Order of the Brass Dragon

Leader: Archdean (Lady) Yurem Alborlon

The Order of the Brass Dragon is the Draconic Orders' collection of sages, researchers, philosophers, and investigators. Like their namesake, Brass brothers and sisters love to talk, to the exclusion of most else. They love to engage friends (and foes) alike in hours of long-winded conversation, and it is not unusual for a Brass to be fluent in many different languages.

The Brass Order founded and operates a number of Universities in many of the major cities, and serve as institutions of higher learning across a variety of different subjects, including both physical and social sciences. While much of the faculty are Brass members, Brass Dragon Universities seek to attract the best-and-the-brightest all across the spectrum, so it is not uncommon for University students to find themselves learning from individuals from all walks of life, including even the odd reformed criminal. Knowledge is king, and so long as those who hold it are willing to obey the laws of the land during their time at the University, a place can be made for anyone.

As a result, attendance at a Brass University is a highly-coveted thing, and Brass University graduates are often found in some of the most influential places; political graduates often find positions as advisers to the throne or council rooms all over the Northern Realms, economics graduates often sit at the highest levels in the Merchant Guilds, religious graduates are often found leading services in Kaevarian Churches and Old God services alike, and mystical graduates frequent the halls of most Mage Schools. Anywhere that knowledge is useful, the Brass have people looking to enhance, add, and refine it.

In fact, one of the crowning glories of the Brass Order is the Great Library, located in the Brass home chapter adjacent to the Order of the Platinum Dragon's home chapterhouse in Flakew, which aims to be the greatest collection of information in the world. Open to the public (under escort, since most seekers don't really understand how to use a library), the Brass use the Great Library as a way to track anything and everything about the world, the gods, history, and more. Every Brass discovery gets sent and cataloged in the Great Library, and is rumored to include the world's greatest collection of spells (in scroll and spellbook form).

While members of the Brass Order do not, as a general rule, crave the action or adventure that other Orders might, Brass members will frequently commission and/or join expeditions that have a scholarly angle. (Whether they join the expedition usually depends on how "necessary" a firsthand view of the expedition's explorations and experiences are deemed to be.) Additionally, the Coppers' abilities to ferret out information makes them a natural pairing to the Brass, and it is not uncommon to see Brass/Copper pairings spill over into marriage/mated-pairings.

Membership

Membership in the Brass Order is open to all classes, although generally only the more scholastic ones (clerics and wizards) will generally find the Order comfortable. Bards will frequently retire into the Order, as will thieves and the odd assassin, but in general, a scholarly life doesn't appeal to the rest. All races are welcome, particularly those longer-lived who have personal views of history, and the Brass makes great efforts to capture first-hand accounts of historical events from some of the eldest creatures they can find. For this reason elves of all forms are often held in high esteem, and an elder elf has often been offered an honorary position within the Order in exchange for simply being a part of their research network.

Because of the Brass' scholarly nature and information hoards, it is common for the other Draconic Orders to send promising initiates and apprentices to study at a Brass University for a time, making Universities a common melting pot and meeting ground for the Orders to intermingle freely. Additionally, "taking the Brass" is a common retirement tactic for senior members of the other Orders, offering a way for them to pass on their knowledge and experiences to a new generation in settings of relative peace and quiet.