—Shad Astula Academy Handbook
| Shad Astula | |
|---|---|
| Type | Settlement |
| Continent | Tamriel |
| Province | Morrowind |
| Region | Deshaan |
| Appears in | ESO |
Shad Astula Academy was a school of magic in Morrowind, located near the city of Mournhold. Initially founded by and for the Great Houses and blessed by the Tribunal, during the Three Banners War, the academy opened enrolment up to train the wider Ebonheart Pact.[1] Although focused primarily on the arcane arts, its students were also educated in writing, leadership, and military strategy in preparation for assuming leadership roles in the Pact and Great Houses.[2][3] The entrance requirements and curriculum were infamously rigorous, but resulted in high-quality graduates produced in half the time of a traditional Mages Guild education.[4]
The academy was built on the foundations of much older buildings, and some of the underhalls, such as the library vaults, were still in use during the Second Era.[5] Students were ferried between Mournhold and the school by a Dunmer ghost who owed the academy a substantial debt and was consequently bound to serve as a boatswain.[6]
Students at Shad Astula learned from master mages in a highly permissive and experimental environment, designed to weed out the weak and rapidly enhance the skills of the strong.[7] The curriculum divided the magical arts into schools, such as Restoration and Illusion, which was a novel approach at the time that would quickly be adopted by the Mages Guild.[4] Students who graduated from the academy were given a pin, with those who completed their master exams being gifted a timepiece by the Arch-Mage.[8][9] Student use of skooma and strong alcoholic beverages were banned, with instructors suggesting students limit themselves to mazte and flin if they wished to decompress. The alcohol ban did not extend to teaching staff.[1]
In 2E 582, Shad Astula was under the leadership of Arch-Mage Valeyn when it was attacked by the Maulborn during an attempted takeover led by General Darvasen, Valeyn's disgruntled former assistant who was expelled for experimenting on students.[10] The Vestige was able to stop the Maulborn and free students enslaved by the ancient Chimeri relic known as the Jagged Lens of Compulsion.[11]
NotesEdit
- Though Vanus Galerion is credited as creating the schools of magic in The Black Arts On Trial, the book Proposal: Schools of Magic has the scholar Gabrielle Benele propose to adopt the schools of magic from Shad Astula within the Mages Guild, a suggestion which Vanus rejects repeatedly. A Minor Maze gives an even earlier creation date for them and attributes them to Shalidor.
See AlsoEdit
- For game-specific information, see the Elder Scrolls Online article.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ a b Instructor Falan's dialogue
- ^ Raynor's Travel Diary — Raynor Vanos
- ^ Shad Astula Curriculum
- ^ a b Proposal: Schools of Magic — Gabrielle Benele, Daggerfall Mages Guild
- ^ Loading Screen for Shad Astula Underhalls
- ^ The Boatmaster's dialogue
- ^ Shad Astula Academy Handbook
- ^ Shad Astula Graduation Pin
- ^ Arch-Mage's Hourglass
- ^ Arch-Mage Valeyn's dialogue
- ^ Events of Vision Quest