Department Heads

There are about fifty staff in all, including the department heads and the Masters/Mistresses of the individual School Sections. It is these department heads who usually work with the SCR students, unless they have chosen a very unusual speciality, the PCs will probably have been taught by one or more of the following.

Kalle Hendrake, Chief of Security and Lecturer in Investigative Magic and Procedures

Kalle Hendrake

Kalle is one of only three non-Helgrams on the Academy staff. He is the son of Tomas Hendrake and Sinead, daughter of Duchess Matilda, and was initially brought up in his father’s House. However, while he did show the usual inclination towards matters military, from a young age, he also demonstrated a flair for investigation, and getting to the truth of things. His Hendrake tutors realised that this was something innate, rather than taught, and he was sent to the Helgram Academy at the age of 20, as it was known that they developed such things.

Once there, he found that he preferred life in House Helgram to House Hendrake, and after he graduated – his tutors also having taught him forensic and investigative magics, which complemented his innate skill – he decided to stay in his mother’s House. He spent a while in the Helgram military, and then worked closely with Finn Harrison-Helgram in the early days of the House police force. He is still on the books as Chief Medical Examiner for the House.

He returned to the Academy when one of the students died in mysterious circumstances, and was responsible for bringing the culprit – an embittered JCR student, who had been passed up for further study – to justice. As a result, Duchess Athena asked him to undertake a security review of Academy procedures, which he did and on which he continues to consult. Since then, he has been a guest lecturer in security and investigative procedure.

Jennifer Harrison-Helgram, Shape Shifting

The elder daughter of the late Duke Henry, Jennifer was an exceedingly early developer as a shape shifter, much to her parents’ dismay. In the end, they asked Duke Daveth to take her in hand, and he settled down to teach her how to control her skill. She came on very quickly, and by the time she went to the Academy, she was a fully functional shifter, with the potential to take her skill a lot further.

In the end, she had to be sent to study with Lord Suhuy, and stayed with him for some time, forming a close friendship with his daughter Jasra. In return for her training, she was employed as an agent by King Swayvill, and developed the fine arts of sneaking into places and learning information. Eventually, however, she made too many enemies, and it became prudent to retire from active duty. At that point, she returned to the House, and began sharing her knowledge with both the Academy, and the Helgram intelligence agency.

Rory Daveth-Helgram, Head of the Department of Magic

Rory is the grandson of Duke Daveth, although when he was young, he didn’t really show that much flair for the arcane. He was sent to study within House Hendrake, as his father Mikel wondered if that was more his son’s forte, and indeed, Rory did very well there. He was on a training exercise with his Hendrake cousins when the squad he was with was at ground zero of an attack. The stress triggered his innate magical abilities, and in his panic he protected his compatriots. At that point, his commanding officer suggested that perhaps it was time he went back to his own House.

He returned to study with his grandfather – getting to know his cousin Jennifer very well in the process – and quickly became well versed in sorcery. He even developed a whole new version of Power Words from the original single word versions. In addition, he developed a working knowledge of ritual magic and conjuration, but as far as teaching those areas is concerned, he employs experts.

Ritual magic is one of the less commonly taught subjects at the Academy. However, it is available for those students who wish to study it, or demonstrate a flair for such things. The main teacher is Duchess Marguerita, helped by Archduke Ian, who is one of the best ritual mages in the House, when he has the chance. For conjuration, the main teacher is Master Alwyn.

Rory is married to Sarra of House Kylastor, and they have one son, Josep, who is works for the Zócalo Police.

Alexandra Helgram, Animal and Veterinary Studies

Alexandra, daughter of Duchess Juanita, has always been an animal person, even in the days when she was at the Academy herself, and delighted in smuggling in creatures from the various of the Ways Pocket Shadows. Her personal collection includes horses, cats and dogs, and other rare exotic chaos creatures including griffins, lions with wings, pegasii etc.

She is an accomplished sorceress, with a speciality in veterinary medicine in all its forms: magical, shape shifting and mundane. As such, she is the premier House expert in the subject, and splits her time between teaching at the Academy and general practice in the wider House. She is highly capable and responsible, and has always been something of a moral pillar within the Family, although she can be stubborn.

Jacob Hendrake, Strategy and Tactics

Jacob is the second non-Helgram on the staff. He was initially trained in Hendrake, his mother’s House (she did not record the name of his father in the Hendrake records) then went to the Royal War College in Thelbane, where he showed a natural flair for strategy and tactics. This was his first major exposure to non-Hendrakes, and when people kept telling him he looked more like a Helgram, he decided to find out if that was true. He ended up discovering that his father was Henry Helgram, and set about trying to find out more about the Helgram side of his family.

He has served with both Hendrake and Helgram forces, often acting as a liaison between the two and gaining respect from both sides. He was one of Grand Duke Bleys’s senior generals during the War Between the Powers, and thereaft was invited to teach strategy and tactics at the Academy, after his predecessor was killed in the final battle of the War.

Shea Stephens-Helgram, Personal Combat and Battle Magic

Shea is the younger sister of Llewelyn, the House Master at Arms. Like her brother, she was trained by her father from an early age, as soon as it became apparent that she had taken after her Hendrake ancestors. After Stephen died, Warmistress Joan took Shea under her wing – after all, not that many Helgram women end up as warriors – and taught her a great deal about both personal combat and the uses of magic in combat. She’s been teaching at the Academy for several decades, and she and Joan remain close.

Aina Hendrake, Warding and Self-Defence

Aina is the third Hendrake on the Academy staff, a daughter of Johanna Hendrake, who returned to her own House after the death of her Helgram husband Henry. However, she remained close to the friends she had made in Helgram. Aina grew up as a Hendrake, and showed particular flair for self-defence and hand-to-hand combat. She was also identified as a potential mage, and therefore her mother arranged with Duchess Athena for her to be allowed into the Academy. She learned fast, and decided to specialise in combat magic and warding, both ritual and sorcerous. By the time she was graduating, it was well-known that Helgrams out in Shadow were being hunted and killed, and so she decided to stay on and help try to teach these Helgram amateurs to defend themselves.

Sheila Helgram, Healing

Sheila was delivered to the doors of House Helgram in a basket, aged about a month old. Her mother, Adrianne, was a Hendrake, who was known to Bleys and had worked with him in the past. No reason was given as to why Adrianne abandoned her child, but Sheila was adopted into Duchess Clarissa’s household, much as Jackin was. She grew up as a Helgram, and was sent to the Academy, where she proved to have a flair with plants, potions and poisons, and especially their healing properties. She also learned magic, with a bias in that same direction. After graduation, she spent some time working with Duchess Gwenith in the House Infirmary, but eventually came to the conclusion that she would be a better teacher than doctor. She applied to the Academy, where she remains. She works closely with the Academy medical officer, Susan, who has also taught her how to heal others using shifting.

Finnegan Williamson-Helgram, Head of Physical Education

Finnegan is the grandson of Duke William. His father, Ruaidhrí, is one of the Helgram Lions’ star Chaos Rules Football players, and his mother is of Hendrake descent. Finnegan wasn’t one of the more academically gifted students – mainly through lack of application, rather than lack of ability. As a child he hated being in class, preferring to be out in the open air, and he learned to shape shift at a very early age. He stayed on at the Academy into the JCR, both because he played CRF, like his father, and also because he proved to be a highly gifted shape shifter. Sufficiently so that he eventually learned to take forms which would allow him to travel in Shadow.

After graduating, he gained a reputation as a daredevil and adventurer. When he was in his fifties, he had a bad encounter with agents of Caine Rilgason, but managed to do them considerably more damage than he did to him. He returned to the House, and eventually applied to the Academy to run the PE department. He also assists in teaching both personal combat and shape shifting. He still travels the Black Zone, and knows it better than the vast majority of Helgrams.

Fidelma Johns-Helgram, Mind Magic

Fidelma is the younger sister of Breda, the Mistress of the JRC. She inherited her father’s strength of will, but not his artistic talent, and decided that she would set about to study the mysteries of the mind. She went to the Academy, where she studied sorcery with a healing specialisation, then worked in the Helgram Infirmary for a while, before walking the Logrus. She had a serious bout of Logrus Madness, and after she eventually recovered, she decided she wanted to study the mind, and why it reacts differently in different people.

She travelled extensively, learning many psychiatric, psychological and analytical techniques, before she eventually returned to the House. Mind magic is something of a catch-all term which encompasses a variety of disciplines, including using magic to affect someone’s thoughts and feelings, as well as mental healing, telepathic communication and psychometry (reading past impressions of a person from an item). She also helps those students who have an affinity for Power Words to develop their abilities.

Myron Edwardson-Helgram, Helgram Studies

Myron is both a qualified Helgram legal practicioner and a graduate of the Thelbane of Jurisprudence. At the Lower House level, “Helgram Studies” comprises the teaching of House history, genealogy and protocol, among other subjects. He then teaches a Helgram pre-law course to those JCR students who are interested, and a full Helgram Law degree course at the SCR level. Myron is greying but has blue eyes, and usually dresses casually. He is pleasant and friendly and has a roving eye. His father, Bishop Edward, rather despairs of him.

Ivan Edwardson-Helgram, Thelbane History

Ivan, brother of Myron, has brown hair and blue eyes, and received his own schooling both inside and outside the House. He teaches a wider Thelbane history curriculum. He is quietly religious and goes to Dragon Church. He is fair and often cracks off colour jokes, and is apathetic to minor violations of the Academy rules. He is a smoker, who enjoys war games and hanging with the boys.

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