The Academy is a highly intensive, highly exclusive place of study, where students train in the art of Magic. Most of the students of the Academy come from the Cliffs, seeking a way into the Uppertowns of Skyvein, and sacrificing some freedom and safety in order to achieve that. Of those students in the Academy, Sylphs specialize in wind, A'nders in fire, and Undines in water. They are taught how to use their elemental packs, and, minimally, how to fix them, although altering them is illegal. When students graduate the Academy, they are allowed to practice their trade for five years, before the Core (through the Academy) claims them for the Magi, an elite group of 'oid soldiers, surgically altered to have a much more resilient body for fighting.
