Lys Doré

The most renowned and well-known institute of learning in the lower lands of Toussaint. The academy of sciences and arts has existed for nearly 700 years since its founding in the year 712.

Here, researchers toil tirelessly towards furthering academic knowledge of all things both natural and regarding artifice. Scholars, scribes, and previously even witches, can be found within the institute’s legendary, winding library halls. The Lys Doré is accredited as leading in both major breakthroughs regarding the advancement of artifice-technology in 1361 and 1386, ushering in both the first- and the second ages of artifice.

Since the founding of the Alberean Empire by Solidor I in 1302, the Lys Doré has become much more intertwined with centralised government. A council of wise people keeps a close eye on gifted minds in the Alberean countrysides, offering scholarships to those talented enough to roam the institute’s halls. Besides these scholarships, there are only a few chances to get into the Lys Doré, all of which require wealth and vast amounts of talent. As such, studying here is one of the greatest honours an aspiring scholar could have.

Marcessus of Nys
The Lys Doré was founded by the famous scholar Marcessus of Nys, a now legendary, yet mysterious, Alberean astronomer of unknown descent and heritage. As Marcessus was largely ostracised from the academies of his time, there are barely any formal writings on his life besides the few of his own making that are stored in the Lys Doré's sanctum in the current year. Marcessus theorised through the trajectory of celestial bodies and theorems of light-reflection by landmass that there must be other continents on the world than that of Toussaint. The Faith of the Chant was as influential back then as much as in the current year, which meant that Marcessus' theorem was an assault on religious ideas of the Alberean peoples as chosen, divine beings, as well as the insight and knowledge that the Faith had over the mortal world. Marcessus was ostracised by the Archchanter of Nys and forced to leave Nys. Throughout the next decades, he would spend his years gathering a following of other, likeminded scholars with whom he form the travelling Congregation of the Golden Lily, otherwise known as the Lys Doré. Through the decades, the congregation gained much notoriety for their advancement of mathematics, physics, philosophy, and astronomy, and would be welcomed to formally settle their school of thought in Nys 10 years after the death of Marcessus.Though there have been many expeditions by sea to try and prove Marcessus' theorem on the existance of other continents, none have ever been found. This may, however, be due to still lacking shipbuilding technology, as Marcessus himself theorised these continents to be almost impossible to reach by natural means due to their distance from Toussaint. This has all resulted in Marcessus' theorem to have lost influence over the last century.

Renaming the Institution
Since the rise of the Alberean Empire under emperor Solidor I, there has been an effort to rename the universities that make up the Lys Doré as 'the Collegium Trinitas', due to original name having some Montclairoise associations. However, the longstanding history of the institute and its name proved too near to the hearts of people both in- and outside of Alberea.

The Defecting of Ratio
Nearly 50 years ago, a boys' club of young conservative thinkers studying at the Lys Doré was founded. Back then, the institute still enrolled gifted Montclairoise students, regardless of their ethnic background. This was also the time where a heavy financial emphasis was put on artifice-based research, sponsored by the Alberean Empire. The members of the boys' club, who called themselves 'Ratio', held rather controversial ideas regarding theories of supposed ‘purity of form and heritage’, akin to eugenetical theories. Rumours starting to spring to life about elven students being spies of the Republic of Montclaire, meaning to steal technology from the empire to aid Ghelden in waging a war against the Alberean peoples by razing the lands of the commonwealth.

After a number of attacks on elven students within the Lys Doré by colleagues, the boys' club was disbanded and its members suspended. Instead, all of Ratio's members defected from the institution, choosing to further their research and ideas elsewhere.