Academy
Elden Ring: Redemption DLCContents
Contents
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Raya Lucaria Academy 13 |
| Alias(es) | Academy; Academy of Raya Lucaria; 学院 |
| Type | Educational institution and political power 46 49 |
| Location | Towering structures in the center of Liurnia’s lake 56 |
| Leadership | Originally governed by competing conspectus chiefs; Sellen becomes dean after Stormveil’s conquest and is later called headmistress 49 67 99 |
| Affiliation | Formerly controlled by the Carian Royal Family; later independent; brought under Stormveil through conquest 14 49 74 |
| Occupation/Role | Sorcery education, scholarly research, and—under Sellen—practical technological development 46 72 154 |
| Status | Active under Sellen, with expanded admissions and disciplines 154 |
| First Appearance | Named in the description of Scholar’s Shield 13 |
Background / History
Carian Rule and Independence
Rennala brought the Academy under her control. In Sellen’s account, the queen supported sorcerers outside the Primeval Current to expel powerful rivals, including Sellen, Azur, and Lusat. Removing those scholars weakened the institution and allowed Rennala to turn it into the Carian Royal Family’s private research institute 14. Rennala later describes her conquest as defeating the entire Academy single-handedly 154.
After Radagon abandoned Rennala, her deteriorating mental state gave the Academy an opportunity to reclaim its independence. Its leaders initially intended to kill her, but confined her to the Grand Library instead, fearing that executing Radagon’s former wife might provoke the Elden Lord 49.
Ranni gathered Caria’s remaining forces to rescue her mother, but the attack failed. The Academy then hired Cuckoo Knights to assault Caria Manor. Ranni’s magical traps devastated them, leaving neither side strong enough to defeat the other and establishing a prolonged stalemate 49.
Conflict with Stormveil
Stormveil’s recruitment of Second-Generation Albinaurics brought it into conflict with the Academy, which considered them its property. Rodini’s diplomatic mission encountered demands for compensation in food and clothing. Tarnished accepted a trade agreement at one-tenth of market price, establishing formal diplomatic relations; despite the discount, Stormveil still made a 200% profit 45 48 49.
The arrangement collapsed when the conspectus chiefs approved an attack on Stormveil’s Albinauric settlement. They feared Sellen’s reported use of Founding Rain of Stars and interpreted Stormveil’s recruitment and activity in Liurnia as encroachment. They nevertheless expected a limited attack on Albinaurics to deliver a warning without provoking war 51.
The Academy also seized 128 freight workers—52 humans, 66 Demi-Humans, and 10 Albinaurics—and used them to force Tarnished to release the captured Primeval Sorcerer. Tarnished responded by ordering a counterattack and a covert hostage-rescue operation 54.
Latenna supplied further testimony against the Academy: it had promised to protect Albinaurics in exchange for their service as experimental subjects, then attacked them when its interests were threatened 56.
Stormveil’s Conquest
Vila and Maren infiltrated through the Academy Crystal Cave while D and Those Who Live in Death secured their retreat route. Rogier obtained the hostages’ location from Gideon Ofnir. Meanwhile, Tarnished’s main force defeated Smarag and retrieved the Glintstone Key needed to enter the Academy 57 58.
Stormveil survived the towers’ bombardment through shield formations, troop rotations, healing, and replacement equipment. Ballista fire damaged the Academy’s interior, while Nepheli’s cavalry broke through its marionette soldiers. Two Redmane catapults subsequently shattered the gate 59 60.
The Academy’s leadership disintegrated during the assault. A commoner sorcerer killed the fleeing Caria Prime after he refused to take the student with him. The Primeval Sorcerer continued forcing students into battle, even attacking them from behind, while the Raya Lucaria Prime eventually urged surrender to preserve the survivors 60 66.
At night, Vila and Maren cleared the defensive towers individually, allowing Stormveil’s troops to advance. Ranni confronted Rennala in the Grand Library while Leyndell’s Night’s Cavalry and Volcano Manor threatened Stormveil’s positions outside and at the North Gate 62.
Sellen’s Administration
Sellen became dean after the conquest. She identified academic frauds for reassignment to useful work, agreed to admit every race and artificial beings through entrance examinations, and began rebuilding the conspectuses. Tarnished recovered the four scattered crowns of Caria, Twinsage, Raya Lucaria, and Olivinus for her 67.
Stormveil’s multiracial workforce repaired, reinforced, or demolished damaged buildings. The Academy also hosted the leaders of Stormveil, Leyndell, Caria, Volcano Manor, and the Redmane Army before the formation of the Five-Party Alliance 71 73 74.
The Haima Conspectus later returned in rebellion on Miquella’s behalf. Sellen offered to clear its members’ charges and restore their standing, but the attack proceeded. Sellen, Eleonora, Yura, Moongrum, and Mimic Tears defeated the rebels in a prepared trap, after which Academy forces reinforced Caria Manor 99.
By Rennala’s recovery, the Academy had expanded beyond magic to astronomy, geography, physics, and chemistry, welcoming talented contributors and people seeking an education from across the Lands Between 154.
Organization
Conspectuses
Before the conquest, the Academy consisted of classrooms belonging to competing schools rather than a single unified command. Sellen therefore rejected Tarnished’s proposed decapitation strike as an inadequate means of securing control 49.
| Conspectus | Documented role and history |
|---|---|
| Caria | Dominant faction under the Caria Prime; led the coalition that expelled Haima and invoked the Academic Union Agreement to coordinate action against Stormveil 51 54. |
| Twinsage | Intensely scholarship-focused. Its chief took responsibility for deploying the enchanted iron balls; its notes were later sought for dream therapy to restore Rennala’s mind 51 66. |
| Raya Lucaria | Founded during Rennala’s rule, then sided with the traditionalists after her imprisonment. Its chief sought expanded authority over border affairs 51. |
| Olivinus | Proposed the iron-ball attack and sought funding for a “Sellen Magic Simulator.” Its chief ordered students onto the front line under threat of losing their crowns and academic recognition 51 58. |
| Haima | Specialized in war and punishment, functioning as the Academy’s disciplinary force. Expelled after becoming too powerful; later rebelled under Glenn 54 99. |
| Azur / Azure | Followed a path of traveling study outside the institution. Sellen intended to recall its members while rebuilding the six conspectuses 54 67. |
| Lazuli | Its chief sided with Caria during the siege 59. |
Academic Policies
- Restricted knowledge: Starlight was an advanced Academy technique taught only to its students. Students were forbidden to use Academy magic in service to outsiders 46.
- Suppressed theories: The former chiefs locked disfavored theories in the Grand Library under the label of “protective preservation,” preventing their circulation and discussion 69.
- Rigid administration: Rules included lights-out at ten, compulsory sorcerer robes, and greeting teachers first. During the siege, a ban on interrupting meetings delayed news that Stormveil had defeated Smarag 48 59.
- Expendable lower ranks: Low-ranking sorcerers, including Thops, were expelled when the Academy sealed its gates during the Shattering to reduce expenses. During the invasion, ordinary students powered defensive arrays while senior staff directed them from offices 52 59.
- Reformed admissions: Under Sellen, applicants of any race—including artificial beings—could seek admission, but all had to pass the Academy’s examinations 67.
Grounds and Defenses
| Facility / Defense | Function |
|---|---|
| Magical barrier | Built to keep the Shattering from reaching the Academy; entry required a Glintstone Key. Sellen stated that even the demigods could not force their way through it 48. |
| North and South Gates | Official entrances, expected to be heavily guarded during the hostage-rescue operation 54. |
| Academy Crystal Cave | Concealed route used by Vila and Maren to infiltrate. Magical constructs and isolated sorcerers occupied the cave 57. |
| Sorcerer’s Towers | Elevated firing positions that made attackers vulnerable to bombardment from multiple directions. Students replenished their magical output while depleted glintstones were replaced 48 59. |
| Marionette soldiers | Numerous constructs deployed as expendable frontline troops 48 59. |
| Grand Library | Library repurposed as Rennala’s place of confinement and storage for suppressed theories 49 69. |
| Astrology Council Chamber | Meeting room with glintstone chairs and an artificial night sky created by the Caria Conspectus three centuries earlier 51. |
| Underground Waterwheel Lift | Arrival route used by Tanith and her Crucible Knight escort 72. |
| Main Gate Town | Settlement outside the southern entrance that developed to supply the everyday needs of students, teachers, and officials 57. |
Sellen rebuilt the defenses for the gathering of the five faction leaders, personally serving as the system’s core from the central Sorcerer’s Tower. Black Knife Assassins inspected vulnerabilities and helped improve security. Sellen claimed the resulting fortress could withstand a falling meteor, but remained vulnerable to a siege that exhausted its supplies 73.
Sorcery and Technology
Glintstone Sorcery
- Scholar’s Shield: Improves a shield’s damage negation. The Academy taught it to the Cuckoo Knights as proof of their contract; support casting did not depend on a staff’s scaling 13.
- Starlight: Advanced illumination sorcery restricted to Academy students 46.
- Enchanted iron balls: Used both within the Academy and as remotely deployed weapons against Stormveil. The attacking ball was observed through a crystal ball and reached 128 kilometers per hour on the plains 51 52.
Practical Research
| Project | Development / Limitation |
|---|---|
| Sugar production | Sellen accepted a commission to develop an affordable, efficient process in exchange for 300 school uniforms 71. |
| Transport, heating, agriculture, and housing | Tarnished commissioned research addressing everyday needs. Transport had to carry cargo; household heating required affordable, effective piping 72. |
| Steam and glintstone power | A steam-engine inventor had previously died in the war with Caria. A highly efficient glintstone power system already existed, but glintstone scarcity prevented widespread use while Radahn sealed the stars 72. |
| Living Doll workforce | Sellen proposed self-replicating Living Dolls to address the alliance’s labor shortage. Tarnished prioritized their production line over mass-producing Golems 114. |
| Automatic seeders | Raya Lucaria machines were operated by Albinauric workers during Limgrave’s spring planting 124. |
| Individual Silver Tear adaptation | A major research priority that limited production capacity for the Academy’s experimental Golem 126. |
Unit Zero
Unit Zero is the Academy’s first Golem built from scratch, following Sellen’s successful pilot-controlled, magically reinforced prototype 114 126.
- Deployment: Academy sorcerers summoned a portal ten meters tall and five meters wide to bring it into the alliance’s military exercise 126.
- Firepower: Piloted by Sellen, it overwhelmed the competing forces and earned the Academy first place 126.
- Siege application: Its cannon destroyed the sealed door blocking the alliance’s route into Enir-Ilim 130.
- Glintstone Railgun: Its 1,200-millimeter main weapon deterred Rennala after her magical fight with Ranni damaged an Academy classroom 154.
- Production limit: Only one experimental model had been built by the military exercise 126.
Relationships
- Sellen — Persecuted scholar whose body remained imprisoned and restricted while her projection aided Tarnished; later dean and headmistress responsible for the Academy’s reforms 14 58 67 99.
- Tarnished / Stormveil — Initially a trading partner, then the conquering power. Tarnished subsequently funded research, supplied teaching materials, and pressed for inclusive admissions 49 67 71 72.
- Rennala and Ranni — Former ruler and failed rescuer, respectively. Their later dispute over classroom damage ended with Sellen demanding compensation rather than acknowledging royal privilege 49 154.
- Gideon Ofnir — Maintained Academy informants, supplied the report about Sellen’s power, and later provided Stormveil with the hostages’ location 45 51 57.
- Albinaurics — Treated by the former administration as property and experimental subjects; eligible for admission under Sellen’s reforms 45 56 67.
- Five-Party Alliance — Hosted its founding negotiations and later contributed technology and military strength, including Unit Zero 73 74 124 126 130.