Schools of Thought

A school of thought is system of belief, or a methodological approach within an academic or philosophical system. The term was formally used for the various Schools of Thought within the Rasian Academy, with different approaches to the practice and application of magic.

The Great Schools essentially ruled the academy until the Uncivil War, which saw open fighting within the academy and led to the rise of the Magisteriate.

The ancient Academy of Rasiaplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigRasian Academy

The Rasian Academy is the common name for the Grand Academy of Rasia, the greatest institution of magic and learning in the Anrel Isles. was one of the greatest centres of learning in the world, holding libraries of unique works copied from the most ancient times. It was not in fact a single institution, but a huge agglomeration of colleges and institutions dedicated to various arts and disciplines, both practical and esoteric. The various college buildings made up what became the city of Rasia, the intellectual and, for a time, political hub of the north.

By the time of Belikast, its most infamous Grand Master, the Academy was dominated by three great schools of thought; academic approaches which each claimed to offer a complete explanation of the natural world. In theory the Great Schools were philosophies independent of an institution or college, but in time they came to dominate whole fields of expertise, carving the Academy into fief amongst themselves and excluding all others.

The academy consisted of many colleges of inter-related disciplines, but the three great schools dominated, very roughly, what can broadly be called the fields of Behaviour, Bio-ecology and Physics, respectively.

• Grammariansplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigGrammarian School of Thought
  
  The Grammarians were one of the three great Schools of Thought in the golden age of the Rasian Academy. Grammarians believed that words and language were the key effective magic, and sought the purest, most concise and elegant words and structures. Grammarians also studied human languages of all kinds.languagelanguage believed the entire universe behaved according to a set of intrinsic rules, which could be expressed as grammatical logic.

• Holisticiansplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHolistician School of Thought
  
  The Holisticians were one of principle schools of thought at the Rasian Academy, during the age of the Great Schools.
  
  Rasian Academy
  
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  Holisticians view the universe as sets of interrelated and interdependent systems. They regard other perspectives as view the world as a set of interlocking systems all influencing each other, so that any problem or situation can only be resolved with a broad knowledge of the wider context.

• Metamagiciansplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMetamagicians
  
  The Metamagicians were one of principle schools of thought at the Rasian Academy, during the age of the Great Schools.
  
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  * Magic * Schools of Thought
  
  Where the grammarians seek to explain the living world in the languagelanguage view the universe in terms of mathematical formulae, which explain everything from the movement of the heavenly bodies to chemical interactions.

Historically there have been many schools of thought, which by the time of the Great Three were called the Lesser Schools. These existed only on the fringes of academic life, and were regarded as foolish, anachronistic or dangerous quackery. However, those with useful skills or valuable archives survived, most notably the following:

• Oughtistsplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigOughtism
  
  Oughtism is a moral and philosophical system, claiming an ancient inheritance from the moral codes of the Godmen. It continues to be influential throughout the Anrel Isles, and it's guiding principles have been the foundation of legal and religious codes throughout the - practicioners of a moral philosophy claiming descent from the Godmenplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigGodmen
  
  The Godmen were the mythical inhabitants of a landmass contiguous with the modern Natorn Archipelago, said to be the ancestors of all the Thalsic peoples of the northern Civilised World. In the Emerald Epoch they created the first great civilisation, referred to as the Realm of the Godmen. The Godmen are said to be mytho-historic, memories of an ancestor race shrouded by millennia of HartheraAnrelAnrelherherAnrelAnrel
• Signtistsplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigSigntism
  
  Signtism is an ancient philosophy and subculture in the Anrel Isles, one of the many Schools of Thought who found a home in the Rasian Academy. The Grand Master Belikast was born into the Signtist community of Larford, and his association with the culture and the city led to its utter destruction during the - dedicated to examining the universe with instruments, particularly microscopes and telescopes
• Gnosticiansplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigGnosticians
  
  The Gnosticians were a minor school within the Rasian Academy who studied gods, the god-magic of theurgy, rituals and theologies.
  
  Rasian Academy
  
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  * Magic * Schools of Thought
  
  The Gnosticians were originally founded to study the origins of god-elementals, or 'magicmagic - examining the practical nature of gods, spirits and folk traditions, as well as religion and comparative theology
• Mekanismplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigMekanism
  
  Mekanism was a School of Thought at the Rasian Academy. It viewed the universe as a single integrated machine, made up of intricate interlocking parts, from the smallest particles of matter to the great wheels of the heavens.
  
  Rasian Academy
  
  This is in a series of articles about the - a philosophy which views the universe as a machine, also dedicated to artificing and production of devices

After the 'Fall' of Rasia, when the city was sacked during the Long War, the Academy was closed and the colleges disbanded. Those few who survived were absorbed by the Magisters, who remained in the ruins of Rasia, in bitter isolation.

However, the modern Hexact Ordersplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHexact Doctrine

The Hexact Doctrine is a philosophy of government developed in Anrel in the early 3rd century ME, with the aim of creating governments that benefited the health, wealth and wellbeing of its citizens. It is the model for many governments throughout the MEAnrelAnrelAnrelAnrelAnrelAnrelAnrel absorbed many of the practical arts and archives of the old academy. The arts of the Metamagicians were continued, in their grossest forms, by the body that became the Rinesti, the administrative order of the Hexact. The Holisticians were discredited as a philosophy, though their medical experience went to establish the Senasi, dedicated to the promotion of human health without the deeper philosophical purpose.

Signtists almost entirely disappeared, their works distributed amongst smiths, engineers and interested amateurs. Belikast was a great friend of the signtists, and many latterly joined the Church of the Nameless, led by his disciples. The Signtist school owned land on the river Lar, east of Rasia. Centuries later it was settled by the Church, in secret, and became their stronghold.

The art of the Grammarians were taken over by the Magisters, though their quest for the “deep languageplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigLanguages

List of human languages and dialects, contemporary and extinct.

Language

language

This is in a series of articles about Languages and Communication.

topics sidebar cult1” was forever abandoned.

The Oughtists became irrelevant after the downfall of Rasia, although its moral philosophy certainly underpinned the new regime of the Hexact.