Chapter 3: Path of the Mage
The trail she followed through the forest while uneasily looking back and scanning the sky for any sign of dragons led Sieglinde to a familiar sight: the three Guardian Stones near Lake Ilinalta. It has been over a decade since she last saw them, and she remembered fondly the memory of childhood wonder at the shrine of old. Like then, she walked into the middle and observed each of the three monoliths. The carvings on the ancient stone clearly depicted which constellation each of them was dedicated to. She remembered that as a girl of six years of age, she thought all the stories of the Guardian Stones were absolute truth, and joyfully touched both the Warrior and the Mage stones repeatedly. Now, almost fifteen years later, she knew that any magic that might have once been imbued in them was long gone. Yet, be it from a sense of nostalgia or an instinct about something being no longer the same, she placed her palm on the surface of the Mage stone.
A powerful energy erupted from the monolith, sending a bright ice-blue ray into the sky. The engravings shone as bright as the stars, and in the sky, the Mage's part of the firmament suddenly glowed so brightly, it could be seen by the naked eye in pure daylight. As soon as it happened, it also disappeared; save for the engravings on the stone and the cavity near its top, where mystical light remained for a few moments more before it too vanished from sight.
Sieglinde was in awe. She had never seen such an event occurring, and was, up to this moment, convinced that the stones were merely shrines, not actual places of power. Yet places of power they were, for she felt her magic even stronger than usual. Something very odd was about her ever since she had those dreams after being captured by the Imperials. First the dreams themselves, then the dragon, then the fact that she managed to master her fear of spiders, if only for a few moments, instead of fleeing, and now this display of starlight with the Guardian Stones. In less than two days, more extraordinary and unexplained events involving her had transpired than in the last couple of years. It seemed too much and too quickly to be mere coincidence, though she could not, at this time, detect a probable pattern. That would have to wait until she had the time to rest somewhere and clear her mind.
"If I remember correctly, Riverwood should be closer than Falkreath from here. Hopefully the inn is still in business," she thought and decided to follow the path north. From the Guardian Stones onward, the path was significantly wider and tiled with overgrown stones, which made it far easier to follow.
After a few uneventful turns, during which her only companions were solitude and the beautiful lake Ilinalta glistening with the last rays of the afternoon, and she could see Riverwood in the distance, at the end of a length of more or less straight route. The sun was still relatively high, but she knew it would be close to setting by the time she managed to arrive in town, so she quickened her pace.
No guard stopped her at the gate or asked her what business she had in town – there were none to be seen. The townsfolk seemed to be mostly inside as well, judging by the light escaping the windows of most buildings and the fact that nobody, save for a stray dog, was outside. She went straight to the inn, which, as she correctly assumed, changed little from when she was first (and last) there. Of course she was a completely different person now, and it would have been stupid to think anyone would have recognized her as the little girl with golden hair who once accompanied a merchant specializing in purveying magically enchanted goods.
The man she assumed was the innkeeper quickly looked in her direction, likely alerted by the sound of the heavy wooden door opening. There was a man drinking at one of the tables, and a bard playing the flute on the other side of the great fire bed in the centre of the room.
"It seems we have a visitor. Please, do come in," he invited her, his voice a low and raspy baritone. She closed the door and approached, taking a seat on one of the wooden stools at the barkeep's table and leaning her elbows on the flat surface between them.
"The name's Orgnar, I'm the bartender here. So, what can I help you with, miss?" he asked after a glance at her face. His expression betrayed nothing other than the talk he probably gave every customer. "We've got ale, mead and wine. Also food, if you're hungry. I cook."
"I'll need a room for tonight and warm meal would be lovely," she said with an uneasy smile, "but I'm afraid I don't have much money on me, so I'd like to know the prices first. I got robbed on the way by… bandits."
She drew the coin purses of the two guards she took them from before descending to the underground levels of Helgen keep.
"This is all I have right now, should be about a fifty septims altogether or so," she said with remorse. The bartender of course couldn't know that her equipment was worth a fortune, and it was this she was most remorseful of, not only the fact that she was not exactly wealthy at this point.
But he simply gave her a consoling smile and a short pat on a shoulder, then began to clean a mead mug.
"Don't worry lass, the rooms are ten septims a night, and you can get a good dinner for another ten or a cheap one for three, so I wouldn't worry so much if I were you. In fact," he said with a voice that indicated he just remembered something, "I know a couple of things you could do to make some money while you're here, if you're interested."
She looked him straight in the eyes and gave a short nod to indicate her affirmation of the fact. The man behind the counter placed a hand at his chin while he counted the ideas that came to mind.
"You could always chop firewood for Hod and Gerdur, or help them with the mill. Then there's Alvor, the blacksmith; he'd probably be willing to pay for someone to help him, if you know anything about forges. Then there's Lucan Valerius at the Riverwood trader. As far as I can tell, some bandits stole some golden ornament of his and he's offering good money to whomever who can bring it back. It'll likely be dangerous though, so don't make promises you can't keep. That is, unless you're the kind who isn't afraid to go blade to blade with a bunch of dangerous thieves and plunderers."
She considered the option. On one hand, she had no equipment and no money to buy any, which meant she was in danger. Then again, how much of a threat could a couple of bandits used to robbing helpless merchants pose to her, a mage of the penultimate circle of the College of Winterhold? Whatever the case, she would sleep on it before making any decisions. She thanked the bartender and made her way to the room on the left he showed her.
"Dinner will be in an hour or so. I'll knock twice," he said as she reached the door. The room was equipped with only a small table, a chair, a chest of drawers, a wardrobe and a bed all made from the wood of the same pines she saw growing outside the village. The window was small and fenced with intertwining iron lines, but it probably let enough light come through during the day. No bathtub, naturally; she would have to take a swim in the river to wash off the dust and dirt of the caves and the road. She kicked off her travelling boots, the only piece of clothing, other than her robe and undergarments, that the soldiers had left her when they arrested her. Considering what happened, she felt stupid for not having enchanted even those. Still, regret for actions not taken while they still could have made a difference was pointless now. All she could do with those thoughts was to learn from her error and try not to repeat it in the future. But for that, she needed soul gems, and for those she needed money, if the local trader even had any to begin with.
Lying down on the bed, she began planning for her following course of action. Wake up at dawn or sooner, go for a swim and wash in the river before the villagers could wake up and disturb her, then go talk to the trader about the bandits to learn all she could about them. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too much of a challenge. At any rate, it might be a good idea to see what the smith needed help with; it was always smart to be on good terms with the local blacksmith. At some point, not knowing when, she fell asleep.
"As foreseen, the incarnation was the last string necessary for Alduin's return. I would have said I told all of you so, were the situation not so grim."
"You were correct in that. It would seem the World-Eater had managed to subvert the time trap in some way, to have appeared so close to the Incarnate and so soon after the ascension. However, the Incarnate has managed to evade him once and escape with her life. It will not be long before her body and mind grow accustomed to the great power now vested within her."
"Indeed it is so, but the mortal mind is not always knowledgeable about the capabilities of its vessel. What if the Incarnate is destroyed before her mind can tap into her new potential? Were this very likely scenario to occur, all our hopes would have been for lost."
"That is a possibility. Forget not that the Hero Eternal has already incarnated too many times, and their powers weaken each time."
"It may come to pass that another of the et'Ada perish before all is over."
"It was his choice. We all know he could never stand by and watch the mortals contend with their greatest challenges unaided. He has too much compassion for the lives and happiness of Man."
"And Mer. Not all Incarnates were human."
"It still baffles me how the Dunmer were capable of prophesying that one's reincarnation. Of course it was only another incarnation for the Hero Eternal, yet it is the closest they have come to realizing the truth about the invisible hand with which we guide them."
"It still baffles all of us as to how they could make themselves in so many ways like the Daedra with the core of Mundus."
"The mortals will never understand any but the simplest aspects of ours. Perhaps we can be content not to understand one or two things about them."
"That will never end well."
Author's note: in this setting, the Guardian Stones can only be activated by an Incarnate (more on that topic later). They also do not improve only the speed of learning the skills they are tied to, but also improve the skills themselves somewhat. This is similar to a mod I have grown very accustomed to using, it is called Better Standing Stones by one "lobotomy0" and can be found on Skyrim Nexus. As for the comment that Sieglinde is not a very typical example of one who was born among the Skaal, I can reveal that she did not live among them for very long. This particular twist will become more important when she returns to Solstheim.