Arcadia
Birth of the plane
Thousands of years ago, what was once two planes of existence, two completely different worlds, merged bizarrely and uniquely. When the worlds merged, their essences overlapped, but they did not overlap perfectly. The leylines of each world, the conduits of mana, overlaid with opposing elements of mana, rather than with their match. This resulted in a particularly unique twist on the magic of the plane. Each of these magical incongruities formed a small region called a snarl, where the effects are most apparent. The five Elder Dragons of Arcadia were born from these snarls, and millennia later they founded Strixhaven University at the epicenter of the snarls.The Dawning Age
The period when the plane was young and none of the humanoid races yet walked the earth. At the birth of the plane, as the mana of two planes overlapped in conflicting ways, many forms of life adapted to the new structure, and many new forms of life were spawned. Five particularly powerful vortices of overlapping mana became luminous spheres, from which were hatched five dragons. These dragons have become emblems of the magic of the plane, living symbols of the clashing forces of the five dichotomies. The five dragons were the first to master the magic of the five enemy color combinations. When the humanoid races arose, at first the dragons were angered that mortals would try to harness the wild forces of magic, but they came to realize that only through disciplined study would magic be in safe hands. So, centuries later, the dragons would found an institution devoted to the study of the five mana dichotomies, and that institution is what we now know as Strixhaven .The Star Arches
Gravity-defying arch shapes crop up all over this plane, looking like mystical shrines or monuments. They're made from spokes of natural materials that float in an arch shape, with a precise inner curve and a rough and irregular outer arch. They can stand straight or lie at an angle; they can be small or enormous, whole or broken, grown over or mysteriously clean. Their irregular spokes evoke the radiating lines of a shining celestial star. The star arches are a mystery leftover from the Dawning Age when the plane was young and none of the humanoid races yet walked the earth. In most cases, the arches simply sit there, floating inexplicably, silent, immovable, and inert. But many have said that they've seen an arch appear to them at a critical juncture in their lives, helping them understand a lesson or answer a burning question in their mind. Some believe that each arch marks a place of great magic, such as the site of the birth of a great mage or the location of a time-lost spell. Others believe that they're connected with the Archaics in some way, some claim they've seen an arch come to life with powerful magic in their presence. Cervin feed on the mana-rich plants around the star arches, imbuing their bodies with extraordinary grace and vitality.The Snarls
Mana flows through all of Arcadia. But in certain sites, the mana becomes knotted and tangled. At and around these places, magic and spells can be at their most powerful and their most dangerous. These places are known as Snarls. According to the Archaics , the Snarls are places where two conflicting sources of antagonistic mana overlapped together at the birth of the plane.The Blood Age
Before Strixhaven was founded, Arcadia experienced a period of tremendous violence known as the Blood Age. The wars were so terrible that they shock even Lorehold students of today. One such war happened three thousand years before any current Strixhaven students were born, when the forces of Golwanda the Bloodspiller and Xandril the Executioner clashed on blood-soaked battlefields. Golwanda lead her Thunder Riders, fearless orcish cavalry and united the steppe peoples under the seal of the Crimson Glaive, while the kor Xandril rallied the hardscrabble Hordeland fiefdoms. The Founder Dragons brought the Blood Age to an end.The Mystic Age
Founded some 700 years ago by the five spellcasting Founder Dragons, Strixhaven University is Arcadia's premier institution of magical learning, drawing promising young mages from all around the plane to study in its halls. Strixhaven is divided into five colleges, each with its distinct campus, faculty, and magical specialties. The five colleges were based on the magic mastered by each of the dragons. The mission of Strixhaven University is to discover and preserve magical knowledge, disseminate that knowledge from one generation to the next, promote the free and open study of magic in all its forms, and enhance the lives of people throughout the plane through the use of magic. To this day, the Founder Dragons, Strixhaven University] roam the plane, the five deadly sages of the skies. They no longer associate directly with @[Strixhaven, preferring to let the deans of the college speak in their stead. The dragons' wisdom is vast, but their tempers can be short. Mages seek them out only to learn the most elusive of secrets.
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