Heralds' Collegium

The Heralds' Collegium is part of the Valdemaran integrated Collegia system housed in the Palace Complex in Haven. A person can only become a Herald-Trainee by being Chosen by a Companion.

History

Centuries ago, newly-Chosen trainees were assigned a mentor, a full-fledged Herald, to teach them the bulk of their job in an apprenticeship. Depending on the Gifts of the trainees, and any special teaching needs that went with them, a Herald might have more than one trainee at any given time.

Formal classwork in common subjects such as history, literature, religions, law, etc. were conducted at the existing Bardic Collegium, with the Bards and their students as the primary focus.

The apprentice system had the advantage of individualized attention, but had a disadvantage: inconsistency. There was no guarantee that the "curriculum" would be taught properly and completely (as evidenced by Herald Lores never having been taught Truth Spell.)

A bigger disadvantage, however, came from putting inexperienced and ignorant trainees in the field, riding circuit with their mentors. When the Herald-Mages vanished, it became more important than ever for a Herald to display competence and inspire confidence.

During the reign of King Kiril, trainees were being Chosen in such large numbers that the mentoring system quickly became overwhelmed. There simply weren't enough Heralds to go around. Instead, the Heraldic Circle began the Herald Collegium, most likely modeled on the existing Bardic system. Now trainees would remain at the Collegium on the Palace grounds, taking standardized classes and living in dormitories. Only at the end of this training period, usually five years, would they be sent out in the field to intern with a mentor. Some older Heralds resisted this idea at first, fearing that the trainees would get into mischief without closer supervision. However, the Companions Chose wisely, and their fears came to naught.

Staffing

Each Collegium has its own dean. The Dean of the Heralds' Collegium oversees the joint common curriculum shared by all the Collegia, as well as the Herald-Trainees. Though this could be viewed as unfair, there are fewer disciplinary problems among Herald-Trainees as they have Companions to help keep them out of mischief, so the workload seems to be equivalent to the other deans.

Uniforms

The students at each collegium wear uniforms, which are color-coded to their school. Each is a pale or subdued version of the uniforms worn by the graduates. In the case of Herald-Trainees, the uniforms have the same cut as Heraldic Whites, but are gray in color, and are usually referred to as student Grays.