Lorehold College

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

Lorrhold 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), archeology, 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 evolving 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.

Lorehold Scholars

Scholar	Principle
Archeoscribe, chronicling historical truths for posterity	Order
Battle medium, strengthening summoned spirits for use in battles	Order
Chaos scholar, chasing down historical anecdotes as a litany of happenstance	Chaos
Conservator, preserving ancient spell knowledge and other relics of the past	Order
Dustspeaker, conversing with spirits of the past to learn their stories	Chaos
Pastraiser, binding spirits into the monuments that bear their likeness to learn about their inspiring deeds	Order
Relic reader, divining wisdom from the past from the context of ruin sites	Order
Ruin shaman, wielding magic that helps delve into ancient sites	Chaos
Tomewielder, summoning fiery magic from the words in old writings	Chaos
Warsinger, studying the magic used in ancient wars	Chaos

Lorehold Campus

The Lorehold Campus is situated northwest of the central campus in a region of stark vertical relief. Rugged mesas and steep hills rise from a wide plain, and a great chasm holds the excavated ruins of an ancient settlement. Several star arches encircle tricky peaks and outcroppings, testifying to the powerful magical energy in the vicinity - energy once harnessed by the ancients who used to inhabit this area.

Pillardrop

Part natural cavern, part archeological excavation, and part new construction, Pillardrop is a series of buildings excavated out of cliffs on the Lorehold campus. Ruins and upgraded halls together are now used for research, classwork, and housing. Precarious bridges link one neighborhood of Pillardrop to another, often directly passing the enormous stone faces of old statues. Every Lorehold class has a story of some careless student making a misstep on one of these bridges or in some particularly crumbling section of the ruins, sometimes with disastrous consequences - and sometimes finding deliverance when a spirit appears from nowhere to catch the hapless student before they suffer serious harm.

Effigy Row

The heart of the Lorehold campus surrounds a soaring bridge that crosses the chasm of Pillardrop. The bridge and surrounding pathways are lined with monuments depicting historic figures, including past professors and prominent mage-students, as well as war heroes and heads of state from ages past.

Kollema Hall

Kollema Hall is a grand, multitiered gallery built into a large outcrop at the end of Effigy Row. Here, Lorehold mages gather for large lectures. At the center of the hall towers a magnificent statue of Kollema, a wise monastic who was one of the first Lorehold professors.

Velomachus Lorehold

Velomachus Lorehold

Velomachus Lorehold was the first dragon of Strixhaven to master the magic of order and chaos, the flow and prediction of events through time. Her magic encourages exploration and discovery through the lens of creating a direct conduit to the past.
She founded Lorehold College to ensure mortals would never forget the lessons of the past. After living for centuries, Velomachus has grown tired of watching the same mistakes repeated continually. She hopes her college's teachings will foster the skills to either predict future pitfalls by taking lessons from those that came before or create flexible mindsets that allow people to shift their plans effectively when the unexpected occurs.

Lorehold Faculty

This section describes noteworthy members of the Lorehold faculty.

Augusta Tullus, Dean of Order

Augusta Tullus (Human) is the current Dean of Order. A professor of spirit studies, she has been called the college's most talented pastraiser. She can conjure entire legions of ghostly apparitions to reenact historical events for her lectures.

Plargg, Dean of Chaos

Plargg (Orc) is the current Dean of Chaos. Specializing in military history, Plargg is known for his perfect recall of historical stories, as well as his potent scroll magic. Blind himself, he invented a form of magical embossing called heat lettering, which provides a tactile way to read texts.

Hofri Ghostforge, Professor of Chaos

When Hofri (Dwarf) first enrolled in Strixhaven, he believed his future lay with Prismari. A diligent student, he quickly mastered the technical skills of art, but his magic left something to be desired. After talking with the school's counselor, Mavinda, Hofri decided to try his luck with Lorehold. It turned out he had a natural talent for Lorehold's spirit magic.

Osgir, The Reconstructor

Even by Lorehold standards, Osgir (Stone Giant) is obsessed with the relics of the past. A professor of order, he treasures every connection to old civilization, whether it's a magnificent jeweled crown or an old shovel. As a student, he constantly spent time in detention for hoarding the best finds from Lorehold dig sites in his room; he lost count of how many times he was sternly told, "History belongs to us all!"

Losheel, Clockwork Scholar

Losheel (Loxodon) is a Humanoid resembling a bipedal elephant. She proudly admits that she is willing to work hard to be as lazy as possible. She turns her brilliant mind to constructing increasingly efficient mechanical helpers, with the goal of one day being able to do anything she wants without standing up.