Chapter 1: The Altmer
Noael clenched her fists and focused all her energy, raising her hands to shoulder level. She gritted her teeth and as soon as the energy was gathered, released her hands. The magic worked; her skin became as hard as iron, and just in time too. The arrow connected with her neck and splintered into pieces against the magical defense. Had she been a second late, it would've pierced her throat, killing her instantly.
The bandits were foolish to ambush an adept mage like herself, especially one as skilled in the school of alteration as she was. Despite the bandit's best efforts to bury her in a flurry of arrows, nothing worked. The projectiles harmlessly broke against her hardened skin, rendering their attacks utterly useless.
She changed her energy levels to an entirely different magical type as raging fire engulfed her hands. She released a battle cry as she threw the fire at her attackers on the ridge; both bolts struck the bandits' leader dead center in the chest, ripping his rib cage open and incinerating him instantly. The residual splash consumed four of the others that surrounded him as the rest dropped their weapons and fled.
"That'll teach you to mess with an Altmer," she said to herself, allowing the destructive force in her hands to diminish. It most certainly wasn't the first group of robbers, bandits, or thieves she had encountered, and she couldn't keep count anymore. It seemed like everyone in Skyrim wanted a piece of the pie; and they usually took it by force.
There was a flash of movement from the corner of her eye; with lightning speed she drew her bow, knocked an arrow and fired. The arrow hit the small rabbit and it fell onto the beaten path near her from its hiding place in the snow covered bushes.
"Hmm. Supper."
Despite Noael's ability to generate fire at will, she found it difficult to keep the campfire lit. The snowstorm had moved in quickly. Luckily she had found an abandoned camp with a few still-standing tents, although they made little difference in the fierce wind and snow. Shivering and soaked from the knees down, she removed her gloves and pulled a leg off the well roasted rabbit.
Taking a bite, she couldn't help but notice; things could be worse. There had been no sign of any Dark Brotherhood assassins for days. Had she finally outrun them? Even a borderline master of destruction magic like herself was barely a match for them.
"Especially when they come in packs," she sighed, taking another bite. She savored the juicy flavor of the meat, and as she finished the rest of her meal, it gave her a small feeling of comfort. Covering herself with a large bear hide, Noael closed her eyes and drifted into sleep.
Her rest was interrupted by a rustling sound in the nearby bushes. Instantly, her eyes opened and she scanned the environment available to her in the darkness. She held her breath, waiting for the sound to repeat itself so she could identify its location. After several seconds of listening intently, the uneasy feeling in her stomach forced her to quietly move from the makeshift bed and retrieve her bow.
Noael cursed under her breath. The inclement weather nullified any possible visibility and she would have to use magic to determine the source of the sound. The spell would create light and she would have to take action quickly.
She set down the bow and squeezed her hand tightly. A faint green light began to shine from her clenched fist; immediately she saw the shape of a human, directly outside the tent.
The blade cut through the tent's fabric as Noael's attacker slashed at her with deadly speed; the speed of an assassin. Noael moved her head down just in time to avoid decapitation as she rolled backward and came up on her feet.
Both fireballs hit the target, but flashed away in a ricochet. The dark figure rushed forward for another swing, and Noael foolishly raised her arm in defense instinctively. Coincidentally, the blade connected with her steel wrist guard and her attacker spun the opposite direction to deliver another blow.
Noael quickly casted her defensive spell to harden her skin as the blade connected with her left temple. The assassin's weapon was obviously stronger than iron; it hit her with intense force and Noael felt searing pain in her skull.
She was far from defeated. Noael stepped back to avoid yet another attack, and countered with a front kick to the shadowy figure's midsection, propelling him backwards into the snow.
She needed to act quickly. Clenching her hands once again, her fists began to shake as sparks flew and lightning consumed her all the way to the elbows. Just as the attacker rose from the ground, she released the energy; a direct hit with the thunderbolts.
Noael stood in shock as the assassin continued to rise, unaffected by the attack.
"That's the most powerful spell I know..."
This was not true. She knew another deadly destruction spell, but her teacher from her youth told her never to use it "unless you have no choice."
Her attacker drew a dagger from their boot and started forward as she gathered all the magical energy she possessed into both her hands.
The ground began to shake as the twister surrounding her grew more powerful. The spinning winds quickly caught fire, and Noael cried out in pain as the energies began to damage her internally. When she could contain the force no longer, she released it.
The fire storm engulfed everything within a 20 foot radius; trees were entirely disintegrated and the snow on the ground was instantly melted. Noael collapsed onto her back on the now very dry ground, spent of all her magical strength.
Her eyes widened in terror. There stood the assassin, still unaffected. He began to laugh as Noael desperately tried to move; she felt absolutely exhausted and could barely raise her hands from the ground.
"The Night Mother has spoken, Altmer."
The assassin raised his dagger to claim his prize.
"Fus, ro-DAH!"
A blast of wind hit the assassin before he could strike, sending him flying into the air and spiraling down the ridge below.
In Noael's last moments of consciousness, an entirely different figure entered her vision. Then, the black of sleep.