The Shadow Academy is one of the key parts of the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. Each society of the Brotherhood provides something unique to the organization. The Grand Master’s Royal Guard brings its finest warriors to the service of the Dark Council. Members of the Inquisitorius are unrivaled spies and assassins. Operatives of the Syndicate are irreplaceable when it comes to obtaining various resources without exposing the Brotherhood’s involvement. However, the Shadow Academy Society agents provide the most valuable resource of all – knowledge.
History of the Shadow Academy Society
The Shadow Academy has always been a fount of knowledge. However, much of its wealth remained untapped for years as ambitious students were often eager to leave its halls once they’d achieved enough competency to effectively integrate with their own units. As a solution to this problem, Headmaster Solari approached Grand Master Muz Ashen with an idea to attract the attention of all members of the Brotherhood – from the Initiate to the Elder – back to the Academy.
A Beginning
Solari’s work, blueprinted by former Headmaster Taigikori Aybara Dupar, culminated in the creation of the Shadow Academy Society. In 32 ABY, after a long period working in absolute secrecy, the foundations of the Shadow Academy Society were laid. The most prominent and successful former students of the Academy began receiving invitations to be initiated within this new society. Each person was assigned a special rank that both indicated their current level of knowledge and determined their access to the secrets of the Academy.
In the same year, an attempt by Grand Master Ashen to re-create the Rite of Obscuration ended with the desolation of the Antei System. While much was saved, many artifacts and other valuable items stored on Antei and at the Academy on Lyspair were either destroyed or deemed unretrievable. This and previous losses would prompt a shift in the fledgling society in the years to come.
A New Purpose
Once the Brotherhood established a new home on Arx in 35 ABY, the Dark Council resolved to task the Shadow Academy Society with a new purpose: scouring the galaxy for fresh sources of knowledge and items that would bring power to the Brotherhood.
This shift in the society’s mission saw it branded the Imperial Reclamation Society. With Headmaster Daniel “Seraphol” Stephens now at the helm, the society found a place to secure its most valuable artifacts in the Shadow Academy’s new facilities on Uskil. The society’s operatives also began utilizing the Nesolat, a military defense platform orbiting Arx, as a checkpoint to both catalogue and approve the movement of artifacts between the Clans and the Dark Council.
Seraphol assigned the younger students of the Academy to research items of value to the Dark Council. The older students who had gained trustworthiness were sent out to scout and collect items of value, map extensions of hyperspace routes, or explore regions of Unknown Space. Those who proved themselves to have a vast amount of intelligence and who had shown the utmost loyalty to the Brotherhood were tasked with collecting items of extreme value and power and granted access to portions of the Academy’s archives secured from other members.
Acquisitions
In 36 ABY, Shadow Academy Society operative Vance Kordall was captured by Shikari huntresses while on a mission to Ulmatra to acquire an artifact of interest to both the Dark Council and their enemies. Kordall’s rescue led to the discovery of the Meridian Prime space station – a Collective base used to hold valuable prisoners and Technocratic Guild experiments – where Brotherhood agents were able to deal a decisive blow to the Collective and ultimately recover the artifact for further study.
Since recovering from the torture he endured in Collective captivity, Privateer Vance Kordall – though forever a free spirit – has found himself leading the society’s acquisitions teams. Rumor has it that his prominence may have something to do with the “genuine copy” of Veris Hydan's research on the World Between Worlds he delivered to the Shadow Academy’s Master Archivist, Madame Curator Deandria Clery, just prior to the outbreak of Discord between the Brotherhood and its potential new allies in 37 ABY.
Leadership
The Shadow Academy Society operates under the authority of the current Headmaster. However, the society’s daily operations are supervised by the leaders of its three branches.
The Master Archives are overseen by Adept Deandria Clery. Eminent Aviana Starstrider is the leader of the Vanguard, with oversight over the Academy’s small fleet, including the Gullbrina and the Snekkja. Acquisitions are run by Privateer Vance Kordall.
Operations
The Shadow Academy has always been associated with preserving knowledge, educating the Brotherhood’s initiates and providing even its Elders with the resources needed to mine the history of the galaxy or the depths of the Force. Still, it is often perceived as only a teaching institute, though the truth is much deeper.
Behind the facade of the Imperial Reclamation Society, the Shadow Academy Society conducts countless operations to obtain various holocrons, artifacts and other valuable objects that may prove beneficial for the Brotherhood. Behind closed doors, its most competent and trusted members are also responsible for putting that knowledge to use through various means, including such tasks as conducting secret, often twisted experiments on living beings for the Dark Council.
Rank System
Missions carried out by the Shadow Academy Society are assigned to members depending on their rank in the society. Lower ranked members often receive less complicated tasks, which allow them to prove their worthiness. As members grow in rank and knowledge, they are assigned to more vital operations, such as the one that nearly cost Vance Kordall his life but ultimately thwarted the plans of the Brotherhood’s enemies.
Ranks
There are currently twelve ranks in the Shadow Academy Society. They reflect one’s knowledge, responsibility and access within the Shadow Academy.
Enrollees (SA:I) to Graduates (SA:VI)
The earliest ranks of the Shadow Academy Society are primarily students. These operatives spend most of their time in the library or training halls designed to hone their specific skill sets. They have a lot to learn before they may be entrusted with more important tasks.
Scribes (SA: VII)
At this stage, students who have proven themselves worthy of advancing within the society are granted access to many of the Academy’s holocrons. The Scribes are allowed to study the knowledge available within and often tasked with translation, recording and passing pertinent information on to the proper authorities.
Couriers (SA: VIII)
These are the first to leave the “safe” walls of the Shadow Academy for outside missions. They are trained on how to handle ancient and often dangerous texts and artifacts and usually serve as assistants in transporting such items.
Surveyors (SA: IX)
Surveyors are the field experts sent to known artifact sites to catalog, study, preserve and guard the treasures they unearth within.
Pioneers (SA:X)
These are the spies and operatives of the Shadow Academy Society, actively seeking information regarding the location of items of interest, mapping hyperspace routes and otherwise exploring the Unknown Regions.
Lodestars (SA:XI)
Almost at the top of the Shadow Academy Society, the Lodestars are an inspiration to other members of the society and are often trusted to set the course for new expeditions, tasking other agents as necessary to achieve their objective. They are responsible for contacts and negotiations with other societies, Clan leaders and Brotherhood allies.
Doctors (SA:XII)
The pinnacle of the Shadow Academy Society hierarchy. Comparable to the famed Doctor Chelli Lona Aphra, the Doctors of the Shadow Academy Society have honed their knowledge and skills in all areas. Highly trusted and sought after for their wisdom, they are often tasked with the reclamation of mysterious items of unimaginable power; items the existence of which is known to a very few people in the whole Dark Jedi Brotherhood.
Elevation & Reward
To advance through the ranks of the Shadow Academy Society, members must obtain certain amounts of Academic Credits (ACs). These can be earned via successfully passing Shadow Academy courses. Higher society ranks also require that members be granted Shadow Academy Degrees: Mavens, Savants and Sages. Doctors must achieve all of this with a near perfect grade.
These requirements are in place to allow members to prove their knowledge and readiness to access the more advanced and mysterious secrets of the Academy. Each promotion to a higher rank grants a student a sum of credits as a one-time reward for their successes in expanding their knowledge, as well as access to various possessions, as shown in the rank chart below.
| Shadow Academy Society Ranks
|
| Rank Name
|
Abbreviation
|
Requirement
|
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
|
| Graduate
|
SA:VI
|
70 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and a Savant Degree
|
Sith Tome
|
| Scribe
|
SA:VII
|
90 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 2 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 6
|
Cubed Intensity Holocron
|
| Courier
|
SA:VIII
|
110 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 3 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 7
|
Fellow robes
|
| Surveyor
|
SA:IX
|
130 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 4 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 8
|
Pyramidal Holocron
|
| Pioneer
|
SA:X
|
150 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees and 5 Savant Degrees; or Rank Boost from Rank 9
|
Lanvarok
|
| Lodestar
|
SA:XI
|
150 ACs, 2 Maven Degrees, 5 Savant Degrees and 1 Sage Degree
|
Dodecagon Holocron
|
| Doctor
|
SA:XII
|
SA Society Rank XI and 99% Average
|
Sith Sword
|
For a current roster showing all members of the Shadow Academy Society and their ranks, refer to the Shadow Academy Society Roster.
Access
As one rises through the ranks of the Shadow Academy Society, they are also granted access to more advanced knowledge and to the secrets of the Academy. However, while many doors open before them, there are certain areas, like the vaults secured by the Dark Council, where even the most knowledgeable and trusted Doctors of the Shadow Academy Society are not permitted. Such areas are typically only accessible to the Grand Master, Deputy Grandmaster, Headmaster and Praetor to the Headmaster. Others may be allowed to access the restricted data only under important circumstances and after strict review by the Headmaster.
Facilities
File:ShadowAcademy arx.jpgThe Shadow Academy central spire
The headquarters of the Shadow Academy and the Shadow Academy Society are located in the northwestern area of the Uskil continent, as well as on the Nesolat defense platform orbiting Arx.
On Uskil, the Academy’s facilities and various campuses are constructed around a central spire, with each of the outer structures designed like a three-sided pyramid, pointing inward towards the center. The spire itself includes numerous studying rooms for individual students and large conference rooms, where group classes and training take place. However, not every piece of knowledge is available to every student of the Academy at once. They need to prove their readiness and devotion to the Shadow Academy in order to progress. Sections located in the top portions of the tower are reserved for the top three ranks of the society.
However, the true treasures are located in the Master Archives, deep beneath the planetary surface. Located directly under the Shadow Academy, the Master Archives store dozens of holocrons, holodisks, scrolls and other data carriers. Only a handful of carefully selected Shadow Academy Society operatives are allowed access.
No matter their rank, all members of the Shadow Academy Society work towards the same goal – to solve the mysteries of reality and the universe. Because the truth is out there.