Hephaestus Academy

After the formation and creation of the city known as Artemis, it became increasingly obvious that there would need to be certain measures taken--humans and the like around the planet were beginning to discover their powers at an increased rate, though it was difficult to understand why. With this in mind, the group known as Hephaestus was formed at around about 2019. This group devoted themselves to, in secret, studying the fallacies of the human body and trying to understand the formation of powers within. They formed several theories and ideas that involved spiritual energy and Qi alike, questioning exactly why some humans worked with one type of energy, while some worked with another--and the reasons behind the Quincy. This small group of minds, upon reaching 2030, realized that there was more to this world than they'd expected. Three years later, the Hephaestus Academy was envisioned--a school where those who potentially or already had powers could attend and learn to refine their innate strength, while fueling the research of Hephaestus itself. Alongside this, they understood the purpose of Artemis--they could potentially build a secondary community for these beings. They decided on one of their own members to head the Academy and its building, while funding him from within the shadows. In the mid 2050's, the project was completed and the school was opened; not only to humans, but to beings of any and every race who wanted to understand more about their powers and how they worked. Hephaestus still works from behind the scenes, but they're only a myth right now...


You can't expect to put thousands (in excess of 15000 now) of spiritually powered students into a school and not have them want to test out their abilities. So, along with the general rules of Hephaestus, several new rules were implemented--this is known as the "Duel" system, and serves as a cornerstone to testing the abilities of all students--whether physically or otherwise. The rules pertaining to this system itself are as such:

1: When you wish to challenge another student to a Duel, you are to take your Hephaestus Academy badge (proof of identification as a student) and place it onto a surface in front of the person that you wish to challenge. If they accept, they will return your challenge by placing their own badge on top of yours. Once this has happened, a challenge is devised by either consensus, or a neutral party. Duels do not need to be fights.

2: During the course of the challenge, unless it is specifically stated in the set guidelines, no other parties may interfere in the running. This is especially true in fight-based duels, where you could get in the way and get seriously injured.

3: Once the Duel is over, it is over. Any further attempts at violence will be punished severely by any presiding teachers, or students in Judgement. If the case is severe enough, the Headmaster himself will be forced to take action. If this is deemed so, may the Lord have mercy on your soul.

4: Team-based Duels are allowed as well. In these sorts of Duels, there may be a variety of challenges, suiting the strengths and weaknesses of the individual combatants--each battle in a Team-Based Duel is one-on-one, with the total number of wins contributing to the victory.

5: Betting can be made upon Duels at the discretion of the challengers. All bets must be honored, no matter what.


Classes: There are no set homerooms or base classes for students, each student attends class on a certain timetable meaning that they may have lots of classes in one day, or not classes at all for the next. Each subject is presided over by a series of teachers with one in each class, and there can be anything from 10 to 150 students in each class. It should be noted that classes involving spiritual powers are not mandatory. All ages can attend, though it's recommended that they at least be of High School age. All races are welcome as well.

Ranks: Ranging from E to EX, all students who attend Hephaestus Academy have their powers graded when they first arrive--this is not so much a power level, as it is a power scale--as students with extremely high damage output may only be graded a D, compared to a student with many capabilities but low power being graded an A. Note that powerless students may begin in E, but instead gain physical skills that push them up in rank, i.e. a student that becomes extremely good with tactics. Basically:

E: E-rank students are usually powerless beings with the potential to grow in powers. These students tend to have had spiritually powered parents, or have trace amounts of Reishi/Qi that seem to align somewhat with an Origin. Out of all of the students that attend Hephaestus, these students are the ones with the most normal class schedules, but they're also made to attend several growth lessons a week in order to discover their powers. If they're discovered to have an ability, these students will then be moved up to a new rank. If not, they are welcome to continue their usual lessons under watch. A lot of E-rank students also have powers that don't rely on Reishi or Qi, and are instead considered anomalous.

D: D-rank students do not specifically need to be weak--some D-ranked students have exceptionally high spiritual reserves. The rank of D is reserved for students with either extremely difficult to control abilities, or abilities that they themselves have not properly gained at least menial control over yet. Such students require some watching in order to keep them from wreaking havoc, as well as additional classes to teach them control. This rank holds the only portion of students who are required to take powers classes.

C: The students listed under C-rank have gained control over their abilities. These students are the ones out of all of the ranks with the most potential to grow, and, as such, are considered the main bulk of the powered student body. They have not quite mastered their abilities, but they're also in a position where they're more than likely to hold their stance in a fight.

B: The students that hold the rank of B are in an unusual position. They are above-average regarding their powers, and quite capable of leaving the Academy if they wish. A lot of B-rank students continue on with their tuition and eventually become teachers at Hephaestus. However, they are also capable of attempting to attain A-rank before leaving, a placement that will give them a great advantage in the world.

A: These are the cream of the crop. A-ranked students are considered to be masters in their powers, and in their field. There are times when a resourceful powerless is capable of attaining A-rank due to skill, and as such the position of A-rank is not devoted to just powered students--as it is with all ranks, however. A-rank students are the leaders of most classes and easily recognized in the street.

EX: This rank cannot be attained through work. It must be granted by a teacher or someone from within Hepaestus, and as such is a very rare rank to receive. EX-ranked students are far superior to any student in certain areas, though this may only be in one specific area. If a student is granted EX-rank, it is then advisable for all other students to avoid challenging this student to a duel. There are usually only five EX-ranked students at any given time.

Principal:
Principal's Assistant:

Teachers: (Name - Subject - Member)
Natalia Stone - The Spiritual Worlds - Genpaku
Zeref - Defense Against the Otherworldly/Magic - Silim



Rank EX:

Rank A:

Rank B:
Kirino Aozaki - Serenity

Rank C:
Ai Nakamura - Serenity
Hasegawa Michiko - Dai
Kasai Rain - Dai
Kira Wakabayashi - Serenity
Krito Asmeudos - Silim
Violet Amarante - Serenity

Rank D:
Ayame Yoshinori - Serenity
June Kurosawa - Dexterity
Takane Shijou - Tsubine

Rank E:
Minami Shimada - Snopy
Touma Kamijou - Silim

Code:

[size=16]Student Enrolment Form[/size]
[b]Full Name:[/b]
[b]Race:[/b]
[b]Link to App:[/b]
[b]Age (Visible):[/b] (Visible only applies to spiritual beings! Humans/Quincies must use their actual age!)
[b]Tier:[/b]

A rank will be granted upon acceptance.

Code:

[size=16]Teacher Application[/size]
[b]Full Name:[/b]
[b]Link to App:[/b]
[b]Major Subject:[/b] (Teachers can teach up to two subjects at the most.)