Ninth College

Many are fascinated with the power of magic, but only you see the way in which that power and the power of language intertwine. As much as you love to hide away in your study, you also enjoy being around people, listening to the web they weave with their words.

Unbound scrolls are intense and eccentric, and all have their own individual style. One might spend every waking hour working on scrolls, while another spends as much time in the taverns as in his library. Though you establish your own routine of study and social interaction, you can be sure that it is different from that of any other unbound scroll. In particular, you feel the allure of the adventurer’s life, for its promise of new magic, new peoples, and new power to be explored.

The Ninth College is a legend within House Sivis. As a child, you learned your basic skills from its preceptors. The order is extremely selective, and you underwent a grueling battery of tests evaluating your scrollcraft, your ability to use your dragonmark, and your dedication to the art of language. Before your training is complete, you must perform a task set by the viceroy of the college himself. This might involve anything from creating a new word to recovering a book of forgotten spells from a ruined library in Xen’drik. Any heir of House Sivis can undertake the tests, but only once. Should you fail, the doors of the Ninth College are closed to you forever.

If House Sivis is a whirlwind of intrigue, the Ninth College is the eye of the storm. Competition for rank is high within the order, but one achieves recognition solely through creation or discovery. It has been centuries since a member of the college was found to have stolen or undermined the work of another. You can choose where you work best: some unbound scrolls spend their lives in the college towers, while others choose to wander the world in search of inspiration and ancient knowledge.

Unbound scrolls are fascinated by magic and language— both what exists in the modern world and what has yet to be developed. Some live cloistered lives developing new spells or scribing scrolls by the trunkload. Others choose to explore the world, seeking inspiration in adventure.

Within House Sivis, unbound scrolls work together in an order known as the Ninth College. This order receives funding from the Hidden Word and Tasker's Dream, and unbound scrolls are prominent in both those organizations. The Ninth College is a center for linguistic studies, and its members have a reputation for eccentricity. Unbound scroll Harlus Haskal d’Sivis once spent twenty years trying to devise the perfect single-word greeting, while Syla Syrralan d’Sivis has spent a fortune crafting inks from the blood of rare and deadly aberrations.

The Ninth College is based in the great Sivis enclave in Korranberg. Viceroy Kendal Santor d’Sivis (LN male gnome diviner 5/unbound scroll 5) is the head of the college and a lord seneschal of House Sivis, advising the matriarch on matters of magic. Like all members of the house, the gnomes of the Ninth College love titles. Ranking members are called doyens, followed by provosts and preceptors. “Unbound scroll” is itself a title; as such, a gnome might introduce herself as “Lady Syla Syrralan d’Sivis, Doyen of the Ninth College, Keeper of the Eightieth Word, Unbound Scroll, and Wordsmith.”

Members of the Ninth College are expected to defer to those who hold office, and to return to the college for grand councils every six months. Though unbound scrolls are expected to share any innovations and discoveries with the college, few other restrictions or expectations are placed on them. Arms of the house occasionally request the assistance of the Ninth College, and depending on her skills, an unbound scroll could be asked to serve as a diplomat, bodyguard, or scholarly advisor.

Few people outside House Sivis know anything of the Ninth College, and unbound scrolls are treated like any other Sivis heir. Within the house, membership in the college is a considerable achievement, and heirs of House Sivis often have a friendly (or at least indulgent) reaction to unbound scrolls. The exceptions are those who have tried to join the college and failed. These gnomes often harbor bitter resentment toward those who succeeded in their stead, and while not necessarily hostile, might scheme against an unbound scroll from the shadows.

Unbound scrolls can be found anywhere in Eberron, though academics of the Ninth College remain concentrated in and around Korranberg. Adventurer unbound scrolls can serve any number of roles in a campaign, from ill-prepared explorers needing rescue, to the leaders of expeditions racing the PCs to a site of ancient and valuable lore.

As an option for player characters, the unbound scroll provides standing in House Sivis and resources useful to any spellcaster. The expectation to share new knowledge simply provides an excuse for an unbound scroll to seek out adventure.