[The Battlespire]
Welcome to Battlespire, aspiring apprentice. We are pleased to have you as a student and wish you luck in your time here. As you have noticed Battlespire is no ordinary academy; it is located in a pocket realm of Oblivion, ensuring an education and training free of outside influences. In these halls are where the greatest mages in Tamriel are born; if you persevere, you too can join their ranks.
Rules of Battlespire
In addition to the laws of Cyrodiil, which are enforced on Battlespire, there are a number of other rules pertaining strictly to Battlespire that if violated could result in penalties ranging from detention to expulsion. For details on the rules, please consult the guidebook section "Rules and Regulations for Students".
Education and Training:
The first half of your education will consist of learning the fundamentals of each of the magical arts and schools. You will also be expected to develop excellent physical and mental endurance. These will give you the strong foundation that every battlemage should have.
Once you have proven a grasp of all of the schools of magic and proven to be in top shape, you will begin the second half of your education on Battlespire. At this point you will have to choose a specialization, which will determine what kind of battlemage you will become. For more detailed information, turn to the guidebook section "Battlemage Focuses".
Assault Mage; This is a battlemage in the truest sense of the word. Clad in bound armor, they control fire, lightning, and many more forms of magic to reduce the enemies of the empire to ash from afar. Bound weapons ensure that even when forced into melee combat they are deadly foes.
Support Mage: Killing things with fire not your thing? Do you prefer to assist rather than fight? Then perhaps the support mage focus is for you. Learn to augment and aid soldiers and your fellow mages. Healing, shielding, and fortifying, is what you'll be focusing on your studies should you choose this path.
Artificer: Do you like making things? Does creating magical items appeal to you? Then you may be right for Artificer, the craftsmen and enchanters of Battlespire. Make beautiful and powerful enchanted items from silver, mahogany, and many other materials, keeping your fellow mages well-equipped.
In rare cases, an apprentice, usually with Support Mage focus, may be chosen by the Mananauts, the Imperial agents who watch for threats from Oblivion, to train as one of them. This is by invitation only and they do not take requests. There is no surefire way to be chosen to become one of them; the most you can do is excel in teleporting and conjuring magics and hope that you are noticed.
Student Obligations:
Please note that education on Battlespire is not free; in return for the finest magical education in the Empire, you will be required to serve. For those that graduate, you will serve the Empire for a tour of duty. Those that fail will serve Battlespire as indentured servants, but after their debt is repaid they will receive another chance at training and learning at Battlespire, or if they wish, return to Cyrodiil.
Conclusion
Don't worry too much about what to choose, apprentice, for that is what your preliminary education is for; learning your strengths and weaknesses, and finding out what you want to do. For now, stay at Weir Gate; a Spellwright will arrive shortly to give you a tour of the facility. We look forward to having you training here and hope you will enjoy great success as an Imperial Battlemage.
-Galius Eldrius, Archmagister of Battlespire Timeline Lore