The High Academy Of Mighty Uyor

The high academy of mighty Uyor, or often just the academy of war, has it's home in Rashor. Led by the priests of Uyor, the academy's doors, located on the south-eastern side of the town, are open to almost everyone. Naturally most of the graduates are trained in the arts of fighting and war and many become part of the rashorian mercenaries or enlist in the local army. In the last century the academy begun to teach other subjects, like the craft of healing or architecture to attract more students.

From the Outside

Build near the temple of Uyor, home to most of the teachers here, and the old castle, the main base of the rashorian military, the academy lies on the south-eastern side of the city near the Elderwoods. The first buildings here were among the first stone constructions of Rashor and still stand to this day. But as they are built out of yellow sandstone regular repair work is needed to fend off the harsh winds and the frequent rain. These structures are home to the students staying at the academy, to the massive mess hall and to archives.
As the number of students and the importance of the institute grew with the centuries, new houses were added over time. Most of these buildings, made of simple stone or wood, were constructed for utility, not for beauty, and therefore mostly look unspectacular. In these parts of the academy, most of the theoretical lessons are taught and students populate them during the day.
The large training fields and the stables of the academy can be found outside of the city walls. On this site, the students are trained in the martial arts and how to ride a horse and other creatures. Additionally most the manual labor, which every trainee here is required to participate in, takes place on these grounds. Part of the survival training is also held here, while the more advanced courses in this subject take place in the elderwoods.
The newest additions to the campus are the only one built with a certain splendor in mind. Being located closest to the city center, in these the newer subjects are taught and guests of the academy find their home here. Constructed out of red stone and massive tree stems, they show of the devotion to the god of war, as they are filled with statues, mosaics and paintings of Uyor.

The Teachers

As the academy focuses mostly on the art of fighting, many of the teachers are former warriors, captains of the guards and even adventurers. But also many priests of Uyor from the nearby temple share their knowledge with the students. These men of god mostly teach the theoretical studies of war, but at the same time the most skilled fighters here come from the temple. While they don't share the knowledge of their godly powers, they still teach the most promising students in the martial arts.
To become a teacher here, one either needs to a priests for at least fifteen years, have at least three other teachers recommend you or be known by name by the first ten random men spoken to on the streets. These proceedings ensure that a teacher either possesses dedication to this life, or is proven enough in battle. In contradiction to the name of the academy, no teacher, besides the priests of course, is forced to pray to Uyor, as the followers of Uyor believe, that every skilled warrior is blessed by the god himself.

How to enroll

Becoming a student at the high academy is a big commitment, as the education here takes normally five to seven years, depending on the exact field of studies. In contrast to other universities, like the university of the emperor in Eastport, studying in Rashor does not cost money up front.
A student can either sign a contract which guarantees 20 percent of all money earned after finishing the education for 10 years or by giving a promise to work for the academy for the same amount of time. In rare cases, a student can also be sponsored by a member of the academy instead, who vouches for the talent of the prospect.
A few spots each year are reserved for the cities army and for the priests of Uyor. Those students usually already posses some fighting skills which shortens their time at the academy.

Being a student

Studying at the academy in Rashor takes a long time and demands a lot from the student, as both the theoretical and the practical parts of the studies are hard and exhausting. In the first year at the university, every new student goes through a basic military and survival training. In this time, only some basic topics of the specific subject are taught. Afterwards, the students are ready to serve in most militaries of the continent and are able to start studying their desired subject.
In this time, each student spends twenty hours each week on theoretical topics, like geography and tactics, and another twenty five hours training practical subjects like using a bow and armor care. Additionally the trainees are required to work ten hours for the academy, performing mostly guard duties.
In the last year at the academy a student mostly focuses interdependently on preparing for his final exam, with the help of a teacher tutoring him or her. To be able to pass this last test requires a lot of dedication and talent and more than a few students fail the exam each year.

What is taught here

As the academy mostly focuses on training students for war, many of the subjects one can choose from are militaristic. But recently other subjects were added to the curriculum of the university. Many of the selectable subjects overlap a lot in the taught topics and have only a few specific exclusive topics.

Subjects at the High Academy of Mighty Uyor

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Militaristic	Medicine	Architecture
Tactics	Botany	Townhouses
Sword Fighting	General Healing	Walls & Towers
Ranged Fighting	Diseases	Building a military camp
Spears & Lances	War Medicine
Close Quarters Fighting
Fighting while Riding
Shields and other Defenses
The Perfect Armor

History

While Rashor itself was settled shortly after the humans arrived in Tal'Lyra, the academy was not founded until the end of the war. As more and more people began to worship Uyor in the town, the idea to share their knowledge and strength grew in the rows of the warrior priests. In the first few centuries, the academy was an official part of the town's guard, as only the soldiers of the city were trained here. As the good reputation of the Rashor's army grew, so did the fame of the academy.
As it became clear over the centuries that the peace with the dwarves would last, the size of the townguard got reduced and the academy could open it's doors to outsiders as well. Starting to grow and to attract students from all over the talian empire, the university soon earned it's right to be called the most important place to learn the arts of fighting. Near the end of the Age of Flourishing the university became a separate entity and was granted its official independence from both the towns guard and the priests of Uyor. Now the academy was known as the War University of the talian empire.
Soon the times of peace were over as the Windsong Rebellion was started by a few rogue mages and as the demand increased, the academy grew in size and numbers. During the rebellion many of the universities members, both students and teachers fought on the side of the empire. As another war ravaged the continent, it also affected the academy. Soon the windsingers noticed the importance of the university and it was attacked my rogue wizards more than once. But with the help of both the empire and the growing temple of Uyor, it was rebuild time and time again. After the rebellion was finally stopped, the empire soon shattered which left the academy without an patron.
Returning to it's origins, the university strengthened it's ties with the priests of Uyor once more and was from now on called the High Academy of Mighty Uyor. Most of teaching positions were occupied by priests, as they were deemed the most qualified to train students in the arts of fighting. As the peace with the lyrian empire was now stable for more than two millennias the academy allowed dwarves to enter as both students and teachers five centuries ago. In the last 150 years the student numbers started to shrink again since the last big war was already the stuff of tales and legends. To combat this development, the academy decided to widen the taught subjects. Starting with medicine and soon followed by architecture, the curriculum was expanded.