Uman Isle

Warning: This page concerns archaic world setting information from the I.C.E. Age of GemStone III. It is not canon in contemporary GemStone IV, nor is it canonical for Shadow World as the details may be specific to GemStone III. It is only historical context for certain very old parts of the game and these things should not be mixed.

Uman Isle is an island in the southern hemisphere of Shadow World between the continents of Thuul and Falias. Emer is directly north of it. It is difficult to reach the island because of storm reasons and unstable flows of essence. The island possesses a dead volcano that is now filled with a lake, hiding a college of magic run by Loremasters, with no relation to the famous Loremasters of the not-too-distant College of Karilon. The isle of Karilon is hidden off the north side of Thuul to the southwest of Emer, while the college of the "hidden tarn" on Uman Isle is on the east side of Thuul and south of Emer.

History

The cone of the volcano collapsed early in the Second Era of the Shadow World history. It was then filled with water from rain and an underground spring, forming a "hidden tarn" beneath a cloud of mist. The University of Magical Arts is hidden in this location, where reality has been warped using a powerful flow of essence. They control the weather in the vicinity so that no calamity ever befalls the university. This is performed through a Rolemaster Class V "conceptual spirit" that compels "feels of unease, awe and anxiety to those who fail a will contest roll" and enhances intuitive reasoning.

Uman Isle has an infamous mystique among travelers for this reason, in combination with its remoteness from navigational difficulties. This is an example of a spirit from the "spirit world", rather than the spirits of living creatures. Such spirits are easily tainted by impurities to their environment when brought into this world. This same corruption premise is seen with the more familiar sprites and nymphs.

University of Magical Arts

The University of Magical Arts was founded by Elves early in the Second Era. They called themselves Loremasters and trained Elven leaders to be able to resist and fight the forces of the Unlife. Following the Wars of Dominion and the decline of the Elves, the student population became increasingly more human. The last Elven Master left the school in 1050 Third Era. The Loremasters attempted to regulate magical thought through the increased hierarchy and rigidity of the school, since the humans were more easily manipulated than Elven scholars, but ultimately gave up and became content to observe.

(A) Colleges of Learning

The College of Natural Magic is the one that controls the weather, even though they are what we would call spiritualists. The University consists of five Colleges of Learning:

• College of Natural Magic (Channeling)
• College of Divine Magic (Channeling)
• College of Mental Magic (Mentalism)
• College of Essential Magic (Essence)
• College of Arcane Magic (Hybrid and Arcane)

(B) Faculty

Each profession is represented by a single Master, who grooms their finest student as a protege to be their replacement. These are overseen by the Headmaster of the given college and realm of magic, who is less specialized and exists to give the Masters humility over their limited perspectives. The five Headmasters are overseen by the single Arch-Mage of the University who lives in isolation.

Behind the Scenes

There is a great deal of the volcanic glass laen on Uman Isle, which is now called mein or glaes. Uman Island was initially developed in the I.C.E. Age of GemStone III by Fawn and Kygar, but was side-lined in favor of more pressing issues. When the GemStone III population greatly expanded in late 1995, it was turned into Teras Isle as a refuge for high level characters and given a dwarven history.