World
Invisible College
The immortal Aesir came to this world from a frozen planet. They built fortresses of ice and stone and they taught mortals the secrets of the Unseen Powers. And then everything went wrong. When the Awakening comes, they use violence to reclaim what once was theirs.
Centuries ago, a sorcerer named Isaac Berrow founded The Invisible College to train the next generations of sorcerers to wield magic, enchant objects with sentience, and withstand the onslaughts of the Aesir. The industry of magic has become mighty. Society has flourished. But no one knows when the next Awakening will happen.
LIST OF Invisible College BOOKS
OTHER WORLDS
Locations in Invisible College
Andover
The seat of the Imperial authority, the capital of ancient empire of Tanireh. It is a bustling city with mansions, apartments, and decadent hotels, and a standing regiment who protects the imperial family.
Auvinen
This prosperous coastal city is considered the headquarters of the industry of magic and contains multiple quorums of the Invisible College. It is known for its manufacturing prowess, fine universities, and has become a thriving metropolis.
Bishopsgate
This central city and fortress contains the heart of the military and its leadership, stationed at Gresham College. It was far away from the Imperial court and its lazy courtiers, stationed at the crossroads between the front and the tributary cities.
Ice Trenches
To withstand the Aesir invasion that happen sporadically through history, mortals have constructed vast ice trenches to fortify the front lines against the encroaching glaciers. Because the Aesir prefer the cold, war is fought in winter.
Tanhauser
The epicenter of culture and the arts within the empire. People take the locomotivus trains to visit the famous opera houses, galleries, and experience the musical creations of famous composers.
CHARACTER ARCHETYPES
Officers
It is the duty of every citizen to help defend the empire against the Aesir and considered an honor to train with pistols and elfshot despite the bitter cold.
Inventors
These are the secret geniuses of the empire, those who invent new ways to harness the magic of the Unseen Powers to create extraordinary devices.
Sorcerers
Those who use music and elocution to harness the magic of intelligences.
Semblances
Only the highest officers in the military arm of the Invisible College know that some Aesir walk among us.
Brotherhood of Shadows
A secret organization within the military and Invisible College that hunts down Semblances.
Magic & Lore
The immortal race of the Aesir once taught humans the secrets of magic. That every living thing possesses an intelligence, a lifespark which gives that creation a will to act for itself. Sorcerers harnessed this knowledge and learned how to borrow the intelligence of a horse to inhabit a mechanical device to pull a cart. Or the intelligence of spiders to empower a weaving loom.
Over time the sorcerers passed on their knowledge through membership in a secret society called the Invisible College where learners are educated in the powders, reagents, and mathematics to harness these Unseen Powers. Through observation of the natural world and practice within their private alchemies, sorcerers have created many wonders, inventions which benefit the lives of even the most ordinary people.
Only by discovering new uses of magic can mortals defend themselves against the time of Awakening, when the Aesir seek to reconquer their world once again.
Cast of Characters
General Colsterworth
Highest ranking officer in the military and head of the Brotherhood of Shadows
Joseph Crossthwait
Member of the Brotherhood of Shadows, a hunter of Semblances
Miss Foster
The deaf daughter of an influential barrister
Professor Hawksley
A newcomer to Auvinen, teacher of the Hawksley method, and an up and coming inventor
The Erlking’s Daughter
The exiled daughter of the mysterious ruler of the Aesir
GLOSSARY
Stormbreakers
Aesir sky ships
Skrýmir
the period of Aesir hibernation
Saltpetr
equivalent to black powder with magical properties
Redoubtable fever
Aesir disease, causes deafness in children
Quorum
in Aesir, means “of whom we wish you to be one”, a group of members from the Invisible College
Marshalcy
the—law enforcement separate from the military
Locomotivus
form of transportation
Kappelin
an Aesir cloak granting invisibility
Inspiratory stridor
the most recent Aesir plague
Harrosheth blade
Aesir magic weapon, so cold it can pierce anything
Great Exhibition
annual gathering when new magical inventions are on display
Elocutionist
someone who teaches proper diction
The Erlking
the Aesir ruler
Elfshot
ammunication in weapons
Disir
race of female Aesir, use battle song and fly on reanimated beasts
Closure
weekly day of businesses being closed
Brotherhood of Shadows
secret society, dispatch semblances, most members are illegitimate and born in orphanages
Awakening
time period when the Aesir are roused and engage in wars with mortals
Alchemy
a lab for experiments
Aesir
alien beings with long life span, magic, and cold affinity, blue skin and silver hair, pale eyes like diamonds, smudge of purple under eyes