Collegia

The Collegium by Larry Dixon (from Brightly Burning)

The Collegia train Heralds, Bards, Healers, Mages, Artificers, and children of the nobility. Even the Guard are integrated into the system.

The system consists of four principle schools which are primarily tasked with educating the gifted amongst the Valdemaran population:

• Heralds' Collegium
• Bardic Collegium
• Healers' Collegium
• Mages' Collegium
• There is also a group of unaffiliated students, called Blues, who do not have Gifts, but who may attend courses at any of of the Collegia. These are generally children of the nobility, or children whose parents are involved in running the court or the collegia

By the reign of Queen Selenay, the integrated collegia form a smoothly working organization. The Heralds' Collegium is the biggest because their building contains the general classrooms. The Bardic and Healers' Collegia have neighboring dormitories, and provide specialized training as well as sending their students to many of the same general classes as the Heralds, such as history, geography and courtly graces. Students who are unaffiliated with the four Collegia may attend general classes at the Heralds' Collegium in various circumstances.

When Elspeth brought High Magic back to Valdemar, she re-established a Mages' Collegium as well, which was integrated into the existing system.

Typical education in Valdemar

See Education in Valdemar.

The Collegia

The collegia are a departure from the typical education in Valdemar. They provide a broad educational foundation via several years of formal classes, which are more structured, consistent, and taught by experts in the subject. Students in residence receive uniforms, room and board, and may receive a small allowance for incidentals.

For the Heralds' Collegium, a person must be Chosen by a Companion. For Bardic, a person must have two of the three bardic gifts, one of which may be the actual Bardic Gift. For Healers and Mages, a corresponding Gift is required. The "fifth collegium," the Blues, has no entrance requirements, but tuition must be paid, unless the student has a scholarship.

Students of every Collegia are assigned to attend the general education classes (math, history, etc.) taught at the Heralds' Collegium. Every Collegia student is eligible for physical combat training provided by the Weaponsmaster; it is mandatory for Heralds.

Heralds' Collegium

Main article: Heralds' Collegium

All Chosen Herald-Trainees are required to attend classes at the Collegia. There is no tuition; all Heralds willingly work for the Crown when they graduate. The Heralds' Collegium provides general education classes (math, history, etc) which are attended by students of all four Collegia. Herald-trainees end their coursework when the Heraldic Circle deems them ready and awards their Whites. Then they intern under the supervision of an experienced Herald. Riding Circuit on their internship assignment, they implement what they have learned and at the end become a full Herald.

Bardic Collegium

Main article: Bardic Collegium

Valdemarans with two of the three bardic gifts are qualified for enrollment in the Bardic Collegium. Scholarships are available to those who can't afford it. Minstrels, aka musical performers who do not have two of the three bardic gifts, may attend Bardic if they can pay tuition. Bardic students receive scarlet silks upon graduation from the Bardic Collegium and are granted the rank of journeyman.

Healers' Collegium

Main article: Healers' Collegium

The education of Healers often begins with a local village Healer who recognizes their Healing Gift. The student may choose to train in their hometown, or more formally at any House of Healing anywhere in Valdemar. However, anyone with a strong Gift, or a rarer Gift such as Mindhealing or Empathy, is urged to attend the Healers' Collegium in Haven. Tuition is never mentioned in the context of healers - it may be assumed that their training is funded by the government towards the public good. Healers do supervised work as part of their education at the Collegium. They receive their full Greens when their teachers deem them ready.

Mages' Collegium

Main article: Mages' Collegium

Valdemar had a barrier against magic for centuries, so there are no established Master or Adept Mages to privately train developing young mages in a typical apprenticeship format. Now that the barrier has been removed, a concerted effort is being made to bring all Mage-Gifted Valdemarans to the new Collegium for formal training.

The "fifth collegium" - the Blues

Main article: Blues

Unaffiliated students are by definition people who do not have the Gifts to qualify for one of the four Collegia. They might attend the collegium for various different reasons. Most of them are offspring of nobles who pay tuition for them to attend rather than employing private tutors. They may be children of Courtiers who want to keep their families with them. Exceptionally intelligent or meritorious children of common blood may come to the Collegia to receive "the best education possible in Valdemar ... They usually have a sponsor, either in the Court or one of the three Circles of Heralds, Bards, or Healers." These students may be scholars, "people learning to be something more than just simple clerks." Or they may be studying to be Artificers: inventors, builders, etc. Artificer training does not end with coursework - their education is extended by work under Masters. And finally, some unaffiliated students are members of the Guard who need specialized training in an area. The color of unaffiliated student uniforms is a pale version of the Guard's blue uniforms, so these students are usually referred to as "Blues."

Combat training

Herald-trainees are required to learn archery and combat under the Collegia's Weaponsmaster. Valdemar Guards gladly train and practice their skills at the Collegia. Other students are also eligible for such training, but by nature it can be unsuitable for Healers; Bards traditionaly receive combat training as well but must be protective of their hands, and Mages usually learn magical combat, leaving them no time for the physical. Noble Blues are essentially immune from compulsory attendance, or might not make an effort. At least one wealthy parent has been infuriated by a child who snubs training which is far superior to expensive private tutors.

Uniforms

Students are easily identified by the color of their uniforms:

• Gray = Heralds' Collegium
• Rust red = Bardic Collegium
• Pale green = Healers' Collegium
• Pale yellow = Mages' Collegium
• Pale blue = Unaffiliated students ("Blues")

When students "graduate," their official clothing changes:

• Heralds - White. The uniform is always called "Whites" (or by combat experts, "shoot-me-now")
• Bards - Scarlet. Sometimes referred to as "silks."
• Healers - Green
• Mages - Golden-brown
• Guards - Blue uniforms (royal blue for Palace Guards) which originally inspired the pale blue unaffiliated student uniforms

There were reasons for using the colors of red, green, and white:

All three colors were expensive and difficult to dye—or, in the case of Heralds' Whites, to bleach and keep pristine white. All three were, as a consequence, immediately recognizable at a distance. And all three would be very, very hard to counterfeit properly, in no small part because they were expensive. People who were trying to pull scams generally spent as little as possible to do so. It wouldn't be impossible for someone to try, but it would be unlikely.

Staffing

Each Collegium has its own Dean who oversees the students and the classes. While it could be argued that overseeing the joint curriculum leads to a bit more work for the Dean of the Heralds' Collegium, Bardic students have intensive ongoing training in music, and like the Unaffiliated students tend toward greater mischief. The Healers' Collegium is attached to the House of Healing, and includes a great deal of specialized training and hands-on work with patients.

The instructors are all full members of their particular branch, with the occasional unaffiliated expert. Some of the class assignments, such as mathematics, are permanent teaching posts, while others may be on a rotating or as needed basis. In 'present day' Valdemar, geography is taught by a rotating roster of Heralds who each teach a section on their home regions. Gift training is taught as needed by whichever Herald both has the relevant Gift and is a good teacher. Healers, Bards and Mages have their own specialized Gift training.

The Heralds' Collegia also have two permanent staff members who are unaffiliated with any of the branches. In Selenay's time, these are the Cook Mero and Housekeeper Gaytha.

Notes

The number of students in Talia's first year at the Collegium was "sixty in Healer’s, forty in Bardic, and with you [Talia], exactly fifty-three in Herald's Collegium. The number of Blues varies; there’s never less than twenty, not often more than fifty." More Herald-Trainees are mysteriously Chosen when Valdemar will need them - often due to deaths during a war. However, in Mags' time, there was no major war. The increased number of Herald-Trainees Chosen was linked to the expansion of Valdemar's borders, increasing both lands and population, and thus the need for more Heralds.