Dean of the Thorned Rose
Overview
Dean of the Thorned Rose is a Navarr Imperial title announced by Silvio di Tassato, Bearer of an Imperial Wayleave, during the Summer Solstice 382YE. The position of Dean is a sinecure, requiring minimal responsibility but offering a regular income of crystal mana.
Responsibilities
The Dean has no particular responsibilities; they simply receive a bounty of crystal mana from the Thorned Rose in Miaren. If the Rose were to be threatened in any way, it would be the responsibility of the Dean to deal with those threats. The Dean is expected to swear a specific oath, but this is not a legal requirement to hold the title.
Powers
Bounty of Mana
The Dean of the Thorned Rose has custodianship of a sinecure. They receive an income of 9 crystal mana each season.
Apartment
A compact treehouse, nestled in the branches of one of the largest and oldest of the trees that stand the grounds, is made available to the Dean of the Thorned Rose for their personal use.
Appointment
The Dean of the Thorned Rose is appointed by unanimous decision of the Navarr senators. If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, the title may be appointed by the Imperial Senate instead.
The title can be held by any Navarr citizen. The Dean has tenure, and serves until they die or step down. They can be revoked by the General Assembly, the Navarr National Assembly, and by the Assembly of the Nine.
Thorned Rose
A place of learning built just outside of Seren in Miaren, the Thorned Rose specialises in the teaching of prospective vates. The curriculum deals in depth with what it means to swear the vates' oath, and the various ways of dealing with magic and the creatures of the Realms. The Dean is asked to swear a specific oath on gaining the title, but this is not enforced by any legal requirement. The oath is inlaid in mithril into a squat monolith in one of the gardens of the Rose: "Never to sway from the path of the vate: this I swear. Take in the willing, share my life's wisdom: this I swear. Train them in all they need to know, prepare them for the oath: this I swear. Never to accept the vate oath of the irresponsible, reckless, or unworthy: this I swear."
This school is built outside the city of Seren, close to the weirwood forest that occupies a significant portion of the old ruins. The structure itself is built around a Terunael ruin which has not been reclaimed from the forest. The ruin is still draped in moss and ivy, dotted with trees, but much of it has been restored by careful Navarr builders who have been painstaking in their efforts to incorporate as much of the original stonework as possible. Many "chambers" are actually arched, open-air gardens or courtyards where ancient trees still flourish.
The heart of the Rose is an open hall whose floor is inlaid with a complex spiral mosaic - an original feature of the ruin. This hall serves as both a lecture hall and a library, with a fair sized collection of books about the supernatural realms as well as many treatises on the history of the Navarr and Terunael. At the back of the room there is a weirwood carving of a mage rod in the form of a rose wrapped in sharp thorns and at its base is carved "We sacrifice to put right what Terunael made wrong. Your steps inspired me to lead others to follow in your steps. Our Dance will lead us back to our family." There is an endless loop of thorns next to these words.
Opposite the main building is a small cabin for those that stay at the sinecure be they teachers or students next to that built into a giant tree is a treehouse that is the abode of the Dean of the school. In the treehouse it seems that the tree has been pierced with spikes of mithril around which the sap coalesces into crystalline mana that, along with donations from students, provides the production of the sinecure. Original descriptive text provided by Paul Thomas
| Summit | Elected |
|---|---|
| Autumn Equinox 382YE | Bledri Eternal |
Recent Elections
This title is currently held by Bledri Eternal. This title has tenure, the occupant may hold the title until it is revoked, they die or they relinquish the position. The table to the right shows the citizens who have been elected to hold this title in the years since Empress Britta died.