Prologue
If Katarina Murrianus thought she knew cold, that was before she'd ventured into Skyrim's frozen North. The real North, near the top of the world where snows fell all year round and the very sea would turn to compact ice, where the shrieking winds whipped across white fields of desolation and the sun could stay hidden for weeks behind a forbidding curtain of steel gray clouds. It was a cold so bitter, so profound it had seeped into her very bones for not even the thickest fur cloak could entirely keep it out yet Kate's eyes shone triumphantly beneath frost-coated lashes as she gazed upon that which she had come to that godsforsaken wasteland to find: the Mages' College of Winterhold.
It was a rare clear night, Masser's glowering visage illuminating the castle as it perched precariously on a single rock spire, a long and narrow bridge connecting it to the small town for which it was named. Pinpricks of blue light dotted the top of its towers and several of the windows were also lit, like eyes upon a vast stony face. It looked majestic and somehow unreal against the moon's reddish disc, suspended over a dizzying drop into the Sea of Ghosts like a mirage. Kate inhaled deeply, the air slicing her throat and chest like a blade, but she was too elated to care. She had reached the end of a long journey which began in Cyrodiil more than two months previously and her stomach was a tight knot of excitement and fear.
"Oi! You there!" a male voice rumbled behind her, standing as she did in the middle of the starlit road which divided the town of Winterhold in two. Kate turned and was confronted by a guard on patrol who stopped short at the sight of the small fire she had conjured up to keep herself warm. He wore a full-face helmet with twin slits for eyes and she could feel the weight of his gaze as he appraised her.
"I don't know you, stranger. What's your business in Winterhold? Here for the College? Come on, out with it!"
Kate, who didn't appreciate the tone or the unprovoked hassle, fought to keep her voice calm as she looked up at the taller man:
"Is there something wrong?"
"No, nothing wrong; not yet at any rate." the guard said and placed one hand on the axe hanging from his belt. "You goin' to answer or not?"
"My business is my own," Kate answered coolly, "And I wasn't aware it was Winterhold guard policy to harass innocent travelers."
"Just bein' careful is all", the soldier grunted, but his hand moved away from the axe "Quite a few strange folks passing through lately, to say nothing of the queer noises coming from that place on a regular basis. Damn wizards, Gods only know what they do up there!"
Kate said nothing; she had encountered similar attitudes in Skyrim before and knew magic was not looked upon fondly there.
"You should get inside, stranger; I've seen folks freeze to death in their thickest furs on clear nights like this, fire or no fire. You think it's cold now, just wait a coupla more hours! The Frozen Hearth could use the business if you have to spend the night in town – just put out that fire first, don't want to be burning down Dagur's inn now or we'll be seeing eachother again real soon."
The memory came unbidden: Volanaro standing in the doorway, a tall wraith-like figure draped in green silk, flanked by two city guards while passers-by gawked curiously. It was a sunny Tirdas morning and the Imperial City's Market District was just starting to come to life.
"There she is!" Katarina could still hear him hiss, pointing a long, bony finger accusingly at her. "She's the one responsible, she did it! Seize her!"
Other images followed: a stone room with narrow, vaulted windows, echoing with her mother's sobs. Angry shouts ringing between the walls of the house Kate was born and grew up in. Her father calling her an ungrateful, selfish child, and she supposed she was. By the time the memory dissipated, the boorish guard had vanished and she was quite alone once more.
"That's all past", she muttered, words she had repeated so many times they'd become a kind of mantra, "Can't change the past, only influence the future."
The hour was much too late to apply at the College of Winterhold; she would have to wait for the morning and after spending the last three nights shivering in some cave or barrow like she had a bad case of the Rattles, Kate longed for a roaring fire, a warm meal and a proper bed to sleep in. Yes, locating that inn seemed like a good idea, and given the fact that Winterhold boasted a single street and just a handful of intact buildings, less than a village in her eyes, it didn't take her long to find the Frozen Hearth. As she made her way inside, Katarina felt the warm air wrap itself around her like a healing salve and sighed gratefully, slipping the hood from her head. A fire blazed in a large stone pit in the middle of the room, drawing her like a moth to bask in its glow while the frost thawed from her hair and clothes and her teeth stopped chattering. The inn was fairly small and sparsely furnished with simple wooden tables and benches, but to Kate it looked as inviting as a mansion at that moment, promising not only respite from the unforgiving Nordic night but food to fill her belly and drink to wash it down with. There were only three other people that she could see: a man and a woman tending the bar and a High Elf in purple robes sitting in a corner, sipping a drink. His eyes followed Kate as she approached the bar, rubbing her hands together; the notorious cold of the deep North had gotten its claws deep into her and would not let go.
"Well met, traveler", the blond-haired man behind the counter greeted; presumably Dagur the innkeep. His weather-beaten face wore a friendly smile, as did the woman's though her eyes were alert and cautious. "Name's Dagur, and this is my wife Haran; as you might've guessed, this little inn is ours and it's good to have a customer. What'll it be? Food, drink, a room?"
"All of them", Kate replied, reaching for the satchel which held her dwindling supply of gold. "In that order."
"Wonderful, wonderful!" exclaimed Dagur, slapping his hands together. "We have cheese and bread and spiced beef...oh plenty of fish too of course and Haran baked her special apple pie only this afternoon!"
"I'll have some bread, cheese and beef. And some ale, please."
"You've business with the College?" Dagur asked later as he watched Kate wolf down her food. She paused long enough to give him a quick, appraising glance but saw none of the antipathy the College of Winterhold tended to inspire in Nords, so she nodded.
"I hope to join, in fact. What can you tell me about it? Other people I've asked wouldn't say much, and some seemed downright offended I even mentioned it."
"I'm not surprised", Dagur sighed. "You've probably noticed Winterhold can barely call itself a town these days, but it wasn't always so. It used to be one of the finest cities in Skyrim, very ancient, very famous, until one day when a grandmother of a storm came, about uhhh...eighty years ago. Bad storms are common enough here but this...this was something else, my Grand-Pa was there and told me all about it. Winds that uprooted trees and tore down buildings, and the waves! It was like the Sea of Ghosts had come alive and was trying to swallow Winterhold whole...which is what it did. Most of the city crumbled into the sea that day, except what you can still see standing...and the College of course. It was nearly untouched by the disaster and many people believed the mages had something to do with it. Many still believe that."
Kate nodded slowly, chewing on a piece of bread and this new information. It seemed she had stumbled upon an interesting mystery.
"Truth is, nobody really knows what happened", Dagur added. "And if cleverer heads than mine couldn't figure it out, I'm happy to live and let live. Folks coming to visit the College are welcome at the Frozen Hearth same as everyone else."
"Judging by the state of this town, I'm guessing not many people visit for any other reason", Kate thought privately, but in truth she was glad not to be the target of suspicious glares and barbed words for a change. She retired to her room soon after finishing her meal and was fast asleep in less than a minute.