Academy Arcanum
The Academy Arcanum, also known as the academy, is an organizational body in charge of the regulation and schooling of magics in accross the Ashir empire, with some schools outposted in other continents. The academy is divided into three departments: education and research, peacekeeping, and intelligence. The academy was founded in 178 AP. It's main objective is the "safe education and protection of Vosterians from the arcane arts".
Origin
The Academy Arcanum was created by Nola Ashir as a way to educate spellweavers on how to manipulate aether into useful spells, police the use of magic from those who use it for harmful things, protect the powerless from spellweavers and expand its own influence. Since then, the empire has adopted the academy as its de facto magical police, incorporating it into the highest level of Ashirian politics and legislature.
Education and Research
The academy is first and foremost, a place of learning of the arcane arts. The academy has schools and universities across Vostera, teaching those who attend magic. Entrance into the academy is based on magical aptidude, academic and physical prowess, and while in theory meritocratic is often 'helped' by donations, bureaucracy, and heritage if the student is lacking in some capacity. Depending on the level of magical prowess, entry may be granted for free, or even forced.
Because the academy prouds itself as a place of education and protection, it sees the extremely talented, in particular the young, to be powerful assets in need of teaching and mentorship. As such, when prodigies capable of casting spells at a young age without the input of their parents or tutors are detected, their parents are given generous offers for their children to be taken under the care of the academy. The vast majority of parents take the offers without question, as they offer a substantial amount of benefits. If they do not accept, there are tales and rumors of the children being taken by force, and the parents either dying or forgetting their children entirely.
Once behind academy walls, academy schools effectively operate like boarding schools, and the students live on the school until they graduate. They are often surrounded by walls and guarded by city guards and the occasional peacekeepeers to prevent anyone from freely moving in or out of the school. What exactly happens behind the walls is a gatekept secret, by both students and staff, but it is public knowledge that it involves the teaching of the arcane arts and the manipulation of aether in different shapes and forms. Students are encouraged to specialize into one of the three branches relatively early on, as when they graduate from the academy after 8 years of schooling, they are given the choice of what three branches to operate under. Students are also given the choice of their source of power early on into their schooling; wizardry, divine, or for the rare chosen few: sorcery. Sorcerors capable of casting spells without academic knowledge or the presence of a divine pact or relationship are exceedingly rare, and are often coddled and given preferential treatment both at the academy and out. The sorcerors graduating from the academy make up most of the top staff of the peacekeeping branch, and are regularly given better opportunities and compensation in comparison to their peers.
Regardless of the path, once a student finishes their studies after eight or more years, they are effectively employable for life by the acedemy, and given many benefits in comparison to regular Ashirians, including academy identification in the shape of a golden medallion with the emblem of the academy, imprinted with the tint of their aether, like a magical fingerprint. This is usually accompanied by scrolls with more detail of their identities and mission if required to accomplish a specific task. This medallion is known as the golden pebble, or more colloquialy, as the pebble.
Students who wish to leave the academy are given a choice, they may leave if they wish, but they must submit to the erasure of their memories of their schooling, and those who attempt to escape without undergoing this erasure are hunted down and either imprisonned and forced to undergo it, or killed.
Students who graduate into the research and education branch have many options when it comes to thier futures, and are generally peaceful and prosperous. This includes professors, school staff, magical resesarch, diplomats, and more. The majority of academy graduates end up in this branch.
Peacekeeping
The peacekeeping branch of the academy is a private military unit that is hired mostly by the Ashir empire. The peacekeepers are seen as a force to be reckoned with worldwide. Officially, its interests are aligned with the peace and general well-being of Vostera. It declares its main objectives as the last-resort use of force to control fundamental terrorist and aetheric threats.
Peacekeepers wear enchanted robes of white with golden trim, with the trinity tree embroidered onto the hood. Depending on the specialization of the peacekeeper, they may or may not chose to wear armor under the robe. Peacekeepers are also required to wear a solid wood enchanted mask painted white in times of peace, and black in times of war. Peacekeepers can be found posted at the entrance of important events or locations accross the Ashir empire, and are generally feared and respected by the populace. Peacekeepers have much more liberties when it comes to the kind of magic that they can use, and are not restricted by the same kinds of laws as the populace, including the Hudal bill (below).
Their main goal depends on their current mission, but in times of peace in the Ashir empire, it is in this order of importance:
- To protect civilians from aetheric threats
- To safeguard and protect aetheric knowledge from malicious hands
- To serve the academy arcanum and its members
Peacekeepers are well payed, retire early, and are bound by a curse of silence after retirement. Breaking this curse after retiring by speaking about their experience at the academy sends the peacekeepers to an early, painful death.
Intelligence
The intelligence branch of the Academy is the branch dealing with collection of information, intelligence and recruitment of new spellweavers and gifted students to the academy's ranks. This branch is very secretive to its actual functioning as the information it deals with is highly sensitive. The intelligince branch has virtually unlimited personal resources and liberties, being able to cast what spells they wish, to explore what dungeons they may please. They are extremely well payed, though they live a life of secrecy and most do not have any families to speak of for their entire careers. It is impossible to recognize a member of the academy intelligence branch by appearance, especially since many are masters of disguise, both magical and banal. This is the most rare of all branches, with an extreemly slim chance of entry, and a brutal entrance procedure. Many of the members of the intelligence branch are extremely gifted sorcerors.
Many speculate that the actual function of the intelligence branch is functionally espionage.
Rules Enforced and Philosophies
The academy's philosophies are quite clear. Magic and the arcane arts are a difficult, dangerous practice that requires teaching and proper instruction. Dangerous high level spells are guarded by the academy fiercely, and anyone seen using high level spells by Academy members will be repreived for it, depending on the severity of the infraction. Peacekeepers, city guards, and academy staff have the power to arrest citizens and fellow academy students and members who breach the enforced aetheric rules or restricted spells outlayed by the Hudal bill or any previous anti-aetheric laws still in existence.
Restricted spells
The academy forbids the use of the following spells through Ashirian legislation bill E90 - otherwise known as the Hudal bill;
- Spells of necromantic nature, or that otherwise deal with resurrection
- Spells of pyrolytic nature
- Spells of divinatory nature
- Spells of illusory nature
- Spells of charming or otherwise psychic nature
- Curses of any kind
The previous spells may only be used in time of war and by peacekeepers or other military personnel. The punishments for using these spells vary from the gravity of the spell, the intent of the spellweaver, and other mitigating and aggravating conditions surrounding the case. Both peacekeepers and imperial guards have the right to make arrests based on substantial suspicion of the use of spells under E90.
Symbols
The symbol of the academy is the trinity tree, a symbol of the reaches of the academy grasping across Vostera and into different aspect of Vosterians lives.
