Academy of Natare
Some say the Academy is the brain of Natare, while those from afar say the Academy is all there is.
Art and culture and learning but especially magic. The core of the Academy is taking the brightest minds in Levis and turning them into learned individuals and especially mages. With its multi-storied buildings overlooking the long courtyard that serves as its centre, the academy is bright light of discovery and learning; not the only academy in the enlightened world, but certainly the most famous.
The Academy sprug from the collection of minds gathering around the young and not so young during the Reformation Era, the wisdom seeking a more concerted place than around the old amphitheatre, where the upper courtyard now stands.
While the space between the Academy was traditionally a staggered set of massive steps with an access ramp winding its way up the core, this has in recent times been replaced with ornate magical gates, several staggered ones of varying sizes and arrays.
Culture
The culture of the academy, like most of the academies in Levis is one of blending community, competition and the art of endless learning and discovery - often for self fame. While your usual relaxed manner of communal bonding occurs between the mostly early 20s cohort of students, there is the quiet desperation as the students move from Secondus to Primus studies within their fields.
In the off time, there are swirlings of the student advisory group - who advocate for better standards around Secondus and Primus behaviour and culture. There are social groups and ethics groups and collections of hobbies. Technomages and mechanists work on little projects in the labratories together to bring strange and no-fame inducing ideas into the world for a budding of something fun.
Trivial nights span the rooftops of the library, while people trade their time to be models for the art department. Beneath the competition is a comradery, that the worry of constant academic pressure is stressing rather than strengthening them, and so the students and faculty expand their network of roots so that none may crumble too far away from the root base.
In the off time, there are swirlings of the student advisory group - who advocate for better standards around Secondus and Primus behaviour and culture. There are social groups and ethics groups and collections of hobbies. Technomages and mechanists work on little projects in the labratories together to bring strange and no-fame inducing ideas into the world for a budding of something fun.
Trivial nights span the rooftops of the library, while people trade their time to be models for the art department. Beneath the competition is a comradery, that the worry of constant academic pressure is stressing rather than strengthening them, and so the students and faculty expand their network of roots so that none may crumble too far away from the root base.
History
Originally built as the main hall, amphitheatre and a campus teahouse, the centre of the 'campus' was the statue to the true technomage, though due to the academic and socio-political climate it was often claimed that the statue was just to the ideal of learning.
Technological Level
The grown buildings of the academy were the first to adapt the solar cell technology, and so their surfaces shine with the sheened reflection of the large collection leaves. While more weirdly shaped and ad-hoc than the upper city, the Academy constantly designs and redesigns its campus for each age of its needs. Currently it has 10 buildings, the main hall and the library and across those 10 buildings span the disciplines of Magic studies, History, Biology+Ecology, Architecture, Law and Business, Medicine and Psychology, Technomancy, Levis studies (What humans would call the hard sciences), Astromancy and Mathmatics. Art and Design has begun becoming a discipline near the Architecture discipline, though with each Secondus that makes their way out of this field, its legitimacy grows as an academy subject.
Laws
There are two types of laws within the Academy. Those dictating what can be studied and innovated, and the actions that require the interference of the Natare Watchers or the Hunters of greater Levis.
The table of ethics is the guiding council for the laws of the academy's research and innovation. The majority of their laws coming in response to accounts or reports of taboos that have been crossed, though monthly they convene to discuss a research that is being pursued and set guidelines about what should be restricted about it for the greater community.
Appeals can be made to the table of ethics, but given the nature of Levis intellectual discourse; the taboo often has to be so severe that it is considered a war crime to the reader to be enforced by the table, and so appeal is often unlikely.
Watchers for the Academy work with watchers from the city in enforcing the day to day laws.
The table of ethics is the guiding council for the laws of the academy's research and innovation. The majority of their laws coming in response to accounts or reports of taboos that have been crossed, though monthly they convene to discuss a research that is being pursued and set guidelines about what should be restricted about it for the greater community.
Appeals can be made to the table of ethics, but given the nature of Levis intellectual discourse; the taboo often has to be so severe that it is considered a war crime to the reader to be enforced by the table, and so appeal is often unlikely.
Watchers for the Academy work with watchers from the city in enforcing the day to day laws.
Trade & Transport
Trade for the Academy is brought through the northern pass, between the combat mage training area and the Grand Library. Goods can also come up the hill Natare sits on through the funicular, though that is a newer development and for the longest time it was safer to come up and in through the market.
The areas within the academy are built for at least a student, possibly with mobility aids, at most a hand pushed or limited automated cart. Ramps are abundant, though no Float lift have been implimented inside the campus due to the noise. The student advisory group is pushing for changes or research into this stance not least for easier access to the roof of the grand library.
The areas within the academy are built for at least a student, possibly with mobility aids, at most a hand pushed or limited automated cart. Ramps are abundant, though no Float lift have been implimented inside the campus due to the noise. The student advisory group is pushing for changes or research into this stance not least for easier access to the roof of the grand library.
Infrastructure
The Grand Library
Containing nearly 70 million catalogued items, including binding both holographic and textual, paintings and preserved paperbark recordings. The building stands at 40 stories tall, with a massive rooftop garden that spirals down the sides of the top 5 floors like a double helix. It is situated at the top of the academy, upon the land once owned by one of the late reformation era mages and mate to the then Grandmother of Natare - Hyblin Vex.Its basement levels contain thousands of ancient texts still to be converted to a binding format, as many have decayed since the library's founding - though these days, most have been moved off to the Saburra Desert Archive.
Its main draw is its stained membrane designs on its top floors, the light muted light shining down on most of the library. Much space is 'wasted' within the library this way, all but its base floor a mess of vacancies and walkways, platforms of stacks and study sections haphazard here. For those with mobility issues there is a spiral ramp on the east wall, but most floors have their stairs between floors a chaotic mess best memorised.
The Main Hall
The oldest building in the academy, the main hall used to be its beating heart - now more its shining face. The main hall hosts many important events, like graduations, celebration nights, and talks from guest speakers and speaks to an older time, when even humans walked Natare. It is at its base a large stone building with the grown buildings of Levis winding up and over its shell. With paper thin membranes facing the direction of the rising suns, early night casts the main hall in brilliant pinks.
It has a raised stage at its centre that once held a statue to the Deity of Knowledge - the stage and the statue relics from the founding of the academy - the stage remains, the statue only leaves the base that held its inscription.
The Courtyard
Throughout the generations of the Academy, the courtyard has been an ever evolving thing. Originally just the green space bordering the amphitheatre and containing the statue to Olari, the space has grown and changed as needs must. The current itteration contains two pools bordered by native trees and where once two long runways of green ran up towards the library, now one side has been removed to house the administration building to the campus.
Laboratories
The experimental labratories across the east 'coast' of the campus support multiple floors and are the main draw card for funding of the campus as a whole. Researchers and professors both use these buildings, in an effort to advance the progress of all Levis. They are the largest research laboratories in the realm, and the closeness of all the disciplines enables collaboration between specialities not seen in ages past. Three buildings in all, many say some of the more theoretical fields should have space within the laboratories as the campus grows, but the faculty see the application of magic and learning as far more important than the learning itself these days.
If you are reading this, this article is under reconstruction
From all things, discovery
Type
Educational, University
Legislative Body
The legislative body for the academy watchers is the Dean, held in check by feedback from the council of professors, and the student advisory group.
Location
Related Traditions
Organization Vehicles
Notable Members
Related Myths
Related Plots
Notable figure:
Verdan
Professor Emeritus: Verdan Blackbough
Notable Students: Thalia Moondance
Age: 70
Research speciality: Technomagery, specifically rediscovered artifacts.
Years spend at the academy: 43
Member of the Natare City Council .
Verdan in current age is that old professor, long retired, that still walks the hall of your current academy. Aged and wise, he was a teaching professor for many decades, imparting knowledge on a wide range of classes. Retiring recently, Verdan seeks to provide wisdom, mixed with diving headfirst into his own specialty researches, namely the transformative magics of many of the artifacts across Levis.
Thank you for reading, feel free to give feedback.
I think my favourite detail here is the empty plinth, it makes me wonder why they removed the statue of the deity, and what is says about the academy's history.
Solaris -— a sapphic space opera
Creator of World of Worlds | Camp Chill | Comment Carolers
Thank you. I was just referencing how in our world many of halls of such size are old chapels, but that levis tends to be secular, but your interest tells me delving into that aspect might be interesting.
That makes sense! I think it would be a nice thing to include.
Solaris -— a sapphic space opera
Creator of World of Worlds | Camp Chill | Comment Carolers