The Academy of the Weave was a school teaching the use of magic in central Balebu.

Academic Principles

Though the Academy grew in size over the millennia, its mission always remained the same: preserve and teach knowledge of the Weave, in all the approaches and methods of magic. This omnivalent purpose was strongly supported by the school's board and made the Academy the chief authority on the magical arts in a vast radius.

The Academy was structured into several faculties, each of which was directed by a board of maesters, with the First Maester at their head. A board of all First Maesters, called Academic Board, governed the entire school. Faculties at the school's foundation encompassed Arcane Studies, Ele'Sillian Principles, Fields and Enchantments, Connection Studies, and Archives. Though not all faculties existed throughout the Academy's history, and new faculties were founded over time, the teaching materials and tomes of knowledge of these subjects were always carefully preserved. The prestigious Department of Natural Magics was founded three centuries after the Academy was.

Perhaps one of the greatest critiques of the Academy was that it did not have any entry-level courses for pact-related magic aside from natural fugues; in Undine years for example, warlocks had to enrol in the Fourth Order or Sixth Order's student programmes, and holy spellcasters had to rely on one of the many cults in the kingdom. The Department of Archives did however have both an Institute of Pacts with the Beyond, as well as an Institute of Holy Magics, and advanced students in a different specialization, usually wizards, did have some resources to investigate these types of magic on a high level.

The school was always open to all sentient races, and made sure to stick to a policy of non-involvement throughout its history. It cooperated with and appeased whichever polities controlled the surrounding lands, but always remained impartial in conflicts and offered the resource of knowledge to all those who wanted to pursue it.

History

In the time of the Elvish Empire, Monyariva was an isolated plain elven monastery on the shore of a calm lake. During the Elvish Wars, conflicts raged all around Monyariva, but the building miraculously withstood it all unharmed; it served as a kind of refuge for the wide variety of people who fled the horrors of civil war. When the war ended and all traces of elven society on Balebu essentially disappeared, the community of Monyariva still stood. In 3'606, the elven community - which encompassed some of the most powerful Elvish mages - decided to found an Academy to preserve and teach their knowledge of the Weave; this was perhaps the most important legacy of the Elvish Empire.

For millennia, the Academy of the Weave pursued its purpose, while states rose and fell all around it. Most of the time, it neighbored small orcish tribes or other villagers; Monyariva had the power to discourage raids, and remained in their good standing by allowing magic-affine individuals to study in their halls. When orcish tribes federated into larger clans, Monyariva was always on good terms with their rulers; it could offer awesome knowledge and power to these states' spellcasters. Over time, the settlement around the Academy grew, as people of all races built their homes there, either to profit from the numerous travelers who came and went to the Academy, or to supply some sort of service to the Academy.

During the short-lived Andan and Drummir Kingdom rule, the Academy survived unharmed by not contradicting goblinoid-style priest mage monasteries. The Undine Kingdom which was then founded was especially appreciative of the Academy's qualities, and established its capital in the city. Monyariva's mages and teachers fulfilled an essential role in the kingdom's economy, defense, and government.

The Ochebana Empire under Talmbrack invaded in 519 b. OW and, after a short sacking of the surrounding city, allowed the Academy to continue its operations - as long as it did not contradict the official Ochebanian line. Over time, the Academy's freedom of movement was increasingly cut, and tutors were sent away to help in imperial military schools of the arcana. Finally, in 497 b. OW, the establishment was reformed into the Imperial Arcane Academy of Monyariva, under military control, and the curriculum was considerably restricted. The books and tutors of magical schools deemed unfit for imperial soldiers - including warlock and fell methodology - disappeared.