The largest building in the Sacred Forest is also its only proper castle, marking the place as almost out of place among the Sacred Forest. However, owing to the prevalence of curative plants in the forest and how easy it is to grow and harvest them with Maguon's help, it was agreed between Karem, Raskalarn, and Maguon that the Sacred Forest was the best place to house the primary headquarters and educational center of Imperial medicine. Rather than break the two goals up into smaller buildings, it was deemed more efficient to house them in one building, and so Maguon cleared enough space for one of the castles that Imperial architecture is so very fond of.
Construction took longer than usual, owing to no one being willing to clear a large enough road to facilitate more rapid construction. In addition, the Imperial Medical Headquarters is smaller and less obviously defensive than most Imperial governmental constructions. While it has all the arches, steeples, and spires of any traditional Imperial castle, there are no curtain walls or other such overtly defensive structure. The reason for this is two-fold, with part of it owed to the defenses provided by Maguon through the Sacred Forest itself, while another part is owed to not wanting to press too much on Maguon's generosity by pushing at the bounds of the castle's assigned area.
Consequently, the interior of the castle is also rather smaller than is common for Imperial construction, as only the classrooms and hospital waiting rooms have the large scale and vaulted ceilings common to most Imperial classrooms. This owed to most of the castle being devoted to medical purposes, with offices, visitation rooms, surgeries, recovery rooms, emergency rooms, and medicine storage making up the vast majority of the castle's interior. That said, the Imperial Medical Headquarters does have one aspect of traditional Imperial castle artistry in abundance, namely the ubiquitous stained glass windows, showing medical history not just from the empire, but all across Idalos.
As as result of the compromises of its construction, the Imperial Medical Headquarters exists as a semi-controversial construction among Imperial art circles. While no one questions the necessity of the limits to its construction, there is debate about whether those compromises limit it too much to be considered a great work of art, while others consider its limitations and the efficiency of its design to give it an artistic flair all its own.
Outside of the castle itself, many medicinal plants are grown in the vicinity of the castle, both in the open area immediately outside the castle and in the nearby forest. Plants like mushrooms that require low light sources or otherwise controlled environments are grown within the castle itself. Since the head of the Imperial Medical Headquarters is a member of the High Council, the facility is heavily overseen by Empress Raskalarn and her closest advisors, so the place is remarkably free of corruption.
The academy is overseen by the Headmaster of the Imperial Medical Headquarters, who is always a member of the High Council.
Off Topic
Educational Services
Education is largely subsidized by The Eternal Empire. All citizens are entitled to one class per season of their choice, though civilians must travel to the educational center that offers the class they wish to take. Imperial Army Soldiers are allowed to take mail-in courses, owing to their need to stay at their stations for long periods of time, even during peace.
The Imperial Medical Headquarters offers courses in all medical fields, and will actively work to expand its offerings as new medicines or medicinal techniques are created or discovered. If you have a question, please DM Basilisk.
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