SAIA, the Succubus And Incubus Academy, is an educational establishment for 'Cubi, founded by the succubus Fa'Lina approximately 7000 years before the start of the DMFA comic strip. It is currently the first and only such academy in Furrae.
The Founding[]
The Academy was founded during a period when 'Cubi were probably at their most savage, so much so that their violent activities led to a call for an all-out war against them. Possibly as a result of this, the number of adventurers was growing rapidly to the point at which young 'Cubi, given only a brief tuition by the teachers of their own clan, were finding themselves increasingly ill-suited for survival in the hostile world outside.
This war against the 'Cubi combined with their own internal feuds left Fa'Lina the sole survivor of her clan. Fearing for the survival of her very race, Fa'Lina gathered together as many of the finest clan teachers as she could and negotiated an agreement that all clan members would remain neutral and set aside their differences while studying at the Academy.
To protect it from the unwanted attentions of Being adventurers and other Creatures, the Academy is concealed in an unknown location and closed off from out outside world by means of a magical barrier.
For Abel's description of the founding, see #508.
Courses and Facilities[]
A student's duration at the Academy will vary, depending on what they study. A bare minimum of courses necessary to control their own powers and prevent detection by adventurers can take less than 100 years, and more advanced training can take 800 years, depending on the combination of courses chosen and the aptitude of the student. The average course length is 300 years - Aaryanna and Abel have studied for roughly 375 years each.
SAIA has a large library run by a Mythos called Oolong. Oolong is a large, creepy-looking lapine tentacle-mythos who is embedded into the very structure of the library complex itself. Abel, although himself a librarian by trade, has been banned from the library for causing some unspecified incident.
SAIA teaches hundreds of subjects, both magical and mundane. Among other things, the Academy is known to offer courses in torture, geology, metamorphosis, literature, fire-magic, basket-weaving, pain and terror, tennis, battle-tactics and lawn-care. There is however, something horribly wrong with the home economics class.
Aside from the library, facilities are known to include a gym, cafeteria and a number of vending machines. Since around 95% of the staff and students at the academy are mature 'Cubi and therefore do not need to eat, food is subsidised by the Academy.
Rules[]
Amongst the known rules in SAIA are policies against running in the halls and students entering the wrong gender of toilet - the latter being enforced automatically by magical wards on the doors. (See strip #549 - an explanation of the ward is here)
There is also a prohibition against students becoming pregnant on pain of expulsion. To quote: "There is no all-field magic that prevents a Cubi from getting pregnant at SAIA.([...]) However there is an auto-expulsion policy that is zero tolerance enforced."
Applying to the Academy[]
Not every young 'Cubi goes to SAIA. Some clans don't send any of their members to the Academy, and some 'Cubi grow up without ever learning of its existence. At the same time, SAIA does not have the means to locate every 'Cubi in Furrae, so they normally depend on a formal application being sent to them.
Applications for SAIA are quite time consuming and require much background information on the individual. Supplying things like family, abilities acquired over time, and general progress are required for a successful application. This is partially to ensure the best possible education for each 'Cubi, but it also gives them the knowledge needed to deal with students in any sort of incident or emergency.
Staff[]
Staff and assistants at the Academy include: