Disclaimer: I do not own Skyrim! Or any of the Elder Scrolls games. They all belong to Bethesda. Although I dearly wish I had come up with it because that would be amazing. Well I don't own a massive game-developing company anyway so even if I had it wouldn't have done anyone much good. Well it might have saved millions of people sixty dollars ( 38 if you bought it used ) but still. Anyway, all of the characters, creatures, phrases, etc. belong to Bethesda. Not me.
(Authors note: This is my first fanfiction. Well I have plenty of others that I'm working on but this is the first one that I've posted. I know I'm going to sound crazy by dedicating this to a fiction character but it just seems right. This fanfiction is dedicated to Illia. My trusted, loyal, pixilated follower who is brilliant at ice magic and never complained about being sworn to carry my burdens but instead chirpily said "what do you need?" or "I'm right behind you." Thank you.)
Prologue
Illia lay on the rough stone floor. Although her robes were warm they could never protect her from the chill of the cobblestone beneath her. Not even the thickest of linen could do that. Darklight Tower had a habit of freezing everyone to the bone during the colder months. It was chilly at the best of times but from Frost Fall to First Seed it was freezing. She dearly hoped that her mother would stop paying visits here. "It will be interesting" she said "It will benefit everyone eventually" she said. Their little trips here might have been interesting if she actually got to help with the "big project" that her mother and her colleagues so often discussed. Without her. She didn't even know what it was . "I have an interest in magic to you know!" she exclaimed to herself. Oh for the love of Talos! She needed to stop verbally validating her opinions. It was going to get her into trouble eventually. She peeked out from her hiding spot beneath an abandoned enchanting table to ensure that she was indeed alone. Seeing no one, she lit her lantern and pulled the tattered spell tomes from her bag. "Hmmm," she thought as she assessed her choice of spells. "Ice spike, frostbite…" She trailed of and, once again silently scorned herself for talking, even if it was quietly. This was not the time to be talking to herself. She just needed to hold her tongue. If she was quiet her mother would never hear her and therefore it would never dawn on her that she hadn't seen her daughter since dinner the night before. She probably wouldn't even notice she was gone. Illia focused her attention back on her books. She immediately gravitated towards the ice spike tome, fondly thinking of all the things she could impale. She opened the book and began to read, attentively hanging off of every word. Although after a few chapters, and much to her dismay, it began to get very complicated. The magic was well beyond the ability of a nine year old. Reluctantly, she picked up the other spell tome: Frostbite. It sounded interesting enough. Although not as pointy. She frowned but started reading. She ended up reading at least half of the book before she even looked up. Sure it wasn't her first choice but it was nice to be able to understand something for once.
Illia felt happy. She was learning about magic without the help that she was constantly promised but never recieved. She was on her way to having a new way of getting rid of the skeevers in the basement. And even her mothers' old mage robes that Illia had attempted to tailor, were forming a soft barrier around her, the floor, and the legs of the enchanting table. A soft barrier that could almost be described as cosy. Illia hadn't felt this happy for a long time. She would be going home soon too. The visits to Darklight Tower rarely lasted more than several days and Illia had now been here for five. Even her mother, who basically worshiped this place, grew tiresome of the cold, the lack of fresh food, and the skeevers in the basement eventually. She rested her head on her arms and allowed herself to sink deeper into her now very warm robes. She started to drift off into a much needed sleep. Her eyelids grew heavy and eventually fluttered closed. She felt the pleasant feeling of linen and parchment against her cheek. She was very relaxed. And maybe, she thought as she finally fell completely asleep, living at Darklight Tower isn't so bad after all.
ILLIA!
Illia jolted awake, consequently banging her head against the enchanting table. Her vision was doubled and her ears were ringing. She scrambled out from under the table and blood rushed from her head as she stood up. She began to feel very dizzy. She tried to grab her bag and shove the partially read spell tomes back in before her mother caught her. Her movement was slowed by her sudden vertigo, doubled vision, ringing ears, and aching skull but she managed to shove them back in. Just in time it seemed, as her mother burst through the door screaming her name once again. Her shrill screech made Illia shudder and ache even more. How could I possibly go from feeling so good to absolutely terrible in such a short amount of time!? She thought. Although all she said was: yes mother?