So very very very curious about your PDH rewrite dude, as you know! Starting off by asking about Phoenix Drop and of course Phoenix Drop High!
Phoenix Drop is a pretty small town, despite its history and religious significance. Because of the location of PD, there wasnt much room for expanding outwards, and the idea of expanding upwards didnt really mesh with the preservation of the older buildings and monuments that the church has been funding for the past couple of centuries. So, in more spacious areas which have access to PD, theyve become common tourist spots especially for those aiming to get married, buried, or give birth in Phoenix Drop (which are all very common, it is the location commonly accepted to be the site of Ireneās rebirth, marriage and eventual death).
Because of the significance and size of PD, housing there is *so* fucking expensive, and the academic facilities are highly sought after. A lot of the money goes back to the church, and then into preservation and restoration, and public services like homeless shelters and food banks across the region. If you can afford to live there, you get it all paid back in other means, but uh. You also have to afford it in money.
PDH in particular is kind of like the equivalent of a catholic private school. In the way that it is like a really good school. It just also has a lot of religion baked into the education and it appeals to one particular demonstration of belief in the divine, being a very irene-centric one.
It has a school uniform (im debating between red bc phoenix drop or blue bc irene), and attached dorms (which are especially popular amongst less-wealthy and not-local students), and a cathedral on campus. Its soooo fucking fancy.
It offers a wide range of classes, even more specialised ones (which can help students aiming to go into particular career branches get a leg up on uni applications), including things specific studies for groups such as Werewolves and meifāwa, which go into the history, art/literacy, biology, etc, of those groups. Which are a good study to have under your belt if you want to apply to uni courses anywhere particularly fancy. Which is why Aph in my rewrite ends up doing Werewolf Studies.
Which is how the whole ultima thing will be introduced as an idea, as its like. Werewolf mythology, and relevant. Its a very common course amongst werewolves but its not a necessity for werewolves, nor can only werewolves do it.
Its also a popular punishment for rich people to send their kids to PDH for misbehaving because its pretty strict, and the whole proximity to religion is believed to make them better people and purify them.
And every year. 6 students are selected to get full-ride scholarships to any uni of their choice, which is a mix of being elected by the student body and teachers alike, and your grades in your subjects, each corresponding with a divine warrior. Its not uncommon for wealthy parents to pay to boost their kidās chances of getting the particular divine of their choice.