The White Palace of Sindhara the Sorceress

 

Image by Ruxing Gao, source

This magnificent palace is in the hills of northern Ylaruam, to the northwest of Cinsa-Men-Noo, set in a steep canyon of red sandstone. The lady of the palace, Sindhara, is a powerful mage and has created this palace as a school for magic-users. The authorities and the clerics of the Eternal Truth watch this palace with a certain suspicion as they do not entirely trust mages. In return Sindhara herself is indifferent to the Eternal Truth and although she does not deliberately antagonise its followers, she does not bother with many of its observances either - her philosophy is that magic is beyond rituals and self-righteous zeal. She merely does what is needed to stay out of trouble. 

While her attitude may not please the establishment of Ylaruam, she has attracted numerous apprentices and would-be mages from across Ylaruam. She currently has 5 senior tutors (mages of levels 10-18), 10 junior tutors (mages of levels 5-10) and 34 students (levels 1-3), as well as another 20 non-magical support staff including cooks, janitors and guardsmen. The palace has its own well in its cellars so has sufficient water, but food needs to be brought in, usually from Cinsa-Men-Noo, Tel Al Kebir or Deraan, sometimes from further afield, with trade caravans stopping off on their way from the Northern Reaches. 

8 miles per hex

The palace itself is quite new - Sindhara built it about 25 years ago using a mixture of magic and mundane labour. She used conjured earth elementals and also hired stone giants to assist along side human masons and labourers. The white stone that forms the bulk of the palace is unlike anything found in the area, but at least one architect who visited Sindhara's palace has said it is very similar to the white marble used in Shiell, in northern Alphatia. As both Sindhara and the rulers of Alphatia are powerful mages, transporting the quarried stone by magic would not be a problem (perhaps teleporting it). But it does raise questions about what sort of deals were struck with the Alphatians, whom the Ylari view with suspicion. Sindhara refuses to discuss this matter, which does not ease the minds of the Ylari authorities. The visible white marble structure jutting out from the russet canyon walls is only half of the palace - a lot of the rooms and chambers are dug into the sandstone cliff. 

While most of the tutors and students at Sindhara's Palace study the usual, widely known spells found in many mages spellbooks, there are two teams that are working on more specialised forms of magic. 

In the east wing Zintharios leads the Constructed Servitors team, a group of mages that try to create constructs such as living statues, golems and the like. They also employ craftsmen including dwarves and gnomes to create the bodies of their enchanted creations. The eastern wing often has strange constructed creatures roaming its corridors as well as parts and left-overs from construction in piles in the corridors. Quasi-mechanical creatures such as iron cobras, shield guardians, juggernauts and scaladar are being researched here, and the rod that controls the amber golems at the Pleasure Palace of Kithannis was reputedly created and enchanted here. 

The western dome is the home to the other team, the Elementalists. These mages focus on spells that are based on the four main elements, fire, air, water and earth. Although some of these spells are among the most famous spells (Fly, Fireball, Wall of Ice and Stoneshape), the elementalists want to push the boundaries of what is possible using the elemental planes as sources of magic and have created some unique spells that even the mages of Glantri and Alphatia would be fascinated by. 

NPCs of the White Palace

The most important characters in the palace are:

Sindhara the Sorceress: 18th level magic user, human female, align Neutral, Str 8, Int 17, Wis 13, Dex 13, Con 10, Cha 14. Notable items: Wand of Lightning, Crystal Ball with ESP, Robe of the Mage

Sindhara is now a white-haired grand lady who is formidable both in combat and in conversation. She is generally respectful and courteous but she does not put up with prejudice, especially chauvanism and those that dislike magic users. She had enough of that growing up in Ylaruam City.  She is also quite protective of her school, both the property and the people therein. 

Zintharios the Constructor: 18th level magic user, human male, align Neutral, Str 10, Int 17, Wis 10, Dex 10, Con 14, Cha 8. Notable items: Staff of Power, Portable Hole, Amulet of Protection From Constructs 

Zintharios is the head of the Constructed Servitors team who research, create and experiment with constructed creatures such as golems and living statues. He can be very geeky, staying away from non-magical people but going off into academic details and enthusing about esoteric matters at the slightest prompt. His research is not just a job - it is his way of life, and he can get quite upset if something gets in its way. Some students have quit his tutelage, finding him difficult to get along with, but those who can cope with him view him with a certain awe, at least around magically animated servitors. It is known he has visited Alphatia and acquired many secrets, including spells for the care and maintenance of golems. 

Balampallu Firebrand: 16th level magic user, human male, align Neutral, Str 9, Int 18, Wis 9, Dex 13, Con 10, Cha 14, Notable items: Wand of Fireballs, Wand of Ice Storms, Bowl of conjuring Water Elementals 

Balampallu (known informally as Bal), is a senior tutor and researcher into elemental magic. Although more sociable and easier to deal with than Zintharios, he can be quite impulsive, reacting rather than considering a situation. Unlike some mages who specialises in fire magic or air magic (see the ancient histories of Glantri and Alphatia), he treats each element equally, as part of of a whole elemental system, and encourages his students to do likewise. Ballampallu is from the coast of Ylaruam, and as such has travelled several times to the Isle of Dawn, talking to both Alphatian and Thyatian mages. However, he finds Glantri wizards to be a bit weird and creepy, though he can’t explain exactly why. He maintains a close friendship with Rahelli Aljaboorzi. 

Kaitella Silvermoon: 10th level spellsword, elf female, align Lawful, Str 10, Int 16, Wis 13, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 15, Notable items: Shortbow +2, Sword of Sharpness,  Ring of Flying

Kaitella is a senior tutor who focuses both on teaching 1st level novices the basics of magic (such as Read Magic and Detect Magic) and also the pastoral care of students and staff, ensuring that everyone is relatively happy and well enough to focus on their studies.  She is from Alfheim and has travelled around the Known World for more than a century and is settling down here “for at least a decade or so”. 

Abullam Ald’ir: 12th level magic user, human male, align Lawful. Str 12, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 9, Con 14, Cha 12 Notable items: Boots of Levitation, Wand of Fireballs, Wand of Webs

Abullam treads a careful line in the palace. On the one hand he is proud to be Ylari (born and raised in Tel Al Kebir) and is a sincere follower of the Eternal Truth, and he is quite open about this. On the other hand he respects Sindhara and her preference for neutrality and secularism. Despite several approaches from certain clerics, he has refused to be “their man” in the palace. In terms of teaching, Abullam is a senior tutor who both assists Kaitella in teaching the fundamentals of arcane magic use and also has a class in the ethics and responsibilities of magic use. 

Rahelli Aljaboorzi: 14th level magic user, human female, align Neutral, Str 9, Int 16, Wis 12, Dex 10, Con 10, Cha 10. Notable items: Wand of Polymorphing, Staff of Conjuring Elementals

Rahelli is a Ylari native, but unlike Abullam she has difficulties being part of Ylari society, and feels a lot safer within Sinhara’s palace. She flits between arcane subjects and some view her as a jack of all (magical) trades, like an academic butterfly. Currently she is helping Zintharios with his constructs but in the past she has both investigated ancient history (including a bit about the Nithians) and alchemy - she keeps a laboratory in a corner of the palace cellars where she can still brew up a potion. Although never openly declared, it is believed she has been romantically involved with Ballampu Firebrand. 

Sabir Bel’thar: 6th level fighter, human male, align Lawful, Str 16, Int 12, Wis 13, Dex 10, Con 14, Cha 12. Notable items: Chain Mail +2, Two-handed Sword +2 +4 vs Elementals,  Ring of Spider Climbing. 

Sabir Bel’thar is the most senior non-mage in the palace. He is both captain of the guard and chief of the non-mage staff. As such he oversees physical security, and also provisions, housekeeping and the horse stable. Sabir’s brother was a mage who got himself into trouble in a small town and was killed by an angry mob. Sabir initially came here to try to understand mages, unlike the mob that killed his brother. He has stayed here partly because he needs the money but also he wants to facilitate mutual respect between mages and mundane townsfolk.