Valara Academy
Valara Academy was the academic institution that went on to form the Valaran Empire, and remained its capital for its duration. The school ran the entire city - that is to say, the city was one enormous campus.
Valara is most notable for its academic standing. For centuries, it was the premier educational location in the world. The most prominent scholars from throughout the coastline of the Panonic Ocean flocked to the city to engage with each other and discuss their theories. Its libraries were thought to contain the sum of all knowledge in the world. Valara was the point of embarkation for the majority of research expeditions that set out in the last few centuries of the Fourth Age, and the Rall language was the lingua franca of academia.
Being a student at the academy can be some of the best years of a person's life. The workload is intense, but students enjoy a privileged position within the city, second only to academic staff. Annual tuition is steep, but if a person can pay it, it covers all of their living expenses. The school dormitories are known as some of the rowdiest residences in the empire. They can get three meals a day for free at any of the school-run cafeterias in the city. Even at businesses that only lease their building or land from the school, students and staff receive priority service.
After graduation, students go one to either work for the academy as a professor, continue their studies privately with funding from the school, or work in comfortable middle-class careers.
Those who aren't students or staff have a much lower quality of life. The general view of members of the academy is that everyone else in the city are their servants, who exist to ease to provide for them and allow them to pursue higher knowledge. Many people born and raised in the city have no hope of ever affording tuition and aren't willing to go into debt to the academy to get it. They work at shops, serve food in cafeterias, or do clerical work in offices while being treated as second-class citizens.
Valara is most notable for its academic standing. For centuries, it was the premier educational location in the world. The most prominent scholars from throughout the coastline of the Panonic Ocean flocked to the city to engage with each other and discuss their theories. Its libraries were thought to contain the sum of all knowledge in the world. Valara was the point of embarkation for the majority of research expeditions that set out in the last few centuries of the Fourth Age, and the Rall language was the lingua franca of academia.
Being a student at the academy can be some of the best years of a person's life. The workload is intense, but students enjoy a privileged position within the city, second only to academic staff. Annual tuition is steep, but if a person can pay it, it covers all of their living expenses. The school dormitories are known as some of the rowdiest residences in the empire. They can get three meals a day for free at any of the school-run cafeterias in the city. Even at businesses that only lease their building or land from the school, students and staff receive priority service.
After graduation, students go one to either work for the academy as a professor, continue their studies privately with funding from the school, or work in comfortable middle-class careers.
Those who aren't students or staff have a much lower quality of life. The general view of members of the academy is that everyone else in the city are their servants, who exist to ease to provide for them and allow them to pursue higher knowledge. Many people born and raised in the city have no hope of ever affording tuition and aren't willing to go into debt to the academy to get it. They work at shops, serve food in cafeterias, or do clerical work in offices while being treated as second-class citizens.
Notable Contributions
Valara Academy was the sponsor of the various expeditions of The Nonesuch, which led Dr. Sova Isazåzus to rewrite humanity's history.
Scholars at Valara are also responsible for research on the Silashu Ruins, The Lost Kingdom, and many other archaeological sites. It was the home of many influential philosophers and literary writers.
Scholars at Valara are also responsible for research on the Silashu Ruins, The Lost Kingdom, and many other archaeological sites. It was the home of many influential philosophers and literary writers.
Structure
The head of the academy was the Imperial Rector, who doubled as the ruler of the Valaran Empire. Because he was mostly busy with running the entire empire, everyday management of just the school falls to the President.
The Board of Directors works alongside the academic administration. It consists of 12 members and is responsible for the financial management of both the school and the empire. They are responsible for distributing funding across the empire and to the various other academies that answer to Valara.
Below the president are the deans of the various faculties - Humanities, Arts, Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Education, and Medicine. The Dean of Humanities is the most significant and highly respected position. Each dean manages a collection of further-specialized departments.
The Board of Directors works alongside the academic administration. It consists of 12 members and is responsible for the financial management of both the school and the empire. They are responsible for distributing funding across the empire and to the various other academies that answer to Valara.
Below the president are the deans of the various faculties - Humanities, Arts, Engineering, Mathematics, Science, Education, and Medicine. The Dean of Humanities is the most significant and highly respected position. Each dean manages a collection of further-specialized departments.
Assets
Along with the buildings directly related to the academy, such as offices and lecture halls, the school owns everything else in the city as well. Shops are built on school-owned land and lease it from them. The school owns the agricultural fields surrounding the city and hires farmers to work the land and provide food for their staff and students. Everything in the city is in some way owned or managed by the academy.
Type
Educational, School/Academy
Parent Organization
Location
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Cover image:
The Hall of Almagren
by
Jared Lewin