Colleges of Strixhaven

Lorehold is the College of Archaeomancy—a term that describes the exploration of ancient things through magic. Its mages explore the past by poring over archaeological sites, calling forth magical energy from old tomes, and summoning the spirits of long-dead historical figures. Lorehold mages travel far and wide across the world, gathering relics of bygone ages and learning dead languages to unpack the secrets of history.

Studies and Philosophy

Lorehold College is devoted to the study of history, broadly understood to include the various aspects of culture, behavior, and social relationships that shape historical events. Its studies include various subdivisions of history (military history, social history, cultural history), archaeology, anthropology, psychology, sociology, religion, and economics. It overlaps with Prismari College in the field of art history, with some students splitting their studies between the two colleges. Lorehold mages use their magic to unearth secrets and share illumination.

Order and Chaos

Lorehold’s two deans carry the titles Dean of Order and Dean of Chaos, as order versus chaos encapsulates the fundamental conflict at the heart of Lorehold’s philosophy. This conflict revolves around the forces that underlie and drive history. Is the course of time driving toward a well-ordered ideal state or slowly devolving into chaos? Are deep patterns hidden in historical texts, or is time a series of coincidence and happenstance? The perspective of order emphasizes the structures that pull people together—law, religion, economics, education, social class, and so on—and how those structures drive historical events. Order focuses on systemic changes and the actions of people collectively. The perspective of chaos, by contrast, emphasizes individual actions, personal bonds of families and friends, and the disruptive force of lone, passionate people in history. Scholars of chaos gravitate toward reckless discovery and the spirit of adventure in their research of the past—the essence and emotion of history over precision or procedure.

Prismari, the College of Elemental Arts, is devoted to the study and practice of art intertwined with magic. The mage-students of Prismari wield magic in spectacles of creativity: masterpieces of showy, over-the-top magic. They use elemental magic to express who they are and how they see the world, often combining different types of energy—fire, water, air, earth, lightning, heat, cold—in powerful expressions of conflict and harmony.

Studies and Philosophy

Prismari College is dedicated to the arts. Its scholars view art as the fundamental form of self-expression and magic as a tool, a medium, and an inspiration. Prismari studies focus on visual arts (including architecture, painting, and sculpture) and performing arts (such as dance, music, and theater). The curriculum overlaps with Lorehold in the field of art history and with Silverquill in the literary arts, and some students divide their time between Prismari and one of those other schools to pursue these interdisciplinary fields. Prismari mages use magic to weave the elements into their creations; they might juxtapose fire alongside paint, ceramics, or fabric, or they might choreograph elaborate works that unite a dancer’s movements with gusts and eddies of air.

Perfection and Expression

Prismari’s two deans carry the titles Dean of Perfection and Dean of Expression, and they often express the fundamental conflict of their philosophy as perfection versus expression—or, sometimes, as intellect versus emotion. What is the purpose of art? Is it to make people think things or make people feel things? Is it supposed to be carefully thought out or raw and spontaneous? Is mastery of art a matter of honing precise techniques to a point of perfection or of perfectly expressing a raw emotional state? Does art aspire to express universal truths or intensely personal ones? The perspective of perfection focuses on technique, analysis, theory, aesthetics, and universal principles. It embraces intellect over emotion, strives to be thought-provoking and reflective, and aspires to mastery. Its mages tend to use elemental forces of cold, water, and wind. The perspective of expression instead emphasizes the portrayal of personal emotional truths. Its mages value improvisation, innovation, and rule-breaking, and they often favor elemental magic using fire, lightning, and earth.

Quandrix is the College of Numeromancy—a term that encompasses the study of patterns, fractals, and symmetries to wield power over the fundamental mathematics of nature. Quandrix mages can summon creatures made of fractals or turn abstract theories into towering, spiraling patterns. They love to expand and multiply; they can increase their knowledge or size by bending numbers. They dwell in the overlap between the theoretical and the natural—from the fabric of their robes to the nature of their spells, they make use of repeated elements, clever symmetries, and surprising geometry to express the complex truths they study.

Studies and Philosophy

The studies undertaken within Quandrix College include mathematics, physics, logic, statistics, metaphysics, and various fields of theoretical magic. Students from the other colleges occasionally delve into Quandrix courses to bolster the theoretical underpinnings of their studies, and Quandrix’s studies of nature and Witherbloom’s explorations of practical biology have some significant overlap.

Substance and Theory

Quandrix’s two deans carry the titles Dean of Substance and Dean of Theory, reflecting the philosophical division within the college. Is mathematics a natural force that exists in the universe independent of the constructs of intelligent minds, or is it a theoretical framework created by those who study it? Is the work of the scholar to discover what is or to define what could be? The perspective of substance emphasizes physical reality. In this view, math is embodied in the natural forces of the multiverse, waiting to be discovered by those with the intellectual fortitude to delve into those secrets. Quandrix mages who embrace this view use magic to bring numerical concepts to life, creating or altering physical reality out of mathematical possibility. The perspective of theory focuses on the abstract realms of conjecture and possibility. Its scholars view math as a lens through which a mind can understand the cosmos, not something that exists independently in the world. Mages who embrace this perspective use their spells to weave illusions and manipulate the fabric of magic itself.

Silverquill is the College of Eloquence, and its mages—stylish, intimidating, and driven—are masters of the magic of words. They create spells from spoken-word battle poetry or magical manifestations of the written word, scribing patterns of runic ink in the air. These mages make for natural leaders, fiercely competitive, with a piercing wit and a never-second-place attitude.

Studies and Philosophy

The curriculum of Silverquill College revolves around words, encompassing literature (including fiction, essays, drama, and poetry), languages, linguistics, oratory, rhetoric, and dramatic performance. Students from other colleges often take Silverquill courses to improve their communication skills, learning to speak and write more effectively about their primary field of study. Silverquill and Prismari see overlap in the area of performing arts, with Silverquill emphasizing verbal performance and Prismari focusing more on dance and other forms of movement.

Radiance and Shadow

The two deans of Silverquill are called the Dean of Radiance and the Dean of Shadow, highlighting the college’s use of metaphor in describing its philosophical differences. The metaphor of radiance and shadow takes concrete form in Silverquill magic, as students learn to manifest brilliant light or inky darkness with their spells. The fundamental argument among Silverquill’s scholars centers on the purpose of communication. Is it to help others or further a personal agenda? Does literature selflessly better society or selfishly advance one’s own goals? The college’s perspective of radiance envisions language as sunlight emanating from the speaker or writer to illuminate others and make the world a brighter place. Mages who embrace this view use their language skills—and their magic—to uplift and empower others, to shine light on the evils of society, and to inspire the best in those around them. The college’s perspective of shadow focuses on the power of language to stab, to expose stinging truths, and to obfuscate secrets. The magic of shadow mages often manifests as bolts or blades of darkness or blotches of flowing ink, and its effects range from a sting of shame to an assault on the target’s life energy.

At Witherbloom, the College of Essence Studies, mages draw power from the opposing forces of life and death. These mages brew their spells from natural components and the essence of living creatures, using that power to heal or harm the living or to raise or entreat the dead. They can cause entire forests to blossom out of nowhere or call down old curses that scourge flesh from bone. Some Witherbloom mages defend ecosystems from pollution, while others revel in the power of corruption. They’re at home riding zombie crocodiles down a languid river, picking herbs for a potion to treat a disease, brooding over a chorus of swamp frogs, or summoning fearsome avatars of nature.

Studies and Philosophy

The curriculum of Witherbloom College focuses on various sciences, revolving around the life sciences. Biology, ecology, botany, chemistry, and related sciences combine with the study and manipulation of the magical energy of the Positive Plane and the Negative Plane, the primal forces of life and death. Witherbloom’s curriculum shares some overlap with Quandrix’s analysis of the mathematical patterns in nature. The two deans of Witherbloom are traditionally called the Dean of the Root and the Dean of the Vein. These titles are a somewhat abstract way of framing the core division in the college’s philosophy: is growth or decay the driving force in nature?

Growth and Decay

The two deans of Witherbloom are traditionally called the Dean of the Root and the Dean of the Vein. These titles are a somewhat abstract way of framing the core division in the college’s philosophy: is growth or decay the driving force in nature? The philosophy of the root (growth) focuses on life and its irrepressible drive to thrive. This view celebrates the diversity and adaptability of life-forms, from the tiniest cells to the most complex networks of living things. The growth philosophy asserts that the urge to survive and reproduce is the most essential principle in the cosmos. Mages who adopt this view wield positive energy and practice healing magic. The philosophy of the vein (decay) focuses on the inevitability of death and decay. Its traditional name comes from the prominence of vampires within the college, whose conceptions of draining life through the vein have long proven an important counterweight to the growth philosophy of Witherbloom. The decay philosophy sees life energy as a resource to be consumed, rather than a good to be nourished for its own sake. Mages who adopt this view wield negative energy and practice necromancy.