Five white towers rise from the floating island, among stained-glass windows and waterfalls. Young people from many peoples come to Anariel to study Onulë. Awakening earns them admission; learning to use their own Essence takes the five years that follow.
FLOATING ISLAND / TËIMUR
Arrival at the Academy
ZÖLNIERË: CLOUD SAILERS
Zölnierë, known as Cloud Sailers, carry students to Anariel. Their design came from the Valavin, beetle-whales that cross the oceans in groups, leaping into flight above the water. A Loman goblin from Alpellokë spent her life following them and studying their movements. When her Essence joined with the whales’, the boat she sailed became the first Zölnierë. A great Onul crowns the Velluar; the crew tends the sails, follows the wind routes and sustains the Essence that keeps the vessel in the sky.
THE CLOUD SAILERS
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The island
THE FLOATING ISLAND
Anariel floats above the clouds because an immense store of Essence was placed within its rock centuries ago. Those who can sense it feel a slow, ancient current beneath their feet. Forests, lakes and caves fill the island; streams run to its edges and fall into the open air as unceasing waterfalls. The castle and square occupy the southern rim. Behind and beside them, woodland grows over thick roots that form passageways and draw on the Essence within the stone. Students spend five years living and learning here, gradually coming to know a land that no road can reach.
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Few Awakened beings will have the privilege of reaching Anariel. For five years, young people from different peoples and kingdoms share lessons, meals, dormitories and the anticipation of their first training sessions. They learn from great masters, and from one another’s difficulties and discoveries. Friendships begin with introductions, deepen through study and outlast their time on the island. When they leave, they carry both their knowledge of Essence and the stories of a life shared. Each class adds its own memories to the Academy’s legacy.
Arkaër training
BECOMING AN ARKAËR
The five-year course begins with the study of the Essence shared by all Arkaër. Students then deepen their natural affinity under an archetype master. Allusaër accompanies their training, alongside history, the Qiellör and the peoples and creatures of Tëimur. From the third year, a change of uniform marks their progression from apprentice to specialist.
The course follows Anariel’s story. The examples for each archetype summarise manifestations from the RPG Core Book; their entries define range, duration, Aura cost and resistance.
In the square, the Salinmol holds a great Onul between its trunks and is known as the Diamond Heart. Light passes through its silver leaves, casting shifting shadows on the mosaic below. It is said that Arna planted it to rest beneath its canopy long before the castle existed, and that Anariel was built around it.
Apprentice · Year one
FIRST YEAR: FOUNDATIONS OF ESSENCE
First-year students learn together, whatever their archetype. The history of Tëimur, Qiellör and Allusaër accompany their understanding of Onulë. Practice centres on the seven Essential Techniques, through which everyone learns to sense, protect and shape their own Essence before developing their affinity.
THE SEVEN ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES
AsinaPerceive+
Sense Essence in the creatures and things around you, even at a distance or with your eyes closed. Training can extend this perception through walls. Keeping it open requires attention and effort; learning when to end it is part of mastering the technique.
EmbroProtect+
Close your Essence around your body like a shell to deflect blows. First-year students begin with small balls of Essence thrown by their master, learning to sense the approaching impact before raising their protection.
QovurProject+
Extend Essence beyond your body and keep it there without losing your connection to it. First-year students practise by trying to float a dry leaf above an open palm without touching it.
LoramSustain+
Keep Essence steadily active without letting it grow or fade. A small flame in the palm is the first-year exercise: maintaining its strength for hours requires concentration and endurance.
FelahConceal+
Lower the light of your own Essence until another person cannot sense it. A living being’s Essence does not cease to exist; the Arkaër learns to withdraw its manifestation through careful inward attention.
LekilExpand+
Extend Essence beyond yourself to reach a wider area. In first-year assessments, an expansion may reach the edge of the arena and make the torch flames tremble.
ErenExpel+
Gather Essence and discharge it from your body in a burst. Students practise against targets; accuracy depends on both direction and the force of the shot.
Apprentice · Year two
SECOND YEAR: STUDY OF THE ARCHETYPE
In the second year, students divide according to the affinity revealed by the Onul and begin working with their archetype masters. General subjects continue in greater depth. Each group learns Foundation Techniques suited to the nature of its Essence. Even within one archetype, applications can differ from person to person.
Before studying the applications of an affinity, students learn to work with its nature. For Ornan, this foundation is Akoila: Attune. The master demonstrates how to raise and lower their own light and project their presence where their body is not. For Loman, Olaga: Shape begins the work of giving form to Essence and sustaining a creation. The techniques below develop those possibilities.
FOUNDATION TECHNIQUES
Specialist · Year three
THIRD YEAR: SPECIALISATION
The third year begins the specialist stage. Students consolidate the foundations and develop their archetype’s Intermediate Techniques. The curriculum includes Allusaër; World, Culture and Peoples; Flora, Botany and Potions; and Fauna and Creatures. A new uniform marks the completion of their two apprentice years.
STUDY OF TECHNIQUES
Specialist · Year four
FOURTH YEAR: ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
By the fourth year, students have mastered the Essential, Foundation and Intermediate Techniques. General subjects deepen, and training moves to each archetype’s Advanced Techniques. Their complexity requires two years of study. Students must demonstrate that they can understand and apply possibilities of Onulë beyond their earlier practice.
ADVANCED TECHNIQUES
Specialist · Year five
FIFTH YEAR: MASTERY AND CREATION
The final year focuses on Onulë and the student’s own archetype. Advanced Techniques remain central to intensive practice. Specialists also gain the freedom to attempt techniques of their own, approaching the abilities of a master. Awakening alone does not bring that command; completing the course requires dedication sustained across all five years.
PRACTICE AND CREATION
THE COLOURS OF AFFINITY
UNIFORMS AND STANDARDS
A student’s uniform identifies their affinity from the day they arrive. During the first two years, they wear the apprentice design. From the third year, their clothing changes to mark the beginning of specialisation. Choose a standard to explore an archetype and switch between the uniforms of both stages.
UNIFORMS · ANARIEL
ORNAN
Ornan enables control and regulation of Essence. Akoila: Attune governs its intensity and how Onulë is perceived. Aron Tohnsaral teaches this archetype from the second year onwards.
Silver constellations are embroidered on the red tunic of the Ornan apprentice uniform. The emblem appears on the belt buckle.
THOSE WHO TEACH AT ANARIEL
THE FACULTY
Anariel’s teaching and administration are shared between the Inner Circle, the archetype masters and the masters of general subjects. Students encounter these teachers in lessons, on the training grounds and in the island’s common spaces.
The Academy’s leadership
THE INNER CIRCLE
The Inner Circle consists of three Arkaër who serve as Master Directors. They govern the island and preserve Anariel’s neutrality in the conflicts of the continents. Their decisions carry weight beyond the Academy, whose standing draws students from every people. Their shared administration keeps their authority in balance.
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Arkaër Eshuëu
TROHR MEELBALE
Trohr is an elderly goblin with a hoarse voice who walks with a cane. Known as Strong Mind, she has watched many generations of first-year students arrive. Her experience informs both assessments and the Inner Circle’s decisions.
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Arkaër Eshuëu
AMELIA VARIVAH
Amelia is a human with braids fastened by small silver rings, known as Little Shadow. She oversees student life between lessons: dormitories, meals, schedules and living together. She introduces newcomers to the Academy’s rules.
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Arkaër Eshuë
SILMESIN ELURULGU
Silmesin is an elf with short blond hair and blue eyes. Older students call him Blue Eye and Fire of the Will. He welcomes the first years and introduces their masters, reminding them of the work that still lies ahead after Awakening.
Training by archetype
ARCHETYPE MASTERS
Archetype masters guide students from the second year onwards. They teach the techniques of each affinity and help turn knowledge of Essence into practice. Their guidance spans most of the course, from Foundation to Advanced Techniques.
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Master of Ornan
ARON TOHNSARAL
Aron is an Arvan of the Ilundur, the canine tribe, with a fox’s appearance, orange fur and green eyes. His tail and cup of tea are familiar sights in lessons. He teaches the seven shared techniques to first years, then guides the Ornan in empathy and the control of Essence from the second year onwards.
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Master of Noan
JAMÖL QÖDERLAH
Jamöl is an orc with a broken tusk and a deep voice who also oversees first-year physical assessments. As master of Noan, he teaches the consolidation of Essence and the development of strength and dexterity.
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Master of Uran
AURA ALMINSTOR
Aura is a dwarf with bronze skin, caramel-coloured eyes and black hair tied in a high ponytail. As master of Uran, she guides the study of Essence’s flow, its preservation and its restorative possibilities.
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Master of Loman
LIBÖE LEGAERA
Liböe is an elf with chin-length black hair, green eyes and a lilac flower behind one ear. As master of Loman, she guides students through the techniques that give Essence form.
Anariel has no regular Ërkan class or permanent master of that affinity. A purple chair remains at the masters’ table. The Academy also welcomes visiting masters, who may teach for a year without joining the permanent faculty.
Understanding Tëimur
MASTERS OF GENERAL SUBJECTS
General subjects accompany the study of Essence and broaden students’ knowledge of the world. Language, history and the Qiellör appear from the first year. Specialisation adds the study of peoples, flora, potions and creatures, alongside battle training.
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Master of History
GIM VÄHIHARR
Gim is the young gnome who teaches the history of Tëimur. His subject begins in the first year and continues through the second, accompanying the Arkaër’s early training.
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Master of Qiellör
ALULIL LENRONUR
Alulil is a fairy with bluish hair and purple eyes. Her voice reaches the Távola’s stands as she welcomes students. She teaches the Qiellör, their Aspects and the history of creation.
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Master of Allusaër
MELIN AGUREILIF
Melin is an elderly human with grey eyebrows. He teaches Allusaër throughout the course. Understanding the language and its pronunciation is part of working with Onulë’s techniques.
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Master of Culture
HURIN FILELOM
Hurin Filelom is a dwarf with a red beard who arrives laden with books and scrolls. He teaches Culture and Peoples from the third year, when students begin a deeper study of the customs and ways of life of Tëimur’s communities.
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Master of Battle
ZAKA TULGURA
Zaka is a goblin in bronze armour with a round shield. He teaches Battle from the third year and also helps assess new students’ aptitude, observing what they can do with their bodies before turning to Essence.
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Master of Fauna
CELILIA INTERA
Celilia is an Arvan with a panther’s appearance, black fur and gold necklaces. When the masters are introduced, she carries a small blue bird on her shoulder. She teaches fauna and creatures.
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Master of Flora
ARBEL LANTARIN
Arbel is a fairy with green wings, often seen with soil beneath her fingernails. She teaches Botany as part of the study of flora and potions during specialisation.
