Academy Arcanum

Northwest of Dawnside, the Academy Arcanum serves as the premiere location for all magical disciplines and research. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all of the magical advancements of the past half-millennium are thanks to the alumni of this institution.

-Excerpt from an encyclopedia in the Mask Collector's library

At its peak, the Academy Arcanum was one of the most diverse locations on Maverot. Every race was represented, every language spoken, every school of magic explored; it was the pinnacle of culture, learning and collaboration. Enforcing multi-discipline studies on its students, the Academy never produced the so-called "ivory tower" wizards known to haunt the hinterlands. Each graduate departed with one or more skills completely unrelated to their magical studies, and every professor - from adjunct to archmage - participated in classroom, research and social development.
Perhaps on a different world the Academy Arcanum would have been the primary shaper of world culture and politics, but on Maverot magic and technology dueled - and magic lost. Difficult to understand and impossible to master, magic simply paled in comparison to the simple effectiveness and broad usability of the steam engine, firearms, practical surgery, and the like. Consequently, the importance of the Academy was relegated to supplemental status to the rapid advancement in technological developments and its alumni often experienced an ironic imbalance between their level of magical might and their social authority.
Regardless, the Academy still produced a massive amount of useful arcane knowledge, making its fall after the Starvation all the more tragic. At a time when technology struggled to cope with a world so radically changed, magic adapted easily - provided its channeler drew their power from something besides the natural world or the Elanesset.
When the light died, all the minds at the Academy turned to the dual questions, "Why?" and "What can be done?" Many mystics the world over traveled to join the effort, resulting in the largest convention of arcane scholars in history. It is unknown what they might have found, for in the 18th year of research the Academy suddenly became a malevolent deathtrap. Pulsating waves of dark energy now blanket the grounds, instantly slaying any sentient creature that approaches too close. Of the mystics within there has been no communication in all the hundreds of years since. Perhaps the unfathomable answers they found were more than mortals could bear.

RUINED STRUCTURE
18 L.N.

Type

University / Educational complex

Related Historical Events

• 18
  Ruin Descends Upon the Academy Arcanum