College Mernmoor

Mernmoor College is an academic institute charted by the Wexen Crown, located on the Mernmoor near the town of Mernmooth in Byrettany. It was founded in the 1067^th year as a school to teach Hexircuitry to young citizens of apprenticeship age. The college is among the oldest institutions in the Wexen Isles.    

History

  With the increasing political power of the independent Wizard-Lords, particularly in Byrettany and Hiben, and with rumours of the Tremen Crown employing Hexircuitry in the subjugation of Ettan and Noreimes Provinces starting in the 1043^rd year, the Wexen Crown began to look for the means to creat a cadre of Wizards loyal to the Crown. In the 1064^th year, a monastic college near the town of Mernmooth had come into ownership of the Crown, and in the 1065^th year was chosen as the site of the college.   The circumstances of the monastery coming into the Crown's possession is still controversial among the population of Byrettany and particularly in Mernmooth. The Crown Archive states that the monks of Mernmooth had lapsed in their obligations to the Crown, however many Byrettons still maintain that it had been siezed in an act of tyranny.   The college was officially charted in the 1067^th year with the appointment of Lord Alfred of Cansworth as provost and a handful of minor Wizards willing to work for the Crown. A Stylus workshop was established on site and properties in Mernmooth were leased to accommodate students until lodgings could be built on site. The first students were enrolled by the end of the 1067^th year, and would graduate in the 1078^th year.   The expense of operating the new college was higher than expected, and as such a steep entry fee was levied upon the students. This placed entry out of reach to all but the wealthiest of families, and the college quickly gained a reputation for being the playground of Wexe's upper classes who were wholly unsuitable for learning the intricacies of Hexircuit design. Starting in the 1075^th year, the college curriculum became increasingly focused on educating young aristocrats rather than training Wizards.   Faced with an institution that was well suited for educating the nobility, including several generations of mobarchs, but entirely failing to train any Wizards of any note, a new policy was eventually introduced in the 1571^st year by mandate of the Crown. This new policy allowed prospective students who passed the entrance exams but could not afford the cost of entry to attend with fees paid by the Crown, on the condition that these students were indentured into the direct service of the Crown. This influx of "lower class" students was considered to be highly controversial and a rigid class divide within the college swiftly emerged.    

Notable Figures

 

Staff

 

Lord Alfred of Cansworth

  Lord Alfred of Cansworth was appointed by the Crown as the first provost of Mernmoor College in the 1067^th year. He was known as a competent administrator, ensuring the smooth running of the college until retiring due to ill health in the 1080^th year.    

Sir Millerton the Blue

  Sir Millerton was one of the first students to graduate from Mernmoor College in the 1078

th

year, immediately joining the faculty as a professor of Hexcircuit design. He was perhaps one of the most capable professors the college has ever seen, with his model for Hexircuitry tutoring in use to this day. He gained the epithet "the Blue" for his role in introducing the tradition of writing Hexcircuit diagrams on woad soaked flax sheets, a practice that has since become ubiquitous across Eynor.    

Lord Alfred II of Cansworth

  Lord Alfred II of Cansworth is the current provost of Mernmoor College, appointed in the 1602^nd year. It appears that he was appointed because of his personal connections and his family's history with the college, rather than any personal merit. He is a stern and severe man who takes a greater interest in beating the ambition out of the lower class students than in his administrative duties. He is quick to imagine minor infractions and quicker to mete out punishment with a cane.    

The Duchess

  A large, grey moggy known as The Duchess stalks the college's halls and offices. Nobody knows where she came from, or who introduced her into the college grounds, but it is beyond dispute that she is now in charge of the whoke establishment. She is a particularly aloof specimen, and holds the student body in considerable and apparent disdain. To be allowed to pet her is considered an omen of good fortune in the near future.    

Students and Alumni