School: Infinity Institute

The Infinity Institute is the new kid on the block, academically speaking. Only founded in the late '90s and only really rising as a premier educational program in the last five years, Infinity rivals Ohtori as the rockstar of the Tokyo education scene. Students of the Infinity Institute are viewed with a combination of reverence and fear, because teenagers being what they are, it's not uncommon for Infinity students to let their school's stature get to their heads. That attitude is not fully undeserved, however: The Infinity Institute aggressively and unapologetically frames itself as a school where the gifted can thrive in whatever field they may like, and has the programs to back up that boast. Only the gifted make the cut at Infinity; the school will mercilessly boot students without the talent or drive to succeed...although, occasionally, and usually to the confusion of the student body, the faculty will insist a seeming underachiever is worth their seat.

Infinity's program is designed to facilitate the excellence of its students. The school takes students of any age - from kindergarten through grad school, each grade a floor in the monumental tower that is the Institute's campus. The school has classes in essentially every field, from the philosophies and sciences to sports, entertainment and the professional world, and early on students are encouraged to spread throughout the school's curricula to find where their greatest talents lie. By the same token, the Infinity Institute has an extremely laissez faire approach to student clubs, and will approve essentially anything that can meet minimum membership requirements, no matter how humble, fantastical, or outright silly.

Infinity Academy, unlike the other schools in Tokyo, has a formalized magic program. Appropriately, its day-to-day classes are confined to the 13th floor, the real existence of which is lost in a haze of student rumors. Labs for various specific disciplines as well as occult research extend deep beneath the academy; some say there's as many as six hundred sixty-six sub-basements!

Because of this, those with magical potential are often targeted for recruitment by the Infinity Institute, even if they are otherwise limited achievers. The Infinity Institute is quite aggressive about recruiting magical potentials, and even wizards from outside the region send their children here for a top-rate magical education. This section of the school still has significant backing from the Magic Association, including several powerful wizards on staff and oversight by the local Association bureau chiefs.

Yet, even here, much of the education is done by Souichi Tomoe's inner circle, and the Association's grip is kept in a tight deadlock. Supposedly, one of the sub-basements here leads directly to the belly of Magic Association Headquarters...but as relations with Doctor Tomoe became more tenuous, a Recognition Inhibition spell was cast, obliterating the memory of its location from everyone involved. Probably.

With Infinity's focus on the supremacy of talent over background, and their very recent history, they have a natural and rather intense rivalry with Ohtori Academy, a more upper-crust school with a stronger emphasis on wealth and social status, and a much, much longer history of academic excellence. The Infinity Institute sees Ohtori mostly as overinflated blowhards; Ohtori sees Infinity's students as upstart, overinflated blowhards. Infinity's relations to the Juuban schools are more jocular. Infinity sees Juuban as the lesser sibling, where the people who can't make the cut end up. Some take that as a weakness to be coddled; others, as a fault to be derided. Juuban, appropriately, mostly thinks Infinity is a bunch of stuck-up jerks.

History

In the aftermath of Clow Reed's destructive battle over the Sacred Tree, the Magic Association set up a research and protection base around the Sacred Tree's site. They wrote channeling and warding spells into the very stones of the small settlement that sprung up, drawing mystics - and with them, knowledge, a wizard's eternal companion - to the site.

In time, this settlement would be integrated into ever-growing Tokyo. The powerful magic surrounding this place was eventually used as a final line of defense against the phenomenal power of Lord Dune in 196X, at which point all eyes turned upon the Sacred Tree's defenders. The Magic Association built up the site; situated their Japanese headquarters in a vast labyrinth which terminated at the Tree's mystic heart, and secured dangerous tomes on nearby Library Island. But in the 1980s, the Magic Association's power was curtailed by a massive war in the far off magic haven of Mundus Magicus, and the Sacred Tree operation was one of several that suffered a serious loss in power and clout as high-profile wizards raced off to the fight.

With their powerbase lessened, the mages of the Japanese Magic Association knew they needed to shore up their control of the tremendous power surrounding the so-called "World Tree". With that in mind, they allowed certain individuals with knowledge of magic to build on sites of power surrounding the tree, using those structures as focal points for powerful spells. One of those individuals, and one of those projects, was Doctor Souichi Tomoe, and his Infinity Institute.

The Infinity Institute was to be a beacon of gifted education. Founded as a public charter school, Infinity was able to bolster its municipal funding with private wealth, and supply its students with innovative technology and teaching methods. Unlike a private school, however, it did not charge for tuition; any student who demonstrated sufficient academic excellence would be accepted. Where the long-running Ohtori Academy serviced the rich and privileged, Infinity was meant to give an education to what Tomoe believed were the real heroes of the age: Those with talent. Talent for science, talent for art, talent for wisdom...and talent for magic. And to support those talents, on the same grounds as Infinity Academy, Tomoe constructed his own personal laboratory, quietly (and not entirely legally) using the massive power flow of the Magic Association's sigils to perform technomagical experiments.

In 2006, Tomoe Laboratory experienced a tremendous explosion. The Magic Association believed something had slipped through amid the chaotic mana eruption, but, against all odds, Tomoe emerged into the waiting crowd of horrified supporters, unscathed. No sign of anything amiss could be found.

Since then, though, the Magic Association's grip on Tomoe has slipped. A group of science-witches have gathered around him, cheerfully helping the academy surge to pre-eminence while simultaneously keeping the Magic Association from exerting too much authority on - or even seeing too much of - Souichi Tomoe. With Tomoe holding the mundane rites to the land, the Association can do little but watch and wait to see what Souichi Tomoe and his so-called Witches 5 will do.

Now, the Infinity Institute's towering monolith is considered one of the top educational facilities in mainland Tokyo, and continues, despite some misgivings, to be the best place in the archipelago for students to practice their magic training. With its enormously open stance on school clubs and pointed interest in student excellence, Infinity Academy is poised to rival any other school in the city in performance...and with its proximity to powerful sources of magical energy, some of those magic classes might just turn out to be full-contact!

Student Body

This list can be edited by players to add their characters to their appropriate grade. Feel free to add your name as a link to your character page!

Faculty and Staff: Souichi Tomoe, Kaori Kishi, Yuuichi Kazama, Gordon, Cyprine, Mimi Hanyu, Lulu Teruno.

University: Setsuna Meioh, Chitose Shiratori.

Grade 12: Shun Minami, Hayato Nishi.

Grade 11: Kuniko Saito, Haruka Tenoh, Michiru Kaioh, Ren Aizawa, Yuuko Ichihara.

Grade 10: Fakir, Jad Werke, Lera Camry, Lilith Abarth, Mytho, Rue, Ryoko Kikuchi, Tsuru, Utau Hoshina, Yumi Ohzora.

Grade 9: Chao Lingshen, Chrono Harlaown, Duck, Ferio, Fu Inubozaki, Fuu Hououji, Hibiki Houjou, Kanade Minamino, Minako Aino, Miki Aono, Yui Bidoh.

Grade 8: Akane Hino, Karin Miyoshi, Mai Mishou, Mimori Togo, Miyuki Hoshizora, Nao Midorikawa, Reika Aoki, Saki Hyuuga, Yayoi Kise, Yuna Yuki.

Grade 7: Akira Moto, Itsuki Inubozaki.

Grade 6: Hotaru Tomoe.

Grade 5:

Grade 4: Ako Shirabe, Fate Testarossa, Nanoha Takamachi.

Grade 3:

Grade 2:

Grade 1:

Grade K:

Student Council

Infinity, nurturing many political talents, tries to accommodate everyone with Class Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries and Treasurers from each grade, K-12, plus the university level. They vote as a quorum in the Infinity Academic Senate, with some oversight from faculty, on issues as minor as whether or not to promote a petition to improve the acceleration on the skyscraper's central elevator, to as major as the distribution of club funding (the source of many a complex feud).

If you'd like to join the Student Council (new characters can easily be retconned in), please contact the Staff on-game.

The Infinity Academic Senate

University

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 12

President: Hayato Nishi
Vice President: Open
Secretary: Open
Treasurer: Shun Minami

Grade 11

President: Yuuko Arimura
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 10

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Mimi Hanyu

Grade 9

President: Open!
Vice President: Yui Bidou
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 8

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 7

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 6

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 5

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 4

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 3

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 2

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade 1

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Grade K

President: Open!
Vice President: Open!
Secretary: Open!
Treasurer: Open!

Clubs

Even in Japan, Infinity's highly motivated students are famous for the sheer quantity and specialization of the clubs they form, from the World Tree Club investigating Tama's enormous, mystical landmark to Feels for Wheels, a group of happy nerd engineers trying to literally reinvent, and improve, the wheel.

This list may be edited by any player who wishes to note the on-camera existence of their club. There are many other clubs at Infinity not listed here because they don't currently have any player characters in them.

Advanced Ballet

The Advanced Ballet class at Infinity continues their studies well after most students have gone home, in the pastoral setting of Gold Crown Town. There are a limited number of members; competition for entry is fierce.

Members: Mytho, Fakir, Rue, Tsuru

Archery Team

A bowstring drawn across the heart. A single, perfect moment. Bullseye.

Members: Fuu Hououji, Reika Aoki

Computer Club

It's not all fun and games at the computer club, but there is a certain amount of both expected at all times! Utilizing Infinity's remarkable infrastructure and resources, the computer club hacks at high levels, for love and justice.

Members: Fuu Hououji (occasionally)

Drama Club

Drama Club is for those with a passion for the performing arts that are related to non-musical vocals; it is a club that teaches how to use body language to help emphasize words to act out a scene. The Drama Club hosts Shakespeare in the Park on a regular basis, and performs plays every so often. They collaborate with the sister schools for larger plays or for festival performances.

Members: Miki Aono

Fashion Club

A wildly enthusiastic club, Infinity Institute's group of fashionistas are so prolific that some of them are already launching their own professional lines, while others are real models.

Members: Miki Aono, Tsuru

Gardening Club

Although their school is a ridiculously huge skyscraper, the Infinity Gardening Club works hard to bring as much of nature's beauty to the student body as possible.

Members: Reika Aoki

Hero Club

The Infinity Institute Hero Club is one of the prides of the school, with its focus on civic service and volunteerism. Secretly, they're a group of carefully selected students who defend the Shinjuu from Vertex encroachments, and fight other evils as time permits.

Members: Akira Moto, Fu Inubozaki, Itsuki Inubozaki, Karin Miyoshi, Mimori Togo, Yuna Yuki

Hiking Club

For a combination of nature and athletics enthusiasts. The Hiking Club has enough funding to travel widely throughout the year!

Members: Lera Camry

Judo Club

A very competitive martial arts club with a proud tradition of success.

Members: Hibiki Houjou, Haruka Tenoh, Yuuko Arimura

Library Island Exploration Club

The ancient Library Island is a very large building, full of mysteries and disrepair, to the point where entire sections of it are deemed too dangerous to allow students into under normal circumstances. This club, mostly University-level but accepting all students, regularly organizes expeditions into its (literally) uncharted depths. In that sense, the club has a lot to do with a climbing or spelunking club, and accounts of previous expeditions make them sound like sequences from an Indiana Jones movie more than anything else.

Members: Fuu Hououji

Orchestra

The after-school orchestra group is all ages, separated down into different sections. All sections learn how to sight-read and perform with others. This club has a competition for principle and chair positions within the separate divisions, as well as participating in joint Sister School performances as well as competitions against them.

Members: Michiru Kaioh

Softball Team

Sumo may be Japan's official national sport, but everyone knows it's actually baseball.

Members: Saki Hyuuga

Survival Club

One of the less popular clubs in terms of societal approval, Survival Club focuses primarily on wargames and airsoft battles, with side activities including gun safety lessons, airshows and educational trips in cooperation with the Japanese Self-Defense Force. This club opens its activities to Sister School participation.

Members: Nanoha Takamachi, Ren Aizawa

Swordfighting Club

For students of the blade not trained in more specific traditions, this is more of a group of generalists and enthusiasts and less of a competitive team.