Editing Wistram Academy (section)

== Background ==
The academy has existed for thousands of years. It was founded at a time when many nations were at war and mages desired a place to learn and teach in peace. In all those millennia, Wistram has always been independent. No nation has managed to control it. It possesses its own army and only a truly grand fleet could make it to its shores with weather spells raised against them.<ref name="Pt.3">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/11/11/wistram-days-pt-3/ Wistram Days (Pt. 3)]</ref>

During Wistram's construction a variety of architects had been employed, each implementing their own style. As a result, one would rarely come across a room designed in the same way. That also extends to the security of said rooms; while some have traditional, non-magical locks, requiring a stone key to unlock, others need the occupier to speak their names into it.<ref name="Pt. 1">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/06/30/s03-wistram-days-pt-1/ S03 – Wistram Days (Pt. 1)]</ref> 

Over 200 years ago, Wistram was ruled by the [Archmages], one of them being [[Zelkyr]]. At some point, Zelkyr, famous for his skills in the Golem creation, managed to create Cognita, his greatest achievement. Together with her and the rest of his Golem army, Zelkyr felt confident enough to challenge the higher floors of the citadel, those that were even lethal for the [Archmages], containing spells and traps of the most powerful mages that have ever lived in Wistram. Zelkyr ''did'' succeed in conquering these floors, and with it its secrets. However, he decided to keep the possessions of those legendary mages to himself and even declared the school as his. To ensure that, he ordered his Golems to guard the entrances to the upper levels and seal it off. Outraged by this, the [Archmages] attacked him, though none managed to get past his Golems. Those who managed to survive were forced to submit to his rule.[[File: Wistram by Enuryn.jpg|thumb|350px|Wistram Academy, Bay View by [[Fanworks/Enuryn|Enuryn]]<br/>(Commissioned by [[Pirateaba]]) ]]One day, Cognita came down from the upper floors and announced that Archmage Zelkyr was deceased. Ever since then, she and the other Golems have been maintaining Wistram. They help the mages by taking care of the academy, fighting off intruders and so forth, but they still obey Zelkyr's will above all, barring everyone from venturing above. So while Wistram is safe, the higher magics are off-limits.<ref name="Pt.3" />

The upper floors contain are Tier 7 spells or even higher. While there are plenty of mages capable of casting Tier 5 spells, or even Tier 6, anyone who desires higher level spells has to beat Cognita and Zelkyr's best creations, which is near impossible. Over the years, countless mages challenged Cognita and the Golems. Some did it by themselves, others attacked in groups or tried to catch the Golems off-guard. None succeeded. In the present day, occasionally some group of mages decide to challenge them, but they’re always killed.

Without anyone having gained enough power to control the other ones, as Zelkyr once did, the mages split into several factions, consisting of mages sharing similar ideals.

20 years ago, in the year 2 A.F, Wistram was listed as one of the most powerful factions in the world, if an often quiet one. Mages worked for lots of gold and sometimes caused trouble, but they were indispensable. Of course, any organization that trained young spellcasters could be a threat, and other nations competed with each other to create their own institutions of magic now and then. But Wistram was safe from such politics, or indeed most wars due to its famed neutrality.

If the mages of Wistram did take part in a war, it was by declining to provide services, boycotting specific groups or countries, and so on. Few times in recorded history did mages fight on battlefields against a specific kingdom or empire. When mages did take to the field in numbers, it was against common enemies such as the [[Demons|Demonfolk]] of [[Rhir]], or against a [[Goblins|Goblin]] King or similar calamity.

Still, were it not for the benefits Wistram provided to all, it surely would have been taken over by one nation or other over the countless years it had existed. Wistram occupied a central point for all ships crossing the ocean, providing them with a place to trade, sell, and resupply. Yet few armies had ever taken Wistram by force, and none had ever breached the gates since the Golems of [[ Zelkyr|Archmage Zelkyr’s]] had been created to protect the [[Wistram|isle]].

Aside from their military prowess, so do they stand out with their wealth. Trade was only a part of the mage’s economy, and that by itself would not allow mages to live in such splendor. No, it was the unparalleled quality of their education, at least compared to the standards of the current era as the education has actually quite fallen over the last centuries. A mage may be made of any fool with a basic grasp of magic, but of Wistram mages, it was said that the weakest of them was a match for any Silver-rank adventurer. And that was broadly correct. A mage passed by Wistram was almost always a studied graduate of at least six years, capable of casting many spells and studied in a wide variety of fields. They owed it all to the rigorous training given to them by their teachers, older mages who imparted their knowledge to the new students.

The true value of Wistram is its teachers. Each one defined the experience the students would go through year to year, and so it was small wonder the students quickly learned which teachers could be appeased, which ones were competent and which were barely able to convey their subject matter and of course, which ones were to be feared. However, few teachers are happy, especially those ones that are obligated to teach magic to the newest students that had just passed their entrance exams, as the salary provided by the council is meager. As such, teaching is a task that Wistram mages fought to avoid.<ref name="Pt.6">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/11/18/wistram-days-pt-6/ Wistram Days (Pt. 6)]</ref>