Trial by Fire
You get this quest by starting the Scholia Arcania quests in the embassy at Ysa or in Rathir. You will have to go to a neighboring building to begin your initiation. Follow the Quest Marker to the Savant who will be administering the trial. He will tell you to step into the circle when you are ready. Hit the Activate button to start the trial.
You'll start in a white washed area and as you proceed, you'll be attacked by Faer Grota. Fire based AoE attacks will be very effective against your enemies. You can explore a little but there's not much in the way of loot here. When you get to the end, you'll just keep walking until you enter a new area for the next part of your trial.
In the next area, you will have to fight some Tuatha but they shouldn't come at you more than three at a time. When you get down to the village bellow, you will encounter another being that will confront you. You will get a persuasion opportunity here. After you talk to her, you'll be pushed out of this realm. Talk to the Savant who was administering your trail and he will send you to Aodh in the Sidhe.
The Ruin of Aodh
Make your way to Aodh and enter. The path will curve S to E. Just follow that. You'll come across plenty of sprites, including Fire Sprite Champions who are tougher and are resistant to fire as well as hurling fire balls at you. Further in will be groups of Bagherst and Human mages called Priests of Vreakor.
More dangerous than them are actually the traps. There are traps EVERYWHERE. If you can disarm them, do. If not then you should sprint everywhere so that you can get past the traps before they go off. I don't think it'd be an exaggeration to say that there are over 100 traps in this dungeon. Most side rooms have treasure in them but they all have either enemies or traps so be careful.
When you get to the Quest Marker, you'll have to fight a mage who will summon sprites. She will summon two sprites at a time and sometimes they will come as stronger champion sprites. A single Fate Shift will make short work of her. She's really not particularly tough except that she spends more than half the time too far above the ground for you to hit her. Once you defeat her, loot her body for a Sun Stone and then return to Engar to report.
The Unquiet Bride
Make your way to Tala-Rane to meet with your contact. It turns out that "contact" is a code word for "Archsage." When you meet with him, he will mention that he suspects an ambush and sure enough, it will happen. Kill the Freemen and talk to the Archsage again. He will give you a letter and send you on your way to Mel Aglir to the E. When you get to the town, go to the Raven, which is the local Inn.
Talk to Patrick Morkan to find out that the missing Apprentice has left her things upstairs. Search her lockbox upstairs and check out her Journal to find out what to do next. You'll have to make your way up to Tulan, N of here.
The dungeon is composed completely of Kobolds (minus the boss fight) and is very linear. There is one deviation from the path where you can go right instead of left. It will lead you to a chest and a dead end. From you, go left instead of right to continue on (you can jump to the other path from there). As you go further on, you will pass Lerkara Fel in a cage while she tells you what has been going on. She will send you further ahead to kill the Necromancer and his wife. Do so, take the key and loot the two chests. Talk to Lerkara Fel and then leave through the door in the back. This will take you through the Necromancer's house.
There is a chest upstairs in his room that you can check out as well as a desk that you can loot. Once done, leave his house and make your way to Rathir to meet up with Engar at the main building of the Scholia Arcania.
Shardfall
Head to Emaire W of Rathir. Talk to your contact, Anker Admure. He will ask you to retrieve a Barghest Heart for him. From town, head directly N and you should find the Barghest in question. He may be accompanied by some wolves or other Barghests but they are all melee types and shouldn't pose much of an issue. When in doubt, use an AoE attack to keep them away from you. Take the heart back to Anker to get an item that will allow you into Shardfall. Shardfall is in the NW corner of the Cradle of Summer.
The dungeon forms a giant ring that you will travel clockwise. There are assorted beasts here including bears, wolves, and Sprites. Of course, the sprites will be Ice Champions. Again, this is a very linear dungeon with quite a few traps so take your time to disarm or run through to get past them. Thankfully, you aren't attacked by too many of any one enemy at a time.
When you get closer to the end, you'll find a body on a circular platform in the middle of the room. Loot it for a ring that you can give to Arken for some Handwraps of Gemcutting. Not far beyond that will be another battle with another mage. This one will be possessed again and summon Sprites. This battle actually plays out just like that last time you faced this opponent. Kill her and head back outside. Talk to Arken and then return to the Scholia Arcania to turn in the quest.
Lightning in a Bottle
You'll get this quest after turning in the previous quest to Eran Methneen. You'll have to climb Skycrown Mountain and meet with Savant Engar. In case you haven't guessed, the cave of Skycrown is very linear and has lots of traps. Most of the enemies will be Ettin with some wolves and a few Sprites mixed in too. The Ettin may prove to be strong compared to what you've been fighting. They are relatively slow so keep moving and use ranged attacks. Do watch out for Shamans because they will cast spells at you at a distance.
This dungeon wraps around clockwise so follow the path as you go but be mindful of the traps. There are a few cases where the path is completely blocked by traps so you'll have to run past them or disarm them.
When you get to the top of the mountain, you'll have to fight your way through some very tough Ettin. I would recommend taking it slow so as not to bunch them up. Of note is the Ettin Warpriest. He has probably four times as much health as any of the other Ettin and all of his attacks are pretty strong. You might want to Fate Shift him to make your life easier. Make your way all the way to the peak and talk to Engar.
After you talk to him, you'll have to make your way (the long way) back down the mountain. From there you will have to travel E and take the pass S. Eventually, the Quest Marker will move to the SW. When you get there, you will find him and have to fight him. It'll be an easier fight. He seemed like he had less health than the others but he was summoning four sprites instead of two. Just kill him quickly, he shouldn't pose a threat. When done, head back to Rathir and talk to Eran Methneen.
A Crowded Mind
Eran Methneen will send you to the Archsage after you come back from the last quest. Go down to the Archsage's quarters and approach the body on the floor. Investigate and then put your hand in the circle. You will be pulled into the Archsage's mind. Talk to him and then head forward. You will fight some Leanashe here. Kill them and there is a chest nearby. You can loot the chest for a key that opens other chests scattered around. There is no need to, however, since it is all just for backstory. None of it is necessary.
From here, head left or right. If you go left, you will fight the Archsage and three Niskaru. If you head right, you'll fight the Archsage and two minor copies. You will have to fight both either way. For the Niskaru, use AoE attacks to kill them and then focus on the Archsage. For the copies, use long range attacks to kill them and then focus on the Archsage. Once both have died and you've looted them, head back to talk to the real Archsage. He will push you out of his mind and tell you to meet up with him out on the Scholia Grounds. Head outside to start the final quest.
Revelations
Talk to the Archsage outside and he will have you place the Stones you've collected throughout the quest line into the statues around the grounds. Once you've placed all three stones, you will have to fight Sydanus. She will summon two other students to fight you as well as some Faer Grota occasionally. She will also use a variety of spells on you but none of them should be new at this point. I would knock out her smaller enemies first to give you breathing room and then focus on her. Or you could just Fate Shift and knock her out in one go. If she ends up too high off the ground, certain AoE attacks will work on her (Meteor for instance).
Once she is dead, Eran Methneen will come up and talk to you. He will give you the cloth ring and you will become the Archsage of Scholia Arcania. You also now have access to the Archsage's quarters. Go check it out.
