Talk:University of Hakan

For a small bit of detail about the school and its origins, see the entry about Antioch.

Transition to New Hakan

I'm a little confused on the University of Hakan. Mythrian studied here presumably sometime in late BI, when the gnomes were probably all servants to the dwarves then, right? So, when the gnomes got New Hakan in early FI, did the university also see a major restructuring to be primarily gnomish? Humans were relocated, right? Or did the university itself remain mixed race? It seems like for such a hugely important university, having the country control for the region switch hands would surely threaten its prominence and how respected it was in the world? I may be missing a link here or there, so any additional pointers are quite welcome. -Mattie

And, yes, the Gnomes kicked all the humans out and basically took it over whole hog. A substantial amount of the university materials were left behind and fell into Gnomish hands. I would agree that post-Alexandria the university might take a slight prestige hit - especially as the University of Fresia became central to the missionary activities of the early church - but the Gnomes are no arcane slouches themselves, and quickly brought Hakan's center of scholarship back the head of the pack. Of course, only gnomes (and sometimes dwarves) are allowed to go there. -gm

Well, Mythrian didn't really "study" there. In their time there, the Stand would probably better be described as "researchers" - they were not following any particular course of study. Largely quibbling over terms, but seemed like something worth noting.

Also, the University itself was relatively multinational in makeup: Antioch himself was a half-elf, and the University encouraged the talented from all over to come there. Once it fell under Gnomish jurisdiction, the Gnomes pretty much forced everyone out over the course of the Hakni Human migrations of the early Post-Alexandrian era until ,within a century, it was exclusively a Gnomish affair. Even without the personnel wealth lost over that time, the material and written wealth all remained and the gnomes, being generally smart and industrious, quickly capitalized on it to become among the preeminent casters on the mainland, particularly in the schools of divination and illusion, and the illusionary subschool of shadow, as those were the specific focuses of Antioch's study. -gm