College of Winterhold (Skyrim)

"You know, if you have the aptitude, you should join the Mage's College in Winterhold."

- Farenger Secret-Fire

The College of Winterhold is a faction and location that appears in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. It is a guild of Magic users, similar to the Mages Guild of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Savos Aren is the guild's Arch-Mage, with Mirabelle Ervine serving under him as Master-Wizard. The College is located in the northern section of the city of Winterhold.

Joining the College
Before entering the college, the gatekeeper Faralda wants to see a demonstration of magical powers. She requests to see a spell appropriate for the Dragonborn's level before gaining passage. Some of these spells could be:
 * Firebolt
 * Fear
 * Magelight (Level 2)
 * Healing Hands
 * Conjure Flame Atronach

A persuasion check bypasses this test. If the player has not learned that spell, she offers to sell it to the player for 30. You can also reveal that you are the Dragonborn instead, demonstrating a Dragon shout. Once completed, the college can be accessed at all times and you will start the first quest of the College of Winterhold. For Magelight, cast it on the large circle emblem on the ground.

Architectural Design
The College of Winterhold is located north of Winterhold on a large cliff. A narrow bridge in a state of disrepair connects the city to the college.

The central courtyard is dominated by a statue of the first Arch-Mage of the College, this is the hub of the facility, offering access back out to the bridge and into the three Halls. The exterior windows offer exceptional views of the coastline.

The courtyard branches off to the three halls of the college. The Hall of Attainment, the living quarters for mage apprentices, is off to the left, while the Hall of Countenance, the living quarters for more advanced mages, is off to the right. Straight ahead lies the Hall of the Elements, the lecture hall of the college.

From the Hall of the Elements, the Arch-Mage's Quarters branches off on the left, while The Arcanaeum, the college's library, branches off on the right.

The Midden, a prison or storage area beneath the college, houses an Atronach Forge, Augur of Dunlain and the Daedric Relic. Ice Wraiths and Draugr inhabit the halls of The Midden. A tunnel here leads to the world map.

History and Origin
Papers kept in the College's library date back to Tamriel's second age, proving the institution is at least 700 years old. Much of the College's history was lost during the Great Collapse, a geographic phenomenon, (possibly brought about by the eruption of a previously dormant volcano named Red Mountain).

As the College is independent from the Mage's Guild, Necromancy was never made illegal by the College, unlike the Arcane University in Cyrodiil. The practice is generally regarded as a tool, not a weapon, although practicing it outside of the College is frowned upon. Like Cyrodiil, there are still wandering groups of Necromancers that do not function alongside the College.

Because the College is independent of the jurisdiction of the Mages Guild, it was unaffected by the battle between the Mages Guild and Mannimarco or the guild's eventual collapse.

Distrust
The college is often blamed for the Great Collapse and is therefore widely distrusted. It is often believed that it was activities at the college that caused the disaster and that the proof of this is that only the college remained untouched. The college has since been cautious as to avoid provoking the population of Skyrim. Many nationalistic Nords also do not trust the College because of the fact that the immigrant Dunmer make up the vast majority of the members within the faction. Additionally, most Nords view magic and its practitioners as spineless and weak, as stated quite humorously by a feuding couple upon entering Winterhold.

College of Winterhold Quests

 * First Lessons
 * Under Saarthal
 * Hitting The Books
 * Good Intentions
 * Revealing the Unseen
 * Containment
 * Staff of Magnus
 * The Eye of Magnus

Side Quests

 * Arniel's Endevor
 * Daedric Relic
 * Aftershock
 * Out of Balance
 * Finding Tolfdir's Alembic
 * Fetch me that Book!
 * Shalidor's Insight

Follower Quests

 * J'zargo's Experiment
 * Onmund's Request
 * Brelyna's Practice

Trainers

 * Colette Marence: Expert Restoration trainer
 * Drevis Neloren: Master Illusion trainer
 * Faralda: Master Destruction trainer
 * Sergius Turrianus: Expert Enchanting trainer
 * Tolfdir: Master Alteration trainer
 * Phinis Gestor: Expert Conjuration trainer

Master-level Training Quests

 * Alteration Ritual Spell
 * Conjuration Ritual Spell
 * Destruction Ritual Spell
 * Illusion Ritual Spell
 * Restoration Ritual Spell

Bugs

 * It is dangerous to fast-travel to the College while on horseback. Though humorous, the mounted Dragonborn will either be launched high into the sky (i.e. Giant glitch) or fall off the side of the bridge.
 * The "Visit the College of Winterhold" miscellaneous quest (radiant quest - can be obtained from Court Wizards, Innkeepers, even Guardsmen - all across Skyrim) is bugged and as of patch 1.3, will not complete if the persuasion or Dragonborn dialogue options are used. PC users can fix this using a console command (setstage MG01Pointer 200).
 * After doing the quest Revealing the Unseen, there will be an explosion. Nobody will talk to you about the next quest and there will be no way to start it, if you go outside the Arch-Mage will be dead on the floor however none of the mages will take any notice of him and will say normal speech, you can only search the Arch-Mage and not start the next quest. As of now there is no patch that has fixed this but should be fixed in the next patch.

Appearances

 * The Elder Scrolls: Arena
 * The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim