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Campus Map • Tunnel Map

Administrative Building Arts Building Athletics Facility the Bookstore Cafeteria & Meeting Hall the Coast & Docks Boys' & Girls' Dorms Co-Ed Dorms

the Field the Forest Garage Humanities Building the Library the paved Lot Maths & Sciences Mazinger Pub

Mech Building Nausicaa Café the Park & Ampitheatre the Quad Tech Building the Tunnels Zantetsuken Pub

For further details on the flora, fauna, sea, and weather of the island, see the Geography section of the FAQ.

* All photos have been Google, Flickr, and Picasa-fu'd, and are the copyright of their respective owners. They will be credited once the sources can be found again.

Further credit goes to

puzzle_game and

draw_a_card for a lot of time and effort put into editing and resizing the photos. Thanks guys!

Coast and Docks;

The coast of the island varies a great deal, changing from rocky and quite treacherous in some places to sandy and sheltered in others. The stone of the island is strange and beautiful, running a range of vivid colours, and it sparkles with some unknown substance in the light of the sun.

All of the shorelines offer a view of pure, endless blue as the sea and sky stretch away to the horizon, with no sign of another island in any direction.

• Along the north and east sides of the island, above and below the docks, the coastline is riddled with stony beaches and rocky coves, some of which trap the wind in howling gales before letting it go again.

• At the south end of the island bordering the forest there are no beaches at all, but rather a long, high line of cliffs that fall away into the rough water.

• Finally, along the west coast of the island is a long beach with fine sand that's safe for swimming — as long as you don't go too far. Driftwood steps lead from the paved road down to the sand, and a large sign is posted proclaiming: "WARNING: LEAVE SHALLOWS AT OWN RISK."

The docks and boardwalk along the northeast end of the campus are sturdy, well-crafted, and seaworthy — they have to be, to stand up to the campus' storms. They're capable of docking some rather large sea vessels, but typically only contain a few small craft. A handful of rowboats, canoes, and one motorboat are all that are moored there.

A network of cement and plaster tunnels run beneath the campus, connecting the different buildings to one another and offering a way to get from class to class without having to brave the weather. They're kept at a steady room temperature, and are connected to the ground floor of every building via stairs or a ramp. While they branch off in many directions and contain lockers, small foyers, and various doors and stairwells, signs are hung from the ceiling to give directions so that students don't get too lost.

Foyers often contain tables, chairs, and raggedy couches for students to work at and rest, as well as vending machines that dispense items such as potions, Lon-Lon milk, and the lemony Squash XIII drink. (Said vending machines will take any currency, but are generally indestructible.)

The Mechanical Sciences building is conjoined with the Technology Sciences building via the garage and a number of hallways, and both buildings look pretty similar on the outside. On the inside, the Mech building is mostly comprised of large, well-ventilated rooms with appropriate work areas, often littered with various parts, raw materials, and protective equipment. Most of the tools are familiar to 21st century Earth, but ones suitable for machina assembly, Tachikoma or A-T repair, or the fine art of golem construction are also available (among others).

The test rooms are designed for measuring various attributes such as stress resistance, electrical discharge, load capacity, and so on. A massive elevator, easily large enough to hold a pickup truck, is centered in the garage and connects it to all the floors in the building.

Garage;

The garage connects the Tech and Mech buildings, and is roughly six stories high and the width and length of a football field, more than enough to hold a large Transformer in robot mode. It contains car jacks and other tools needed for automotive and robotic repair, and the scattered parts for various machines (from light cycles to pod racers) lie around in piles and on shelves.

Pit droids lie compacted against one wall of the garage, awaiting a simple tap on the head to be activated for assistance.

The Technology Sciences building is conjoined with the Mechanical Sciences building via the garage and a number of hallways, and both buildings look pretty similar on the outside. On the inside, the Tech building contains a large number of labs containing all makes of computer hardware and software — everything from NAVIs to duel disks to Pokédexes, from Linux to Altimit to the ENCOM mainframe, from floppies to VR headsets and simulator rooms. Some machines seem to operate on gears. Many can be hooked up to amenities such as larger screens and external sound systems, and laptops can be borrowed for use elsewhere on the campus.

On the main floor of the building a moderately-sized theatre descends downward, with the doors at stage level exiting into the tunnels. It may be used for lectures or performances.

At the far northwest end of the campus, lining the edge of the Tech and Mech buildings and running into the garage, is a massive paved lot. It's a plain expanse of black asphalt, featureless except for faded road marks here and there, extending out over the ocean.

Maths and Sciences Building;

The Maths and Sciences building is the most utilitarian of the campus buildings, mostly comprised of sterile labs and lecture rooms — but these labs are equipped for far more sciences than any one world has likely seen. There are areas set up for various forms of experimentation, with all rooms properly reinforced and ventilated. Safety equipment such as fume shields, gloves, and chemical washers are installed in some, with warning signs varying depending on the room's purpose. There are more magical (or are they technological?) tools as well, such as premade alchemical templates and talking anatomical dummies that tell you their "symptoms".

The roof of the building opens up into an observatory, allowing students to study the movements of the island's strange stars.

The east end of the building contains a large domed greenhouse, populated with all sorts of plants encapsulated in their own mini environments. Some are from tropical climes while others appear to be made of ice; there are plants that are poisonous, bear fruit, speak, or eat meat (with warning plaques advising you to keep a safe distance from the Piranha Plants). All plants are tended to by the building's staff on a regular basis.

The Arts building has the most varied collection of classrooms, encompassing many different arts and trades. The building is fitted with large windows to let in plenty of sunlight, and tools are stored in classroom cupboards or storage closets in the hallways. Rooms are equipped with whatever tools and devices are necessary — be they sinks, stoves, crystal balls, musical instruments, looms, dark rooms, kilns, or forges.

Instead of lecture rooms, the Arts building has a number of student lounges on the main floor. They contain comfortable tables, chairs, and beanbags, enough for a small class, and many are panelled with glass, similarly to a sunroom.

The building also boasts the campus's largest and grandest performance theatre, filled with endless rows of comfortable audience chairs and rigged with every conceivable stage device. It starts on the main floor and descends downwards, with the lowest exits leading into the basement and the tunnels.

The Mazinger pub is located next to the Arts building, and is the more family-friendly of the two pubs on campus, resembling a welcoming restaraunt more than a pub. It's generally cleaner than Zantetsuken, and boasts a front patio, two televisions, and a couple of dart boards. A wide range of meals is available, with the food cheaper than Nausicaa and more varied than at Zantetsuken.

Customers have the choice of sitting at the bar, the tables, or in a booth. Meals and celebrations can also be taken in the private rooms upstairs, although a small fee must be paid by the hour for their use.

Humanities & Anthropology Building;

The Humanities buildings are primarily used for lectures and therefore have the greatest number of lecture rooms, many of which have televisions and projector screens. Aesthetically speaking, the buildings are the classiest ones on campus both inside and out, sporting elegant brownstone architecture and a tall clock tower, as well as a polished stone entrance hall, small library, and a number of comfortable reading lounges for students. At night, the classroom televisions can be used to watch movies.

Being geared towards the study of history (from several worlds) and the human race (also from several worlds), there are some rooms dedicated to nothing but filed documents, essays, and case studies, and the library contains a number of very old artifacts and books. They're watched over day and night by the building's staff to prevent them from being stolen or damaged, and consist of anything from spiritual charms and magical artifacts to bones and fossils, and gilded religious texts to wizard's chess and war strategy maps with pieces that enact their own battles.

The Park and Ampitheatre;

The park takes up most of the north end of the island, ringed on all sides by class buildings and crisscrossed by paved walkways. Dotted with wrought iron lampposts and warm wooden benches, and scattered with trees, boulders, picnic tables, and flower beds, it's the perfect place to relax on a nice day.

In the very center of the park sits a pond with a pretty red and white gazebo, marked with two stone fox statues on either side of the entrance. At certain times of the night visitors may find kitsune there, selling charms or their delicious oden — but only to polite customers.

The ampitheatre, located further south, is a round, grassy bowl tucked between the library and the Administrative building. The sides have been shaped and reinforced with white stone to form broad steps that serve as seats around a central stage area. The 'stage' itself is really just a large circle of grass, but the acoustics of the area more than make up for it, and a proper wooden stage lies disassembled just outside the bowl beneath a protective covering. Anyone desiring a more solid surface to work on only needs to assemble it — a simple matter of dropping planks and poles into place.

Administrative Building;

The Administrative building is the main office building of the campus. It contains the main help desk and has private offices for whoever needs to use them, keys for which can be acquired from the staff.

This is the place to get general information, dorm room keys, access to empty classrooms, pay checks, and other administrative services. The main foyer also keeps an up-to-date list of all the currently available classes posted on the wall.

In front of the Administrative building is a paved area known as the courtyard. It extends to the front of the library and is a common place for skateboarders and those meeting or hanging out with friends. Metal benches and low stone walls provide a place to rest, as do the lip of the fountain and the broad steps and ramps in front of the building.

A massive, elegant white building, the library could be considered by some to be the campus' biggest treasure trove. It contains nearly every book, scroll, report, newspaper, video, or music collection imaginable, all of them sorted by subject. "Fiction" and "nonfiction" swiftly lose meaning here, as what is fiction in one world can quite easily be nonfiction in another, and what appears to be a storybook may well be someone else's living history.

There are comfortable reading rooms with fireplaces on each floor, and work cubicles can be found against the walls and by windows. On the fourth floor is a secret area hidden behind a hinged bookcase; it holds the oldest and most dangerous books on campus, and is patrolled by the building's staff to make sure that none are stolen or damaged. Some of the books found here — such as the Universe of Four Gods — are bound and sealed, often with ofuda. You may find others read themselves out loud, some have moving pictures instead of words, and some appear to be writing themselves as you read them...

The top floor contains no books at all, but rather a grand ballroom that is used for special events. There are both stairs and elevators connecting the different floors.

Nausicaa Café;

Virtually the only building not attached to the tunnels, Nausicaa is a quaint one-floor indoor-outdoor café. It has an outdoor patio, and the indoor café has no back wall, instead opening directly into the library so that customers can come and go with their books (but staff won't let you bring food into the library itself).

Friendly and welcoming, the café specializes in treats and desserts, and varies in its selection quite often — one week the food will be Japanese, the next it might be Ugandan. The menu seems to change on a whim, but the food is always of the highest quality, meaning that there's often a high price tag to go with it. All of the servers dress formally (tuxes for the men, maid outfits for the women) and will come outside to serve you if you choose to sit out on the patio.

Cafeteria & Meeting Hall;

The girls' and boys' dorms are connected by the main meeting hall on the first/ground foor, and the cafeteria on the second. The main hall is long and tiled and has bulletin boards where students can post up notices or messages, as well as a map and information on where to get dorm keys and other necessities. Stairwells at both ends lead to the cafeteria above and the tunnels below.

The cafeteria is open all day and night and is self-serve, meaning that there's only a minimal number of staff on hand to refill the buffets and clean up messes. It has a reasonable selection of food, from soup to salad to hot dogs to hot chocolate, but it's very basic and doesn't change much.

Boys' & Girls' Dorms;

The boys' and girls' dorms are identical both inside and out, with the only difference being the gender division between buildings. This segregation is enforced by the dorms' very prejudicial doors: a boy trying to claim a room in the girls' dorms — or wanting to visit the girls' dorms after dark — will find doors quickly slamming and locking in his face without ever being touched. The same is true for girls trying to get into the boys' dorms.

Doors that are pushed while in the middle of slamming will push back, and while you can technically knock one down with a bit of force (or a good axe), they seem pretty set on growing right back into place. On the bright side, the doors are also pretty narrow-minded and can be fooled by a fellow in skirts and heels, or a lady with a deep voice and a ballcap — provided you wear them well enough. If they can't figure out which gender you are, the doors tend to just err on the side of caution, though they do offer a little less resistance. They can't seem to be bothered to care at all about animals, so pets (and shapechangers) get a free pass.

Both dorms have 8 rooms per floor, four on each side of the hall with two people per room, and one bathroom shared between every two rooms. The room number designates the floor — rooms in the 100s are on the first/ground floor, those in the 200s are on the second floor, and so on. For some reason, no matter how many people come in, the dorms never run out of rooms. (And for some other reason, sometimes the doors get weird and lock out people who haven't picked a roommate.)

Each floor has its own common room and small kitchen for everyone to use. The common rooms contain a large bookcase, a fireplace, a TV with a VCR/DVD player, couches and tables, and a few plants. Kitchens are small, containing a dishwasher, fridge, and stove, and are not stocked with food unless students put it there. The laundry rooms are located in the basement and are not connected to the tunnels. Students who want to get to the tunnels from the dorms have to do so from the main hall.

Dorm rooms are carpeted and curtained, and have a simple layout: two beds, two nightstands, two bookshelves bolted to the wall, a divided closet, a phone that connects to the other dorm rooms (dial the room number), a small tv, and two small desks (with a chair and lamp each).

Bathrooms have a door at each end, and contain two sinks, a toilet, a bath with a curtain, and a tiny shower stall. Bathrooms can be locked from both the bathroom side and the dorm side (to stop nosy neighbours from barging in).

The co-ed dorms are for married and cohabitating couples, no exceptions. Anyone wanting to claim a room in this dorm had better have a partner, and better be willing to show just how in love they are. The co-ed doors are every bit as prejudicial as their standard dorm counterparts, and couples who don't want them slamming in their faces will need to practice their hand-holding and puckering up.

Most find it worth the trouble. The co-ed dorm has much the same layout as the standard dorms, with 8 rooms per floor and two people per room, one kitchen and lounge per floor, and a laundry room in the basement. But everything in this dorm is just a little nicer — a little more comfortable, more spacious, more... more.

Each co-ed room contains a single queen-sized bed, two nightstands, a large desk (with chair and lamp), a small table (with two chairs), a double dresser, a small bookcase, a couple of armchairs, and a television. Every room has its own modestly-sized bathroom, containing a sink, a toilet, a shower stall, and a bathtub. No sharing with neighbours here!

The quad is a small, square park that's bordered by the three dorms. Bisected by paved walking paths, it contains picnic tables and a couple of outdoor barbecues that require wood or coal. Shade-giving trees and comfortable benches make it a good resting place for those who don't want to stray too far from the dorms.

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Zantetsuken Pub;

Zantetsuken pub is one of the loudest places on campus, and probably the most popular for killing time. It's reasonably priced, serves more alcohol than food, and doesn't seem to ever close.

The main floor is a classically styled pub and bar with open tables, and while it doesn't have the same menu variety that Mazinger does, it serves decent meals and drinks of good quality, especially beer. The upstairs pub is also much quieter than the downstairs bar, though some noise and music tends to filter up.

The downstairs bar only sells snacks and a broad (and exotic) selection of alcohol (Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, anyone?). It's large and has several flat-screen TVs hung facing it, all of them playing different channels (most of them sports games). A light-up dance floor dominates one corner, fitted with a band stage and oversized speakers. A side room contains several pool tables, and another area serves as an arcade with pinball and a number of other games.

As Zantetsuken is built into a cliff with the upstairs pub on street level, the downstairs bar also opens onto an outdoor patio on the docks, brightly lit and cheerfully decorated, where revellers can enjoy their drink in the open sea air or take their dancing beneath the stars.

Athletics Facility;

The Athletics Facility (also known as just 'the gym') is the largest complex on campus, comprised of a lobby, stadium, ice rink, pool, basketball court, and various fitness and training rooms. The lobby is for checking out equipment like skates and protective gear, and is also connected to a first aid office for those who manage to injure themselves. Changing areas are located to either side of the main desk, one for each gender; they contain showers (with soap dispensers), lockers (with towels), and bathrooms.

The stadium is situated behind the lobby and is equipped for a number of sports, from track and field to soccer and football. It has no roof and is open to the weather, though the spectator bleachers have overhangs to protect them from the rain.

The ice rink lies on the west of the facility, is large and netted at both ends (to catch stray pucks), and can be used for leisure skating, hockey, or figure skating. It's kept at a constant -2°C/28°F.

The pool is L-shaped, with lap lanes along the long branch, and a slide, rope, diving board, and 3-story diving tower along the deeper short branch. There are oversized hoops in the shallow end for playing with beach balls, and a sauna and hot tub are set off by one wall.

To the east is the basketball court, which is actually two courts combined into one. They can be separated by a sliding wall that extends or retracts depending on how many courts are needed. Spectator bleachers can be rolled out from the walls for games. The courts can be reached either from the pool or via the hallways that run underneath the stadium bleachers.

The special training rooms are on the second floor above the ice rink, and include a large tumble room for gymnastics, a high rock climbing wall, a small shooting range, and "sneak rooms", among others. (Sneak rooms are set up as dark mazes with a number of traps and security systems, both magical and not, designed for training in stealth and trap evasion.)

The fitness and weight training rooms are on the second floor above the basketball court, and contain exercise bikes and other cardio equipment, along with all manner of weight systems — some of them going to absurdly high poundage. Combat rooms and danger rooms are situated on the second floor above the pool. Some of them are quite large, and all are reinforced against both physical and magical damage — but that's not to say a big enough attack wouldn't break through. Danger rooms can be set at different levels of difficulty, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most deadly.

The Bookstore is the number one stop for all your shopping needs. In fact, it's the only stop, and everything can be paid for with any currency. There are two main entrances to the building, one for each floor: the downstairs floor is below ground level, and has a storefront entrance in the tunnels. The main floor opens out onto the street in front of the dormitories.

Despite the Bookstore's name, the main floor resembles a department store and sells a wide variety of items that regularly rotate. Clothing, toys, used books, electronics (including video games and systems), pet supplies, and camping equipment (lanterns, sleeping bags, etc.) are sold here. Both indoor and outdoor clothing is available, and some of it is designer quality — but with a price tag that you'd expect to see on designer labels.

The lower floor is more of a grocery store. It's stocked with all kinds of food, toiletries, cooking supplements, and tools. It also contains a small pharmacy where customers can obtain vitamins, anti-nauseants, painkillers, or other medications. (Or condoms, depending on what they're up to.)

South of the gym lies the field, a wide and grassy plain with no trees, only a few rocks and a dirt road running around the back of the buildings. It stretches several hundred meters south before meeting the edge of the forest. At the west end of the field, a handful of archery targets stand, battered and weatherbeaten but with their bullseyes still clearly visible.

The southernmost end of the island is blanketed with a large forest, stretching across an area at least as large as the field, if not larger. Dense with oaks, maples, pines, and all other kinds of deciduous and evergreen trees, it seems to be a world away from the rest of the campus.

At first glimpse it seems normal enough, with small hills and cliffs to climb, copses and clearings and groves. But even in daylight, when the sun is high and warm dappled shadows dance across the forest floor, it has a bit of an eerie air to it. Strange beings hide and flit among the branches, never seen as anything more than a flash of movement in the corner of one's eye. The trees are tall and towering, old and radiating a sense of strength.

On top of all this, the forest appears to be quite larger on the inside than it appears from the field, and losing your way can be a real danger.

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