Located in the Capital (name TBD), the AAAA is the premier center for the study of the arcane arts in the nation Avenmare and on the continent/region. Hundreds of years ago (905 S.A.), when the nation of Avenmare was still the principality of Avamar, the Academy was a something of a large monastery with accompanying grounds and a sizeable library instead of a cathedral. Unfortunately, the principality decided to join some of it’s neighbors in war against the elves of the far northwest forest and the elves decided to pay the principality back by sending a unit of elite troops into the Capital via night mission and effectively laid waste to the Academy and many of its staff and students. After this incursion the Academy was rebuilt as a military training complex for the brats of nobles and the rich and the beautiful aesthetic was replaced with a dour exterior and utilitarian form. During this time the Gifted of the principality of Avamar then nation of Avenmare (997 S.A.) tended to remain underground and/or in small groups spread throughout the land, but not for long as the monarchy gave way to magocracies twice over the next one hundred thirty years as some noble rulers wanted to attempt re-invading the northwest elves for their counterattack of 905 S.A. The second time the Gifted felt the need to rise up for their own safety the entire royal family from the crown down to shirttail, fourth cousins, all and anyone that could reasonable make a legitimate claim to the throne, was publicly executed.
In 1133 S.A. King (name TBD) went out of his way to make peace with the elves of the northwest and invited them, and the dwarves of the east, to have a diplomatic presence in the Capital. The elves gave the king a gift of 100 seedlings from their forest and these were planted a few miles outside the Capital and known as the name TBD.
To ensure that future monarchs will uphold peace with the elves of the northwest the Gifted of Avenmare “persuaded” the king to: rededicate the AAAA (at this point still a military academy) for the study and practice of magic under the control of the Gifted where the members would choose from their own ranks who would act as the Academy’s governing body; give Gifted Academy members permanent seats on the nation’s governing council; recognize the Gifted representatives of the Academy as independent diplomats to the elves; give the Academy’s representatives on the nation’s governing council certain powers to rule against/have the final say on actions that could threaten the Gifted of Avenmare and/or other nations in the region. The Academy was also to work jointly with the crown in regards to law enforcement matters dealing with the Gifted of Avenmare instead of the crown alone. The Gifted of the Academy did not wish to encroach on or deal with other matters not directly related to the safety of the Gifted of Avenmare – this is the Academy’s primary mission.
The second magocracy ended on the terms stated above as to what role the Gifted, represented by the newly rededicated Academy, would have in the workings of the government lest a third magocracy rise in order to protect the Gifted from the folly of stupid, greedy, spoiled, noble brats.
The Academy is the most heavily protected, both magically and non-magically, area of the Capital – even more protected than the palace. A nation can get another king, but a nation cannot get more of what the Academy holds in both lives and knowledge.
Rather than put their eggs all in one basket many Gifted human tend to make multiple copies of important tomes and items (if possible) and spread them out in small caches or put individual copies in separate locations. The Academy is no different, some of their treasures are hiding in plain sight, others well away, but never all together in the same place. Why make it any easier for the elves than we have to? Some of the treasures of the Academy are not on the grounds of the Academy at all but spread throughout the Capital and other areas of Avenmare.
The Academy boasts a grand library, open to all citizens that have gone thru a thorough background and credentialing process. This library, for defensive purposes, is both above and below ground. The general public area for non-magical information above ground, arcane information kept on floors below ground.
Excellent laboratories, workshops, and training grounds.
The Academy is funded thru taxes, donations/endowments, and thru services and products rendered. These services and products include and are not limited to the following: production and sale of various low-powered magical items such as magical lights, clocks, water purification items, perpetual flames, healing potions and others; pest control services; research services; security services; assistance with civil engineering; magical healing services; agricultural assistance services; etc.
Another source of funding is thru the tuition of those that are not Gifted but still wish to attend and study the arcane arts from a theoretical and historical point of view, as well as other offerings of the Academy. Typically these students are noble brats and the children of well-to-do merchants/business people that wish to send their offspring to a prestigious institution to act as bragging rights in social circles. Other non-Gifted that may end up attending the Academy are general researchers, scholars, and those that wish to go into the non-magical aspects of healing and artifice, and those that wish to become assistants to the Gifted, those that hope someday they will be Gifted and/or had a close relative that was Gifted.
Security measures for the Academy include wards and shielding of all kinds, magical devices and wards to detect for the presence of elves or those with elven blood, protections above, around, thru, and below the grounds of the Academy. For security reasons the Academy does not publicize the number of security personnel it has, nor the number of students, researchers, and/or staffers. Estimates on number of students range from a few to several hundred, possibly over a thousand if one takes graduate students into account.
The Academy makes use of “extra spaces” to hide magical items in the Academy as well as throughout the Avenmare. Not knowing exactly what the elves are capable of, the Academy staff hides the Academy’s treasures in various ways, and hides some of it’s workshops and laboratories for the development of more powerful spells and items in various ways: an “extra space” known to some staffers that can be opened in a specific room and hold specific items and or workshop/laboratory/library; a secure space that one must teleport to that may be far away from the Capital, may be far underground and/or then open up into an “extra space”; some subterranean secure spaces far under the Academy that one can get to via mechanical lifts and/stairs/tunnels and then some have “extra spaces”. No one staffer knows where all the secured and extra spaces are. Sometimes these “extra spaces” are called “pockets” and the staffers that know of them and maintain them are called “tailors”.
The degree program at the Academy takes four years made of two terms that coincide with the agricultural seasons as most Gifted tend to come from farming backgrounds.
First Term = Early/Mid Nov to Mid March
Six weeks off for spring planting
Second Term = Late April/Early May to Mid September
Six weeks off for harvest
A student is encouraged to pick their career/major field path after the first year and must choose by the end of the second year.
Fields of study include majoring in the traditional schools of magic as well as professional career paths such as the following: Healer/Medicine; Martial – War, Security; Commerce; Diplomacy; Research – Archeology, Archivist/Chronicler, Development/Artifice; Civil Service.
General curriculum includes and not limited to:
History of the elves and the Great Theft
Basic self-defense with martial weapons and basic use of various armors
Basic horseback riding and handling
Basic, non-magical survival techniques
Evasion techniques
Low Magic
High Magic – grades one thru three
Potion manufacture
Simple to intermediate magical item manufacture with every student having to create at least one magical item before graduation (non-Gifted students to make an item that will be imbued with magic and describe the function of said item)
Regional languages, at least 2 (eleven is mandatory)
Fundamentals of spell creation
Magic, Ethics, and the Law
Basic first aid
History of Avenmare
Religions ancient and contemporary
Basic research techniques
For those students that did not have any type of formal education prior to attending the Academy and/or are illiterate, there are basic literacy and mathematic classes. For those students usually an extra year is added to their time at the Academy.
Recognizing that not everyone comes to utilize the Gift the same instructors take into account differing learning styles – academic/theoretic; insightful; emotional, artistic, etc. aka (for role game players) – intelligence-based caster, wisdom-based caster, charisma-based caster.
As the mass production of magical items is an important part of most human societies’ strategy against the threat of elven malfeasance, students of the Academy are encouraged to go into the field of artifice by means of excellent financial inducements/benefit packages.
Cantrippers et al.
Not being able to perform High Magic does not preclude a student from availing themselves of the rest of the courses the Academy has to offer, nor does it deny them a degree path. Cantrippers are able to pursue all fields of study and professions that fully Gifted individuals can and do. After graduation, and/or in general, cantrippers can be found as healers, researchers, assisting in civil engineering projects and services to towns and cities, found in the military, etc.
As far as artifice, cantrippers can make and arrange the necessary physical components of a piece and then contract out to a fully Gifted individual the magical imbuement task.
Cantrippers act as important assistants to fully Gifted individuals, and important and capable casters in the own right.
From a dnd point of view it would be very common to see a Cantripper assisting farmers with field preparation, helping to build drainage ditches, moving gravel and stone for road and foundation construction, all with the Mold Earth cantrip.
Upon Graduation:
Students are encouraged to continue with their training and graduate studies beyond the initial four year degree, even if just for their own part-time study and research. About twenty-five percent of those completing the initial four-year program do stay for graduate training. Those that have completed a four-year program but are not continuing on in a formal graduate program of study still have access to the Academy’s library of magical knowledge and numerous workshop and laboratories for the crafting of magical items, new spells, or the recreating of lost spells.
A common graduate program is that of the Healer/Medical Mage. After the four years of basic study at the Academy a graduate of the Healer/Medical Mage program, depending on previous education, may choose to either go into a non-magical, medical training program outside the Academy and then return later for graduate studies, or complete the graduate training first then move on to the non-magical, medical program. Usually, as the Academy’s four-year healing arts program is essentially a pre-med program, some time is shaved off the graduate’s outside, non-magical, medical training. A full Healer program of study might look like the following – four years at the Academy in the basic program, two years graduate program, two to three years standard, non-magical, medical training. Some students may be able to do this all in seven years: three years basic/pre-med; two years graduate; two years medical. There is a similar path for those choosing to be pharmacists/apothecaries after their magical training at the Academy.
Some graduates in the security and/or investigation fields are tapped to be security forces specific to be on the look out for elves. Usually under the guise of pest exterminators.
Who is allowed in the AAAA? Humans? Of course. Ameya? Before the War of the Gods most Ameya in what became present day Avenmare had been pushed out, killed, or integrated into the small nations/states of the region. There had been some number of Ameya in parts of the South Downs region and further south. Today, Ameyan clans from the First Age can be found with the dwarves of the east and elves of the northwest. It was decided a century ago to allow Ameya admission into the Academy. The Ameya and elves are natural allies and so there was some concern that the Ameya may act as spies for the elves. Those making that argument were outvoted. However, the decision to allow Ameya admission to the Academy may not have been purely out of good intentions. The number of Ameya settling into Avenmare had been growing after the Second Magocracy established peace between the crown and the elves. Allowing Ameya admission to the Academy may have been as a way to build legitimate diplomatic relations with the Ameya; have some number of Gifted Ameya that would be loyal to Avenmare and less to the elves and possibly complicate matters for the elves; and something of a public relations effort to demonstrate to the countries of the region that Avenmare was something of an enlightened, egalitarian society. As of today, no Ameya have applied for admission to the Academy as the Ameya would rather keep to themselves how many amongst them are Gifted and who exactly they are. Dwarves? The debate goes on whether or not to admit dwarves to the Academy as the dwarves and elves are natural allies, and the dwarves of the east are still strongly allied with the elves of the northwest. Avenmare and the dwarves of the east have good trade and diplomatic relations. Another vote on the matter is slated for this after-harvest semester. Elves? No. Although some at the Academy do make the case. “When will the walls come down and we see each other as all brothers and sisters on the world together for but a short time? Let the past be the past and let us build this world anew.”
A word on the wisdom or lack thereof in regards to Gifted humans coming out publicly and the mission of the AAAA. As the elves counterattacked human societies by targeting Gifted humans, both combatant and non-combatant, the wisest course of action for humans warring with elves was to hide their Gifted away as best they could. This worked to varying degrees. And this targeting of non-combatants was of course used as propaganda/reason for re-invasion of elven lands. The Gifted humans were thus put in a very unenviable position: hide from teams of mage-slaying elves and hope the humans did not start another conflict/re-ignite conflict with neighboring elves; or come out against their own rulers and in some cases large swaths of their own societies to stop their people from further conflict with elves. As either decision had its risks some number of Gifted humans made the calculated risk to rise up and overthrow those that claimed the title “noble” and that they and theirs alone had some divine right to rule, or had some other way earned this right. The Gifted humans that were successful in stopping their societies from further conflict with the elves tended to be better at killing nobles and their supporters than the nobles were at killing the Gifted and their supporters. There were very few if any instances of some Gifted human coming forward and thru great and soaring rhetoric swaying the masses. Many Gifted humans saw the nobles, the “elite”, and/or the greedy and the ignorant of human society as the real enemies and threat to the safety of the Gifted, not the elves. Were it not for humans’ wants and baseness there would be no conflict with the other races. However, not all Gifted humans are so enlightened, most are not, they are just like your average human. In general it was just about survival, and killing a non-Gifted human being, noble or not, tends to be easier than trying to hide from a seasoned, mage-slaying elf hot on your heels.
