The Shadow Academy Society is a secret society within the Dark Brotherhood that was created in 32 ABY to bolster the activity on the Academy and to offer the members a new way of enjoy passing courses and earning degrees. The creation of this society was part of a project of renovation launched by the staff of the Shadow Academy, and was the result of the efforts of many members of the Dark Council, being founded by Headmaster Solari with the support of Grand Master Muz Ashen and the Seneschal James Lucius Arconae
History of the Shadow Academy Society
After the Dark Crusade in 32 ABY and the amount of casualties taken by it, winds of change crossed the whole Brotherhood, a drive to instruct more powerful members and improve their chances of survival. Since the very beginning of the Dark Brotherhood, the Shadow Academy had been a place where new members were trained and taught on the basics of the organization before departing to their respective units, but not many members used to come back to improve their knowledge, looking by themselves that knowledge instead taking advantage of the vast collection of data that the Academy possessed.
Realizing this fact, the Headmaster, Solari, approached the Grand Master, Muz Ashen, with the idea of fixing this problem and turn the Shadow Academy into a place of knowledge for all members, from the newest Initiate to the Elder of the Brotherhood.
The result of the dialogue in the Dark Council about this subject brought forward the idea of the Shadow Academy Society, a semi-secret society that would put the knowledge of the Shadow Academy at the service of all members of the Brotherhood. The Headmaster, though, aware of the knowledge contained within the Academy's halls on Lyspair, created a set of ranks within the Society to limit what kind of knowledge the members would have access to. This would prevent young, inexperienced members to dabble with advanced and potentially dangerous knowledge until they were ready to understand its complexity.
After a long period of time working in absolute secrecy, the foundations of the Shadow Academy Society were laid out and the most prominent and successful former students of the Academy started receiving invitations to be initiated within this new society. Officially, the knowledge of the existence of the Society was made public at the end of 32 ABY, and was received with great enthusiasm by the Brotherhood, specially by the members of the Krath Order and scholars all around the organization.
Rank System
The Rank System was set in place as a safeguard for those members who wanted to access all the knowledge contained within the Halls of the Shadow Academy. Eleven ranks divide the members of the Society by the knowledge they possess as they advance in their learning process. While the lower ranked members only have access to study simple scrolls, as a member is elevated through the different ranks they see their access granted to datapads, forbidden books and ultimately, the most coveted sources of knowledge, holocrons.
Rank Elevations
The advancement within the Shadow Academy Society is measured by Academy Credits (ACs), which are obtained by passing the different courses offered by the Academy. The value of each course in ACs depends on the complexity of the course, though their exact value is not known by anyone but those in charge of the Society. To advance through the later ranks, where the knowledge is potentially more dangerous, the member is also required to be in possession of different degrees, from Dark Mavens to Dark Sages.
It's important to note that courses not offered anymore by the Academy (legacy courses), don't reward any ACs as the knowledge they provide is mostly obsolete, replaced by newer discoveries and courses.
Rank Chart
The following table shows the requirements to reach the various ranks in the Shadow Academy Society. Ranks 7 through 10 can be achieved either by fulfilling their respective requirements; or by fulfilling the requirements of the rank below, in addition to having an average course score of 97%. Each attained Sage degree lowers the average score requirement by two percent points, down to a minimum of 91%.
| Rank
|
| SAS Rank
|
Abbreviation
|
Required to earn the Rank
|
Reward
|
| Enrollee
|
SA:I
|
Obtain 1 ACs
|
SAS Warbanner Tasset
|
| Freshman
|
SA:II
|
Obtain 10 ACs
|
Sith Scroll
|
| Sophomore
|
SA:III
|
Obtain 20 ACs
|
Datapad
|
| Junior
|
SA:IV
|
30 ACs and a Maven Degree
|
SAS Warbanner Pattern
|
| Senior
|
SA:V
|
50 ACs and two Maven Degrees
|
Researcher robes
|
| Super Senior
|
SA:VI
|
70 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and a Savant Degree
|
Sith Tome
|
| Graduate
|
SA:VII
|
90 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 2 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 6
|
Cubed Intensity Holocron
|
| Graduate (cum laude)
|
SA:VIII
|
110 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 3 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 7
|
Fellow robes
|
| Graduate (magna cum laude)
|
SA:IX
|
130 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 4 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 8
|
Pyramidal Holocron
|
| Graduate (maxima cum laude)
|
SA:X
|
150 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 5 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 9
|
Lanvarok
|
| Graduate (summa cum laude)
|
SA:XI
|
150 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees, 5 Savant Degrees and 1 Sage Degree
|
Dodecagon Holocron
|
| Graduate (egregia cum laude)
|
SA:XII
|
SA Society Rank XI and 99% Average
|
Sith Sword
|
Prominent members of the Shadow Academy Society
For a current roster showing all members of the Shadow Academy Society and their ranks refer to the Shadow Academy Society Roster.