Mashrai School of Magic

Mashrai

This is an infamous school of magic, known as the only institution on the continent, besides Ashernai, to control a Terhikai Gate. They are not nearly as popular as their island peers, though. Not because of their subpar education quality, but because they have generally been painted with a bad reputation.
They are seen as a school of barbarians, teaching superstition and spirituality, more than anything else.
Stories spread by other schools enforce this reputation, and largely refers to the school's preference towards teaching shamanic practices, and accompanying respect and even veneration of the spirits.

The School

Mashrai is located on a small island in the middle of the sea of a thousand isles, to the north of Veskar. They are not far from a much larger island, which supplies them with food.

The school itself is a vast, solid stone complex, built to withstand the local weather. The region is very stormy, and pelted with frequent rains, which is why the school is equipped with an intricate web of storm drains that keep the place dry, even if it is largely submerged in water.
The walls and roof are slightly slanted, designed to have the wind bounce off and blow over, rather than beat against the stone.
The building was constructed from solid stone blocks, carved and put into place by earth mages.

Curriculum

In this school, each primary element has its own class, where students are taught how to use their native element, as well as magic in general, eith maximum effect.

Elemental classes are meant to teach people about their primary element. It groups them together into classes of all the same element, tought by a master of said element. These classes teach mastery, control, and general magical knowledge to students, and these classes are attended by nearly all students who attend this school.

Shamanic Practice classes are one of the school's main forms of education. These classes teach of many types of magic, all through the lense of shamanic traditions.

Elemental Studies classes do not refer to magical elements, but rather, the elemental creatures that walk the earth. This class is one of Mashrai's most treasured ones, at this subject is not taught to nearly this extent in any other school.

Popularity

The school may not be popular among most of the world, but, because of their shamanic roots, they have maintained a strong and loyal student base in several main regions of the world, most importantly of which is Dendor, where most of their students come from.
Other common attendees hail from Aneira, the Rend, Khellador, and even some from the Onifnechi lands, even if they often prefer Ashernai, due to its better international prestige.
They are known as a tolerant school, willing to teach any who makes their way to their gates, as long as they pass the entrance trials. They are even known to teach Orcs, who have trouble getting into many other educational institutions. They have at times even managed to convert Orcs to the dendorian faith.

Entrance and Stay

Getting into the academy is not very complicated, once you have found the place. All they require is a show of skill and inherent talent. If you perform the tasks they set for you to a satisfactory degree, they let you in.

This academy doesn't ask for tuition payments. Instead, they as that throughout a person's stay at the academy, they record some kind of new information, either in the form of magical studies, historical records, or cultural understanding.

Layout

The school has many wings for different types of education, they even have an indoor courtyard in the center, where students can practice spells safely. The entire school is indoors, and it covers almost the entire island on which it is built.
It has several towers, the largest one being the Terhikai tower, located towards the back of the complex, where the school masters reside during their free time.
The Terhikai tower is the largest tower of the main building, but not the largest tower over all, because connected by a bridge, there is another solitary tower, standing on a small island just off the coast of the main island, called the storm tower.
This tower largely functions as a lightning rod and is much taller than the main building.
It is used in certain magic classes, but is not permanently settled.

History

Originally, the shcool was founded by Ashernai mages, wishing to start their own educational institution to match, however, their remote location detered students from coming, and quickly, over a few generations, the entire school board was filled with dendorian shamans, which is how the school started to focus more and more on shamanic practices.