LOREHOLD COLLEGE

LOREHOLD COLLEGE

Lorehold is the College of Archaeomancy, the exploration of ancient beings, objects, and other such phenomena through magic. Its mages explore the past by poring over archeological sites, sifting through old tomes, and summoning the spirits of long-dead historical figures.

Lorehold mages are expected to travel far and wide across Toril, gathering relics of bygone eras and learning and cataloguing dead languages to unpack previously unknown 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.

Deans of Lorehold

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.

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.