Scholar



Scholar (文官, bunkan) is one of three main occupations held by nobles in Yurgenschmidt, along with knight and attendant.

See also Character List: Scholars.

A scholar's main duties include:


 * Administration: Scholars serve as civil officials, assisting with the bureaucracy and governance of the duchy or province in which they serve.
 * Business: In Ehrenfest, scholars are responsible for managing duchy-owned businesses such as printing.
 * Intelligence Work: Gathering information about politics, technology, and current events is a key responsibility for a scholar. They may also be involved in counter-intelligence work, such as spreading rumors or misinformation.
 * Research: While not all scholars are researchers, all researchers have a scholar's education. Scholars may develop magic tools, potions, or other forms of technology.
 * Record-Keeping: Scholars serving as retainers typically accompany their lord or lady to important meetings, where they take notes and handle calculations when needed.
 * Brewing: Among retainers, it is generally the scholars who will do the majority of the brewing their master requires.
 * Medicine: One of the possible specialization paths for scholars is that of a doctor.

Scholars may serve as a retainer to a higher-ranking noble, or they may work independently. Education as a scholar is required for some positions, such as a tax official or a librarian.

When a noble marries into another duchy, it is exceptionally rare for the archduke to allow the scholar retainers of that noble to move with them to the other duchy thus generally forcing said scholars to resign. This is due to it being generally considered too big a risk to allow the very people who gather, organize, and maintain the intelligence of a duchy to move to another duchy for fear of them leaking important information to their new home.

Scholars must attend the Royal Academy and graduate from the scholar's course, which begins in the third year. Prior to that, all first years take the same introductory classes. At the Interduchy Tournament, both scholars and apprentice scholars present their research from the past year, usually focused on magic or magic tools.

The scholar course consists of a core of mandatory lessons that is mandatory to successfully graduate and a selection of optional specialization courses that students can participate in addition at their own choosing. Particularly ambitious students may take multiple or even all specialization lessons.