Tourists and residents to Korvosa cannot hope to ignore the presence of the Acadamae: since its founding in 4473 AR by Lord Volshyenek Ornelos, the school has grown from a lone manse atop Citadel Crest to a miniature city, capable of supporting the needs of its students and faculty without much need for them to leave the grounds. Those who exit do so in groups as part of their studies or to shop at the Gilded Orrery, a magic shop mainly catering to Acadamaeans. Visitors are not welcome on the grounds except during the Breaching Festival or if they have direct business with the school. Messengers, deliveries, and even repairs are watched with the utmost scrutiny, for fear that the secrets of the school might somehow leave its grounds—or worse, that the many wards protecting the outside world from centuries' worth of concentrated magic-use might somehow be damaged by the wrong person wandering into the wrong corner of the campus.
Prestigious and highly esteemed, the college attracts students from as far away as distant Geb, and even from Cheliax itself—to the annoyance of the far-more ancient colleges there. Korvosa benefits greatly from the Acadamae's fame. As such, the city helps sponsor the college with tax funds, and instructors in the school receive exemptions based on the recognition they bring. Though technically still under the dominion of the Crimson Throne, in practise the monarch has no power to enforce their authority over the goings-on in the campus, which is ruled over by the school's headmaster, who holds absolute control over the school and how it is run.
Originally a universalist institution, with the death of Aroden and the rise of diabolism in the motherland, the school became heavily involved in the summoning of devils. While it does not actively promote an evil agenda, the college nonetheless tolerates diabolism and devil-worship. Despite this lenience towards evil, the college remains a truly Chelaxian and Korvosan institution, and as such it does not allow for wanton destruction or chaos. The evil it embraces is precise, organised, and regimented. Most of the faculties work together in relative harmony, and those that cannot frequently interact only in the most formalised ways possible. However, there has been an increasing animosity between students of conjuration and necromancy, which has recently led to multiple spell duels, both formal and informal.
Despite its shift towards the infernal (or perhaps because of it), the Acadamae is a very conservative institution: it focuses exclusively on wizardry, and each student is required to specialise in a school of magic. In accordance with the ancient traditions of Azlant and Thassilon, divination is considered a universal school, taught to all students but restricted as an area of focus. All students must likewise receive instruction in conjuration, and face a gruelling examination in that field before they can graduate. Failing or and dropping out are not options—students either graduate or die trying. During the first three years of their studies, the apprentices are used as slave labour by the staff and the senior students, and they are taught next to nothing. Two of every ten apprentices at the Acadamae do not survive these first years—being slain by magic traps, wayward spells, or murderous imps, or simply dying from exhaustion or carelessness. The remaining eight advance to full studentship, though in the end only seven in ten pupils survive their full decade of instruction. Of these alumni, roughly half become conjurers, with evokers and necromancers tying for the second most-common specialisations. However, the Acadamae also seems to produce a disproportionately high number of powerful enchanters.
The school makes no attempt at contacting the bereaved of recently dead students. Since few people unconnected with the Acadamae know what happens within its walls, the college births abundant (and sometimes ludicrous) rumours: it is said, for example, that those attempting to quit the school become test subjects for their prospective necromancers, but to date no one has verified these horror stories. Despite its strict isolation, the university's presence still affects the locals indirectly. Due to failed summoning rituals by hapless pupils, there is a great number of unbound imps which make their homes on the Acadamae's campus. These little devils frequently take to the air, flitting about above the campus and across Korvosa. Their sky-bound battles with the native pseudodragons are a local spectacle.
