Organization: The Academy of Bladereach

[IGTN]

History:
Before the reign of King Elothar the First, the Academy was mostly an informal tradition of masters and students that occasionally found a building in Bladereach to make its home. Elothar I, during his reign, however, gifted the Academy with a large campus on land that was then just outside of Bladereach's city walls, although during his rule Bladereach grew around the Academy, and even trained a number of warriors personally at the Academy, making it into one of the premeir fighting schools on the continent.

Since his death, Regents Der'renya and Khadrimarh has kept a firm hand on the city with the aid of the Academy's masters as her elite enforcers, although she has not been particularly active in her rule.

Academy Rules:
The Academy has four ranks of its membership. The lowest ranking are the Students, of which the academy has about 40. Part of their original contract with Elothar required them to recruit at least half of their student body from half-elven street urchins, and the current academy exceeds this number. Despite this, and their strict rules on students and apprentices, the Academy is still fairly prestigious, and nobility often send second children to the Academy. Less than a handful of Academy students are not half-elven, with the remainder being human. Students are typically children and youths, ranging in age from six, at the youngest (with 10 being a more common age of acceptance, and 12 being the latest possible), all the way to their early 20s.

Apprentices are the second rank. Once a student has mastered enough of fighting and rope use to be able to handle himself in the world, he or she is apprenticed to a specific one of the Academy's masters. Apprentices may occasionally be sent on adventures around Bladereach, although never into significant danger.

Apprentices and Students, in addition to the usual strictness, are not allowed to use names, instead being addressed by their rank, and occasionally a descriptor of their skills when necessary. If a Student drops out of the academy, they typically return to using their name; however, if an Apprentice drops out, or a Student chooses not to continue when promoted, they typically come up with a new name.

Junior Masters are the third rank. Once an Apprentice is deemed worthy by their master and a panel of masters, they are promoted to Junior Master and assigned their first apprentice. Masters also no longer use names, but, in addition to being referred to as "Master," they are also addressed by the name of their patron, whose skill lives on in them, along with an appellation (i.e., Elothar the Swift, Elothar the Daring). A Junior Master who leaves the academy is still counted as a member and expected to care for their apprentice.

Finally, once they have reached a sufficient degree of mastery of rope use, a Junior Master is promoted to a full Master. Their duties are the same, although Masters are both watched more closely and expected to travel more. Der'renya often sends simulacra of Elothar's companion Tommy alongside Masters on their travels to keep an eye on them, and, for more important masters, adds a simulacrum of herself. She has promised the throne of Bladereach, and Elothar's castle of Halan Shador, to any Academy Master who can impress her sufficiently.