Academies of the Westlands

[The Lace of Ages]

Below you will find the descriptions for the five Academies created so far throughout the Fourth Age, designed to bring about the Dragon Reborn's wish that knowledge would be treasured, used, and preserved no matter what chaos unfolded with each new disaster. Located in Cairhien, Andor, Tear, Falme, and Malkier, they are the most prestigious institutions of learning in existence today.

[The Lace of Ages]

Cairhien's Academy of the Rising Sun

The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come and pass, leaving memories that become legend. Legend fades to myth, and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. But in the ending of the Third Age, the Dragon Reborn Rand al'Thor wanted something different. The turning of the Wheel and the Breaking of the World had lost forever so much of humankind's knowledge, and he was determined that such a loss would never occur again. To that end, he gathered thinkers, inventors, scholars, even remnants of the destroyed Guild of Illuminators to form the backbone of his plan for the future.

That is the origin of the School of Cairhien, known in the Fourth Age as the Academy of the Rising Sun.

Founded with the twin goals of innovation and the preservation of knowledge, it was soon followed by another in Caemlyn that came to be known as the Academy of the Rose. In the Fourth Age the system expanded, with academies founded in Tear, Amador, Malkier, and Falme. Each has its own specialties and conventions, but all prize education and the preservation of knowledge above all things.

Today the Academy of the Rising Sun is housed by a series of donated noble estates in the north east of Cairhien's city proper. Over the years they've been re-purposed into classrooms and workshops spread across four main buildings, with a limited amount of dormitory space for students without residences in the city itself. Space is always a limited and greatly desired resource.

The focus of most research at the Academy of the Rising Sun is the future. Its members specialize in creating new technologies, and are responsible for some of the Westlands' most famous inventions in the years following the Last Battle. Pocket watches, water heaters, and interior plumbing projects all emerged from the halls of the Academy to significant fanfare (particularly from the nobility.) As a result, it is a school known for engineering, and students are expected to be proficient in its basic principles in addition to specialized fields.

Acceptance to the Academy is largely a matter of connection; most students and researchers come from Cairhienin or Andoran nobility with the desire and aptitude for the work. There is a yearly admission period for outsiders that demonstrate sufficient knowledge, drive, and possess an idea worthy of exploration, but few applicants are accepted without a master of the Academy to vouch for them.

Students are expected to attend classes taught by masters in a variety of fields, not just engineering, but they are also expected to spend time on a project of their own choosing. This is the project that justifies the patronage both students and masters receive (culled from funds generated by the Academy's cut of its members' inventions), and everyone is expected to provide yearly updates to justify their expenses. Students that fail to do so see their stipend halved, then revoked, and are eventually put out entirely if they're unable to present a project worth undertaking. Those who succeed are given the funds necessary to continue and, assuming their project results in a successful invention worthy of release, are added to the ranks of Academy masters and granted greater leeway in their personal research. The system is inherently cutthroat, worthy of a school founded in the capital of the Great Game, and very few students become masters regardless of their efforts.

As a result of the nature of its research the Academy of the Rising Sun is also considered the most dangerous of the academies. Aiel enforcers of the Dragon Compact keep a weather eye on the technologies coming out of the researchers there, lest they violate the spirit of the accord that has preserved life in the Westlands since Tarmon Gai'don. Violations result in quick expulsions and blacklisting for all other Academies, with further repercussions likely if the Aiel themselves make the discovery.

[The Lace of Ages]

Andor's Academy of the Blooming Rose

Coming soon.

[The Lace of Ages]

Tear's Academy of the Enduring Stone

The Academy of the Enduring Stone was founded in 31FA, the third such institution founded and the first following the Seanchan War. From the beginning, the new Academy was run by a board of directors who sought to use the prestigious connections and resources available to the Academy system to allow common Tairens an opportunity for education and social advancement separate from the vast class gap between the nobility and the commonfolk. Its graduates frequently go on to sit on Tear’s Commons Council, often advocating for new and different ways to run not just Tear but the world as a whole. They also are the Academy with the closest ties to the infrastructure behind the Dragon Compact, interested as they are in the mechanisms of power that guide the modern world.

The Academy of the Enduring Stone is located in Godan, housed in a large compound built specifically for that purpose. At the time it was built on the town’s outskirts, but as the Academy and Godan have grown it has become a second hub of city activity, driving the other half of the local economy along with the port. It has grown in that time, too, complete with classrooms, lecture halls, and dormitories for the students. A significant portion of Godan is now owned by the Academy, or nearly so.

The Academy studies many fields, but it specializes in social sciences of all description, with governmental theory being the most prestigious branch of study. While little experimentation has been done in the Fourth Age, the Academy of the Enduring Stone studies alternate methods of governance avidly, with all students expected to take part. Graduates are often strong proponents of new systems of power. The Dragon Reborn broke the world and it was past time for institutions to adapt, or so the argument goes.

Most students at the Academy are from Tear, and most of those are from its commoner or merchant class. Generous scholarships are granted each year to promising and interested students from Tear, though outsiders or Tairen nobility do frequently pay for admittance as well. The Academy is considered Tear's great equalizer; students present on scholarship or those studying on inherited familial wealth are expected to behave as equals while studying at the Academy, and those who don't rarely stay for long.

Students remain at the Academy for 5 years, passing when certified by a collection of professors that they have achieved proficiency in multiple fields, and expertise in one. In addition to their studies, students perform public works during their time at the Academy. Each year they are required to spend several weeks in a service to the community, either of their own devising or through several organizations created for this purpose. As a result, the students are generally well liked throughout Godan and its outlying areas, and can frequently be seen providing food or medical attention to those in need.

Despite their local popularity, the High Lords of Tear, and the city of Tear in general, have a dimmer view of them by comparison. The Commons Council, and the Academy by extension, are viewed as troublemakers and rabble rousers. The Academy's teachers, similarly, pass on a general disrespect for the High Lords of Tear as foolish, misguided, and outdated. Unfortunately for the High Lords, funding for the Academy comes from the Academy system, tuition, and the mercantile interests of Tear, and thus they've had little ability to clamp down on the Academy or its curriculum.

[The Lace of Ages]

Malkier's Academy of the Soaring Crane

In 50 FA, with a resurgent Blight and a lurking threat from the Seanchan, the Five Great Captains of the time met to discuss next steps for the Westlands as a whole. This discussion resulted in the formation of the Malkier Academy of the Soaring Crane, a unique institution in the Westlands' Academy system designed to ensure the long term security of the Dragon Compact. It is designed to attract the best and the brightest military minds and refine them into the generals and commanders of the future. Of the Five Great Captains in the modern day, four are graduates of the Academy of the Soaring Crane.

The Academy buildings are located in Seven Towers, and in fact operate out of one of those Seven Towers. The entire structure, rebuilt with Malkier in the beginning of the Fourth Age, has been dedicated to their use, along with an extensive series of practice grounds within and without the city. The tower itself contains classrooms and lecture halls, as well as rooms designed to present skirmish simulations for aspiring commanders to practice their skills. There have been attempts by Aes Sedai of the Green Ajah who study at the Academy to meld these with the One Power for greater realism and flexibility, with some success. Green Ajah stationed here are typically adept in the use of spying portals and illusions which are used to simulate battlefields for aspiring commanders.

The Academy of the Soaring Crane is unique in that, while a variety of subjects are taught, they are all focused on one subject: the art of war. Students are expected to leave the Academy as military commanders, and the curriculum is geared to focus on this above all else. Academy staff are generally drawn from retired Borderlander commanders, though other commanders including Sea Folk captains, southern military minds, Green Aes Sedai, and Earth Asha'man are not uncommon in order to give students a full breadth of experience about the realities of modern warfare. Even Tai'Seanchan donates commanders of men and beasts for occasional stints teaching.

Students of the Academy of the Soaring Crane are often drawn from Borderlander militaries, typically with a focus on promising young recruits with a gift for leadership, strategy, or tactics. While aspiring commanders from the south are not uncommon, particularly nobles with high aspirations for a career in their nation's military, the bulk of students were born along the Blight and have seen its dangers first hand. Perhaps surprisingly, few Malkieri attend the Academy despite its location in their capital. The independent streak of Malkieri soldiers and the generally diffused nature of their military leave little interest for a curriculum that focuses more on how to lead than how to fight.

Graduating from the Academy typically requires anywhere from three to five years. Senior faculty regularly test potential graduates against one another in live skirmishes under a variety of conditions. Students who have learned the lessons the Academy has to teach and prove as much to the board of senior faculty are allowed to graduate. The expectation is for graduates to return immediately to their home nations to positions of command, and most do. Some remain at the Academy to refine their skill for a year or two more, occasionally moving directly into Academy faculty. In rare circumstances, due to issues with the graduate or perhaps political obstacles that leave graduates without a command in their home countries, graduates of the Academy are highly prized as potential mercenary commanders and can often find lucrative ways to sell their talents.

The Academy is relatively obscure outside of certain military-centric noble circles. While many soldiers have heard of it in passing, or served under a commander who attended, it is far less known than the Academies in Cairhien, Andor, or even Tear. Despite that, leadership of Dragon Compact nations view the Academy as one of the best weapons the Westlands have in case of resumed hostilities with the Seanchan, as well as against the ever encroaching Blight.

[The Dark One]

Falme's Academy of the Golden Hawk

The Academy of the Golden Hawk was founded in Falme in 71 FA.

Officially this school specializes in: biology, mainly zoology and magical constructs; archaeology, again mainly of magical constructs; and history of the Empire to preserve their heritage.

Their enrollment is open to non-channeling adult citizens from all nations in the Dragon Compact. In fact, they encourage outsiders to apply. When Westlanders are accepted they start the first of the month after their acceptance and become part of a pod, a group of new students who arrive at the school at the same time. Although pods begin their journey together, they progress at individual speeds with more renowned experts in a field often being fast tracked to graduation. Recently, a prominent scholar from Malkier's Academy of the Soaring Crane enrolled, graduated quickly, and has decided to stay at the Tai’Seanchan Academy. This has caused some uncomfortable murmurs in academic circles.

History of the Empire is required for all beginning students. Other courses for new students are focused only on theory and involve no field work until a student has graduated. All graduates are required to then spend a year as a teaching assistant at the school. There is no other form of tuition to the school which keeps attendance accessible to all. After the year is complete, they are, without exception, offered positions in their chosen field by the Academy which then funds all field work. Newer graduates who continue to work for the school will begin as teachers there with limited field work opportunities until those have been earned. Field work positions are earned by recruiting more students to the school, who will then graduate and fill more teaching positions allowing senior graduates more time for field work.

Living quarters are provided in buildings adjacent to the Academy within walking distance. There is also the Artur Hawking Museum nearby, which is free to Academy students and faculty.