To answer your questions RabidAnubis

1. For humans, around mid teens to early twenties is average. It's not exactly age locked, more like college. The other races tend to live longer, so proportionally they go at the same time of development. I'll go into more detail in the actual write up.
2. It's feudal for the most part. Nobility are very much present. The elves have a council for international decisions that is meant to prevent war. The academy's vision is to train individuals to aid the people of the world from dangerous threats, promote a sense of unity from diverse cultures, and serve as a place of general teaching and academics.
3. The academy is fairly new considering the lifespans of most creatures involved. Also, some factions don't neccesarily agree with the balance that the main capital has set up. Each nation has people who want more say and influence for their nation over the others. Thus, an academy promoting balance may not be looked well upon by those individuals. The main things preventing conflict between nations are the elves, who have been divinely arranged to serve as arbiters and the increasing threat of savage monsters whose only purpose is to destroy and kill. 

Hope that answers your questions. Also, I thank all of you for your interest. I am out of town for the holidays at the moment, but I'll start working on the main forum when I get home. It might take me a few days to get it up, but I hope to have it ready by Thursday.