A.S.H. - Academy of the Silent Hope

Hidden in a forgotten corner of Whenua, far from the great capitals and renowned institutions, the Academy of the Silent Hope stands as a last refuge for the unwanted, the disgraced, and the lost. Founded by the enigmatic figure known as the Death Man, alongside the legendary Four Foreign Knights, A.S.H. was never meant to rival the elite academies of the continent — yet it endures, whispered about in taverns, cursed by nobles, and revered by those who know the truth.

A.S.H. does not simply accept applicants — it chooses them. Some are fugitives, spared execution in exchange for service. Others are war orphans, rebels, or outcasts given a second chance. All are bound by the academy’s one law: “Act in silence. Hope in ashes.” They move unseen through the kingdoms of Whenua, serving as emissaries, mercenaries, spies, and peacekeepers — their actions often uncredited, their sacrifices unacknowledged.

Though dismissed as a “second-choice school” by society, A.S.H. students are trained with relentless precision, learning to navigate not only blades and spells, but the complex laws of the land, the shadows between kingdoms, and the moral grey where true hope is forged. They serve not for glory, but for something far rarer: redemption.

At A.S.H., your past does not define you — what you do next does.

Structure & Organization

Years, Ranks and Classes

• 1st and 2nd years: Novices;
• 3rd to 4th years: Operatives;
• 5th year: Specialists;
• After the 5th year each student must complete a final exam designed to test their skills. Those who pass the final become a Sower of A.S.H.

Novice Years

The first 2 years of the school are focused on giving basic horizontal skills and knowledge to all attendees.

By preparing scholars to their adventuring life, teachers and tutors also guide them towards their future by helping them discover their strengths, weaknesses and their true role inside their adventuring party.

• Combat & Field Operations:
• Tactical Engagements: Learn to fight in small, silent teams, focusing on ambush, skirmish, and survival in hostile environments;
• Weapons of the Unseen: Training in concealed weaponry, improvised arms, and hidden combat techniques;
• Silent Marksman Techniques: Stealth ranged combat with bows, thrown weapons, and silent firearms (if present in your setting
• Monsterology & Field Slaying: Identification, tracking, and efficient takedown of magical and monstrous threats;
• Urban Combat and Subversion: Fighting and surviving in tight quarters, city environments, and among civilians without causing panic.
 
• Stealth, Espionage & Infiltration:
• Disguise and Misdirection: Learn to become anyone — noble, servant, criminal — and lie with conviction;
• Lockpicking, Traps & Countermeasures: How to break in, break out, and neutralize defenses;
• Silent Movement & Shadowcraft: The art of becoming unseen and unheard, even in broad daylight;
• Black Letters: Codes & Ciphers: Secret communication, encryption, and decoding enemy messages;
• Surveillance and Counter-Surveillance: Detecting scrying, shadowing targets, setting up spy networks.
 
• Strategy, Morality & Philosophy:
• Kingdoms Laws and Loopholes: Know the rules of the land — and how to bend them without breaking them;
• The Ethics of the Edge: Debates and lessons on moral ambiguity, the cost of action vs inaction;
• Historical Failures of Heroism: Case studies of adventurers who caused harm through pride or ignorance;
• The Silent Creed: Lessons on the academy’s core values, moral code, and the art of obedience in disobedience.
 
• Magic & Forbidden Knowledge:
• Spellcasting Under Pressure: Quick, quiet, efficient spell use for high-stakes situations;
• Utility Magic for Infiltration: Invisibility, message, disguise self, silence — all the rogue’s magical toolkit;
• Divination & Surveillance Magic: How to find people, watch without being seen, and counter enemy divinations;
• The Study of Forbidden Paths: Controlled exposure to banned magic (necromancy, compulsion) for counter-use.
 
• Support, Diplomacy & Manipulation:
• Crisis Mediation and De-escalation: Turn violence into negotiation — or keep it from exploding in the first place;
• The Art of Lies and Truths: Using persuasion, intimidation, and deception effectively in political or social environments;
• Underworld Etiquette: How to navigate the criminal world without becoming part of it;
• Field Medicine & Triage: Save lives when no one else can — or choose who lives and dies in a crunch.
 
• Electives & Survival Skills:
• Wilderness Survival: Navigation, shelter-building, resource gathering across terrains;
• Cultural Adaptation: Language and etiquette lessons for missions in distant lands or among different peoples;
• Field Training: Specialized missions where students must work in groups, alongside more experienced students and assisted by teachers and tutors of the academy.

Operative Years

Walking into the 3rd and 4th years, academy attendees will start studying in specialized classes and are given more responsibility in the field missions, such as tutoring younger students or attending missions without assistance from academy teachers and tutors.

At the start of the 3rd year they are asked to choose up to 3 main courses to attend, one can focus on just one of them or spread their time into multiple courses, choosing a more focused or more generalized approach.

While the mandatory courses are just 3, every student is free to attend other classes, and also to follow some secondary and optional vertical modules on specific topics to improve their soft skills, all, of course, according to their class and mission schedules.

1. The Art of Controlled Fury (Barbarian): Tap into rage while maintaining tactical awareness. Learn to weaponize emotion without losing control;
2. Shields of the Unseen (Fighter/Paladin): Defensive techniques focused on protecting teammates while maintaining stealth and discretion;
3. Oaths Under Fire (Paladin): Explore broken oaths, moral ambiguity, and the flexibility of divine duty in complex missions;
4. Weapon Forms of the Lost Orders (Fighter): Training in ancient or unconventional fighting styles passed down from the Four Foreign Knights;
5. The Knife and the Mask (Rogue): Advanced assassination, infiltration, and the philosophy of silent judgment;
6. Whispers and Webs (Rogue/Bard): Learn to gather information, manipulate informants, and pull strings unseen;
7. The Performance of Lies (Bard): Training in impersonation, propaganda, and illusionary performance as tools of espionage;
8. Silent Casting and Gesture Magic (All arcane): Master casting spells without verbal or somatic components. Perfect for covert missions;
9. The Forbidden Weave (Warlock): Learn to channel dangerous patrons or magic sources responsibly — or at least discreetly;
10. Hexes, Runes, and Magical Sabotage (Wizard/Sorcerer): Set traps, curses, or protections without leaving a magical footprint;
11. Nature’s Watchdogs (Ranger/Druid): Stealth and tracking in the wild. Learn to use nature as both camouflage and weapon;
12. Druidic Espionage (Druid): Using wild shape, speak with animals, and druidic runes to spy and sabotage;
13. Relic Conservation and Disposal (Ranger): Training in identifying, securing, or destroying dangerous magical items in natural spaces;
14. Faith in Silence (Cleric): Operate within divine constraints while respecting local laws and cultural taboos;
15. The Ashen Creed (Cleric/Paladin): Interpretation of the academy’s moral code through divine frameworks — when mercy conflicts with justice;
16. Field Blessings and Battlefield Saints (Cleric): Quick, efficient healing and enchantments during covert operations. Learn to bless without glory;
17. Steps of the Silent Wind (Monk): Stealth through spiritual harmony. Blend into crowds, nature, or even stillness;
18. The Inner Flame and Outer Ice (Monk): Emotional control, mental fortitude, and adaptability during high-pressure missions.

• Glyphs in the Dust (Arcana): Learn to identify and disable magical traps, glyphs, and arcane footprints left behind by mages or magical creatures — crucial for infiltration teams;
• The Forgotten Threads (History): Decode the hidden patterns of past wars, kingdoms, and fallen heroes. Emphasizes uncovering history that powerful factions want buried;
• Truth in the Ashes (Investigation): Train to uncover hidden evidence, magical traces, and behavioral patterns at crime scenes, ruins, or recent battlefields;
• Silent Roots (Nature): Learn to read terrain, use flora and fauna for tracking or camouflage, and spot unnatural threats in natural settings — especially important for missions in wild regions;
• Ashes of Faith (Religion): Study forgotten cults, divine oaths, and the difference between holy law and moral law — tailored for agents who may have to confront corrupted clergy or temples;
• Kindness Without Words (Animal Handling): Tame or calm beasts with subtle movements and intent rather than brute control — often used for missions requiring stealth mounts or wild companions;
• Eyes Beneath the Mask (Insight): Master reading truth behind false words, body language, and magical disguises. Critical for knowing who to trust in morally gray situations;
• Mercy in Silence (Medicine): Field medicine for covert agents: quick, clean, quiet care — includes training in poisons, sedatives, and nonlethal takedowns;
• Eyes That Do Not Blink (Perception): Training to notice everything while showing nothing. Students are drilled on picking up distant signals, hidden threats, and social cues;
• Ash and Bone (Survival): Learn to survive and thrive in ruined, cursed, or burned-out environments. A key skill for long-range recovery missions or retrieval of lost relics;
• Steps Between Shadows (Acrobatics): Specializes in movement across rooftops, cliff-faces, and through unstable structures without alerting enemies;
• Fingers of the Forgotten (Sleight of Hand): Covert object manipulation — from pickpocketing to swapping relics without detection — taught by former street thieves turned instructors;
• The Silent Path (Stealth): The foundational course of A.S.H.: movement, concealment, breathing, timing, and erasure of your own trail;
• Grace in Force (Athletics): Scaling walls, dragging allies, swimming with gear — focuses on fluid, non-disruptive use of raw strength for mission-critical moments;
• The Polished Lie (Deception): Used to mislead enemies, protect allies, or hide one’s true identity in diplomatic missions;
• The Voice in the Flame (Intimidation): Not about loud threats — but the quiet, cold confidence of someone who’s walked through fire. Teaches presence and unspoken dominance;
• Ashen Roles (Performance): Blending storytelling, disguise, and spycraft. Students learn to “perform” as nobles, outlaws, or clergy to infiltrate and manipulate;
• The Gentle Knife (Persuasion): Soft power as a blade. Teaches manipulation through diplomacy, sincerity, and moral leverage. Used often to negotiate peace without ever drawing steel.

• Crossed Paths Training: Curriculum designed for hybrids to balance conflicting abilities and codes;
• The Gray Mantle Project: A specialized program for those who’ve already broken laws or oaths — training them to channel their dark pasts into missions of redemption.

Specialist Years

The 5th and last year is focused on specialized missions and training. After learning all that has been offered from the previous years and after choosing and diving deep into their specialization, academy attendees are finally tasked with important missions and quests, almost totally unsupervised and autonomous.

Between missions, students are still able to attend previous classes and courses to improve their knowledge or choose some deeply specific master classes to gain some missing skills and abilities.

• Silent Power, Precision Force (Strength - STR):
• Breaking Without Sound: Learn how to break down barriers, force doors, and overpower foes with minimal noise or detection;
• The Weight of Mercy: Strength used to restrain, protect, and carry — not only to kill. Designed for redemption seekers;
• Gravebound Combat: Grappling and takedowns that subdue without spilling blood. Ideal for missions requiring live capture;
• Burden of the Ashen Path: Physical endurance drills with symbolic weight-carrying tied to atonement and silent duty;
 
• Grace in Shadow (Dexterity - DEX):
• Steps Without Echo: Movement, climbing, and infiltration training — all done under silence constraints;
• The Needle’s Mercy: Precision strikes with small blades, darts, and thrown objects meant to disable rather than kill;
• Art of the Hidden Hand: Pickpocketing, sleight of hand, disarming traps — all with philosophical discussion on subtlety vs deceit;
• Falling Like a Feather: Training in acrobatics, evasive maneuvers, and urban mobility (e.g., parkour with stealth
 
• Endurance in Ash and Silence (Constitution - CON):
• Trial by Ash: A brutal survival course in burned lands — represents enduring where hope seems lost;
• Endure Without Recognition: Mental and physical resistance to pain, exhaustion, torture, or magical probing — all in service of silent sacrifice;
• The Wall That Whispers Not: How to take punishment in combat while remaining composed, still, and unyielding;
• Contagion Response and Poison Endurance: Train your body against common alchemical and magical ailments encountered in field ops;
 
• Knowledge is the Silent Blade (Intelligence - INT):
• Enemies of the Forgotten Age: Ancient lore, monster weaknesses, and forgotten threats. Focus on preparation over improvisation;
• Silent Logic: Code-breaking, planning complex infiltrations, and using intelligence for nonviolent solutions;
• Arcane Discipline for Non-Mages: Understanding spells, sigils, and magic theory without needing to cast. Especially for scouts and warriors;
• Logistics and Ghost Routes: Planning long-term missions across borders — without being noticed;
 
• See Without Being Seen (Wisdom - WIS):
• Echoes of Ashes: Training perception and intuition in war-torn or emotionally charged environments;
• The Second Look: Teaches awareness of deception, manipulation, and the presence of magic or danger;
• Field Ethics in Moral Grayness: Helps students understand personal morality, kingdom laws, and the difference between them;
• The Listening Silence: Divination and intuition training, including scrying, dream interpretation, and prophetic signs;
 
• Influence Without Fame (Charisma - CHA):
• Ashen Tongues: Mastering persuasion, subtle leadership, and covert social manipulation;
• Masks and Mirrors: Training in using fake personas, performing identities, and deceiving with conviction;
• Hopebringers of the Broken: Special course for rebuilding communities after missions — learn to inspire without glory;
• The Gray Negotiator: How to speak with nobles, outlaws, or monsters while hiding one’s agenda and observing protocol;

Faculty & Staff

Headmaster, Principal and Vice-Principal

The headmaster of the academy is the highest authority in the academy, a role held by Death Man. Due to his inconstancy and impredictability, the Principal typically holds full decision-making power over the Mentors, the Students and most Academy affairs.

The Principal may appoint a Vice-Principal to assist with daily responsibilities. The Vice-Principal does not need to be a Mentor—fifth-year students or even Ash Sowers can be chosen for the role.

The current Principal is one of the Foreign Knights, Domsiaffail, and the Vice-Principal is a fifth-year student, their protégé and apprentice.

Mentors and Tutors

Chosen directly by the Headmaster and the Principal from the cream of the cream of Whenua, Mentors are the flagship of A.S.H. Mercenaries, fallen Commanders, ex-students and famous scholars form the core teachers of the academy.

Every Mentor can choose tutors to help them with their class. Tutors usually take care of all the burocracy and more boring duties of Mentors, but they also have an active role in teaching by taking care of specialized lessons or assisting students during on-field missions.

Staff and other Workers

Assisting students and mentors with their every day life, the staff of the academy includes janitors, nurses, librarian and other secretaries and more. In addition, many people from the nearby town decided to move inside the academy to offer their services, like blacksmiths, tailors and bakers.

Life in the Academy

The Academy of the Silent Hope was built to offer everything one can need to live. Food, a bed and a roof and recreational activities are designed to make students and mentors' stay as comfortable as possible.

While the staff, the workers and the teachers - both mentors and tutors - are free to go in and out of the academy as they please, more strict rules are applied to students. They cannot leave the borders of the academy during the week, they have classes to attend every morning and, based on their chosen study plan, also in the afternoon. The curfew is at 10p.m., after which students are not allowed to leave their dormitories.

Weekends are more free, students can go visit the nearby town by signing a request form when they leave and when they come back. There is no curfew and usually there are lots of festivals, fairs and other events taking place inside and outside the academy. Students are still forbidden from leaving the Hiding Forest due to the academy secrecy policy. Underage students can leave the academy only if accompanied by adults, being that mentors, tutors or even other students.

Missions and Quests

While the academy was originally funded by the Foreign Knights and the Death Man, over the years their income came from their mercenary jobs. Hired by the kingdoms of Whenua, the A.S.H. students and teachers provides assistance in various missions, from combat and assassination, to escort and protection, but also other simpler duties of investigation, exploration or even helping with constructions and renovations.

All of these jobs are taken following the strict statute of the academy which states that when working in a foreign land for a foreign kingdom, laws and traditions of both the hiring kingdom and the one where the mission is set, need to be followed and respected.