Chapter 55 - At the College

On their arrival at the College of Winterhold, Nevan and Serana traded their armor for mage robes and were assigned rooms, then - since both were primarily oriented toward the Destruction school - assigned Faralda as their mentor. They would be working with the other Masters as well, if only to learn basic spells and what the various schools were capable of.

After meeting with Faralda, they went to the Hall of the Elements to practice for a few hours, and mingle with the other students, then after a lunch break, they went up to the Arcaneum. Urag knew Nevan from his first stay, and greeted him with a smile. "Good greetings, warrior. Who's your friend?"

"Urag gro-Shub, Lady Serana Volkihar." Nevan returned the smile.

"Ah." Urag nodded. "The vampire who was shut away for millennia. So I'd guess you want history, but from when?"

"I remember it was during the Dragon Wars," Serana said. "According to Marcurio, that would be the late Merethic Era."

"Which is where I might as well start, too," Nevan said.

"Well, I don't have too much that's reliable from that long ago," Urag said, frowning. "Not a lot from the First Era, either, and only single copies of most of what I do have."

"That's fine," Nevan said. "It's not like detailed information from that long ago would be useful, so an overview just for background would be fine." He glanced at his companion. "Would you mind if we share the books? Otherwise it'll take twice as long."

Serana studied him for a moment. Despite his odd coloring, he was a handsome man, unfailingly polite, so it shouldn't be too bad. "That would be fine."

"Okay," Urag said, standing. "I'll find enough to hold you for the afternoon. Find yourselves a study area on the upper level and I'll bring them to you. If you need to discuss anything, keep it down so you don't disturb other researchers."

"Of course, and thank you." They found a table with two chairs and a reading lamp, rearranging it so the chairs were side-by-side. Not long after they seated themselves, Urag joined them with three books.

"Here, these should hold you for a few hours. An overview, like you wanted. These will take you into the Second Era."

"Thank you." Nevan took them, putting two toward the back of the table and opening the third. He'd wondered how they would get through three volumes in just a few hours, but that question answered itself quickly; the books were hand-written, not printed, and so nowhere as lengthy as he'd thought from their size.

The afternoon went quickly as they read, Nevan questioning Serana about words he didn't recognize. He learned as much that way as from the histories themselves, and by the time they decided to quit for the evening, he was sure his specific-to-here vocabulary had at least doubled.

When they returned the books, Urag smiled. "You two are the kind of patrons I like to have in here. What'll you be wanting for tomorrow?"

"If the books are about the same length," Serana said, "The rest of the Second Era, please, and maybe into the third."

"All right, I'll have them on your table by lunchtime."

After supper, the two found themselves at loose ends. They were too old to enjoy the students' discussions, and too ignorant to follow the instructors' conversations, so they finally found themselves in Serana's room. Nevan thought of it as more of a cubicle, given the lack of door covering, but he could understand the instructors not wanting the students experimenting behind closed doors. They undoubtedly got into quite enough trouble as it was!

Once they were settled, Serana sitting on the bed and Nevan on a chair nearby, he said, "If it isn't too personal, I'd like to learn a bit more about vampires in general, and you in particular. You don't act anything like our fictional ones."

"If you get too personal, I'll stop you, okay? And I get to ask you about your world and you, too."

"That's fair enough," Nevan agreed. "Um, were you always a vampire?"

"That's ... a long story," Serana said slowly.

"I'd really like to hear it."

"All right, but we have to go way back. To the very beginning. Do you know where vampirism came from?"

Nevan shook his head. "Here? I have no idea. Where I came from, we don't have vampires, at least not your kind, except in fiction and superstition, which have so many variants a scholar could spend days explaining them."

"It's simpler here. What do you know about the Daedra and their Princes?"

Nevan shrugged. "Not a great deal. Just that they sound an awful lot like what we referred to as demons - evil beings opposed to the god or gods of a given pantheon."

"Close enough, The one associated with vampires is Molag Bal, called King of Rape, Harvester of Souls, and the Lord of Brutality, among other things. The first vampire came from him. She... was not a willing subject. But she was still the first. He's one of the most powerful daedric lords, and his will is made reality. For those willing to subjugate themselves, he will still bestow the gift, but they must be powerful in their own right before earning his trust."

"How did you actually become a vampire, then?" Nevan asked curiously. "In our legends, it usually takes getting bitten by one."

"That's the commonest way here, too ... but those aren't pure vampires. Only Molag Bal can create those, in a ceremony on his summoning day." She hesitated, grimacing. "The ceremony was... degrading. Let's not revisit that. But we all took part in it. Not really wholesome family activity, but I guess it's something you do when you give yourselves to a daedric lord."

"Your whole family took part? How did it affect them?"

"Well, you've met two of us. My father's not exactly the most stable, and eventually he drove my mother crazy with him. She hid in the Soul Cairn after locking me away for all those millennia. It's definitely been a bad thing, on the whole."

"Are you all right?" Nevan asked, concerned.

Serana shrugged. "As all right as I can be with my father still at large, I suppose. It's been better since you three rescued me and let me join you. Being accepted and welcomed by normals despite what I am ... well, this is the first time it's happened since I was turned."

Nevan grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, it's not like you've been anything but helpful to us. And you limit your feedings to animals and people we'd have to kill anyway. To me, that's perfectly moral ... though I must point out that a lot of people in my universe would consider a lot of the things I did in the line of duty there not up to their standards of morality."

Serana chuckled. "True, from what I've picked up in the evening chats. But it sounded like you have limitations of your own, like being compelled to fight at least every five days."

"That's not exactly true," Nevan said slowly. "But I'd called Yssha a warrior woman ... I was afraid to ask her for the non-combat way she could've helped me, for fear of offending her morality. And she's married."

Serana studied him quietly for several moments. "I think you're trying to tell me that sex works too."

Nevan glanced down briefly, then met her gaze. "Yes, but you're in no danger from me, and I'd rather you not mention that part to the others. We'll just go out and find a bandit den or some Thalmor when you're hungry or I need a fight."

Serana chuckled, not quite sure whether to be relieved or ... disappointed? "I'll keep your secret," she promised. "And Thalmor, by preference," she said. "At least they bathe!"

Nevan chuckled. "Good point. They're better fighters, too. The loot isn't as good, though."

"But the armor can go to the smaller members of the Skyguard."

They chatted for perhaps another hour, then Nevan excused himself to go to bed.

That routine repeated for the rest of their stay at the College. Magical study and practice in the morning, Arcaneum in the afternoon, and chatting in the evening before bed. They did take one day off to go Thalmor hunting, returning with Serana sated and Nevan carrying several suits of gilded elven armor. They called a dragon to carry that to the Skyguard quartermaster, then returned to their normal routine.

It wasn't until the evening before they were to return to Lakeview Manor that they returned to the subjects they'd discussed the first evening, and only then because the students and Tolfdir had gone down to the Frozen Hearth and the Hall of Attainment was otherwise deserted.

Serana had come to the conclusion that first evening that if she ever decided she wanted a relationship with Nevan to go beyond that level, it would have to be up to her to initiate it, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. She wasn't quite sure how to do so, given his reserved nature, so she approached it sideways. "Now that we've seen each other in action several times, how do you think vampiric strength compares to yours?"

"Hmm?" That was an odd question, Nevan thought. "When you're in human form, probably about equal, with you having maybe a bit of an edge. When you're in Vampire Lord form, it's no contest; you could tear me apart without breaking a sweat. And that's just physical strength; it's not counting your other abilities."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

Nevan shrugged. "Why should it? It's a fact. If anything, I like it, the same way I like Yssha's Khajiit strength." He grinned. "Heck, both of you have fangs, so I'd lose a biting contest with either of you. Or a hand-to-hand where you used claws, for that matter."

Serana smiled, baring hers. "Yes, you would, wouldn't you? Don't worry, I won't use them on you unless you ask me to."

"No insult intended, but that isn't likely to happen." Nevan smiled, trying to take any sting out. "I like being human, thanks."

"I like you being human, too," Serana said. "I wonder ... " She let her voice trail off.

Nevan gave her time to finish, then prompted, "If it isn't prying, what do you wonder?"

"Pry? You?" Serana smiled. "I'm not sure you know how to pry. No, I'm just wondering if you consider us good enough friends that I could ask you for a personal favor."

Nevan raised an eyebrow. "You can always ask, my vampiric friend."

She hesitated. "This is a little difficult. Back when I was human, it was easy, with a family that was unconventional even then. I was ... how to put this delicately? I don't want to offend you, maybe lose the friendship we have."

"Take your time, but it's hard to offend a former field agent." Nevan couldn't help wondering what she was trying to get at.

"Um. yes." Serana grinned to herself. He was taking the bait very nicely. "I was, to use the colloquial term, 'quite a lusty wench'. I rarely went more than a day or two without inviting a man to my bed, and enjoying myself very much."

"I think I'm starting to get the idea." Nevan frowned. "I should think you'd be repelled by the thought after the ... ordeal where you were turned."

"I was, in the centuries between that and the day I was entombed," Serana said. "But I wasn't dead in there, just slowed down to a ... I suppose glacial degree. While I don't remember anything of that time clearly, I must have gotten over the trauma, because ... "

"Because you want to try again." Being propositioned was nothing new for a Sandeman warrior; quite a few Standard women wanted experience with such an "exotic" partner, and he had obliged several. Gods knew Serana was plenty attractive, but ... "On one condition. If you find it at all disturbing, let me know immediately, and I'll stop."

She was aware of the strength of his self-discipline, so she had no doubt he could and would, but she had no intention of saying anything unless it got really bad. "Agreed."

Nevan stood and held out a hand to her. "My room, then. That's not the sort of thing I do in public."

Of course he wouldn't. She took his hand and rose.

When Nevan woke the next morning, he was happier than he'd been since coming to this strange world. It had been strange making love to someone physically cool, but her responsiveness had been quite warm enough to make up for it. He rolled over to find she was asleep, so he slipped out of bed and grabbed his trousers for a trip to the garderobe.

He passed Serana on the way back, and smiled, then went back to his room to get into his armor and pack. It was wonderful to know he would no longer have to deny that part of himself, and she'd made it obvious she felt the same way. And her vampire strength meant he didn't have to treat her as cautiously as was necessary with a Standard woman, nor did she have to manage him as a w'woman sometimes had to, late in a warrior's cycle.

All in all, it had been a most satisfactory night, and he looked forward to more of the same.