen since the Jordbani . And one day, as the scholars explore the endless papers stored in the DPIP vaults, we hope to find a cure to the existential threat to the existence of humans on the planet - Magichem Poisoning.

Praise Sol for his gracious gifts!