Origins and Reports
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History
Aristro’s earliest memories are at “Boarding for the Children of the Arcane”, often referred to as “the BCA”.
A boarding school for “special” chidren where they can learn to harness their abilities.
In reality it was a cruel and abusive environment with a high number of children that would often be forgotten and overlooked.
The BCA is the largest and oldest boarding school on this side of the map. It is not only the first boarding school for the arcane arts, but also an orphanage. Making it not just the very first boarding school and oldest to stand, but also the very first and only boarding school to double as an orphanage.
The school was originally built to board children struggling to learn magick., but the orphan dilema became so great after the purging of dark practitioners- the school decided to take in all orphans of Sandorra in hopes to guide them to the right path.
So all orphans in the dry land, “special” or not, were picked up and placed here at BCA
Parents would send their children here to learn arcane talents and would get to return home once the season was over- if you were enrolled as a student that is...
If you were on the list of unfortunate souls, you would find yourself within the walls of the BCA’s orphanage wing until you were 21. 18 if you were lucky. This was the inevitable for mostly all orphans of Sandorra.
You didn’t get to just walk out either. Your freedom depended on how well you proved your value to society. Otherwise you were stuck at the BCA. Forever.
Oh and if you were a bad kid while you’re here, then you would be sent to a reformation encampment for the youth. If you did bad till the day you turned 21 you had “one more chance at reformation.”
Then you would be sent to solitary confinement far way. If it sounds like prison, thats because it is. Sorry- you didnt make the cut.
The Sandorra militia had zero tolerance for runaways, or any riffraffs that would potentially help aid in the growing dystopia that the state was. So if you were not a self sufficient being that kept out of trouble then there was no olace for you out there. Sandorra was full of shady groups and individuals at every turn, the dry lands had a reputation of misfortune and chaos that reached all over.
So at 18 there were two options: The chantry or the wardens. IF you were favorited amongst the clergy then you could test for eligibility for your release. At 21 your options had only changed slightly. Test and prove your worth for your freedom, join the chantry or the wardens, or stay a servant with the BCA for the rest of your life.“Devout yourself to the greater purpose child, there is no shame in that.” They would say.
Most of those that chose the chantry had come from the BCA already, only to return to the place as an adult with their new purpose.
Aristro had no desire to devote her life to the Chantry. But she learned early that obedience kept her out of the cellars and away from the clergy. She was not born with abilities but was able to learn at a young age. The kids were cruel and adults even more so, and because there was no other housing for orphans in the continent, if you could not learn magick or did not want to learn, then you were simply a working ant. And the working conditions were harsh. Punishments twice as bad than the children that did practice magick. It was sink or swim at the BCA. And those that didnt know magick would often sink…
Aristro can remember all her memories from that place. The many of them are twisted and sour..
She was about 14/15 when she would run away from the BCA.
