Skip navigation
Library

Schools of Magic: Redefined

No replies
Tailin Sero's picture
Offline
Joined: 01/25/2014

The Five Schools of Magic:

Redefined

 
Tailin Sero
Assistant Librarian
The Imperial Library
4E 210
 
In the early fourth era, the sixth school of magic, Mysticism, was dissolved and spells once included in the school were redistributed into the other remaining schools. Though the change was primarily just within the Synod’s arcane teachings, other independent magical academies (e.g. College of Winterhold) followed suit within a few short years of the change. While some spells were well placed (such as Soul Trap in Conjuration), others were not (like Detect Life in Alteration). In this document, I attempt to correct these mistakes as well as give my opinion on each of the five schools of magic.
 
Alteration: Often confused with Illusion, Alteration is the school of magic responsible for spells that physically alter the world. A good example of an Alteration spell is Transmute, which is most commonly used to transform iron ore into silver. Though banned, the spell Levitate would fit best in the Alteration school of magic.
Mysticism spells: Reflect Spell, Telekinesis
 
Conjuration: The art of summoning creatures and/or tools from the realms of Oblivion. Conjure Flame Atronach, Bound Sword, and Expel Daedra are all good examples of Conjuration spells. There seems to be a blurred line between teleportation and conjuration spells (Note: Teleportation is now a part of the Alteration school). A good rule of thumb is to associate Conjuration solely with Mundus-Oblivion related teleportation, or translimen magic.
Mysticism spells: Soul Trap
 
Destruction: The school specialized in spells associated with causing physical harm through magical means. Spells like Flames, Freeze, and Sparks are all good examples. Vampiric Drain is a less commonly known Destruction spell, though a good example nonetheless.
Mysticism spells: Absorb Attribute, Absorb Fatigue, Absorb Health
 
Illusion: As mentioned above, Illusion is often confused with Alteration. While Alteration physically changes the world around the caster, Illusion only makes the world appear different through superficial changes. It is for this reason that I believe the former Mysticism spells, Detect Life and Detect Dead, are better suited in the Illusion school and not Alteration. Clairvoyance and Invisibility are also good examples of Illusion spells. There are also a multitude of emotion altering spells within the Illusion school of magic. One could assume that these would be better suited in Alteration, but as these emotions are fake, Illusion is the correct school. Same thing applies to Muffle. As Detect Life alters what someone sees, Muffle alters what someone can hear. In addition, the dragon shout Throw Voice (aside from being in its own school along with all the other Shouts) my one day find itself as a part of the Illusion school of magic.
Mysticism spells: Detect Key, Detect Enchantment
 
Restoration: The art of healing and warding is one of the most useful and used schools of magic in Tamriel. Practiced mostly my temple priests and court wizards, Restoration is without a doubt the school of magic with the highest record of lives saved. That being said, Restoration is often looked down on by magic users from other schools. In addition to its well known defensive spells, such as Healing and Ward, the school of Restoration also has various counter undead spells like Sun Fire and Turn Undead. In my opinion, the spell Poison Rune is better suited for the Destruction school of magic as its focus is to cause harm and not to defend.
Mysticism spells: Dispel, Spell Absorption
 
Necromancy: Where Conjuration focuses on summoning creatures from Oblivion and Restoration focuses on healing the living, Necromancy (also known as the Black Arts) is focused on reviving the dead. Due to it not officially being its own school of magic, many of the necromantic spells already exist within other schools. Now, one may think Conjure Boneman is a necromantic spell, but that would be incorrect, as the Boneman is being summoned from another realm (in this case the Soul Cairn). Soul Trap on the other hand is somewhere in the gray area between Conjuration and Necromancy. While on one side, it’s widely used for harmless enchanting purposes, on the other it can be a very powerful tool for a necromancer. The only true necromantic spells are those that physically reanimate a corpse. Spells like Raise Zombie, Reanimate Corpse, Revenant, and Dead Thrall are all good examples of Necromancy.