The Weiss Academy in Alda, named for its location on the shores of Lake Weiss, is the most prized creation of Marquis Paul Grammy, owner of the Arda Territory.
The Weiss Academy started as just a few simple buildings, where Paul ran a night school to teach the illiterate people to read and write.
The roof leaked, and vines climbed the walls. The classes at night were lit only by oil lamps. Monk teachers recruited from a nearby monastery wrote letters and numbers on rough wooden boards with charcoal pencils. The villagers crowded onto benches, clumsily holding simple pencils, and scribbling all sorts of characters on paper.
As time went on, the school not only taught reading and writing but also introduced basic arithmetic and geometry. Some bright young people began to show remarkable talent; they learned to calculate field areas and how to quickly compile various data. The seeds of knowledge finally took root and sprouted in this land on the border of the kingdom, providing tremendous support for Alda's agricultural reforms and economic development.
With the booming development of Alda's economy, Lakeheart Town has invested heavily in education, and primary schools have been built in all the towns under the Political Affairs Council. After completing literacy campaigns, raising the level of education within the territory became a new goal, and Paul decided to establish a more advanced educational institution in Lakeheart Town.
Near the original few simple school buildings, the first teaching building rose from the ground. This three-story stone building, though simple, marked a new stage in Alda's educational level.
The increasing prosperity of commerce and the export of large quantities of manufactured goods spread the once remote place name Alda to more and more places, from Northwest Bay to the Kingdom of Aldor, and from the Kingdom of Aldor to other parts of the continent. Along with this came the reputation of the Lord of Arda Territory for his thirst for and respect for knowledge.
With its inexpensive and high-quality paper, exquisite porcelain, and all sorts of ingenious creations, most people judge a civilization primarily based on its material output. More and more scholars came to Alda, bringing with them their expertise, from alchemy to astronomy, from mathematics to engineering, from philosophy to medicine... Paul organized these scholars and established different departments within the Weiss Academy.
The college has grown larger and larger, with new buildings springing up on the lakeside: libraries, laboratories, observatories, and more. After ten years of construction, the college has developed into a large university with its main building standing tall and symmetrical wings extending from both sides, connected by an arcade that runs through the central courtyard. Each pillar of the arcade is engraved with the names of famous scholars in history and their great achievements.
A gentle breeze from the lake swept across the plaza in front of the college, where a bronze sundial stood in the center. Its base was inscribed with Lord Paul Greiman's expectations for the college: "The light of knowledge will illuminate the future." The college library was built over the lake, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the shimmering water. Students often sat at long oak tables by the windows to study, and occasionally they could look up and see water birds skimming across the lake.
Behind the college lies an experimental garden, where exotic plants from all over the world are grown, including an expensive greenhouse whose glass gleams in the sunlight. A winding stone path leads to an observatory by the lake, where a huge telescope, specially built for stargazing, is set up. At night, teachers and students often stand here gazing at the starry sky, searching for the mysteries of the universe.
By this time, the Weiss Academy had become a comprehensive academic center, with its courses covering virtually all fields of contemporary academia.
Even Princess Irene commented that Weiss Academy was no less impressive than the Scholars Tower in Gabella Imperial Capital, and even surpassed it in many fields. The scholars in the Scholars Tower focused more on literature, history, and politics, because the first emperor of Gabella built the Scholars Tower to cultivate talents in governance to assist future monarchs and lords in various regions. In Weiss Academy, subjects such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry were separately divided and categorized as miscellaneous studies, and were not given much importance.
Sigrid is currently strolling through Weiss Academy.
The white-haired witch, known as the Ice Witch within the Arcane Society, is searching for someone—Alvis, a former member of the Scholars Tower.
Assigned by the new Gabella emperor Antonio Griffin, she pursued Alvis, who had betrayed Gabella, but lost sight of her target along the way. Unaware that her target had detoured to the Great Prairie, she wandered all the way to Alvis's original destination— the Kingdom of Aldor —and searched everywhere for the old scholar's whereabouts.
Finally, in Port Franklin, Northwest Bay, Sigrid found a clue that might be related to the target.
The Nature Science Forum, a conference hosted by the local lord and inviting numerous scholars from both inside and outside Aldor, would likely interest Alvis, a scholar himself, or perhaps this was his initial purpose in coming to Aldor — Sigrid speculated.
So the Ice Witch, following the information she had gathered, arrived at Weiss Academy, a place where scholars from all directions gathered.
The college is open to the public, and Sigrid pretended to be a tourist and strolled around inside.
In one corner of the square, she saw several scholars chatting excitedly.
"The day has finally come!" A scholar waved his cane, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. "I've heard that Lord Glaeman will announce a new theory about planetary motion, which could completely change our understanding of celestial bodies!"
"Yes, it's all those damned orcs' fault!" someone chimed in indignantly, his beard trembling with anger. "It's delayed us for a whole year! If it weren't for their invasion, we would have solved these mysteries last year!"
"Don't mention those barbarians!" Another scholar, dressed in a magnificent robe, shook his head, his tone laced with disdain. "They have no idea of the value of knowledge. However, it is truly admirable that Lord Glaeman has persisted in his research amidst the chaos of war. I've heard that he has even discovered new laws governing the motion of objects, which may overturn many old theories of motion!"
"Overturn existing theories of motion?" An elderly scholar's eyes widened, and he almost dropped his quill. "This... The great sage Edwards once said that the explanations in this area are perfect. If that's true, then this field will be the subject of a fierce war of words—you know, many people are Edwards's staunch supporters."
"Not only that," a young scholar squeezed through, his eyes gleaming with excitement, "I've also heard that the Alda have made a major breakthrough in mathematics. They have a brand new method of calculation called calculus, which is said to be able to solve complex problems that we couldn't handle in the past!"
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"This is absolutely amazing! I can't wait to attend this conference. I have a feeling it could change the face of academia and even the world!"
"Yes, it's exciting to think about everyone gathering together and sharing their experiences!"
Gathered together? Sigrid overheard their conversation.
Alvis might appear there.