It Takes More Than Just The Soul

Mini Chapter: History of the D.W.M.A.

The D.W.M.A. (Death Weapon Meister Academy) is a training academy for Weapons and Meisters. The Academy exists to maintain a balance of world order and prevent the rising of Kishin. Death Weapon Meister Academy provides a safer location specially built to train young Demon Weapons in the effort to control their power and to integrate them seamlessly into our society. There is no clear date of the academy's foundation, but it is estimated that teaching started around eight hundred years ago on April 1st, around the year 1200, a decade or so after the witch Arachne (a former associate of Death) had been labeled a heretic and started the war between the Witch community and Death's Eight Guardians/Legions.
From its early days, the D.W.M.A. was a hubbub of constant controversy. Some humans saw Death as a protective and caring god, others viewed him as a supernatural monster with no right to try to control their lives. Death, being unable to leave the area of his anchored soul, attracted a congregation of supporters- developing the land around him which later formed Death City. The Reaper's critics disapproved of training Weapons and resented the attacks brought on by the Witches. The opinions of the people seemed to be split into two main groups:

Supporters

· Commonly saw Death as a god worthy of worship

· Saw Death as a protector

· Believed Demon Weapons should be reformed and used to their benefits

· Believed Witches were a mutual enemy

· Trusted Death's judgment

Adversaries

· Saw Death as a manipulator

· Most believed Demon Weapons should be killed off

· Believed Witches were only a problem because Death made them a problem

· Believed Death should not have the power to choose who lives or dies

- View from the stairway up to the D.W.M.A.'s main entrance

-Front view of the D.W.M.A. during their annual Anniversary Celebration, put on every year on the 1st of April.

- Bird's eye view of the Academy

Eventually over the course of the eight hundred years the numbers of Lord Death's adversaries decreased and the numbers of Lord Death's supporters grew- it grew so much that the general world consensus was that Death was a reliable ally to humanity, knew right from wrong, and reliably taught what he decided was right from wrong. The few adversaries left don't speak openly out of fear they'll be ostracized; most are extremists which commonly become criminals and are punished by the D.W.M.A.'s military and judicial branches.

The 1900's were the start of a new era for the academy. For the first time, Lord Death made a major political impact, the city was running like a separate nation, and participated in the first World War. The academy's actions gave the world powers a new impression of the city and gave Lord Death his own individual seat in NATO. Some countries developed new laws and regulations in the aftermath of the war that were influenced by how Death City was run that favored Lord Death's views. Japan, for example, made it a requirement that to qualify to become the Prime Minister the individual must have graduated from the academy.

The school's student population blew up in the 1940s after the great depression. Since the World War, the flow of international students grew, the majority coming from Europe and Asia.

The Death Weapon Meister Academy was most prosperous from then and continues to be so. Several countries' governments pay taxes to the academy in return for protection.