History: Infinity Institute

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!

For more information, please see: History, History: Clow Reed, Schools, School: Infinity Institute, Organization: The Magic Association, Organization: Dark Fall, Theme Primer, Theme