I sat up slowly in my bed roll. The unforgiving cold of Whiterun seeped into my traveling tent through the roughspun trousers it was made out of. Shivering slightly, I slipped into my Mage Robes, dark black so I could blend into the night. Stretching out of my cramped little corner, I stood, taking in the frigid air. They say that mountain air is good for the lungs, but I've been to High Hrothgar many times, but I feel no different than I had before, except being winded. Carrying a hundred pound bag was hard enough, but going up the 9,000 steps is a bit different.
I finally went over to my Alchemist Table where I did most of my research on the Legendary Stone. The stone that defied the laws of Alchemy. The Philosopher's Stone. I had come to Skyrim for that particular reason. To find the mythic lore.
As I sat down on the freezing grass, I started wondering about where my studies might take me next. I had all the books that I could find in all the languages I knew. Elvish, Nordic, Khajiit (I'm sure it's called something weird, but I don't know what it's called. Just go with it. XD), even Dwarven. But to no avail. Things often get lost in translation, but I had overcome this by learning those languages. Alas, it was pointless.
There was one book that I hadn't read yet, though. It was in the Language of the Dragon. I couldn't read this, for Dov was a forbidden language which could only be learned by the Dovahkiin, and the Greymanes. The Dov knew of it already, but you can't exactly walk up to the Dragons and ask them to read you a book. Not any of the ones I knew, anyway. Regardless, I couldn't read it. I didn't know the Dovahkiin, and the Greymanes were always too busy being… Well, boring, to sit down and translate it to me. Besides, it would be better to get it from an actual Dov. The Greymanes keep talking in Dovan (Shut up, it's probably not what it's called.) in front of me. I do hear other whispers in Nordic when they think I'm not listening. Something about a Dov that could help, but I'm not sure what that's about.
Pulling me out of my thoughts, a girl in robes came into my tent. She wore robes as well and clutched a fragmentized Amulet of Mara in her hands. She was nearly on the verge of tears as she handed it to me.
"Can you fix my Amulet?" she asked with a youthful innocence in her voice. I merely nodded and she handed it to me. I don't like talking to my customers, so I try to avoid it the best I can. She watched me prayingly as I drew a circle on the ground, writing a bunch of alchemy symbols around it in the dirt with a stick. Drawing another circle to sandwich the characters between them, I placed the pieces in the middle.
"Stand back," I told her with an uneasiness in my voice. "And cover your eyes. It's going to be very bright." She nodded and stepped back, pulling her hood over her face. I touched the circle and the Amulet rose in the air and shined for a few minutes, then lowered back to the ground, completely mended.
"Thank you!" she said, completely bewildered. "Is there any way I could pay you for your help?" I shook my head.
"'To gain something, man must first lose something of equal value.' That is Alchemy's Law." She looked at me, even more confused now than she was before.
"I'm sorry," she spoke after a moment of silence, "I don't know much about Alchemy." She looked over at the book I had placed on my Alchemy table. "The Philosopher's Stone? I didn't know you could read Dov." I looked back at the book, still covered in the scribbles of the Dragon Tongue.
"I can't," I explained. "But you can."
"I certainly can!" she giggled with a smile.
"But you aren't Greymane?"
"No."
"Dovahkiin?"
"No."
"Well you certainly aren't a Dov!"
"You're partially wrong."