Dol Amoth

Highly volatile and touched heavily by the cosmic filaments, Dol Amoth is one of the most chaotic worlds settled by humanity. It is rumored that the deep layers of lava lakes that hide beneath the surface release gaseous fumes that can play tricks on the mind, weaving images together with the cosmic filament.   

Imperial Academy

 

Training

The methods of recruitment into the Judges is shrouded in mystery to the Imperial public. Although all know of the "Tithe", a regular collection of psionic individuals paid by the Imperial people. Children are tested at a young age, and if they test psionically positive, they are potentially conscripted into the ranks of the tribunal. The tribunal is entitled to one-in-ten. If one is called, only a few privileged psionics a year can dodge the tithe. These people usually if they come from Imperial Nobility , who can afford to pay their tithe out. Those conscripted are brought to Dol Amoth to undergo Psionic chip implanting, and then given a rudimentary education. Psionic chip implantation is brutal and has a high casualty. It is also considered archaic, filled with unnecessary and dated rituals. Wealthy nobles can delay their entry, and pay for their own Psionic implantation surgery, which usually ensures a much higher survival rate at the Academy. Ethics groups have pointed at the success of programs on Chandrill or Artedis who have a death rate of effectively zero. 
True training itself begins once the children are educated, and of the age of eighteen, when they are inducted into the academy as novices. The academy been called superstitious by the Imperial Military High Command and brutal by defectors who have fled from Imperial grasp. The training is grueling, hostile, and deadly. On a regular basis pupils are tested both mentally and physically. Student on student killings are regular, as they compete for apprenticeship spots for the greatest bishops. The rules of the academy strictly forbid student killings, however this does not mean they spend many resources investigating the deaths. This whole process symbolizes the long and brutal climb that the judges expect. The only way out of the academy is by sponsorship of a Judges, however all must spend at least three years at the academy. Making connections at the academy is important for one to achieve a sponsorship, which will pave the way for the novice's future within the empire. While incredibly brutal, the results of the academy produce far more powerful psionics than most institutions do in the entire galaxy. However the empire is a cruel and crushing society, and the tribunal need members hungry for power. Once they find a sponsorship and a speciality, the novices officialy become apprentices. Apprentices serve under the bishops, who train them in their specialized niche. This could mean a judicar, inquisitor, wizard, warlock, truthsayer or whatever they show speciality in. However, one should not mistake the title "Apprentice" with that of one being incapable. The academies have prepared the apprentices carefully for the two-faced and dangerous imperial high society. Apprentices must constantly look for ways to prove themselves, while also carving out a base of power and support themselves.