The Invisible College

Some scholars driven underground by the Inquisition have taken to using secret lines of comunication to continue their study of Theah

Description
For a thousand years, The Vaticine Church was the leader in education in Theah. When The Inquisition took over however, such scholarly persuits were pushed to the back burner. When Scholars resisted these efforts, The Inquisition began excomunicating and killing them.

Driven underground, the Invisible College is the secret organization of Scholars across western Theah.

The College focuses on 5 "mysteries" - subjects of study broad and narrow which constitute the general interest of the members. Because only The Inquistion focuses it's resources on only the studies it see's heresy in. These mysteries are:
 * 1) Historical Research: This research focuses on learning from the past, exploring details about the Ancient Numan empire and the Syrneth. They focus primarily on the ancient ideas and history of the Numans and the artifacts of the Syrneth since it's all they have to work with.
 * 2) The Mundane Sciense: This research focuses on all the normal forms of research; Chemistry, Biology, Natural Philosophy, Medicine, Mechanics, etc. Though most of this research is considered quite acceptable by the chuch as a whole, some ideas - those that conflict with traditional church dogma - are hunted by The Inquisition.
 * 3) Practical Applications: This research is related to all the others as it uses what has been learned to make new tools. Many improvements on existing technology (and a few whole new technologies) have come from this research.
 * 4) Creature Classification: This research focuses on identifying and cataloging all the many species in Theah - including the magical ones. This contact with magical creatures is what draws the wrath of The Inquisition.
 * 5) Alchemy and Blood Science: Perhaps the most controversial topics of study, Alchemy and Blood Science are so close to magic that they draw Inquisition attention at the mere mention of the ideas. Alchemy is the idea of transforming one type of chemical into another. They have had little success, though research into rare heavy elements seems promising. Blood Science tries to understand and replicate the powers of sorcerers using their blood as a catylist. This has proven more successful and properly trained Blood Scientists have successfully discovered ways to temporarily give non-sorcerers magic, though no one has survived the process so far.

Active Locations
Before the Inquisition, Castille was the center of education. To this day, many scholars have either elected or been forced to remain. Faithful scholars of Montaigne also joined the netweork, as well as many Vodacce scholars who act as the connection point for the college.

Fighting Schools
Forced to protect themselves from the Inquisition, the invisible college has created a new style of fencing based on Castile, Montaigne, and Vodacce styles.

Bonita - This fencing school uses Rapiers and well trained bodies to fight. What it lacks in style and ability, it makes up for in stealth running speed.