Liurnia of the Lakes is a nightmare if you aren't prepared. You step into that fog, and suddenly, giant lobsters are sniping you from a mile away while Glintstone sorcerers turn you into a pincushion. If you're running an Intelligence build, you probably feel a bit underpowered when you first arrive. You need better spells. Honestly, the starting pebble just doesn't cut it after a while. This is where the Academy Scroll Elden Ring players often overlook comes into play. It’s a tiny item, easily missed in the graveyard, but it changes your early-game scaling entirely.
Getting your hands on this scroll isn't just about completionism. It's about survival. Without it, you're stuck with basic projectiles while the bosses get tankier.
Where Exactly Is the Academy Scroll?
Most people sprint through the Raya Lucaria Academy outskirts because everything is trying to kill them. I get it. But you have to slow down near the Lake-Facing Cliffs and move toward the eastern portion of the Liurnia wetlands. Specifically, look for the Church of Irith. Behind it, there’s a graveyard.
Graveyards in FromSoftware games are never just for atmosphere. They are loot hubs.
You’ll find the Academy Scroll resting on a corpse in that cemetery. It's guarded by a few skeletons that love to reform after you "kill" them, so make sure you hit them while they’re glowing on the ground. Once you grab it, the game doesn't really tell you what to do next. You don't just click "use" in your inventory. You need a teacher.
Handing It Over to Sellen or Miriel
You've got two main choices for who gets your shiny new scroll. Most players head back to the Waypoint Ruins in Limgrave to see Sorceress Sellen. She’s the classic choice. She’s trapped in a cellar, surrounded by a Poison Flower and a Mad Pumpkin Head, but she knows her stuff.
However, there’s another option: Miriel, Pastor of Vows.
The giant turtle pope at the Church of Vows is arguably the better choice. Why? Because he never moves. Sellen has a whole convoluted questline that involves her disappearing, getting "killed," or moving bodies. Miriel just sits there, wearing his cool hat, ready to teach you whatever you bring him. If you give the Academy Scroll to him, you don't have to worry about losing access to those spells later in the game when Sellen's quest gets weird.
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What Spells Do You Actually Get?
The scroll unlocks two specific sorceries: Great Glintstone Shard and Swift Glintstone Shard.
Don't let the simple names fool you. Swift Glintstone Shard is a literal life-saver in PvP and against fast bosses like the Red Wolf of Radagon. It has a tiny recovery time. You can cast it while jumping. You can cast it while running. It doesn't hit like a truck, but it chips away at health bars while you're busy not dying. It’s the "death by a thousand cuts" spell.
Then there’s Great Glintstone Shard. This is your bread and butter.
It’s the direct upgrade to the Glintstone Pebble. It deals significantly more damage and has better range, though it costs a bit more FP. If you're clearing out the Raya Lucaria mages, this is the spell you use to beat them at their own game. It’s efficient. It’s reliable. It’s boring, maybe, but in Elden Ring, "boring and reliable" keeps you alive.
The Lore Behind the Paper
Why is this scroll just sitting in a random graveyard outside the Academy? The item description mentions it contains "sorceries taught at the Academy of Raya Lucaria." It represents the standard curriculum.
The fact that it's found among the dead suggests that not everyone made it into the Academy’s prestigious ranks. Or maybe, during the Shattering, some students tried to flee with their knowledge and didn't get very far. The Academy is a sealed-off, elitist institution. They don't share. Finding this scroll is basically like stealing a textbook from a Harvard dorm and giving it to a community college tutor.
Is It Worth the Detour?
If you aren't playing a mage, you can honestly ignore it. Strength builds won't find a use for it unless they're aiming for a hybrid setup later. But for a sorcerer? It's mandatory.
Some people argue that you can just find better spells later, like Rock Sling or Comet Azur. Sure, Comet Azur melts bosses, but you need 60 Intelligence to even look at that spell. The Academy Scroll spells only require 12 to 16 Intelligence. They bridge the gap between "weak apprentice" and "actual threat."
Common Mistakes When Using the Scroll
One thing that trips people up is the "Scroll Menu." When you give the item to an NPC, the spells don't just appear in your inventory. You still have to buy them.
- Great Glintstone Shard costs 2,000 Runes.
- Swift Glintstone Shard costs 600 Runes.
If you’re low on cash, prioritize the Swift version first. The utility of being able to cast while moving is worth way more than the raw damage of the Great Shard in the early stages of Liurnia.
Also, remember that you need a Staff to cast these. It sounds obvious, but I've seen plenty of people try to use a seal or just wonder why the spell icon is grayed out. Check your attributes. If you don't meet the INT requirement, the spell won't work, even if it's equipped.
Why Sellen Might Be the "Lore-Correct" Choice
While Miriel is more convenient, giving the scroll to Sellen feels more "right" for the story. She is an outcast from the Academy. Giving her the Academy’s own scrolls is a bit of a middle finger to the establishment that kicked her out. If you're roleplaying a rebellious mage, Sellen is your girl. Just be prepared for her questline to take you to some dark places later on.
The Strategy for Early-Game Dominance
To maximize the value of the Academy Scroll, you should head to Liurnia almost immediately after beating Margit (or even before, if you take the hidden path around Stormveil).
- Grab the scroll at the graveyard near the Church of Irith.
- Ride north to the Church of Vows to find Miriel.
- Buy Swift Glintstone Shard.
- Use it to farm the giants in Limgrave or the vulgar militiamen in Caelid.
- Level up your INT enough to use the Great Glintstone Shard.
By the time you actually step foot inside Raya Lucaria to fight Rennala, you’ll have a toolkit that matches the enemies you're fighting. You aren't just a tourist anymore; you're a competitor.
The Academy Scroll Elden Ring provides is a small piece of a much larger puzzle, but it’s a piece that defines the mid-game experience for magic users. Don't leave it rotting in the dirt.
Next Steps for Your Build
Once you have these spells, your next move should be finding the Meteorite Staff in the Caelid swamps. It has an S-scaling in Intelligence and doesn't require any upgrades, making it the perfect companion for the spells you just unlocked. After that, look for the Consuming Sorceries or the Carian Slicer to round out your close-quarters combat options. You’ve got the range; now you need the versatility.