Sit you, weary traveler, sit and listen to the tale of the city you tread! Were it madness, a sign from the Gods, or merely fate guiding the ancestors of our Lord-Mayor to new lands? Truly, I tell you now, what is written upon the stones of the library: Our founder, Wilhelm Grau dreamed a vision as plain as day. A vision of a grand school upon a mountain by the river. A school with spiraling pillars of books stacked from floor to rafters, a school of students young or old but all wise beyond their years for they hunger for knowledge as a lion starves for the sheep. He saw a library as grand as any castle, where thoughts pushed the boundaries of what can be done and enter the ever-neglected realm of accomplishing feats only dreamed of. Wilhelm told of a city that spanned many miles, pushing across the banks of the river, darkening the horizon with buildings and monuments to the wisemenn of the ages. Streets bustling with travelers from every nation, languages spoken that had touched few ears, and markets that spanned as far as the eye could see.
Wilhelm spoke of an armada of ships, trading vessels, military frigates, and deep treading barges all coursing along the river. A veritable dance of fish on the water as each vying for their chance at the pier. Looking across the land, Wilhelm saw farmland with rich crops, miles of ever-plentiful food goods to feed the armies of scholars in this grand center of learning. Each traveler upon the road bringing in their goods to make their wealth, each bandying their own unique knowledge through their experience.
Wilhelm saw artisans aplenty, arduously seeking their craft’s betterment. Creating works of art that served their purpose with the most precise and greatest of means. Travelers coming from across the ocean to seek out the masters, desperate to attain an apprenticeship with even the lowliest of these craftsmenn. Silvered curios lining silken tables, weapons of metals not yet discovered, golden finery that fascinate the most discerning of nobility, and the most intricate of stonework and woodcraft that grace, and poise of hand could fabricate.
He awoke, startled and agasp, at the untamed wilds that lay before him. His mind still reeling, his body drenched in sweat, and with his pack in tow Wilhelm set out. For weeks he trudged through the vast array of mountains, hills, forests, and valleys. Weeks he trekked through uncharted lands, forgotten wilds, and lonely new worlds. Just as his legs were to give out, just as his body began to betray him, just as the last sip of water was drained from his skin; the river appeared upon the horizon.
Wissenheim was little more than a shack, but a shack devoted to learning becomes the school we see today. Wilhelm broke ground next to the river to start his field, writing during the evening, reading during his meals, and working to build his dreamland into a reality. Stone by stone, scroll by scroll, day by day, the shack grew. Soon, travelers arrived, weary and wary. Wilhelm gave them food and water, offering them land and his dream of a city of wise men. Menn, Womenn, and Childer sat in awe as Wilhelm told them of his dream, told them of the vast city that covered the land further than any bird could fly, told them of the city of riches and food and splendor aplenty, and each knew that they had found a home.
One house became five, five became ten. Wilhelm spared no amount of energy for his people as he began the school of Wissenheim, teaching those who listened to think beyond what they know into the darkest recesses of imagination where no thoughts dare tread. Every day, students flocked to his lessons, and every day he taught. Soon, the students became the teachers, new students took their place, and the school as we know it, fledgling as it was, started to grow.
Wissenheim Institute of Technology now towers over the city-state of Wissenheim, home of the wise, home of the knowledge seekers, and home to those who dream! You see these streets, meager and small yet, still, watch as they grow, watch as the travelers seek out their own knowledge. Dukes, Duchesses, Counts, and their commoners walk these streets; all with the same thoughts in their heads. The same question burns in everyone’s hearts:
“What does the future bring?”
Wissenheim knows that answer.
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