List of County Institutions

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Once the People's Republic of Mar Sara, settled by the fabled Starsearchers, Mar Sara was long one of Shireroth's farthest-flung colonies before now finding its way into the Bovic Empire.

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Vilhelm Benkern
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List of County Institutions

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

As mandated by His Excellency the Count's decree, through which upon these organisations did he confer the special status of 'County Institution', I have been obliged to maintain a record of all the institutions which have been granted such status. Each is listed below, with any relevant insignia by which it may be recognised, some brief history, and any other relevant notes pertaining to the exceptional importance that qualifies it for the status.

Signed,
Hermes Sileni
Vice-Treasurer, County Treasury of Mar Sara


ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MINORITIES OF MAR SARA (Beliefs, Religious Practices and Ethnicities)
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History pending further research


AUGUSTGRAD SCHOOL OF LAW
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History pending further research


INSTITUTE OF MAR SARAN GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATOLOGY
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One of the oldest institutions in Mar Sara, the Institute was originally founded as the Mar Sara Company, an international trade organisation chartered by Kaiser Letifer I in 1230 ASC to Verulam du Grifos, a Shirekeep merchant of noble blood who was already a well-established trader on the Elwynn and among the Yardistani Isles. V.G. was supported by several hundred members of the merchant elite of the Elwynn river and the Imperial Charter granted to him established the "Company of Merchants of the Elwynn trading with Mar Sara". It was given a 100-year monopoly on trade between Mar Sara and all other Shirerithian jurisdictions and was granted significant powers to pursue this end, and well after the monopoly lawfully ended the Company maintained a tight grip on trade to Mar Sara (precious gems and furs) and from the island (base metals, ivory, weapons and crafted goods). The naval power of the Company was not unknown and in any conflicts engaged in by Shireroth or the Yardistani Grand Navy during the period, its merchant fleet was employed wherever possible, under an agreement between the Count of Mar Sara, the Duke of Yardistan and the Governor of the Company. Under the terms of the original Charter, the Count was entitled to no cut of the profits from this venture, which exacerbated the tension which was already present because of the power weilded by this extra-governmental colonial trade company.

In 2428 ASC, when the government of the north of Mar Sara collapsed, the fortunes of the Company waned. This was because though the Company maintained a private fleet which it could protect, it relied heavily on land troops to defend the producers of goods and to keep the ports from which they sailed pirate-free zones. The du Grifos noble line had maintained control over the Company for over one thousand years. However, considerable pressure from the Count of Mar Sara, now having the upper hand in negotiations, caused Governor Bertrand du Grifos to step down in favour of Jacob Sileni, whose family was ethnically Saran but had been naturalised as Shirerithian for centuries. With the Governor of the Company in his pocket, the Count was able at last to attain shares in the Company. Sileni was able to negotiate, not only a treaty of non-aggression between the Company and the newly-settled Matbaic Kingdoms (and later the Zatriarchate) but an agreement to provide naval protection of the North sealanes in exchange for favourable trading terms and reduced prices for goods sold to the Company. The Company therefore benefitted from trade with both nations that occupied the island of Mar Sara, with the Imperial Treasury in Shirekeep always taking a slice. The coffers of the Company refilled, and it appeared as though trade between the Shirerithian mainland and Mar Sara would never stop yeilding erb.

This all changed, however, with the decline and eventual total collapse of Matbaa by c.3200 ASC. The Count was aloof and failed to offer support when White Knight Guard units turned rogue attacked and destroyed one third of the active merchantman fleet of the Company. As with the loss of the north of the Shirerithian territory, the Company lost out on trade with Matbaic settlers as state mechanisms withered away and criminal activity and banditry became the norm. Though the Counts of Mar Sara did not offer military protection, they did recognise the trade infrastructure of the Company was a vital link to not only the rest of the Duchy of Yardistan but Benacia and Kildare as well; therefore, in 3156 ASC the County Treasury wrote off 10,000erb of debt accrued over several decades. The Company's fortunes were not yet again revived until the aftermath of the Redoubt Island War, where the adventurers who sought to conquer the north of Mar Sara as well as the island of Maraguo paid considerable funds for transport to the southern hemisphere and supply once they arrived. Suffice it to say the Company did not provide refunds or transport home once the Landsraad declared such activity to be unlawful. The Count did, however, provide a finder's fee to Company ships who were already carrying troops if they brought them to Augustgrad to form his new Marechaussee.

The new incarnation of the Company came about in 3349 ASC, one year after the Anticans had colonised the northern half of the island. The problem posed was that Antican colonial officials refused to trade with the Company on the basis that it was an undemocratic, foreign body of ill-repute and culpable for many extra-legal 'fatal accidents' during its millennial history. This could not be denied, but there was no way around the fact that in order to survive the Company needed to trade with both divisions of Mar Sara. Bankruptcy would not be looked favourably on by the County government, and would likely involve imprisonment of the one hundred and fifty merchant elite who consistuted the Board of the Company. Therefore, Governor Archibald Hingman declared that the Company would no longer be a trade organisation but by unanimous vote of the Board, with the approval of Kaiser Loki III and the Count of Mar Sara, would become a charitable organisation dedicated to the cultural and financial restoration of the island of Mar Sara, the dissemination of knowledge within Mar Sara and about the island across Shireroth with particular attention to trade goods produced on the island, the complete cartographic, ethnographic and biological categorisation of every aspect of the island, and the provision of significant financial endowments in the form of scholarships at both the University of Mar Sara and the Augustgrad School of Law to broaden the minds and better the education of Mar Saran residents, regardless of background, gender, or impecuniousness; with appropriate feudal dues being paid to the Count of Mar Sara and Imperial Treasury to cover the costs of providing protection for this new philanthropic enterprise, and minor fees being paid to the Members of the Board of Charitable Contributors for their time, as well as some private tax privileges to recognise their efforts. This new charitable organisation was to be called the Institute of Mar Saran Geography and Climatology and the majority of its expenditure, it claimed, would be used on the third of its purposes - to study the flora and fauna of the island. It would achieve a modest income to achieve these ends by retaining its previous infrastructure and embarking on "sustainable and ethical trading practices with the people of all Mar Sara", for their benefit overall. This was acceptable to the Anticans and so trade recommenced, and they allowed Institute scouts to survey the entire North for new forms of life and, vitally, previously unknown trading opportunities. With trade now uniformly achieved across the national borders sundering the isle in two, the new Institute has continued to excel, just as it did previously in profiting from the labours of Mar Sarans, in giving back to the residents of this far-flung isle to whom Shireroth owes so much. With this in mind the Count has seen fit to accord it the title of "County Institution" and all the responsibilities and privileges associated with that status.

UNIVERSITY OF MAR SARA
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The University of Mar Sara is an ancient institution of higher education. The first historical record of some form of its existence was in the report given by Captain Gerald Liballard in 2428 ASC. Liballard was the commanding officer of one of Shireroth's mountain garrisons when the uprising of that year saw the loss of the north. He and the troops he commanded were sheltered by a group of Kop'mar priests who, once a year, convened on a plateau just north of the metropolis of Sileni for theological disputations. The kop'mar called this convention, and then this location, the Turnaj Klisbyr. In time these disputations had attracted a large audience and soon many practical and theoretical subjects were laid bare by the sharpest native minds of the island. This meeting took place at the Summer Solstice (a time sacred to the Kop'mar as the time of year predicted to see the return of the three primary deities). Those wishing to learn from the Grand Elders would seek acceptance by them in person at the shrines to Shala, Xultan and Jacurutu. However, if students were not up to par or there was no space at the shrine to accomodate them, the next best option was to linger on this sacred plateau around the time of the solstice and hear the wisdom of their close associates and adherents. By the time of Liballard's visit, the three main cults had established ramshackle halls of residence to house prospective students all year round. The Grand Elders personally chose permanent Wardens for these Halls, who were to look after these students and introduce them the ways of their cult (Jikrop Term: between Winter and Summer solstice) and reflect on the preachings of the wise visitors (Huutror Term: after Summer solstice until Winter solstice).

The next significant step in the development of the university was the utter destruction of the Jacurutu Shrine by Matbaic fanatics in 2501 ASC. Though the Jacurutu Elder was slain, many followers including his next-in-line as Grand Elder were able to escape alive and had no choice but to build an extention to the Jacurutu Hall of the Turnaj Klisbyr. Though initially the Jacurutu cult was weaked significantly by this occurence, in time they were able to consolidate their doctrines and develop their teaching methods, probably the beginning of the university as a true locus of higher education. The new extention was completed by 2560 ASC and with it began all-year teaching on three pillar subjects: Religious Lore & Philosophy, Natural Science and Human Medicine. Jacurutu College was founded. By 2700 ASC this form of organisation and teaching was uniform across Shala and Xultan Colleges, and the Central Library was founded to house the collective learning of all three Colleges. The next significant event was in 2967 ASC when the Matbaic Senechal Mohsina Rezak of Third Div., White Knight Guard burned the Turnaj Klisbyr to the ground. The Battle of the Burning refers to both the struggle against the Knights and against the blaze which outlived them by several days. The Matbaics were fleeing a rogue colonial despot as the Matbaic State collapsed and had made their way through the mountains. They had been beleaguered by attacks, then the elements for weeks as they made their way south until they found the Turnaj. Initially, Jacurutu College had been hospitable to the weakened elite forces. However, after one day of co-habiting those sacred grounds, Rezak decided that the site was a place of 'significantly deleterious and noisome heretical activity' and under the Malleus Sinistra felt morally obliged to eradicate it from Micras. The fires spread from the north-western most end of the compound to all colleges, and though the White Knights themselves were purged by the flames they had created, the damage was done. This could have been the end of the Turnaj Klisbyr, but for the inspiration of the College Elders of Jacurutu, who remembered that the greatest gift given by Jacurutu was the ability to reform land into new housing. In agreement with the College Elders of the other cults, the entire Turnaj was redesigned and built with local timber and granite, surfaced with limestone and roofed with slate. The new refounded Turnaj Klisbyr was completed by 3225 ASC - but not as it was originally conceived.

This rebuilding project did not come without significant contribution and control by the local Shirerithian comital authorities. Representations were made to the Count in 2973 ASC by which time a full plan of the new Turnaj had been finalised. The Count was willing to pay significant funds and grant total freedom of mineral resources from the local area (which, by Shirerithian custom, and that of Yardistani Annexation, belonged to the Count), as long as the Turnaj Klisbyr was expanded greatly and allowed more Shirerithian influence. Though the College Elders balked at this prospect, eventually they conceded, provided the autonomy of their individual Colleges was preserved. Therefore the Count in the year 3001 granted a Charter for the new University of Mar Sara. It was to be a confederation of six colleges: Jacurutu, Shala and Xultan being the original Kop'mar colleges (allowed to teach ang organise themselves however they saw fit), with the addition of Raynor, Metzler and Mortis Colleges. These new colleges, named for the Shirerithian Imperial bloodlines, would also have College Elders and a Warden, their own constitutions and teaching procedures. However, the Count would be the figurehead Chancellor of the university. He would also appoint, on the binding advice of the elders of all Colleges, a Vice-Chancellor from among their number who would be in charge of day-to-day operations. Certain principles were constitutionalised across all colleges: they must all offer structured courses which would be recognised by the University, resulting in degrees; upon receipt of degrees from the university, students must be considered full members of the College at which they were educated; furthermore, all members of the College must be eligible to become Elders. Colleges were fully able to discriminate between students on any basis, including religious and ethnic grounds. The problems posed by religious discrimination have been alleviated by the policy undertaken by successive Elders of Raynor College not to reject any student on the basis of religious affiliation. This means that alongside Cedrists, those who adhere to minority or foreign faiths have a place at the university.

The physical size of the university had to be adapted significantly to fit this new size and structure. It was also tasked with including confederal resources such as a newly-constructed Central Library and Chancellery. The plans for the new University kept true to the original design, which proscribed a triangular design for each college and extension. The building projects were finally completed in 3225 ASC, but well before this- by around 3050 ASC- all six colleges were operational on their own sites. The new Shirerithian colleges were being populated by scholars primarily of Shirerithian ethnicity who had previously been forced to travel north across the sea for a proper education; but there were a number of Sarans who were either interested in getting close to Shireroth for the purpose of civil reward or were genuinely fascinated by Shirerithian and Yardistan philosophy. Further, the three new colleges may have been populated by Cedrists but were generally secular, which made them ideal for Sarans who wanted to avoid the religious pressures that they would be subject to even by their choice of Kop'mar college. The college had been a continued place of learning for almost eight hundred years. Mar Sara had changed. The population was growing and with it the cities and centres of trade and industry. Chief among these was the great lowlands city of Sileni, the largest city on the island then as now; and the University was very close to the expanded boundaries of this town.

A rivalry between the city's northernmost district and Metzler college had developed. The origin of this enmity is lost to history but culminated in an annual event undertaken by the college's new intake, of making a drunken trip down to the city walls to spit on them. This led to a significant political issue in 3093 ASC when the Metzler initiates rubbed one of the city's residents the wrong way- perhaps one took exception to the by-then customary spitting- and received in retributive action. A group of men went from the city with some large bricks and threw them into the windows of what they presumed to be Metzler Hall. They were sorely mistaken and instead had destroyed several priceless stained glass windows of the Upper Drawing Room which served as a social venue for the scholars of that hall. Ironically these stained glass windows had been donated to Metzler College by the City Council of Sileni as a gesture of cross-cultural co-operation. The Warden of the College, without permission from the Vice-Chancellor of the University, took the matter in his own hands.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

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Vilhelm Benkern
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Re: List of County Institutions

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

Updated with the Institute of Mar Saran Geog & Clim.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

Kaiser Ayreon II
Posts: 167
Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 10:42 pm

Re: List of County Institutions

Post by Kaiser Ayreon II »

NICE!!!

I'm happy about this!

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Vilhelm Benkern
Posts: 3833
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 11:08 am

Re: List of County Institutions

Post by Vilhelm Benkern »

Updated with University of Mar Sara's history, and also the coat of arms of the Augustgrad SoL. Happy to mention they are all the work of Queen Anthrazita of Brookshire.
Vilhelm Benkern DEOMI, Member of the Order of the Dragon, Silver Swan, Red Dragon
Dirigent of Musica, Count of Mar Sara
In Aryasht Prapta Vrteti, former Prince of Aryasht; Zaila Vrteti, Norfolknath
In Elwynn Benjamin Sebasokrator Timothy Quentin Kern, Duke of Raikoth
In Khalypsil Representative of the Wisdom

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