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Thanks to the recent launch of Dungeons & Dragons' new sourcebook Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, all eyes are firmly back on the most renowned magic school in Magic: The Gathering's multiverse, Strixhaven. The sourcebook lets your party follow their academic career across four adventures, and introduces a world full of powerful mages, five colleges working together, and a shadowy organisation of magic anarchists hoping to tear the whole establishment down.A great way to further familiarise yourself with Strixhaven is through the story that accompanied the Magic: The Gathering set A Curriculum of Chaos. Characters from across Magic's multiverse converged on the school as it saw a terrifying battle against the Oriq, but what exactly happened?
The Story So Far…
Before getting into what happened in Strixhaven: School of Mages, we first need to catch up with some of its main characters.
- First, the Kenrith twins, Will and Rowan. Hailing from the plane of Eldraine, Will and Rowan became Planeswalkers after discovering their birth mother had been a witch, which explained how they have magical abilities to control ice and lightning, respectively. They later travelled to the plane of Kylem with their Planeswalker protector Garruk, where they honed their abilities in the many tournaments held there..
- The Necromancer Planeswalker Lilliana Vess is one of Magic's longest-running characters, but the last time we saw her was in the War of the Spark. Initially serving as a pawn for the tyrannical elder dragon Nicol Bolas, Lilliana was bound to serve him through the lethal demonic contracts etched into her skin. After fellow planeswalker Gideon Jura sacrificed himself to free her of her contract, Lilliana rebelled against Bolas, helping bring the War of the Spark to an end before effectively removing herself from the multiverse and allowing everybody else to assume she had died in the battle.
- Though we know little to nothing about her, Kasmina was another Planeswalker present at the War of the Spark. Kasmina is the leader of a secretive group of Planeswalkers whose goal is to find and forcibly ignite the sparks of undiscovered Planeswalkers (usually through trauma). She's said to be preparing for an even greater threat than the War of the Spark.
- Appearing for the first time since Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths, Lukka is a Planeswalker and 'Bonder' – a mage with the ability to form deep, psychic connections with the animals around him. Quick to temper, the way Lukka was treated by humans on Ikoria due to his bonder abilities has given him a deep-seated hatred of any kind of authority or social structure that prevents him from doing whatever he wants to do.
Class Is In Session
Strixhaven's story begins in the school's enormous library, the Biblioplex. Walking through its aisles and shelves is Professor Onyx, hoping to escape from the endless bureaucracy of her fellow staff members. However, she stumbles upon something concerning: a strange mage tucked away in one of the aisles, frantically trying to steal as many books as they can.
While Professor Onyx knows of the Oriq – mages who hate Strixhaven and the ordered society it stands for – she has never seen one before, and her interrogation of this one is interrupted by Dean Shaile. Before Shaile notices the Oriq mage, he manages to escape from Professor Onyx.
On the plane of Kylem, Will Kenrith is packing for a journey, much to the chagrin of his twin sister, Rowan, who had packed weeks ago. They have been contacted by a fellow planeswalker named Kasmina and invited to attend the illustrious Strixhaven on the plane of Arcavios. Frustrated at Will's indecisiveness over what to pack, Rowan forcibly planeswalks them both to Arcavios, using their shared Spark to do so.
There, they meet Kasmina, who has been waiting to escort them to the campus. After a long walk they arrive, and Kasmina quickly excuses herself, saying she has other matters to attend to. While Will thinks her departure is odd, Rowan is immediately taken in by the sights and sounds of Strixhaven. In particular, she is drawn to a nearby duel – an unofficial magical fight between a Prismari and a Silverquill student.
Rowan is eager to join in the fight, and Will is reluctantly pulled in. During the fight, he discovers that his and Rowan's magic works differently on Arcavios than how it did on Kylem or Eldraine. They are no longer in sync with each other, with one often stumbling over the other. Will decides understanding why this is will be his focus while at the school.
While the duel is ongoing, Professor Onyx, the Prismari Dean Nassari, and the Witherbloom Dean Lisette discuss the threat of the Oriq. Still limited to rumours at the moment, Onyx informs them both that she has seen Oriq agents in the school already. Before the conversation can go much further, though, the staff are drawn to the duel happening outside and must go and intervene. While they do so, Professor Onyx overhears Will chastising Rowan, saying that they are no longer on Kylem and can't just jump into any and every fight they see. Of course, only a Planeswalker would know of Kylem, which piques Professor Onyx's interest.
After finding their dorm rooms, Will and Rowan have their first big falling out of many during their time at Strixhaven. Will argues that they were invited to Strixhaven to learn and develop their magical abilities and take their academic studies seriously. On the other hand, Rowan feels that the whole point of going to Strixhaven is to experience it, and live a life she could never have as royalty on Eldraine.
As all of this is going on, Lukka is walking through a rocky mountain far outside the Strixhaven campus. Through her owls, which she can use to see far-away places, Kasmina watches as he is taken by Oriq mages. Lukka is shocked when the leader of the Oriq, Extus, not only knows about Lukka's power, but also knows he is from a world called Ikoria. He offers Lukka a deal: he will teach Lukka their magic if Lukka helps them with something in return…
Lessons
We flashback and follow Lukka as he first planeswalks to Arcavios. Stumbling across an isolated village, the locals disapprove of his unusual clothing and immediately accuse him of being a member of the Oriq. With the Dragonsguard – Arcavios' closest thing to guards – nowhere to be found, the villagers fight him themselves to try and drive him out.
Though battered, bruised, and already developing a hatred for this 'Strixhaven' he's heard so much about, Lukka manages to escape by enthralling the local animals. Running into the mountains, he twists his ankle and almost falls off of a narrow ledge, only just grabbing a strange, floating rock. Pulling himself back up, he finds a small, white, fox-like creature underneath the rubble. He has no use for it, so he quickly passes out from the pain.
Meanwhile, Professor Onyx is deep within the swamps, searching for the lair of one of Strixhaven's founding dragons, Beledros Witherbloom. You see, Professor Onyx isn't just any old professor at Strixhaven. She's the assumed identity of the powerful necromancer Planeswalker Liliana Vess, running from her punishment for her involvement in the War of the Spark. She's also looking for personal redemption and trying to find a way to revive her friend Gideon Jura, who sacrificed his life to free her from a demonic contract.
While searching through Beledros' many tomes and scrolls, the dragon returns home, and they discuss necromancy. Necromantic arts are all but forbidden on Arcavios, as precedent has shown toying with the dead can be more dangerous than intended. Before Lilliana leaves, Beledros gives her a word of advice: "how we honour the dead is reflected in how we treat the living". On her return from seeing Witherbloom, Lilliana spots a group of Oriq mages stuffing a white stag into a large, metal cage.
Lukka wakes up, and sees that the fox has stayed by his side and brought him berries and nuts to eat. Animals don't often work with Lukka unless compelled to by his bonding magic, and so, for the first known time since his Patagia Tiger on Ikoria, he forms a connection with the fox deeper than his usual mental control.
Once mostly recovered and still stewing in his anger over the way he was treated on his arrival on Arcavios, Lukka witnesses a fight between a group of Oriq and a Dragonsguard. He's almost killed in the encounter but fights back by calling forth the creatures of the forest… including a strange, large, insect-like thing that feeds off of magical energy. A Mage Hunter. Before the Dragonsguard can finish Lukka off, she is killed in a sudden, powerful burst of flame: the fox has saved him yet again. Lukka does something he's never done before with any of his bonded creatures, and gives the fox a name: Mila.
Shortly after, the leader of the Oriq, Extus, is sat in his chambers. Surrounding him are the remains of a white stag and numerous Oriq mages who had served as sacrifices for his failed attempts at mastering some kind of spell. In his fury, he suddenly remembers the ball of raw, magical energy hidden at the center of Strixhaven. If he can harvest the power of The Snarl, maybe that will be enough for his plans to succeed? Before his plan is fully formed, a subordinate interrupts him, telling him about the strange man who can control animals that is stalking the Oriq.
Back in her office at Strixhaven, Lilliana ponders on what she saw. While not one for being told what to do by destiny, she feels the timing of the Oriq's arrival and her own is too convenient. Gideon would have stayed and investigated, and so Lilliana will do the same. She needs help, though, and outside of her office door, she sees one of the planeswalker students she spotted earlier, Rowan Kenrith.
Extracurriculars
It's now Autumn at Strixhaven, and Will and Rowan have drifted apart. Rowan spends most of her time with her new friends from the Witherbloom college, while Will is busy studying with his Lorehold friend Quintorius. During a brief argument in their dorm room about their differing priorities, Will notices something is wrong with Rowan, and she seems less able to control her magic. Rowan denies it is a problem, and storms out.
Rowan's lack of control remains a sticking point between her and Will, but things really come to a head at a game of Mage Tower, where students use their magic to capture and control the summoned 'Mascot' creatures that represent each college. During this fight, Will accuses Rowan of being just like their mother, a witch who abandoned them at birth. This infuriates Rowan, and the two fight right there in the Mage Tower stands.
Professor Onyx intervenes, ordering both to see her in her office. She hints that she is also a Planeswalker, though only Will notices. She warns the twins that a bigger threat is coming for Strixhaven, and the two will need to be ready to help defend it. Though Onyx's words bring the Kenriths together, they soon disagree again on their methods: Will wants to study, whereas Rowan aims to train and enjoy school while she still can.
A while later, Rowan is with one of her Witherbloom friends, who harvests the life energy from a pest for a school project. This disturbs Rowan, reminding her of her past on Eldraine before she comes to the conclusion that sacrifices might be necessary if it protects the group. This motivates Rowan to seek out Will in the Biblioplex, and the two have their first calm conversation in months… until Rowan syphons the magical energy from a nearby Prismari student's spell as a display of her skills, which Will disapproves of inside the Biblioplex.
While this is going on, Kasmina has been keeping a closer eye on Lukka, having fully joined the Oriq. Him and his new allies descend upon the campus and they and Kasmina fight. She reveals to Lukka that she knows of his past on Ikoria, even goes so far as to suggest she was maybe responsible for his spark igniting in the first place. Kasmina gains the upper hand in the fight, but she quickly realises it was just a diversion. With her no longer surveying the area through her owls, the Oriq have snuck a horde of Mage Hunters into the school. Outnumbered, she has no option but to flee, and planeswalks away.
With the Oriq, Lukka, and the Mage Hunters now on the campus, Extus gives the order, and the battle for Strixhaven begins.
Put To The Test
Will wakes up in his dorm, sprawled over his desk. It's the early hours, and Rowan is gone, but that's normal. What isn't normal are the students running and screaming past his door. Through the crack, a Prismari student tells him that the school is under attack, and that Will should run to Dean Nassari, who is evacuating all the first years. Will, seeing the attackers are the Oriq and a horde of Mage Hunters, has a different idea, and sets off to find Rowan.
Rowan, meanwhile, is with her Witherbloom friends, fighting off a pack of Mage Hunters. She decides to head to the one place where she thinks Will and the Deans could be: the Biblioplex.
Professor Onyx is busy evacuating the students with the Quandrix Deans Kianne and Imbraham when she spots an oddly-dressed man who appears to be the one controlling the Mage Hunters. Before she can attack, Lukka disappears into the chaos, and Professor Onyx realises this is all a distraction. She leaves Kianne and Imbraham to try and cut the Oriq off before they arrive at where she fears their target is.
Outside, Will is running from a Mage Hunter when the Founder Dragons arrive at the campus. He barely protects himself with a sheet of ice as the dragons scorch the grounds to kill as many of the bugs as they can, and then he's finally able to reunite with Rowan. They are quickly ambushed by an Oriq mage, but are saved by Professor Onyx, who orders them to follow her to the Witherbloom Campus.
Extus has made it to the Biblioplex, where an Oriq brings him the book he's been looking for. Extus has everything he needs and makes his way to the Hall of Oracles, a massive chamber underneath the Biblioplex that houses the Strixhaven Snarl.
As Extus begins his incantations in the Hall of Oracles, Professor Onyx, Will, and Rowan break in through an old tunnel hidden deep in the Witherbloom campus. While Will and Professor Onyx believe they are too late, Rowan leaps into action and incapacitates a number of Oriq mages with her lightning magic. She's impressive enough for Onyx to note that in "a few more years, she'll be truly terrifying".
Unfortunately, before Onyx can help Rowan, Extus casts a spell that transports her to the farthest reaches of Arcavios, days away from Strixhaven. Will and Rowan are on their own, outnumbered and outclassed by the Oriq. Though they try to fight back, they are knocked across the hall by a burst of magical energy, and awake to a growing pool of blood filling the room.
The blood doesn't belong to Will, Rowan, Extus, or any Oriq. It's pouring out of the Snarl itself and, from the pool, a demonic figure is clawing its way out. With a bronze horned helmet and four muscular arms gripping enormous weapons, Extus has awakened the Blood Avatar.
Final Exam
The story's final chapter picks up immediately where the previous left off, with the Blood Avatar rising from the centre of the Hall of Oracles. It unleashes a deafening roar that is heard by everyone still at Strixhaven, including Lukka.
Lukka's satisfaction at completing his task is short-lived, as he is pulled to cover by Mila a moment before dragonfire bursts to the ground around him. With thousands of Mage Hunters all burning and dying at once, his psychic connection becomes too unbearable and he is forced to relinquish his control over them. Unrestrained, the Mage Hunters start attacking anybody with any sort of magical abilities, Strixhaven students, staff, and Oriq alike.
In the Hall of Oracles, Will and Rowan are trying to stop Extus before the Blood Avatar has time to fully form, but they find their magic is still out of sync. If Will throws a shard of ice, Rowan knocks it out of the air with her lightning by mistake, and vice-versa. In the chaos, a piece of falling debris hits Will and sends him crashing to the other side of the Hall. Rowan rushes to him, but before she can discover if he is still alive, the sword of the Blood Avatar comes crashing down. She sends a bolt of magic up the blade, but it barely even registers to the demon.
Rowan has an idea. Using the same magic she used to syphon that spell of that student in the Biblioplex, Rowan absorbs the power of the Snarl itself. Rowan floats above the ground and crackles with power, an infinite amount of magic at her disposal.
She manages to put up a fight against Extus and the Blood Avatar, but not for long. Will wakes up to see Rowan crashing to the ground, her body convulsing with the energy pouring through her. He brings her around, and, only just able to compose themselves, the twins decide it is time to leave.
The twins apologise to each other for everything they've argued over, and especially their fight during the Mage Tower match. Mage Tower. The memory gives Will an idea: the Blood Avatar is a summoned creature, just like the mascots that are intercepted and controlled in Mage Tower, just a bit bigger in scale.
With Rowan's raw magical power and Will's technical control, the two combine forces to intercept the Blood Avatar. Creating a vast, magical halo to constrain it, Will orders the demon to pick up Extus and crush him in its gargantuan hand, killing him instantly. The summoning spell begins to reverse with its summoner dead, and the Blood Avatar is pulled back into the Snarl it emerged from.
Though the demon is seemingly defeated, it takes one last surprise swing at Will and Rowan, who is wholly spent after channelling all of her strength through Will. Helpless to stop the attack, Will does the one thing he can do, and pushes his sister out of the way as the sword crashes directly into him. Rowan rushes to his side, and is relieved to see he's fine... until she notices the pool of blood collecting around his leg. Or, rather, what was left of his leg: the sword has cut off the limb from the knee down.
The Hall of Oracles begins to fall apart from the lack of magical power in the room, but before Will and Rowan are crushed, they are rescued by Dean Nassari and Dean Lisette, who pull them out just in the nick of time. Looking back into where the room once was, Rowan feels something pull to her: whatever was left of the Snarl was still beckoning her.
Weeks pass, and things return to normal at Strixhaven. Will and Rowan are still attending classes, with Will now using a magical, rune-enchanted cane and a prosthetic leg that is part steel and part his own ice magic. Both he and Rowan are now famous across the school as 'the students who stopped the Oriq'.
Talking in their dorm, the twins decide to stay and master their powers. They want to learn why their magic has fallen out of sync since leaving Kylem, and understand why the two can only Planeswalk when they are together. Will is also worried about Rowan; she has seemed gaunt since the fight, describing it as if "something vital had been sucked out of her".
The story ends with Professor Onyx in her office. She has been offered a permanent professorial position since walking across the continent to get back to the school. She accepted, but under one condition: she can teach an introduction to the Necromantic Arts class. Having found her place in the multiverse, she feels she can move on from Gideon's death at last and gives up her search to revive him.
Walking into her first Necromantic lecture, she introduces herself to her students not as Professor Onyx, but as Professor Lilliana Vess.