Response to Bero ' s Speech Content . On the 14th of Last Seed , an illusionist by the name of Berevar Bero gave a very ignorant speech at the Chantry of Julianos in the Imperial City . As ignorant speeches are hardly uncommon , there was no reason to respond to it . Unfortunately , he has since had the speech privately printed as " Bero ' s Speech to the Battlemages , " and it ' s received some small , undeserved attention in academic circles . Let us put his misconceptions to rest . Bero began his lecture with an occasionally factual account of famous Battlemages from Zurin Arctus , Tiber Septim ' s Imperial Battlemage , to Jagar Tharn , Uriel Septim VII ' s Imperial Battlemage . His intent was to show that where it matters , the Battlemage relies on other Schools of Magicka , not the School of Destruction which is supposedly a Battlemage ' s particular forte . Allow me first to dispute these so - called historical facts . Zurin Arctus did not create the golem Numidium by spells of Mysticism and Conjuration as Bero alleges . The truth is that we don ' t know how Numidium was created or if it was a golem or atronach in any traditional sense of those words . Uriel V ' s Battlemage Hethoth was not an Imperial Battlemage — he was simply a sorcerer in the employ of the Empire , thus which spells he cast in the various battles on Akavir are irrelevant , not to mention heresay . Bero calls Empress Morihatha ' s Battlemage Welloc " an accomplished diplomat " but not " a powerful student of the School of Destruction . " I congratulate Bero on correctly identifying an Imperial Battlemage , but there are many written examples of Welloc ' s skill in the School of Destruction . The sage Celarus , for example , wrote extensively about Welloc casting the Vampiric Cloud on the rebellious army of Blackrose , causing their strength and skill to pass on to their opponents . What is this , but an impressive example of the School of Destruction ? Bero rather pathetically includes Jagar Tharn in his list of underachieving Battlemages . To use an insane traitor as example of rational behavior is an untenable position . What would Bero prefer ? That Tharn used the School of Destruction to destroy Tamriel by a more traditional means ? Bero uses his misrepresentation of history as the basis for his argument . Even if he had found four excellent examples from history of Battlemages casting spells outside their School — and he didn ' t - - he would only have anecdotal evidence , which isn ' t enough to support an argument . I could easily find four examples of illusionists casting healing spells , or nightblade s teleporting . There is a time and a place for everything . Bero ' s argument , built on this shaky ground , is that the School of Destruction is not a true school . He calls it " narrow and shallow " as an avenue of study , and its students impatient , with megalomaniac tendencies . How can one respond to this ? Someone who knows nothing about casting a spell of Destruction criticizing the School for being too simple ? Summarizing the School of Destruction as learning how to do the " maximum amount of damage in the minimum amount of time " is clearly absurd , and he expounds on his ignorance by listing all the complicated factors studied in his own School of Illusion . Allow me in response to list the factors studied in the School of Destruction . The means of delivering the spell matters more in the School of Destruction than any other school , whether it is cast at a touch , at a range , in concentric circles , or cast once to be triggered later . What forces must be reigned in to cast the spell : fire , lightning , or frost ? And what are the advantages and dangers of each ? What are the responses from different targets from the assault of different spells of destruction ? What are the possible defenses and how may they be assailed ? What environmental factors must be taken into consideration ? What are the advantages of a spell of delayed damage ? Bero suggests that the School of Destruction cannot be subtle , yet he forgets about all the Curses that fall under the mantle of the school , sometimes affecting generation after generation in subtle yet sublime ways . The School of Alteration is a distinct and separate entity from the School of Destruction , and Bero ' s argument that they should be merged into one is patently ludicrous . He insists — again , a man who knows nothing about the Schools of Alteration and Destruction , is the one insisting this — that " damage " is part of the changing of reality dealt with by the spells of Alteration . The implication is that Levitation , to list a spell of Alteration , is a close cousin of Shock Bolt , a spell of Destruction . It would make as much sense to say that the School of Alteration , being all about the actuality of change , should absorb the School of Illusion , being all about the appearance of change . It certainly isn ' t a coincidence that a master of the School of Illusion cast this attack on the School of Destruction . Illusion is , after all , all about masking the truth .