Runehack: Avurai University

If you've been reading this blog since its beginning, or if you happen to have read its earliest posts despite the fact they're super outdated, you might remember my list of settings I wanted to work on. It's funny looking back at that list and at my current priorities. Sivobog I see to this day as a mistake, while Grimwick is a world that has lingered in the back of my mind for years, but I never really felt like starting actual work on it. Then there's E2020, and Charodey. The former, full name Earth-2020, was an urban fantasy setting: basically our world, but with magic and fantastical creatures. While it was a fun thought experiment, I realized quickly that this can't be done easily because of magic, which is why it eventually evolved into the Ethernet of Keys. That setting toned down its magic to an absolute minimum by the 5e standards, permitting literally only cantrips. The more thought I gave it, the more I realized that the further back you go with the introduction of magic, the more differences our timeline should contain. Today, I know that the easiest solution to that would be to just.... introduce the magic right as the game starts, or as close to that point as possible. Back when I thought otherwise, I started to work from the ground up on a world with minimal magic. That's how Runehack was made.

Charodey was another setting that has lingered in my mind for a long time. School time is associated in my head with some nice memories, a collective that can but doesn't have to always work well together, and learning. While the original premise was much more fantasy, I remembered it when this article was half-finished. Sure this university is very, very different from Charodey, but somehow it found its way into the Runehack too it seems. Back then, I literally named the school "Charodey Academy", the word Charodey coming from the Slovak word for a wizard. The Avurai University is different though. It's a place full of elitism, betrayal, competition, but above all else education. Hopefully, it will be a homage to an idea I had a long time ago, despite the fact that this school has basically no magic in it.

I wish you at least as good of a time reading this, as I had writing it up.

Avurai University

Avurai University is a surprisingly influential city, considering it can't expand, has practically no goods for export, and that it has a capacity of 5000 people, 50 visitors, and 3000 fairies beyond that. While the island can support more people than this, it's much safer to keep the numbers below the actual limit. This university campus travels around the world and educates only the best of the rich, as well as the richest of the best worldwide. Earning your place in this university is truly a prestige, whether as a student or as the staff.

Geography

Avurai University is the biggest city entirely located on a floating island. The island usually travels around the world in an orbit, though the rulers of the city can direct its flight through a complex mechanism built into the island. Due to its original location being above a warm temperate climate, most of its natural fauna would resemble that of a typical deciduous forest. However, ever since it started to traverse the world, it only retained on its surface plants that would survive in any climate. The only expansion it ever went through was hollowing out the inside of the island to create buildings on its surface, and to establish an underground farm for the food.

The closest thing to the exported goods of the Avurai University would be its educated people. While the island can hold thousands of people, it has barely enough space to produce its own food and wood. Anything else, such as metals or amber, has to be imported up into the city. Due to this, anyone who wishes to study at the university must pay a lot to stay there.

History

The history of this city goes back to 2900 years before the era of monsters when the greatest cryptoexplosion of the recorded history happened. This produced the biggest flying island in the world that flies to this day, Freeland. Over the centuries, the island gathered dust on its surface, which turned out to be fertile enough for life to start there. It's theorized that birds or other historic flying animals have brought the first plants to the island, which without other competition thrived there since the island flies low enough to receive rain.

Once humanity has developed the first flying vehicles, a handful of hopeful settlers set the course to Freeland. However, the more of them gathered there, the more they realized the many disadvantages of this land: lack of goods they could produce combined with the very limited space for living was discouraging enough to make them leave.

Twenty years later, a handful of wealthy Lifestock employees had a vision of what the Freeland could be, bought it, and claimed it as their own. Once they started to build a university there, Lifestock has started to show interest in the project. When the offers started to come, first from their employers and later from their competitors, the owners of the island and the university decided to quit their jobs and establish independence. Building the university took a total of 3 years, and the university has operated for nearly 160 years ever since until the present day. While the university has remained completely independent ever since its founding, its independence relies only on the constant influx of wealthy students and keeping up its reputation.

Structure

The city has 5 major districts, some of which are divided based on the five faculties. While the Dormitories and the Scholars' Way are not connected, other districts are all interconnected at least in one way. Each of the districts houses some non-teacher staff, though outside of the Main and Farming districts it's only for the most needed matters.

Dormitories. This is the residential district where all of the students live. It also contains some places where the students can hang out to enjoy themselves.

Farming district. This district is off-limits to anyone but the farming staff and those who govern the Avurai University, and it takes up the entirety of Freeland's underground spaces. Vegetables, fruits, crops, and even some meats produced there are then transported to the other districts based on their needs. While the students above are told that the illusory sunlight is good enough for the plants, only the farmers know the truth of how these plants can be grown underground.

Main district. Most of the non-educational establishments of the Avurai University are found in this district. Shops, catering, repairs, and many other services are available in the largest outer district of the city.

Scholars' Way. The university teachers live in their own district on a single street that could be mistaken for a part of the Main district. This district also hides beneath it the control panel that determines which way the Freeland island travels.

Studies. Buildings intended for the education of students are all located in the Studies district. It is the most defining part of the whole university both due to its unique architecture in comparison to the rest of the city, but also because of its function.

The people are divided into these groups based on their relations to the university:

• Teachers, those who are employed by the university to educate its students.
• Personnel, those who are employed by the university to take care of the cleaning, cooking, services, and any other necessities.
• Students, who are equally subdivided into the following five Faculties based on the fields of science:
• Cravenlore. These students learn about the nature of non-humanoid beings such as plants, animals, and apex predators. Their representing color is green.
• Mindlore. These students focus on politics, economy, psychology, art, history, and other matters related to the study of humanoids. Their representing color is red.
• Runecraft. These students learn everything there is to know about the runes, runetech, and their applications in practice. Usually, the knowledge of runes would fall under the Worldken, but it has been separated into its own faculty due to the breadth of things that the runes are used for in practice. Their representing color is orange.
• Witlore. These students focus on the study of all matters nonphysical, that include mathematics, logic, and philosophy. Their representing color is pink.
• Worldken. These students learn about the chemistry of inorganic materials, the fundamental laws of the universe, and their utilization in practice. Their representing color is blue.

Culture

Standard uniforms of the Avurai University are beige in color, with dark brown details, and colored signifiers of which Faculty they belong to in the form of shoulder pads and the neck gemstone.
Art kindly provided by Arell, a friend of mine.

Art curiosities: The fairy secretaries are a luxury permitted on the university for all personnel, as well as students of 3rd or 4th year of study.

If someone asked anyone from the Avurai University how they'd characterize life there in four words, they would say it has to be educational, snobbish, competitive, and back-stabbing. Since it's the university's policy, the choice of who gets to stay is governed by strict rules.

The students can study at this university for up to 4 years, or more if they can afford it. At the start of every school year, the school admits the 400 of the best students done across all of the cities of the world into each Faculty, as long as their test results were above 60% correct. This usually totals to the 2000 students in the first grade. Every year, only half of that number passes to the next year, with the same condition of at least getting 60% of the answers right. The final fourth year thus holds only 50 students in each faculty, to a total of 250 fourth graders across the whole university. Out of these, anyone who gets at least 60% of the answers on the final tests correct gets to pass, receiving a title and usually leaving the university. Since they have more free time due to requiring less sleep, the majority of students attending the Avurai University consists of elves, with higher concentrations in the latter years of study.

Since Freeland has a carrying capacity, each student is limited in how many things they can bring with them. While stationary is largely unaffected, they can't bring with them things such as their own vehicles (including hovering ones, which is a matter that puzzles students yearly), hovering rooms, or pets. University's population is also kept in check, with any of the personnel or students who perform the forbidden intercourse running a risk of getting expelled permanently.

In order to ensure the highest quality of the teachers and personnel, at the end of every semester, the worst 20% of them are replaced with the new hires from cities all over the world. This also includes the runebots who serve double duty as janitors and security of the city. These runebots are replaced only when it is necessary, for example, due to a malfunction.

Beyond the standard limit of 5000 people and 50 visitors, there's a limit of up to 3000 staff fairies on top of that. Any student who is a fairy doesn't count into this limit and gets counted as a regular student to the limit of 5000 people. Some common jobs for the fairies employed by the Avurai University include education, surveillance, repairs, accounting, library guides, and working as waitresses in the bars using special hovering food trays. But the most common job for the fairies here is a personal assistant. Any employee, as well as students of 3rd or 4th grade, can bring along a personal assistant fairy, as long as they employ and pay her properly. A fairy employed this way serves as a secretary to whoever they're employed by, keeping track of their schedule, duties, and anything else that the individual wishes to delegate upon her. Since a personal assistant bypasses the merit-based requirements for coming to the university in another way, it is the greatest hope for many of the fairies who would want to see the Avurai society in person.

Every school year is split up into three trimesters and a holiday, all of which line up with the seasons perfectly. The trimesters cover spring, fall, and autumn, and the holiday lasts during the winter. There are several official events organized by the teachers and university personnel, and a handful of unofficial events organized by the students for the students.

The Academic Show is organized at the beginning of the summer trimester every even year. Students who choose to attend this show must present some kind of scientific experiment and/or invention in order to impress and educate others. The most impressive presentation from each of the faculties wins a monetary prize, as well as a university-paid trip to one vista within the winners' choice of a city that the University will pass over before the school year ends. Any participants who present an experiment that was showcased there during the last Academic Show are automatically disqualified from winning the prize, although they are allowed to present. Since the monetary prize for each team is equal no matter the number of members, participants usually limit themselves to working with up to 2 others, or preferably alone.

The Scholars' Soiree is a formal dance organized on the evening before the final week of the autumn trimester of every school year. It's preceded by the month of tailoring, during which the attendees of the Soiree have a chance to design and sew their own outfits. The Scholars' Soiree begins with a ceremonial feast, often considered to be the first of many winter feasts. After the feast, people are free to do as they wish: socialize with others, drink or feast some more, dance, or attend other activities. The secret judges mingle with people, examining custom-made outfits close-up until 1 hour before midnight. At that moment, the judges are unveiled and hand out the titles of the Lord of the Night and Lady of the Night to those who they deem to have the greatest self-made outfits. Understandably, even a friendly meaningless contest like this can and is cheated by those who can afford to cheat it. Since all of the students of 3rd and 4th year get to have a fairy as a personal assistant, those who wish to gain this title will employ fairies with past experiences in fashion design and tailoring.

The Winter Feasts are organized during the winter holidays. It's a simple event in comparison to the other two, all about having wonderful weekly feasts for all three months of the winter. Students who haven't finished their 2nd year of study are not allowed to stay at the university during the winter months, which means they cannot enjoy these feasts. Teachers use these feasts as a way to entice the students to stay in the University even during their holidays and possibly help out in it as a cheap labor force for some small credits.

Over the years, students of this university have formulated several humorous phrases revolving around the nature of their university that has ever since become commonplace, sometimes even beneath this island:

• "Drop-off" and "drop out" both stand for a student, who is not studying anymore due to a reason that's not graduation. They can also stand for things that have fallen from the island down to the world below.
• "Flying grades" are grades that will allow a student to attend the flying university for another year. In other words, they're a nickname for passing grades.
• "Hang in there" began as a phrase of encouragement told to those who struggle with passing. However, it has evolved to contain a strong sarcastic undertone.
• "Climbing the Tower" stands for the effort that someone puts into graduating the Avurai University with the intention to stay there as a teacher. It's due to the fact that only the teachers are permitted at the Tower of Knowledge.
• To "feast on meat" means to enjoy the rewards one has earned. The origin of this phrase is uncertain since it could stand either for general consumption of meat, which is much rarer than fruits and vegetables, or because of the Winter Feasts.
• "Traincatcher" is a student who is expected to fail their current year of study.
• "Streetcleaner" is a nickname for the janitorial runebot staff, mainly due to their capabilities of keeping the streets tidy, and enforcing curfews as well as laws.

"Hang in there, traincatcher!"

Subculture Showcase: Scientific Communities

Note: This section is not meant to imply that the presented subculture is in any way unique to or most represented within this city. It is just a subculture I chose to present because it felt most thematically fitting and it wasn't introduced yet.

Examples of the scientist outfits. The white lab coats are the most important part of the outfit, with the innerwear being optional, up to the individual scientist's wishes.
Art kindly provided by Arell, a friend of mine.

Art curiosities: The guy is wearing a VR headband. The scientists showcase two different types of clasps for the "semi-open" lab coat at the top—the male having two triangular flaps, while the woman has a gray band. They bear no cultural significance and are interchangeable. Pink is prominent within the scientific community due to its association with knowledge. The first versions of the illusory screens were made pink in order to stand out in most environments, and ever since then, the color gained a cultural meaning of intellect. Of course, it's not the only meaning there is for the color pink.

Once the monsters came to be, some people have tried their best to understand how they operate. Eventually, these people have created teams, which evolved into groups. Some of these groups have diverted their attention to other matters of study, such as inorganic matters of the world, physical laws, or abstract sciences. Once the mistweb was developed, the international scientific community was born.

The highest ideal they hold is the search for the objective truth. They wish to learn as much about the world as possible, which is why they try to measure everything and run many experiments. The only boundary that they tend to clash into is the vague line of morality. Since many of the scientists who enter this community are Avurai University graduates, it's rather competitive. If one can make themselves more famous and rich through their experiments, it is most likely that these graduates will be the first ones to step on, and sometimes even over, the line of morality out of the public eyes. After all, what is one to do if the secrets of the World lie beyond that hazy line? A way to improve the lives of thousands, if not millions, could be there.

• One of the places that scientists worldwide viewed as sacred is The Tower of Knowledge, atop of which is The Amber Telescope. Years ago it was said that every scientist worth their salt has looked through the Amber Telescope. Nowadays this belief is seen more as a superstition than a sign of prestige since many scientists have been successful despite dropping out of Avurai University (not literally), or in some cases even despite not studying up there at all.
• Once every four years, the Cognito Prize is given out to the most influential scientists in their respective fields of study.
• "A wrong train can still bring you to the right place" is a phrase that came to be due to an anecdote about Hernard Silverstem. When he traveled home from the Avurai University on a train during his third year of study, he fell asleep and dreamt of a wand that could control other people's minds. Only after waking up did he realize he was on the wrong train. Exiting it in the nearest city, the first thing he noticed was a great bronze statue which made him think of his most famous idea. Since then, the phrase came to mean that even an accident, a mistake, or a wrong way of thinking could get you interesting, and occasionally even correct results.

Relations

While most of the cities respect the Avurai University, considering it one of the few places with an objective outlook on the worldly situation overall, there is one city-state that tries to take it off the pedestal. Moorwell, the city that helped in the establishment of Avurai University, possesses sour feelings towards it ever since it has become independent. For years, it has been running a campaign to slowly erode people's trust in this institution, in hopes of discouraging new students from arriving. Without new students, the school would inevitably run out of money and have to find a patron who would gladly buy it in order to improve it. While within Moorwell this campaign is somewhat successful, other cities still hold enough people interested in studying there to keep the school afloat. One of the cities Avurai University cooperates with the most is the Everling, which thanks for its existence in part to the university, and thus regularly buys advertisements on the Freeland island.

Curiosities

Considering its size, the number of points of interest on the Freeland island is surprising. Here are just some of them:

• Brilliance Train Station is the train station located on the border between the Dormitories and the Main District. While the trains don't come by often, they do when the University is flying above another city to gather the travelers and bring any ordered goods to the island.
• The Grand Vestibule is the entrance to the main university building. It's great in size, with plenty of room to serve as a student lounge. It's directly connected to Jolye's Square.
• Jolye's Square is the only town square of the Avurai University, connecting all of the districts. It bears the shape of a pentagon and used to be mockingly named "Five-Sided Square" due to Jolye's famous claim that one could draw a five-sided square on the surface of a sphere. Once she has proven her claim, the square has been renamed to honor her.
• The Library of Wynbel is a library found at the border of Jolye's Square and the Main district. This building has three floors, and several elevators that can bring the students up, down, and to the other end of the building.
• The Platform, also nicknamed "The Long Way Down", is the main elevator that's used to travel down into the lands beneath the city. It's located on the edge of the Main District.
• The Rose Garden is a greenhouse for studying various kinds of plants found throughout the world. People of Cravenlore Faculty are assumed to hang out there the most, even though the actual difference is minuscule.
• The Tower of Knowledge is found in the Scholar's Way district and holds atop of it The Amber Telescope. Only the teachers are allowed to ascend this tower. All of the districts can be seen from the top of the Tower of Knowledge, and the tower can be seen from all districts. The only exception to both of these cases is the Farming district due to the fact that it's underground. While the telescope does have a name that draws attention, it's in fact not made out of amber.
• The VR Grotto is a laboratory found in the depths of the Runecrafts' Faculty studies. According to the University's records, it is the perfection of Kaily Runetooth's Academic Show project, which is a room that can emulate any sort of environment.

Important People

A few examples of the important people from the Avurai University:

• Jolye Hammerfist, dwarf, female; one of the founders of the Avurai University, and its very first Headmaster.
• Nedmund Palevine, elf, male; the current Headmaster of the Avurai University.
• Hernard Silverstem, elf, male; the inventor of runebots who has studied in the Runecraft Faculty.
• Kaily Runetooth, goblin, female; the scientist who studied in the Worldken Faculty, and invented a way of synthetically creating amber. It's a thing she keeps secret, but with the money she has earned from this, she studied Runecraft Faculty for extra 4 years, and afterward bought herself a city-state of her own, naming herself its queen.
• Pristina Ashenhart, human, female; the exemplar student of the Witlore Faculty, considered the most important philosopher of her time back when she was known to be alive. She's assumed to be dead in the present times.
• Maxton Amberblood, orc, male; the most famous student of the Cravenlore Faculty that has afterward remained on the university and revolutionized its farms.
• Catalia Volerich, fairy, female; a mistwebber who's a member of the Lucky Petals mistwebber group located in the Timberhaven.
• Winbel Moonshire, elf, female; an explorer who has written and sold many books about the wilderness, each with a questionable degree of fictionality. Her publishing is so popular, that she established a library on the Freeland.