Lunerra Magic Academy

Mages have existed sicne the World Spear first crashed into the world, and the magic material known as Akinstone spread across the lands. Mortalkind would migrate from the east to the west of Nilush, settling admist the plains and forests of the land. However, the strange magics that spotted the land were corrupted early on by the demons and fiends of the hells, and the early shamans and mageborn were driven mad by such corruptions. Some began to use their magic powers to rule over the weak, driven mad by the corrupting influence of unbridled arcane might, and many were hunted and persecuted for their magic ability, their only crime being born diffrent. Such was the way as Witch Hunters began to prowl the land and burning any sign of magic upon witch pyres.
However, a glimmer existed, for some magic users were able to survive the terrible corruption and stave off mutation. They learned not to chain magic to their will, but to flow and morph it to their desires. To wield it with a strong, commanding, but also gentle and open hand. However, they knew they would still be hunted for their talents, and so that is when they moved to a great lake around Aramoor, in modern day Ashenfeld, and found a vast wealth of Akinstone all around this great lake. They named the lake Lunerra, and used their sorrceries to shroud the land from outside perception, and began building their grand academy. For much of its early history, it operated in secultion, using diviners to locate mage born children and rescure them from their communities who mistrusted and hated them. Such as it was that fierce, clandestine conflicts between these reclusive spell casters and Witch Hunters were had, and in all likelyhood it would have kept this way if not for the actions of Zibeus. He was the founder of this great academy of learning, and through much contemplation of the heavenly stars and meditation, he declared to his students that seclusion was no way to learn, for to hide is but a temporary escape from persecution. Taking inspiration from stories they had heard of the tolerant and magical elves of Iadith, he would approach Aramoor unarmed and by himself. He would be granted council with the king, King Julius Windsor, and pleaded with him to keep the Church's persecution of the mageborn at bay. No matter how many they killed and jailed, this problem would not go away, and would keep growing with each year. Perhaps it wouldn't have gone well if not for the master diplomatic skills of Grand Master Zibeus. 
After almost 5 months of fierce debate and testimonies, and thousands of pages of parchment recorded, so it was that in the year 345EC: King Julius, Grand Master Zibeus, and Pope Clement signed the Articles of Astran. This massive legal document of thousands of pages of carefully scribed ink laid out the foundation and offical sanctioning of the Lunerra Magic Academy. It granted full political soverignty to the academy, to be recognized as its own entity, and to operate without hinderance so long as it follows the articles to the letter, maintain total political neutrality in any and all political conflicts, and that all mages trained there forsake their noble titles, so that never again may wizards wield tyranny over the masses. The world was, and still is, terrified of Zakkar. However, such a signing is an utter landmark trearty, and at last mages that did not go rogue or practice dark magics could come out of the shadows, and journey to Lunerra to get their abilties under control. 
To this day Lunerra maintains its political independence, and has carefully kept to the articles that keep it safe from outside influence. Many other nations have either adopted their own magical institutions (though these are nowehere near the influence and sheer size of Lunerra) or send their magically gifted children to Lunerra to learn. They even provide the ability to completly remove magic from a person should they wish to not live with the stigma of arcana, and not fall in line with the academy. However, the Crusade of Light and the Ashenfeld Civil War have complicated affairs greatly. More and more factions within the school secretly discuss choosing a side, while others maintain neutraility. Some whisper of wizards openly violating the stipulations of banned magicks in the articles, and to protect themselves Lunerra has cast a great spell upon its academy so that none may enter without a special key. Time will tell if this magical institution can withstand the most calamitous years the world has ever seen.

Life inside the Misty Academy

Many of those who arrive to the academy have traveled long to get here. Some are children form young, unremarkable rural communities, others wealthy children of nobles. Regardless of the means, if one survives the perilous journey to Lunerra, one is at first hit with the awe striking sight of the shrouded Academy admist a great lake, and magical crystal formations dotting the land and buildings. Being rushed in and avoiding the many dangers around Lunerra, the youngest are raised within the walls, and some mages are even born here, though this is frowned upon. The first days of the college mean being marked with a rune, supressing ones magical talent. After this, they spend their first few years learning history, writing, and other such academic fields. The next courses taught are basic staff combat, and only after may the aspiring mages have their runes lifted. This is done because wizard teachers have noticed that when one is more focused, and the mental conditioning they go through allow them to more easily gain control of their abilties. When the rune is lifted, it is described as if being reborn in glorious energy, and form there they begin their magical training. Many such schools of arcane thought exist, the most popular being:

• Abjuration
• Astromancy
• Conjuration
• Divination
• Enchantment
• Evocation
• Graviturgy
• Illusion
• Transmutation
• War Magic

There are plenty more paths, but these 10 schools remain the most popular and powerful admist the academy grounds. There are even diffrent types of mage professions, With Apothecarians being an example, being more doctor and researcher than full wizard. Sorrcerors instead of learning to harnass the magic suffusing the world and Akinstone learn to tap into ancient but powerful magics running within their heritages. Warlocks are rarely if ever permitted upon camp grounds, the majority of their patrons being unkowable fey at best, and hellish abominations at worst. Druids are not officaly sanctioned magic users, but mostly begrudingly tolerated, though they are not generally allowed on the campus for the fey spirits they attract. Some whisper that dragons stalk the land nearby, and it would make sense considering most of the arcane language has basisis in the draconic tongue, but that is another story.
The Academy maintains its soveringty by providing its services to the wider world. While it does not directly help in wars, it does provide mages the ability to journey, who they can in turn become adventuers or mercenaries. They also provide court mages to welathy noble families, as well as provide services to enchant items with magical properties. This last enterprise is however expensive, and time consuming, and as such it is really only allowed for the highly wealthy nobles to commison such items. The magical academy also maintains its own standing protection force, carefully regulated to ease church suspicon, and will at times permit some magics to be taught to outsiders, though these magics are limited. Such actions are how the famous Calian Knights were born, and the lesser but more "widespread" Eldritch Knights (sometimes reffered to as Spellblades).
To denote status and apprenticeship amongst Lunerra, mages while wear either sets of rings that they must bind themselves too, or magical tattoos that pulse with energy. Such symbols do tend to make one stand out admist a crowd of peering glances, but they also are the only way someone can gain acess to many of the facilities run by Lunerra, and prevent witch hunters from hunting them down (though it should be noted this hasn't always worked, and sometimes "incidents" do occur). Regardless, life carries on in the academy, and Akinstone is mined by labourers to allow the mages to conduct their arcane practice. Each staff or other arcane focus contains at least a small shard of Akinstone, and some of the most truly devout wizards allow Akinstone to grow upon them, though this is consdiered an extreme belief. The mages of Lunerra are considered strange and secretive by many, and as such are still viewed with suspicion, though for now the Articles hold strong, and mages are protected at least from the worst of their pursecutions.

"Angiet us Afol, Beton ut Well" (Knowledge is Power, Guard it Well)

Founding Date

Sometime around 100EC

Type

Education, Magic

Demonym

Lunerrian

Founders

• Zibeus, The First Grand Master Wizard

Location

Nilush

The Ranks of the Mage

Most schools follow a similar ranking system to Lunerra, as it is perhaps the best and most straight forward system available.

• Wards: Wards are the children taken in by the academy, who have yet to start their apprenticeship
• Apprentice: These are the mages in training, who spend their years learning the basics of education, staff use, and cantrips. This is also the years they prepare for their journeyman years, and are steeped in study and practice for most of their daily life. They swear to keep the academies secrets, to focus on the pursit of magic for the joy of finding it, and to not use their gift to rule over others as tyrants.
• Guild Mage/Journeymen: Perhaps the most common rank one can attain, and for many stay in, the Guild Mage marks the end of apprenticeship, and the full acceptance of arcane study. They make up the bulk of mages in Lunerra, and most stay in the academy to continue their study. However they are alowed to become Journeymen, wandering mages allowed by law to live their life as they see fit, as long as the Articles of Astran are followed. These Journeymen are perhaps the most common mage most commoners may encounter, being adventuers, sellswords, bounty hunters, and just wandering scholars. This path is sometimes looked down upon due to it being even harder for one to attain a higher rank when a Journeymen.
• Master Mage: Attaining the rank of Master Mage isn't just about learning to cast higher spells, it is to demonstrate an ability to learn and truly push the bounds of arcane power, to demonstrate a basic decency for life, to covet not power but knowledge. These master mages are primarily the teachers of the academy, and make up the general staff of the academy. They even at times act as emmesaries for the academy when dealing with political powers.
• Grandmaster: These are the sorrcerors and wizards who have achieved the greatest heights of arcane understanding. They have learned how to wield the dangerous energies of the arcane in safe and efficent manners, and these make up the ruling body of Lunerra. There are always 11 Grandmaster mages, 10 to reprsent the diffrent major schools, and 1 extra to break any tie in rulings.