The core curriculum at a unicorn shifter academy wouldn't just be about turning into a sparkly horse. Think ancient, almost extinct magic systems. They'd teach temporal empathy—feeling the echoes of events in a location, which is crucial for averting disasters. Healing isn't just physical; it's mending broken vows or poisoned land. The most advanced class I've read about is horn-resonance theory, where a student learns to amplify or nullify specific kinds of magic in an area.
Offensive magic is subtle but devastating. A 'purity lance' isn't a weapon of light; it's a focused beam that unravels corrupt magical constructs or severs a sorcerer's connection to tainted power sources. Stealth involves bending light and intention to become 'forgotten' by observers, not merely invisible. The real drama comes from the ethical weight. Using your horn as a weapon is a last resort, and the guilt from even defensive violence can cause a shifter to lose their form for weeks.
Student conflicts often revolve around whether to intervene in mortal affairs or remain hidden, which is a more interesting tension than standard battle magic. The libraries in these settings are always full of deteriorating scrolls about forgotten alliances with other mystical beings, adding a layer of archaeological mystery to the usual academy tropes.