Master of the Koboldi
Overview
The Master of the Koboldi is an Imperial Title appointed by Declaration of Candidacy in the Imperial Conclave. The position was created to oversee the College of Engineering in Temeschwar, created in conjunction with the eternal Adamant. The college took a little over a year to build, being completed shortly before the Winter Solstice 383YE. Part of the delay was due to the need to amend the powers of the Master to bring them into line with Adamant's initial proposal. At its completion, control of the structure was ceded to the eternal, who dispatched some of his servants to help staff the college.
Responsibilities
The Master of the Koboldi is Adamant's representative to the Empire, and vice versa. They do not oversee the College of Engineering as such - the building was ceded to the control of the eternal after all - but they have the ability to call on Adamant's servants to undertake construction work anywhere in the Empire. If the College were threatened, however, they would be responsible for dealing with those threats.
Powers
Commission stone construction
Once per summit, the Master of the Koboldi can commission a single folly, fortification, ministry, great work, sinecure, runeforge, or college of magic anywhere in the Empire. The commission must use at least 30 wains of white granite as part of its costs. This project does not count against the limited number of commissions the Senate can begin each season - all the work of planning and construction is undertaken by the koboldi. The commission follows all the normal rules, although in this case the labour cost of the building represents gifts of treasure for the heralds and their master rather than wages.
To use this power the Master must make a Senate announcement, ideally containing all the necessary details of the commission. These should include the nature of the commission, the territory and region where it will be built, and the method of appointment of any associated title.
While a standard commission will proceed without any problems, using this power in conjunction with an opportunity may lead to unexpected complications depending on its nature. The Civil Service may be able to provide guidance where this is the case. (OOC Note: For opportunities presented in Winds of Fortune, an e-mail to plot@profounddecisions.co.uk should be able to confirm if there will be any problems with the Master using the koboldi to fulfil it.)
Regalia
Adamant has pledged to provide two magic items as regalia for the Master of the Koboldi: a wreath of gold and a bracelet of gemstones. Adamant has pledged to re-empower the foci every year during the Winter Solstice, as long as he enjoys the amity of the Imperial Conclave. The powers of the foci have not been made public knowledge.
Official Residence
The Master of the Koboldi has a suite of rooms at the College of Architecture in Temeschwar, and while in residence all their needs are taken care of by the koboldi. They are welcome to roleplay that they dine on the finest food and drink that the League has to offer.
| Summit | Nation | Elected |
|---|---|---|
| Summer Solstice 385YE | Varushka | Dima Vasilyevna Novosad |
| Winter Solstice 383YE | The Brass Coast | Sagua i'Ezmara |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Dima Vasilyevna Novosad; it can be reelected at any summit by a declaration of candidacy. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.
Appointment
The appointment, replacement, or removal of the Master is made by the declaration of candidacy as part of a Conclave session. Any Imperial citizen may hold the title. They serve until they are replaced by another magician using the Declaration of Candidacy. As a title in the Conclave, they cannot be revoked.
College of Engineering
Built in the foothills of Locul in Temeschwar, not far from the great mine of Descent, the College of Engineering is unsurprisingly an impressive stone structure. The buildings themselves are a curious fusion of League architecture and the influence of the Summer realm. The buildings tower to great height, but are designed to harmonize with each other and the surrounding terrain, decorated with subtle and refined traceries. The interior houses many realistic sculptures in a variety of styles honouring both famous Imperial architects - such as Lorenzo “La Volpe” Macelliao von Temeschwar, and the commissioning Senator Cesare Sanguineo Rezia Di Tassato - and inhabitants of Adamant's subterranean realm. Visitors often find it incongruous to encounter a statue of the exemplar Atuman on one side of a hall, mirrored by an equally beautiful statue of a great lizard-headed robed figure, both of them equipped with scrolls and mason's tools.
Large stained glass windows fill the interiors with natural light. The most impressive of which is probably found in the great hall where a massive circular window of multicoloured glass depicting seven dragons encircling a great flame with the words "With Ambition, we Build" beneath. At night the halls are illuminated with Lightstones from Urizen and Wintermark, and shimmering crystals quarried in the Summer Realm. The main library is particularly imposing, with two great towers that echo those of Diora University in Sarvos - itself home to a renowned school of architecture - but decorated with sculptures depicting a number of great wingless lizards with many legs - creatures of the Summer realm known as deepwyrms.
Nobody visiting the College is left in any doubt that it is built, at least in part, to the glory of the King Beneath The Peak - indeed the road that wends down the hills toward the city proper is flanked by two massive dragon statues of white stone, depicting at least one of the images of the eternal themselves. Even if one were to ignore the extensive dragon and mountain imagery, two-thirds of the staff at the College are creatures of the Summer realm - specifically the underground demesne of the Throne of Adamant. Labour and menial tasks are undertaken by the short-and-stocky koboldi but there are several heralds of Adamant in residence who are both larger and more unique in their appearance. They include the architect Lemanan whose brutish, ogrish physique belies a keen wit and intense enthusiasm for excavation and mining; the sinuous Be'hei'ar, a serpentine sculptress beyond compare; and the grey-stone-skinned Drageer who teaches draftsmanship and geometric principles to the students here.
Security likewise is a split between the mundane and the magical - a small company of mercenary soldiers of the League, well paid in gems and precious metals on the one hand; and two livings stone statues of dragon-headed warriors that spend most of their time standing motionless in the forecourt before the library ready to spring into life should anything threaten the College or its inhabitants.
Further Reading
- Commission details all the rules and requirements for beginning a construction project.
- Senate announcement explains how the Master of the Koboldi uses their ability to commission stone structures.
- Mean what you say is the Summer 382YE Wind of Fortune where the college was first proposed
- Construct College of Engineering and Architecture is the Senate motion that set the project in motion
- Stone and stone is the Winter 383YE wind of fortune that includes a number of opportunities for the Master to commission unique construction