The Royal Academy

The Royal Academy of Sien is an establishment with a long, long history and prestigious reputation. Founded in 564 3E, the Academy is the largest educational institute within the Kingdom of Sien, and has both benefited from and been partly responsible for the city's industrial and technological boom. While best known for its engineering and technical courses, the Academy offers a broad range of classes and degrees. While the education offered makes the Royal Academy a tempting prospect for aspiring students, the high cost of attendance does mean that the vast majority of students come from Sien's own upper class.
The Royal Academy is comprised of several faculties that oversee the many different courses taught, the most prestigious of which is the Faculty of Engineering and Artificing which has developed a reputation of being difficult to get into, requiring applicants to present a portfolio and complete constructions on top of the typical entrance exam to be accepted to study.
The Academy's colours are red and gold, and features a loose uniform featuring a blazer or vest of the institution's colours, paired with clothing of the students choice.

History

In 343 3E the Siennian College of Arts was established in the rapidly growing city, quickly becoming a center of learning to all. However due to poor management, the facility began to struggle from 480 3E onwards, and after a particularly bad fire that consumed part of the campus during the College's 2nd Centennial celebration in 542 3E, it was forced to shut down. Shortly afterwards, Lord Castello Loredan, an artificer who had apprenticed for the infamous Gladrof Borin, put together the plans for a re-branded school on the old campus. Focusing on industries that were growing quickly at the time, Loredan wanted to educate fellow artificers and mechanics to aid Sien's industrialisation. After receiving a large grant of money from the crown, Loredan founded the new institution, naming it the Royal Academy of Sien, a tradition that remains as the crown its largest contributor to the Academy's budget.
In the first few decades that the Academy was open, it quickly added more courses to its repertoire, catering to a larger clientele than the mechanically-minded. While its Engineering and Artificing faculty has remained its largest faculty, the Royal Academy is the choice destination of schooling within the kingdom and local area. The growth of the Natural Sciences faculty was aided in part by the establishment of The Viridium Sanctum as a local site students could use to aid their studies. Arcane studies are available, with a focus primarily on alchemy, theory, abjuration and transmutation. The use of magic on campus is heavily regulated, particularly within the evocation, illusion and enchantment brands of magic.

Mishaps and Tragedies

The Royal Academy has over 450 reported incidences that have occurred on the campus grounds, varying in severity. The most common incidences are the loss or damage of finger/s and/or hand/s particularly within artificing or engineering classes. A few notable incidences include:

The Dorm Massacre of 579 3E, wherein four students were found dead in their dormitory bedroom. With no visible wounds on the outside, autopsies revealed all four students had been killed with Shadowglass, the invidual/s responsible were never located or identified, remaining a cold case to this day.

617 3E, a student died when the packing construct she had been building as her major work malfunctioned, and forced her into a cargo box, sealing her inside. The student suffered multiple broken bones and fractures and likely had died due to internal bleeding. The construct was put out of commission, the cause of death ruled accidental.

696 3E, an alchemy student was arrested for manslaughter after accidentally poisoning their classmates. Out of the class of 27, 2 students died and 9 were ill for two weeks.

863 3E, a misfired weapon pierced the instructor in the thigh, causing them to bleed out before medics could be contacted. The student who had dropped the gun was charged with manslaughter.

289 4E, an arcane theory student, Angelo Forsari, vanished from campus. Although there were a few reported sightings in the following year, he never resurfaced. Currently a cold case.

Campus and Facilities

The Royal Academy is host to the largest library in Sien, though access is limited to current and former students, as well as those with guest passes. Five total buildings make up the Academy, not including the library and student dormitories. Three buildings make up the various classrooms, workshops and lecture halls, one administration building at the front of the Academy grounds that hosts administrative and faculty staffrooms, and the main hall which can double as a large lecture hall.
The real draw of the campus facilities, outside of the library, are the workshops, fully fitted for mechanical engineering, alchemy and artificing, with access to the highest quality materials Sien can provide. The large industrial nature of Sien provides additional resources and work placement opportunities for students.

Faculty of Engineering and Artificing

Covering subjects like mechanical engineering, civil engineering, artificing, metallurgy and architecture, this faculty is the most funded and expansive one within the Academy. Students can expect to become artificers, engineers, tinkers, construct designers, weapon designers and manufacturers and researchers. Research this faculty has completed has led to advances in gun technology, explosives, clockwork power and various patented construct designs were created on Academy grounds.

Faculty of Arcane Studies

Covering subjects like alchemy, arcane theory, applied magic, transposition, astral research, war magic and divination, this faculty is the newest addition, and has been reconstructed several times since its conception. Like the Faculty of Engineering and Artificing, this faculty has recently gathered more support with the continuing war between Sien and Cebran. The Royal Academy has been pursuing research in Spellscars, focused on how to treat the condition with mixed success.

Faculty of Arts and Communication

Covering subjects like language, grammar, creative arts, communication and public relations, illustration, literature studies and music, Arts and Communication is the second oldest faculty within the Academy. Many of Sien's most skilled bards, playwrights and artists studied extensively under this faculty, which now also caters to students looking to get a headstart in the growing broadsheet industry. While students are held to a high standard and develop their skills dutifully, the arts industry is incredibly competitive and this Faculty has received budget cuts in the past few years.

Faculty of Social Studies and Culture

Covering subjects like anthropology, theology, geography, psychology, political science, linguistics, history and education, is the least-funded faculty within the Academy. While an important faculty for students looking to go into politics, the faculty simply does not require the resources and specialised work areas the others do, relying heavily on book learning and lectures.

Faculty of Natural History and Sciences

Responsible for subjects like biology, chemistry, medicine, accounting, arithmetic, geology, astronomy and ecology, this Faculty has a strong relationship with the Viridium Sanctum. While it features some of the Academy's most popular classes, Natural History and Sciences awards the least amount of degrees out of all the faculties, as students more commonly take the classes as complementary to their primary studies. Studies from this faculty are limited to observing the growth and stability of the Viridium Sanctum over the years.