St. Tara’s Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences

St. Tara’s Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences was a private university and secondary boarding school in Hercules, Fantasia, widely regarded as Fabella’s proudest and most prestigious magical institutions. Established by St. Tara, inventor of the flying broom, the Academy welcomed wizards and witches of all ages and nationalities into its hallowed halls. It was one of the only two Fantasian educational institutions ranked among the best 50 universities for magical physics by the Brotherhood of Theory. The influential alumni community was spread globally and included distinguished witches and wizards, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, politicians, and athletes.  

St. Tara’s curriculum included conducting and developing high-quality research in cutting-edge fields such as omenology and charmed object behavior, physics of transformation, and many more. The research conducted at the academy served both national interests and global goals: There were 100 laboratories at St. Tara’s Academy. The university summoned top researchers from all over the world to head them.

The Robert Dylon Library was the first library in the world, and continued up operate until the school closed in 6013 to serve as a medical and military quarantine zone during the Saga Virus outbreak

Academics

Notable Faculty

St. Tara served as the school’s first Academy Headmistress. She held the post until her death, an also taught Spellcasting classes in addition to her duties as head of the academy.

Professor Thoth was one of the first teachers at the school. He pioneered the subjects of magical physics and potion-making. Much of the Academy’s illustrious scientific reputation is due to his early work. Thoth left the school in 5728 to start a sister school, Chante University of Mathematics.

St. Bastet operated on the Academy premises off and on during its run. She gave occasional sermons in Aphrodesian to worshipers and helped wizards and witches from Earth come to the Academy to be taught how to use magic responsibly. She lived in a cottage on the school grounds that Emit built for her.

Dr. Lilly also taught at the school off and on. Her tenure at the school was always sporadic, requiring Emit to place a teacher on standby for any classes taught by Lilly, on the off chance she decided to fly off to the other side of the world on a whim.

The longest serving faculty member was Professor Emit, whom founded the school alongside St. Tara and had retained his post as Head of the History Department for the entirety of the academy’s 513 year run. The post of Academy Headmaster was always offered to him, but he denied it every time. Emit lived in a tent on the eastern corner of the school campus because he couldn’t sleep indoors.

Notable Students

Natalie Fadir was raised as Emit’s adoptive daughter, so she attended the secondary boarding school tuition free 5969 – 5972. While at the school, Natalie was popular and well-liked. Her shrewd attitude thanks to her privileged upbringing often got her in trouble. She hit rock bottom when she sent a boggart on Stephanie LaFleur, her own daughter.

Stephanie LaFleur trained at the Academy in 5970 for three months. While underage, she was given the opportunity to participate in university level courses in magic. This made her unpopular with students, including her future mother Natalie Fadir. Fortunately, Natalie and Stephanie learned to see eye to eye and became best friends in their time at the academy.