Talk:Faendryl
Palestra
I have gone over both the new and old documentation, as well as finding historical population densities and medieval estimates. Below are my findings, please peruse them. Skip to Conclusions at the bottom if you want the short version.
>From official documentation: "The more stable political climates and strong leadership allowed the magical community (which encompassed eighty percent of Faendryl society in various forms) to flourish and grow." - The Growth of Faendryl Magic
"While there had always been a small population of warriors in the mostly magical people, these lithe fighters and their skills came into high demand. The energies used to bring creatures from there to here were far from perfected, and either the casting or what it brought often left the caster reeling, easy prey for the target of their summons. The blademasters, unaffected by the energies about them, proved to be lifesavers, and magicians invested large amounts of funding for the services of such protectors." - The Growth of Faendryl Magic "To cater to this need, Ondreian Shamsiel Faendryl, Patriarch XVII, ordered the Palestra founded and staffed with the finest warriors and instructors his people had to offer." - The Palestra and the Faendryl Warrior
"As each round of graduates finished their instruction, magicians could come and hire them directly from the Palestra for a small fee." - The Palestra and the Faendryl Warrior
"In private service, Palestra are hired by sorcerers with an expertise in summoning or in any sorcery that might endanger the community. By law, all sorcerers engaged in such activities must contract with a Palestra." - The Theory of Governance and Social Order
>Assumptions:
Graduating percentage = ~0.8% (From Palestra at Symposium, 4 out of 500 became Palestra)
Great Academy class size = ~500 students (from Palestra at Symposium)
Lesser Academy class size = ~125 students (extrapolated to average 1 graduate per class)
Length of time between classes = ~10 years (actual time per person varies, would assume this is between contests)
50% of graduating Palestra enter private service
Age of mature Faendryl = 324
Age of old Faendryl = 912
80% of Faendryl society is part of the magical community
All non-magical Faendryl enter the academies and no magical do
90 people per sq mile, assuming German/Italy style landscape & amount of arable land
>Calculations:
Students per class, all academies = 2000
Palestra graduating per class, all academies = ~16
Total students over 500 year period = 100,000 (over 4x the estimated population of London in 1377)
Total Palestra graduating over 500 year period = ~800
Estimated population size during this 500 year period = 500,000 (1.4x the estimated population of London in 1662)
Total number of Faendryl possibly seeking Palestran services = 400,000
Maximum number of sorcerers/wizards able to hire a Palestra for private service = 400, 0.1% of the magical population
>Conclusions:
The majority of the Faendryl magical community is unable to obtain the services of Palestra, which is directly in conflict with the reason they were created in the first place.
The graduating percentage of Palestra is unable to support the system that they were built to handle and would collapse under the weight of demand.
Keeping all other factors the same, a graduation rate of 80% would need to be maintained just to meet the demand for filling 10% of the society. With this rate the amount entering private service would likely spike causing a greater fill percentage.
In order to support a country of this estimated size (500,000 people) New Ta'Faendryl would be about the size of Connecticut (5,500 sq miles).
-Durakar/Chulak