Enrollment and ranks
The interview process
Enrollment at the collective is done on an interview basis: prospective students are asked about the state of their literacy, magical studies and practice of spellcraft. Depending on their answers, they may be enrolled as junior students, senior students or graduates.
Junior students
Junior students are beginners, who need to be schooled in the basics of their chosen profession. They receive a bronze key, which gives them access to the dorms and the public section of the library, containing general lore, primers and manuals, encyclopedias and historical records. They can also book study rooms designed for groups, to work with other students.
Senior students
Senior students have some experience of magic, and have been schooled in the very basics of their craft. If they entered as junior students, they will have passed a practical exam to test their grasp of spellcraft to progress into this rank. They receive a silvered key, which gives them further access to the library’s spellbooks, journals and essays on experimental or advanced magics. They can book individual study rooms, with spell components such as crystals or base metals to experiment with.
Graduate students
Graduate students are tried and tested magic-users who have attained a high level of skill. Senior students who have passed a college-administered graduation trial may claim this rank, as well as individuals accredited by external organizations such as the Queensdale Academy or the Durmand Priory. They receive a gilded key, which gives them access to rare volumes in the library, covering dangerous curses, volatile spellcraft and magical lore relative to myths, demonology and the Dragon Cycle. They can book private laboratories, complete with rare spell components, target dummies and other amenities.
The collective’s finances are a closely guarded secret, however it is known that the budget relies primarily on grants from the Royal Throne of Kryta and the Royal University of Kryta, hence the name. Several generous private donors contribute to its positive cash-flow. As a result of these financial means, many students study for free, and have access to various commodities at reduced prices. Poorer students have a “board and class” arrangement, where they do not pay for classes or dormitories but are asked to pay for goods from the commissary or cantine, and expected to execute small magical tasks like repairing stairs, hydrating the garden or removing litter upon a request from the college’s caretakers. Most students, however, pay student fees, roughly equal to 4 gold per trimester of study (for dorm and class, not including food), going up to 8 per trimester for graduates (who receive access to high-quality components in their laboratories).