Istria's mage academy is the only school for mages in the known world. Here is concentrated everything known about magic — from every glyph ever discovered to hypotheses about the power's origin. It is also the only place where any significant measure of research is performed upon the tainted — conducting inquiries into their origin and how to combat its ever-spreading effects.
Students
Most students come to the university between the ages of 12-15. Lodging, board, and uniforms are provided for each pupil, along with a (rather) small stipend for personal use. There are two vacations each year of three weeks around midwinter and midsummer; otherwise, the week is spent in classes and study, and weekends are personal time. Every student has a place on the chore roster — be it in the kitchen, cleaning, stablework, mending clothes, laundry, gardening, or any of the other multitude of tasks which always need doing.
Some classes are held in a traditional style, usually covering subjects such as history, in which a lecture can be given to a large group without significantly reducing their comprehension of the material. When it comes to learning magic, however, students are broken up into small groups and assigned to a mentor, lessons being taught in those groups or individually as necessary.
The study of glyphs is a demanding one, as the symbols are not forgiving to their writers. Students are first taught the basic glyphs, which define the categories others are classified into. They learn how to write them very precisely, each stroke drawn in a precise order and each line of a very precise shape. They learn which substrate (wood, slate, paper, cloth, etc.) and which writing medium (ink, tar, goat's blood, water, etc.) best suits each glyph; they also learn which crystalline materials a glyph can be implanted within. As the study of glyphs predates recorded history, and there are hundreds known, each with multiple variations, it is a very extended exercise in memorization and recall.
When a student is able to cast most basic spells successfully, and demonstrates their knowledge of the most commonly used glyphs to the testing board's satisfaction — usually after six to eight years, around the ages of 18-22 — they are considered graduated to mage status. This does not necessarily mean they're a skilled spellcaster, only that the school's classes have served their purpose.
Mages
Some graduates depart for home or the city at large, leaving the academy behind them and attempting to make a living with their new status. Most don't succeed at it, as their abilities are fairly limited, and they have little opportunity to refine their skills unless a more experienced mage is willing to mentor them. Limited abilities may suffice for a living in more distant areas, such as the eastern farms or the western mountains, where experienced mages are fewer.
Many students remain at the school in a sort of 'teaching and/or research assistant' capacity for as many as five additional years, under the personal tutelage of an experienced teacher. They receive the same lodging and stipend as a student, but are no longer required to do chores for the school at large, that time being dedicated to their tasks as an assistant. These assistants may be of any age, including graduated mages who went off for a while and then came back to address the gaps in their knowledge. In return for assisting their mentor, these mages receive instruction in the fine points of making do with less than ideal materials and (especially) stringing glyphs together into a detailed spell.
After their time as an assistant is complete, most mages venture back out into the world at large.
Instructors
The mages retained by the school as instructors also live on its campus, eating the same as the students and receiving a rather larger stipend. They all teach at least one group of students, and undertake lecture classes in rotation. Most are also involved in some sort of research — be it attempting to refine or discover a new glyph, looking for the ideal medium/substrate pairing for a particular spell, or investigating taint.
In addition to their time on campus, every mage spends some measure of time in the employ of the government. Most academy mages do not stand watch, but they can be called upon in the event of an altercation. They also perform duties such as scribing medallions for official purposes, and sell their services like any other city mage.
Tainted
Every now and again, the academy mages are able to subdue a tainted creature rather than forced to kill it outright. Those caught alive are often brought back for study, if the threat they pose isn't too great. Dead tainted are also frequently lugged home and dissected in the attempt to glean more information about when, how, and why they were changed. The hope is to find a cure, some spell which will counteract the taint, but to date success has been rather lacking.
Mages don't like tainted. End of story. Some view them as objects of interest, but even the most academically-minded fear them nonetheless, and most regard the tainted with considerable distaste. They tolerate Hunters out of necessity for exactly as long as the Hunters can keep themselves under control, but warmth is generally not present in their interactions.
