Kyra stepped into Phinis's office, wondering why she had been called to him so early in the morning. Their lessons usually didn't start until nine.
"Ah, Kyra. I'm sure you're wondering why I've summoned you so early?" he said, asking her unspoken question.
She nodded wordlessly, quickly touching the tips of her fingers together for comfort. It was a habit she had picked up recently, and it seemed to calm the almost constant trembling in her hands.
"I have to apologise, but I'm not going to be able to continue our lessons any longer," he said quietly.
Her head shot up, aghast, and she swallowed reflexively, throat suddenly dry. Would this mean she wouldn't be able to Summon? She had to Summon.
He held up a hand, seeming to read her emotions from her face. "I've been told that there's a dangerous artifact in the Midden that needs disposing by someone skilled in Conjuration magic. I would ask you to accompany me, but as my student, there are certain laws that won't allow me to expose you to potential danger. However, I have managed to appeal to the Arch Mage, and he is happy for you to continue your study independently."
"So…I can still Summon?" she asked cautiously.
"Indeed. You'll also have access to most books in the library, as well as the Summoning room. I trust you to be responsible."
Something cold squirmed in her stomach. She ignored it.
"I'll still be in the college - well, beneath it - so if you need my help for anything, ask another lecturer, and they'll inform me. If my attendance in the Midden isn't crucial at that point in time, I will free up some of my time."
She offered a faint smile, although it felt weird on her face. "Thank you."
Kyra turned to leave, recognising her dismissal, but a thought struck here and she glanced back. "Do you know when J'Zargo will arrive back here?" she asked. "It's been over a month."
"I've heard he isn't far off, but I don't think his arrival is imminent. A couple of days, maybe."
Kyra nodded and left the office, heading to the Summoning room. Now that Phinis was no longer keeping such close tabs on her, she should be free to Summon Kruuyal and talk with him inside, without being interrupted.
She passed Brelyna in the corridor and sent a superficial smile towards her, although her mind was already occupied with Summoning. However, she maintained enough state of mind to immediately notice when Brelyna looked at her hesitantly, steps stuttering.
Kyra stopped. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," Brelyna said slowly, as though she was taking care to construct the words in her head before releasing them. "Just…" She trailed off.
"What?" Kyra asked, a little impatiently, eager to start Summoning.
Brelyna seemed to abandon her caution and stepped closer to her. "I've been exchanging letters with someone who is close to you. A friend. You should know that someone does care about what you're doing to yourself here."
She scoffed. "I don't have any friends. None that know I'm here, in any case," she added as soft grey eyes crossed her mind. Something seized her heart as a name followed, but she refused to react to it. "And I'm not doing anything to myself."
Pity flashed across Brelyna's face, and Kyra scowled before she could stop herself. "Just hang on. Your…friend will be here soon enough. Don't let yourself go too far."
And before Kyra could reply, Brelyna hurried off. She stood there, staring after her, and tried to contain the rising hope at this…friend she had been talking about. She knew hope was the most treacherous emotion to feel - so easily betrayed - and she forced it down, squashing it beneath everything else. When she was sure she was in control again, she continued on.
Once she reached the door and felt a tingle over her skin as the protection wards rose up, she quickly Summoned Kruuyal, smiling as the pleasure rushed over her. It didn't occur to her just how strange it was that Summoning a dremora was now almost instinctive. She had grown used to the strange company and his cynical view on life over…how long had it been? Her days were starting to blur together. It must have been over a month since she first Summoned him.
Kyra started to leaf lazily through a summoning book while telling Kruuyal about Phinis's decision to drop their lessons for the time being. He offered his usual scathing remarks on the state of humanity as a whole. Kyra took it as par of the course, used to his arrogant tendencies by now.
A passage in the book caught her eye and she looked closer.
"Dealings of mortals with the Daedric Princes are not unheard of, but often end up harming the Summoner as opposed to bending the will of the Prince. It should be noted that dealing with the Princes sometimes causes changes in appearance, such as black dots in the white of eyes or strange eye colour."
She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and read the paragraph aloud to Kruuyal.
"I've never heard of this before," she said. "Do you think it changes depending on what Daedric Prince is Summoned?"
Kruuyal stared at her, and she shifted under his unsettling gaze. Even now, his abyssal eyes sent shivers along her spine if she made eye contact for a second too long.
"Don't waste my time asking me something you already know," he growled.
Kyra frowned. "What? Why would I already know this?"
Silence.
Then, "You're not joking."
"Kruuyal, what are you talking about?"
"I assumed you knew all this. But you're clueless. You don't even realise you've Summoned a Daedric Prince, do you?"
Breath trickled from her lungs. "What?" she repeated, her voice strangled.
"Your eyes - the patterns of blue and red and purple - are characteristic of the effect of Summoning a Daedric Prince."
That wasn't possible.
She hadn't Summoned any Daedric Princes. She couldn't have done it.
But Kruuyal was standing there, looking at her and not saying anything, and she knew he wasn't lying.
Kyra stumbled backwards and sat down heavily on a chair as her head started spinning. Threading her fingers through her air, she closed her eyes, trying to centre herself.
"I hope you aren't about to faint," Kruuyal said, sounding uncomfortable.
She waited until she had fully regained her senses. "My eyes are like this naturally," she heard herself saying through numb lips.
He shook his head. "No. I can sense the presence of a Daedric Prince hovering around you - anyone who's spent enough time in Oblivion could."
"And you aren't mistaken?"
He made a sound that was suspiciously like a snort. "Of course not. I'm never mistaken."
"But that's impossible!" She threw herself from the chair and started pacing, hoping the rhythm would calm her discordant mind. "I haven't Summoned any Princes. How could I? I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Maybe you just forgot," he suggested, sending her a deadpan look.
She scoffed. "I doubt I'd forget something as important as that. I mean, come on! Do you realise how ridiculous that sounds?"
"I don't see any alternative explanation," he said bluntly, before reaching out with a hand, placing it under her chin, and tipping her head up so she made eye contact with him. She tried not to show how discomfited his dark eyes made her feel as they stared into hers, and almost stumbled when he let go of her suddenly.
"I don't know if you've seen - I doubt it, you'd need a strong connection with Oblivion to truly see it - but there are small fractals of silver scattered in your eyes amongst the colour. That particular change in appearance is characteristic of just one Daedric Prince."
"Which one?" she found herself asking.
"Azura. The silver fractals echo her symbol - a star."
"Azura? But…why?" she asked, not knowing what else to say.
"Why not?" said Kruuyal, and turned away, muttering under his breath. She couldn't make out any of the words.
"I…I can't believe all this," Kyra said quietly, although Kruuyal didn't seem to hear. It was too far-fetched to be real. She didn't hold the prejudices that many Nords did against the Daedric Princes, having met with Hircine before, but she still wasn't comfortable with the idea that she had somehow unknowingly Summoned one. Kyra would have guessed her eye colour was due to her meeting Hircine, but it didn't seem so, if she was to trust Kruuyal.
And more personally, her eyes…weren't really hers now. She'd always loved them - loved the patterns and colours. They were unique, but they were only like that because of Azura.
And hidden beneath the whirling colours, invisible to the normal eye were silver fractals, appearing as glimmering stars.
Stars in her eyes…
Her breath stuttered. A distant memory touched upon her thoughts.
"You're more special than you know," her mother said softly, gently brushing her hair out of her face.
Kyra yawned and snuggled deeper into her bed, sleep starting to creep over her. She murmured something unintelligible in reply.
"You are. One day, you'll realise just how much. You only need to look at your eyes to know that."
"My eyes?" Kyra yawned.
"You have stars in your eyes, and at some point, you'll realise what that means. That it shows how much I love you, and how important you will be." She pressed a kiss to Kyra's forehead. "But that's all in the future. Go to sleep now, and don't worry about this."
"Not tired," Kyra protested.
Her mother smiled, face growing indistinct. "Everyone needs their sleep. Sweet dreams, Kyra."
She came out of the memory, swaying. It couldn't be what it seemed. It just couldn't.
"Kruuyal?" she asked, voice unsteady.
He turned around. "What?" he growled.
She swallowed, feeling a knot form in her throat. "I haven't Summoned any Daedric Princes. I know I haven't. But my eyes - if you aren't lying - appear to show that I have. Right?"
"Yes," Kruuyal snapped, sounding annoyed.
"So…would it be possible for the Summoner to make another deal with the Prince - to make sure that their eye colour isn't changed, and for it to happen to someone else?"
Kruuyal tilted his head to the side. "It is possible. There have only been a few instances of that happening, mainly with the more benevolent Princes. There are limits on who it can be passed onto - either a willing candidate, or the closest living relation of the Summoner. Daedric Princes like marking their followers."
She sucked in a breath. It was possible. It was. It meant…
"Why do you ask?" Kruuyal said, his voice low and cautious.
"My…my mother. She used to say I had stars in my eyes," she whispered, finally raising her gaze to meet Kruuyal's.
His back snapped straight, and he let out a breath he seemed to have been holding, a strangely human reaction. "I think we've found who Summoned Azura."
"So…you think my mum did this?"
"Why not? It isn't unheard of. Striking an additional deal with the Prince in order to send the change in appearance to someone else. In this case, it was you." He looked at her with unreadable eyes.
Why would my mum do that? What does this mean?
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" she asked instead.
He shrugged. "I didn't care. You can Summon who you want. The fact that you didn't initially realise? Oh, the look on your face was delicious." He grinned at her, and she shivered.
"Is that why no one else has said anything - they just don't care?" she asked, somehow feeling simultaneously offended and relieved.
"I doubt it. They probably don't know - it isn't well-known knowledge. And either Phinis doesn't know or he respects your privacy."
She gritted her teeth, and opened her mouth, but her skin started itching before she could anything. Knowing by now what this meant, she looked apologetically at Kruuyal, knowing how much he hated being banished.
He had already seen her hands come up to scratch her arms though, and sighed, grumbling underneath his breath. "Yes, fine. Get on with it then."
She flicked her wrist to banish him, and he went ungraciously. The itching started to increase and she gritted her teeth as she dug her fingernails in, breath starting to feel shallower. She hurriedly Summoned him again, and when the pleasure had faded once more, chanced a look at her hands.
She wasn't wearing gloves, so she could clearly see the darkness of her hands. They seemed to be darker than they had last week, and the blackness was starting to crawl up her lower arms in winding tendrils, wrapping possessive fingers over her skin.
She looked away quickly, banishing both Daedric Princes and addiction from her mind.
Kyra yawned as she made her way towards the breakfast hall, eyes heavy with a lack of sleep. The stamina potions were becoming less effective, but she wasn't willing to cut down on her hours Summoning at night, meaning she'd only managed to catch a few hours sleep.
And when she had slept last night, images of swirling grey eyes and soft skin haunted her dreams. She woke with a name lingering on her lips, her body feeling cold and empty.
She passed through the hall of elements, idly noting Ancano standing on the opposite side, staring at the Eye of Magnus. Both the sight of the Eye, and Ancano spending an abnormally long time around it, had become common over the last month. She privately thought they were in a relationship, with Ancano pining over their lack of communication.
When he realised she was there, he sent yet another unreadable expression, but she had grown used to them by now, and was able to shrug it off.
She carried on walking, mind already focusing on the session of Summoning ahead. She'd run through all her old Summons, maybe even glancing at how to Summon a Winged Twilight or maybe a Clannfear. Kyra doubted she'd be able to complete it - Skyrim had a weak connection with them - but she wanted to read up on the theory.
Kyra was so caught up in her mind that she failed to notice Ancano's focus had switched from the Eye to her, and he was now striding towards her. She did, however, notice when she almost walked into him.
"Yes?" she sighed, trying to side-step around him, but he just stepped in front of her again.
Despite her irritation with him when she first arrived - she had never been able to stand Thalmor agents - she couldn't seem to muster more than a vague feeling of annoyance now. All her emotions had been clouded recently, as though covered by a thin film of oil. Aside from the anger. That remained raging and intent, rising quicker than ever before and lashing out in an instance.
"Look at me," Ancano growled.
Kyra rolled her eyes but did as he said, hoping she could get to Summoning sooner. She frowned when she saw his face - his eyes were gleaming with a madness that was closely mirrored by a wide smile splitting his face.
"What are you?" Ancano asked, his resonance rising and falling at the wrong parts of the sentence.
She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"Don't play coy with me," he snarled, the madness glaring from his eyes. She swallowed at the sudden change in emotions. "I know you're the dragonborn. And I know you slaughtered the Thalmor patrol I sent."
"What Thalmor patrol?" She racked her memory, trying to think. Her mind had been so foggy lately - it was difficult trying to concentrate on anything that wasn't Summoning. She eventually managed to recall the incidence, and the haunting note, but it left her with a headache. "Oh," she said, not able to think of anything else to say.
"So let me ask you again." Ancano took a step forwards and she backed away, towards the door that led to the courtyard. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip. "What are you?"
"Let go of me," Kyra said lowly, burning anger rising in an instant.
"Just tell me!" Ancano suddenly shouted, spittle flying from his lips. He thrust his other hand towards her and she could see sparks glancing off his fingers.
Recognising the tell-tale sign of the beginning of a fire spell - J'Zargo was obsessed with them - she whirled to the side, narrowly avoiding the gout of flames that licked at the air where she had originally been standing. She was reaching for Oblivion before she had caught up with herself, her anger turning into cold fury, and Kruuyal shimmered into existence in front of her.
Ancano recovered his sense and sent a crackling ball of lightning towards Kruuyal, but he was already moving, unsheathing his great double-handed sword and swinging it towards the sphere of malign magic. The lightning glanced off the edge and reversed its direction, flying back towards Ancano.
His eyes widened, and he barely managed to raise a ward in time. But it was weak, and although it held, the backlash of power from the residual energy of the lightening caught him unaware. He stumbled back a few steps, almost tripping over his impractical robes.
Kruuyal immediately took advantage, and leveled his sword an Ancano's throat. Ancano froze in place, swallowing.
"You dare threaten a Thalmor agent?" His burning gaze fixed on Kyra. "I'll see you punished for this."
"I doubt it," Kyra said coldly, and smirked, knowing she held all the power in the room. It was an intoxicating feel, and it fueled the ice that pulsed through her veins. A distant section of her mind knew she shouldn't be feeling such vicious joy, but it was easily ignored.
"What do you reckon?" she asked Kruuyal casually. "Think he's scared?"
Kruuyal tilted his head to the side. "Not nearly enough," he said in a low voice. With a deliberate movement, he pressed the tip of the sword to Ancano's throat and drew it gently down. A thin line of blood trickled out, stark against his pale skin. Ancano didn't look as though he was breathing, but the hate in his golden eyes was undiminished.
"That's more like it," Kyra said, smiling. She strode up to Ancano, her cloak whipping around her ankles, and moved Kruuyal's sword to the side with a finger. To her surprise, he let her.
"Are you listening?" she asked Ancano. He nodded, lips in a firm line.
She leaned in closer. "Don't ever threaten me again. I won't be as forgiving next time."
"You'll regret this," Ancano growled. His unblinking gaze set Kyra on edge and she turned away, refusing to reply to an empty threat.
Kruuyal sent a approving look towards her, and something that may have been the Dremora version of a smile. It was rather unsettling.
"Well done," he said, and she thought that was the first time he had congratulated her. Something lightened within her.
"Don't let anyone control you," he continued. "Listen to your dragon side."
She looked at him, and tried to put a lot of unsaid things into the look and perhaps he understood them, because he offered her another Dremora-esque smile, his black eyes seeming just a little less harsh than usual. He turned away suddenly, as though struck, before squaring his shoulders. When he looked back again, his eyes were as harsh as they had always been.
Kyra glanced away first, suddenly reminded of her rumbling stomach and quest for breakfast. She started walking towards the courtyard, Kruuyal by her side, banishing thoughts of Ancano from her mind.
The only warning came in the form of her hairs standing on end, and a certain static quality in the air. Then a wave of energy, a tangible force, caught her from behind, tossed her away. The last thing she saw before blackness took her was the unforgiving solidity of a wall.
She's right there.
Weak and unbreakable. Strong and fragile.
I could do it now.
But.
What's that feeling in my chest?
That pressure?
She's like a fire.
I need her alive.
And I need her safe.
For what I need to do.
I'll wait.
She groaned. Her head ached, the pulsing rhythm of her heartbeat sending pulses of pain through her skull. The strange noises around her - people shouting, crackling, hisses of power - did nothing to lessen the pounding in her head.
Kyra slowly pried her eyes open.
Small shapes were whizzing around in the sky - little balls of energy that attacked the people standing around her. Maybe she'd hit her head harder than she thought. Everything was a little fuzzy after all.
She blinked, but the scene didn't fade. Wincing, she got to her feet, looking around. It seemed most people from the college - Tolfdir, Faralda, Phinis - were fighting these strange balls of energy.
"Kyra!" A familiar voice sounded and she spun around to see J'Zargo making his way towards her, battling the strange orbs of energy as he did.
"J'Zargo," she breathed. "You're back."
"It took J'Zargo long enough. There was a lot of Dwemer machinery to fight our way through. It was more active than usual and we lost a few mages on our way through."
Kyra bit her lip, opened her mouth, and then was forced to duck when a ball of energy hurtled towards her. She unsheathed her swords and sent a quick swipe at it, but it danced backwards, out of her reach.
J'Zargo sent a stream of flames towards it, catching it head-on as it darted forwards again, but it didn't slow down. Kyra leapt to the side, sweeping both of her swords in a smooth motion towards the ball of energy as she did. They both caught the ball, and it wavered, form flickering.
J'Zargo switched from flames to lightening, the air crackling with power. The ball of energy convulsed once, trapped by the twin streams of lightening, and when Kyra's sword came in contact with it again, it seemed to implode. The shards of crystalised energy melted, turning into a disturbing pile of glowing slime on the ground.
"What's…going on?" she asked, looking around again. The balls of energy were dwindling in number - only a few remained - but more than a few of the mages were being forced to cast healing spells on themselves and others.
"What isn't going on?" he asked sardonically. "The arch-mage is dead, Ancano's gone insane and activated the Eye of Magnus - the surge of magic from it was probably what knocked you out - and we're fighting these things." He gestured towards the balls of energy, sending a casual wave of fire at one as it passed.
Kyra swallowed. "Ah. That…isn't good," she said.
"Understatement of the year," J'Zargo muttered, whiskers drooping.
"Wait, how did I get out here?" Kyra asked. The last thing she remembered was flying into a wall in the hall of the elements.
J'Zargo looked at her strangely. "How should J'Zargo know? Maybe you hit your head harder than you thought."
She frowned. Unless someone had teleported her, she must have regained consciousness and made her way across the bridge before falling unconscious again. But that didn't make sense.
"Look's like that's all the anomalies," J'Zargo said, breathing out. "But we've still got Ancano to deal with."
Kyra nodded, glancing around, and saw Mirabelle approaching them.
"Oh good, you're awake," Mirabelle said, offering her a faint smile, and turned to J'Zargo. "Did you find what you needed?"
"The staff of Magnus is in the Labyrinthian. J'Zargo thinks he should head there right away - Ancano looks like he could bring the whole college down."
Mirabelle went white. "Labyrinthian?" she asked carefully. "Are you sure?" She continued talking before J'Zargo had the chance to reply, shaking her head. "It can't be a coincidence. It can't be."
"What can't?" Kyra asked, unable to help herself.
Mirabelle breathed out. "Savos gave me something a while ago, and said it was from the Labyrinthian. He said I would know what to do when the time came. I think…I think I'm supposed to give it to you," she said, looking at J'Zargo. "He impressed the importance of having it on me at all times." She rummaged in a pocket, and withdrew a torque, the edges engraved with strange markings. After a pause, she handed it to J'Zargo.
"Thank you," J'Zargo said, and looked at it, frowning.
"There's one other thing," Mirabelle said. "Follow me."
Kyra looked at J'Zargo, who shrugged, and they both followed after Mirabelle. Mirabelle started to lead them towards the bridge, and Kyra assumed they were heading back to the college, but before they could set foot on the stone, Mirabelle turned sharply to the right. The bridge towered above them, as did the shadow of the college, as Mirabelle came to a stop on a seemingly unassuming patch of snow just a few metres away from the perimeter of Winterhold.
"I wouldn't normally authorise this, but time is of the essence. Are either of you familiar with the use of teleportation by the mage's guild in Morrowind?"
Kyra nodded, and Mirabelle continued. "This is a teleportation site right here. It can lead to several places in Skyrim - not many - but most importantly, it leads to-"
"The labyrinthian?" J'Zargo interrupted.
"Not quite. We had a mage here a while ago, Drelas, who liked the comfort of sleeping in his own bed at night. So with the help of the Arch Mage, he set up his house as another teleportation site. I don't have time to ask him for permission, but I'll send you to the teleportation site by his cottage, because it's close to Labyrinthian. Almost next door."
J'Zargo nodded instantly. "What does J'Zargo have to do?"
"Stay where you are and I'll send you there - runes are carved into the ground underneath your feet. Drelas should be able to return you once you have the staff, and if not, you only need to reactive the runes by his cottage." She turned to Kyra. "I can send you there as well - the more people go, the higher the chance we have of living through these next few days. I need to stay here - we're trying to organise a counterattack to get back into the college, and hopefully subdue Ancano. If that fails, it's all down to you," she said, an apology clear in her eyes.
Kyra hesitated, but finally nodded, moving to stand next to J'Zargo. She still had her swords on her person, and she could Summon Kruuyal to fight against…well, whatever was in the Labyrinthian.
Mirabelle started weaving a complicated pattern with her hands, trails of magic flowing from the tips of her fingers. She gathered it into an orb of magic, and thrust it into the ground.
Markings hidden beneath the snow glowed once, as the snow melted around them, and then it felt as though the earth gave way beneath Kyra's feet. She fell, the world disintegrating into gold.
