Heaven’s Glory School

Heaven’s Glory is a boarding school of the sacred arts, located on Mt Samara in Sacred Valley

Location

The Heaven's Glory School is located on Mount Samara at the eastern edge of Sacred Valley. The mountain is crowned by a ring of white light named Samara's Ring. The ring appears at sundown and disappears at sunrise. It was built by an expert centuries in the past. It allows the Heaven's Glory school to collect light madra on even a moonless night.

The school is located near the Ancestor's Tomb, in which the Sage of the Endless Sword is entombed. This is also an entrance to the Labyrinth.

Each of the four holy peaks is located at a pass through its particular mountain. Each pass is guarded by each school. In book 1, Lindon and Yerin escape from Sacred Valley via the pass behind the Ancestor’s Tomb and Heaven’s Glory School. They travel east, away from Sacred Valley, towards the Desolate Wilds in the Blackflame Empire.

Infrastructure

The main entrance to the school is the Trial of Glorious Ascension. It is a large staircase covered in a cloud containing spirit-aspected and mind-aspected remnants. Ascending the staircase is the first trial for new disciples. Odds are given that 1 in 3 disciples fails to complete the ascension. Only 1 in 5 disciples completes the trial by sundown, allowing the disciple to choose a treasure from the Lesser Treasure Hall.

Buildings include initiate quarters, three treasures halls, an Outer Disciple Hall, and a Medicine Hall. A Hall of Healing is also mentioned and may be another name for the Medicine Hall. The least of the three treasure halls in named the Lesser Treasure Hall and is managed by Elder Rahm.

The buildings are sculpted from riverstone.

School Details

The elder leaders of the Heaven's Glory School are all Jades. Prior to Lindon's visit, they include the Grand Elder (who is the equivalent of a Patriarch or Matriarch of a clan), Elder Whitehall, Elder Rahm, and Elder Anses. It is implied that there are a few additional Elders.

One of the school's characteristic techniques is a striker technique of burning golden beams of light.

The school uniform is white and gold.

Plot Interaction

The school is responsible for the death of the Sage of the Endless Sword. It is reported by Yerin, the Sage's disciple, that the school poisoned and stabbed him. Although it seems incredible that a group of Jades was able to kill a Sage, Will has promised that this apparent impossibility will be explained in the future.

Rumours

In response to the question, "Who was the last person in sacred valley to reach gold before the events of the story?", Will answers:

"That's a great question, but unfortunately I can't answer it accurately without getting into why the people in Sacred Valley aren't Gold anymore, which is a spoiler. I will say that one of the founders of the Heaven's Glory School was a sacred beast who achieved Gold; a golden-scaled dragon that breathed light and heat. Legend says he's still sealed beneath Mount Samara, ready to defend the School in its hour of need."