Chapter XCV – A Place of Learning
The College of Winterhold towered above the frozen sea with an enigmatic allure.
If what Darren had said was right, they likely wouldn't be allowed in at all. But obviously, anything that he had said had to be taken with a pinch of salt.
It was definitely worth a shot.
"Look at it… still standing while the rest of the city fell into the sea. That's not suspicious at all…" Bishop smirked while he peered at the complex perching on a tall cliff behind a long stone bridge.
"You think the mages are to blame?" Aeyrin turned to him. She's read about the fall of Winterhold, but no mention of the mages' culpability was implied.
"Who else would be capable of that?" he scoffed in response. At times, he really reminded her a little bit of the 'true sons of Skyrim' blaming everything bad on the Nirn on magic.
"Nature?" she smirked. It was a city on a cliff surrounded by a raging sea. Stuff happened…
"And nature left the College standing by a sheer coincidence?" he shook his head skeptically.
"Maybe the mages protected it. Doesn't mean they caused it…"
"Whatever… let's just go deal with the pompous gits. Hopefully they'll have some useful information for us at least," Bishop shrugged with a scowl. He stopped arguing rather quickly and he didn't even try to call her naïve.
Hah! She won!
They approached the bridge, barred by a large metal gate. There was a symbol decorating the upper bars – an eye with odd spikes protruding from it. Behind the gate, stood a tall Altmer woman with wild curly rose-gold hair, clad in bright red robes with golden embroidery. She was leaning on the stone arch with a bored expression on her face.
Aeyrin cleared her throat, snapping her attention towards them.
"Ah! Visitors. That doesn't happen often…" the woman approached the gate which opened for her as if on command – it didn't seem as if she cast any spell to do it. That was a rather impressive sight. "What brings you here?" she folded her arms across her chest, looking them both over with interest.
"We're here to see the College… we're interested in some lore you might have available and perhaps use your enchanting services. And I'd like to better my magic skills," Aeyrin smiled at her kindly. She really hoped that Darren was exaggerating.
The Altmer gave her a skeptical look before she turned her attention to Bishop. She tilted her head on one side, then on the other, as if she was deciding whether she believed them. "Are you both mages?" she narrowed her eyes at Bishop.
"Fu…" before he could let it out, Aeyrin dug her nails into the back of his arm, as inconspicuously as she could, and stopped him before he started to antagonize mages again.
"Not me…" he grumbled instead. That was surprisingly obedient.
The Altmer started to ignore Bishop promptly and turned her attention back to Aeyrin. "What school are you proficient in?" she asked expectantly.
"Restoration," Aeyrin nodded. She really hoped the woman's opinions didn't mirror Darren's.
The mage rolled her eyes but she didn't comment. She took a step back and her hand suddenly lit with flickering fire. "Ward!" she commanded with the fiery spell aimed at Aeyrin. It left her hand almost instantly, hurling towards the Bosmer.
Aeyrin jumped out of the way swiftly on instinct. The fire shot through the snow on the ground, hissing wildly and leaving a small puddle of water behind.
The Altmer gave her a baffled and a rather angry stare.
"The fuck, woman?!" Bishop scowled at her, but she still ignored him, staring Aeyrin down. It made her really uncomfortable.
"I-I… I can't do wards…" she lowered her eyes nervously as her cheeks blushed in embarrassment. The priests didn't really make much use of wards – they were mostly taught to paladins to help them in battle.
"Wards are basic restoration spells! What can you do?" the woman scowled deeply at her, awaiting a satisfying answer. One that Aeyrin probably didn't have for her.
"I… I can heal… I was trained in a temple in…" she started to explain, but the Altmer interrupted her condescendingly.
"A priest? We teach scholars, not healers. You'd better ask around the temples for training. We cannot help you here," she scoffed and returned back to the stone arch. The gate closed behind her promptly.
Aeyrin was convinced that the College could in fact help her. If nothing else, wards would be useful to learn. And she still wanted to see what lore they had available. And they really wanted to have their weapons enchanted.
Bishop threw Aeyrin a pondering look before he turned back towards the Altmer: "We have money…" It was kind of a lie… they had some, not a lot. But they had so much loot to sell. They kind of hoped to sell it at the College…
"Hah! So do we, Nord," the Altmer scoffed at him dismissively. The gate still remained pointedly closed.
"We have loot to sell. From ancient ruins and shit…" he tried it again with determination, after seeing Aeyrin's disappointed look at the woman's rejection.
"Good for you. There's the trader," the mage shook her head exasperatedly and pointed towards one of the buildings in town.
"We have Dwemer artifacts from the depths of one of their cities!" Aeyrin perked up with a hopeful look in her eyes when she remembered the myriad of metals and strange contraptions they've recovered.
That did it. The Altmer straightened up and walked towards the gate again – this time it didn't open though. How was that possible?
"Show me," she nodded. The curiosity was palpable in her eyes.
Aeyrin promptly fished around in her pack before she took out the most interesting piece they've found – the glowing orb encrusted in a metal construction. It shone impressively as she raised it in her hand with pride in her eyes.
The Altmer narrowed her eyes at the artifact. She must have been pondering on its purpose.
A few seconds later, she burst out in laughter and shook her head at them. They shared a very disheartened look – the orb certainly looked impressive to them.
"That's just a dynamo core! It's a power source! We have dozens of these and they're useless without the machines that require them," the woman smirked again and turned back to her previous position by the stone arch. That was probably the most interesting thing they had… and they almost died getting it. This was more and more spirit-crushing. What else could they do to gain entry?
Bishop threw Aeyrin a regretful look followed by a shrug. He knew that she didn't want anyone to know instantly, but it was obviously their only option. And it really bugged him how increasingly disappointed she looked.
She sighed, knowing full well what his look implied. She couldn't help but cringe a bit before the words left her mouth.
"I'm the Dragonborn."
The Altmer's head shot up and a curious look appeared in her eyes, but soon, it turned skeptical and exasperated: "That's one pathetic attempt, sweetie."
"It's true! I… I can prove it…" she sighed. She really hoped she wouldn't have to prove it there and then – she didn't want the townspeople to know too.
"Oh really? Are you actually trying to tell me that you can perform an ancient draconic spell? Or did they not teach them at the temple either?" the mage scoffed at her and gave her an expectant look.
"I can! I just… can we go somewhere… further from the town?" Aeyrin asked nervously.
The Altmer raised her brow at her, but she seemed intrigued. She nodded slowly and approached the gate again. This time it swung open.
"Very well. At least you are conscientious enough to keep the power away from the frightened masses, unlike some of our students…" the woman grumbled. Was she referring to Darren? "Only you are allowed in, however. For now!" she scowled at Bishop meanly.
Bishop was taking a breath to, without a doubt, insult the women in some way, but Aeyrin was luckily faster. "Please! He's helping me with the research on dragon lore. I'd really appreciate it if he was allowed inside with me. I can show you anything of the dragon… spells… you wish to see, I promise," she gave the Altmer a hopeful look. Why would they have such a problem with allowing people inside anyway? Maybe it was the general hatred they've received from the Nords on a regular basis.
"Fine. But if you're lying, I'm throwing you off the bridge in an ice block. You'll just be floating forever in the Sea of Ghosts like a good little ice-brain," the mage laughed menacingly. She was rather scary. Aeyrin even started to get anxious. What if her powers just… stopped working suddenly? That wasn't possible, right? Right?
"My name is Faralda. I am the Master of the destruction school. If either of you were able to cast even a minor cantrip, I might have been one of your instructions. This way, I only hope you have some impressive dragon fire in store for the performance," the Altmer winked at Aeyrin and ushered them to follow her across the bridge.
"'Master of the destruction school'… so you're like one of the head mageys?" Bishop smirked at her mockingly. She was definitely full of it, like all mages were.
"Of course. I am the most accomplished scholar in the study of destruction in all of Skyrim. Not that it was a challenge," Faralda snorted haughtily. Her neck seemed to crane up a bit in a gesture of pride.
"So… 'Master', you feel like your unmatched skills are best suited to guarding a bridge?" Bishop laughed at her cheekily while Aeyrin let out a deep sigh. He really couldn't help it, could he?
"If you must know… I… lost a bet… I got bridge duty for a week because of it…" Faralda grumbled in annoyance as they passed one of the circular corners of the unorthodoxly built bridge.
There was a stone well in the middle of it with a grate covering its top. Faralda gently ran her hand over the grate in passing and a beam of bright blue light suddenly shot up from the depths, startling them both.
Thank the Divines that they left Karnwyr in the town – he would definitely freak out over all the strange things happening around almost constantly.
This little ritual was performed twice more before they reached another large metal gate. It went alit with the same bright blue light and then it suddenly opened in front of them – it must have been some sort of a magical lock with the wells as the keys. This was all rather more impressive than Aeyrin has expected – they used spells for everything.
They entered a large circular courtyard enclosed into tall battlements. There was a grand stone tower in front of them, crescent-like buildings on the sides of the courtyard and several doors on the battlements. All of these must have been filled with mages – it was likely their only refuge in Skyrim. There was a big statue in the middle of the courtyard – clearly of some mage. A fiery red orb and an icy blue one floated above each of his upturned hands.
Some people were starting to gather around them curiously and looking both Bishop and Aeyrin over.
"New students, Faralda?" an old Dunmer smiled at the two of them welcomingly. Everyone seemed rather excited to see them – there likely wasn't any new blood at the College for some time.
"No. But the girl here claims that she's the Dragonborn," Faralda smirked rather arrogantly.
The kind smiles disappeared, replaced by the painfully familiar shocked stares, barely contained whispers and curious prying looks.
Aeyrin got anxious instantly and Bishop placed his hand on her back subtly, as if he could sense her discomfort. Sadly, it would only make things worse if she hid herself in his arms, no matter how much she wished to. She got that uncomfortable feeling again that she had to present herself as the strong confident Dragonborn that everyone wanted.
Funny… at times, she had no trouble being strong and confident, but never when she was overwhelmingly aware that she was expected to be like that by everyone present.
"We heard the rumors… it's hardly surprising that she would seek answers from someone less ignorant than the lovely Skyrim citizens. What's surprising is that you let her in, Faralda dear," a bald Imperial man in blue robes chuckled at them.
"She promised proof," Faralda smirked before she started to usher them forward again, towards the large tower building.
Much to Aeyrin's dismay, everyone from the courtyard followed.
…
Aeyrin stood in the middle of a large room, right next to a spiral staircase. She was facing a wall – there were some metal plates on it, decorated by black marks from fire, lightning and Gods-knew-what-else. This was without a doubt where the students practiced their spells.
She was all too aware of the crowd behind her back, all waiting expectantly for their new 'pet Dragonborn' to perform…
Oh well… there was not much to do about it. And Faralda wanted dragon fire…
At least everyone seemed to be a safe distance away.
"YOL!"
The flames engulfed the stones and the metal plates. The plates looked like they were melting a little but the stone was, predictably, unaffected. And soon, with no kindling to hold them, the flames disappeared in mere seconds.
Everyone was silent for a while.
Then it started…
"I wonder if the flames are susceptible to non-magical elements…" a voice echoed behind her.
"The dragon Shouts are often associated with the worship of Kyne – if we take the potential link into account, it should be possible for natural elements to affect them."
"They are spells, Colette… you and your obsession with nature… Nothing can douse a magical flame but more magic."
"When will you understand that nature and magic are merely opposing sides of one coin?! If you have bothered to read my treatise on harnessing healing energy from…"
"Enough with your treatise, Colette! Nobody read it because restoration is for children. The real question is whether the dragon magic is the same as the one wielded by us. My hypothesis is that the dragon fire can only be affected by different dragon magic," Faralda's familiar voice rang through the hall.
"Who is to say that our magic is not based on the dragon's magic? If you consider the historical connotations, men have learned much from their dragon overlords," some older man's voice retorted instantly.
"Magic is clearly perfected by our people! There are absolutely no reliable records of your 'dragon overlords' anywhere near the Summerset Isles!"
"Umm… excuse me…" Aeyrin turned around nervously towards the crowd in the midst of the heated discussion. "It's fire. It burns when there's kindling and stops when there isn't…" she shrugged. She's never even heard of magical fire not being dousable by water. What were they talking about?
"Well of course, girl! We are obviously discussing this with the usage of everlasting coating in mind, such as Ganenare's Lantern Mantis Extract or perhaps Pyroil Tar… hmm…" the Imperial mage in blue robes retorted with a pondering expression on his face.
"Pyroil Tar would make for a good base of observation. You mentioned you got some Dwemer… ehm… 'artifacts'. Do you, by any chance, have some?" Faralda turned to Aeyrin again.
"I… I don't even know…" Aeyrin threw up her arms. She was completely lost in the conversation. None of those words made any sense.
"Fantastic," Faralda scoffed.
"I will prepare a substitute with the remaining Lavaburst Mushrooms. It will still work for our purposes. I only need a few moments," an Argonian woman in white robes nodded resolutely and started weaving her way through the crowd away from them until she disappeared completely.
"Very well. This gives us time for more performances. Well… what else can you do?" Faralda looked at Aeyrin expectantly.
"I am predominantly interested in any illusory components to the dragon magic. They are hardly performed by dragons on the hunt. Did you, by any chance, learn any such spells?" the old Dunmer studied her curiously.
She nodded. Everyone's scrutiny was making her highly uncomfortable, but they were surely not going to stop until they were satisfied with their findings.
Illusory components… she could think of a few Shouts that were kind of like illusion spells.
"FEIM!"
She could have sworn some of the mages gasped in awe at her transformation.
The Dunmer rushed over to her and started studying her carefully. Then he outstretched his arm. It went straight through her stomach, making it churn oddly. He didn't seem to be planning on withdrawing it though.
She stepped back in panic when the familiar tingle of her corporeal self was making itself known. What in the Void would have happened if he left his arm stuck through her stomach? She was pretty sure that it would kill her instantly.
"Did that hurt?" he raised his brows at her.
"No… it's stopping. I don't know what would happen!" she shook her head frantically. She was really worried that he was determined to find out.
Instead, the Dunmer only chuckled at her: "Oh yes… that would probably end very badly. I merely did that to see the thoroughness of the illusion but… it does not appear to be one. If we take invisibility into account, one does not in fact lose one's physical form. It is only an illusion, so to speak. This seems to be more in tune with very powerful alteration magic. Tolfdir would be interested in this… where is he?"
"With the students, I believe," one of the mages replied.
"No matter then. Do you know any other Shouts that you believe might be connected to illusion school?" the Dunmer studied her curiously again while her form returned back to normal.
Aeyrin flushed instantly. She only knew of one other Shout that he could mean and… she really didn't want to perform it for them. Her eyes turned to Bishop on the other side of the room. He looked somewhat morose the entire time, but now a smirk crept up on his face. It was clear that he thought of the same thing and it seemed like he would enjoy it if she went through with this.
"J-just one… I guess… but… it's a little… weird…" she stammered nervously.
"Hah! Illusion magic often is, girl. Go on then, show us." the Dunmer smirked and stepped back from her to avoid any potential accidents.
She took a deep breath and gave one last desperate look to Bishop. He, however, seemed rather happy with what was about to come.
"ZUL mey gut…"
"HEY! CHEESE-BRAIN!"
The mages stared slack-jawed at the top of the spiral staircase where the taunt came from while Bishop tried to hold in a laugh.
The Dunmer was the first to turn back to her with his eyes full of curiosity and amazement.
"You Shouted, correct? And you used the dragon language?"
She only nodded in response.
"Did you hear the dragon words?" he continued to prod while the remaining mages kept looking back at her, still rather dumbfounded.
She nodded again. She already knew that she was the only one who could hear them. This was definitely the strangest Shout she's discovered yet. Well, she assumed so… she still didn't know what the green light that enveloped Karnwyr once did.
"Astounding! And the words you sent forth… are they conscious? Subconscious? Or entirely out of your control? That would carry some interesting connotations about the appropriation of the magical effect towards the speech and cultural environment of its current wielder," the Dunmer's questions wouldn't stop.
"How would you feel about letting me do an extensive study on the properties of your extraordinary blood?" a Dunmer woman stepped forth from the crowd. She looked… disturbing…
"Do you know any spells which are more focused on controlling natural elements? Such as the wind or flora? I am very interested in the connection to the ancient worship of Kyne," the woman, whom the mages previously called Colette, asked.
This… was going to be an exhausting day…
…
After a very long time and a series of exasperating experiments, the two of them were offered temporary quarters in the building which housed the students.
Faralda promised that one of the wizards overseeing the administrative goings on in the College would deal with them the next day – they would be allowed to ask for whatever they wished from the College and he would consider the conditions of their stay and research.
They were led into the student's quarters, shown to the dining and bathing rooms and subsequently to one small room with a double bed. They were forbidden from leaving the building until they've made the deal with the wizard.
When the mage, who had escorted them, closed the door behind him, Bishop turned to Aeyrin instantly.
"You alright, sweetness? They were fucking relentless…" he grumbled and raked one hand through her hair.
"Yeah… I just hate… 'performing' like this so much. I hope it's worth it…" she sighed. She leaned into his embrace tiredly and slowly wrapped her hands around his waist.
"It better be…" he said with palpable exasperation in his voice. "But there's one good thing about this. At least, after all that, you can be pretty sure that Shouting a lot in a short time doesn't have any bad effects."
She nodded thoughtfully. He was right. She's never really Shouted so much in such a short time span. The only times when she overdid it before, were her desperate escapes when she was wounded or exhausted. In those cases, it was hard to tell whether the Shouting had any effects at worsening her state, or if it was simply exhaustion. This time, at least, she was hale and whole and none worse for the wear.
Bishop interrupted her pondering a while later by sliding his hands on her hips and disentangling her from his embrace.
"Come on, let's get something to eat."
…
They picked their fair share for their plates from the large buffet table and sat in the dining room.
It didn't take long before the door opened and a few people hauled in, eager for a meal after a day of studies and spell practice.
There was a young Khajiit man in bright red robes – similar to Faralda's. It may have meant that his studies focused on destruction magic too. He was followed by a dark-haired Dunmer girl, clad in green robes and… Darren.
Wasn't he suspended? Aeyrin really didn't want to have to deal with him again.
His nose looked broken – he had a dark red bruise on its bridge and some fainter ones under his eyes.
It was… odd… why did no one heal him? She should probably offer… eventually… she was still a cleric, after all, and her vows required her to help. She just… really didn't want to help him in any way…
"What in Oblivion is the meaning of this?!" Darren's outburst echoed through the hall almost instantly when he spotted the two of them.
"Aye… J'zargo is concerned that there is no more food left for us…" the Khajiit chuckled as he looked over their filled plates.
What? They were adventurers! They were fighting and lugging heavy loads all the time. They needed to eat accordingly. Besides, the food looked really good.
"That's not what I mean! They are not mages! They are not allowed here!" Darren continued yelling angrily, purposefully addressing his co-students, rather than the two of them.
"Hey, magey, do you want your jaw to match your nose?" Bishop barked at him. He was in no mood to deal with him again. Last night was enough.
The Khajiit and the Dunmer looked at each other for a while, before curious, and a little disturbing, smiles spread on both their faces. "You're the ones that kicked Darren's ass out of the inn?" the girl chuckled while she walked towards the large table to pick some food for herself.
"We have heard of that! Enthir saw the whole thing. He says that Darren tried to cast a spell in the tavern and got beat down by an elven girl instead, yes?" the Khajiit snickered, while he took some food for himself as well, before both him and the Dunmer joined them at the dining table.
"Can we stop this stupid chattering? And like I said, they have no business here! They are not mages!" Darren's face got bright red, likely from both anger and embarrassment.
"How would you know? You never asked…" Aeyrin scoffed, grumbling. He didn't know a single thing about them yet he kept making assumptions. In this case, correct ones, but still…
"J'zargo has heard of this too. Apparently the Dragonborn lady, that the Nords have been talking of incessantly, is visiting with her companion," the Khajiit grinned at them while the Dunmer nodded knowingly.
At least they've already heard and she didn't have to suffer the shocked and often judgmental looks.
Well… almost…
Darren stared at her with his mouth ajar for a while. He was likely uncertain whether he's heard them correctly.
"So, why did Darren attack you two? Was he just being his usual dickish self?" the girl giggled, earning an amused chuckle from Bishop.
"Brelyna, shouldn't you concentrate on practicing enough to be able to cast an actual spell, rather than fishing for pointless rumors?!" Darren's face was still bright red as he threw her a hateful look.
"J'zargo doesn't find them pointless. In fact, he finds them awfully entertaining," the Khajiit laughed and Darren's hateful glare turned towards him instantly.
"Do you want me to turn you into a warm cloak, you furry imbecile?" Darren burst out. It was a surprise that his head didn't explode. Neither the Khajiit nor the Dunmer even spared him a glance, however. They were still enjoying their meal and conversing with Bishop and Aeyrin casually.
"J'zargo assumes this is why he got punched, correct?" the Khajiit smiled at them calmly. It was very clear now that they were all used to these outbursts. It was a bit sad, in a way. Darren must have been this angry about everything for such a long time.
"I thought you were suspended…" Aeyrin narrowed her eyes at the Breton, who was still caught in a fit of boiling rage.
"He was! He came crawling back here yesterday evening, begging Master Tolfdir to let him back in. He made up some cockamamie story about how a barbarian attacked him and that he was menacing everyone at the inn, but Enthir saw the whole thing. He told Tolfdir what happened. Darren was allowed in just so that he wouldn't freeze outside in the night. He was denied healing for his nose and he is not allowed to use magic for a month! If he disobeys, he'll be expelled!" Brelyna relayed the story excitedly, giggling all the way through. It seemed that Darren was really unpopular among his peers.
Small wonder that…
Bishop laughed heartily at the story while Darren was still stewing in his own anger. He didn't even take any food; he just stood there, seething.
Aeyrin sighed. She was still kind of conflicted about helping him out with his injury.
Heal as required not as requested.
Dammit, she hated this.
"I hope you enjoyed your evening with the imbecilic barbarian," Darren scoffed derisively. Was he really somehow assuming that she didn't, for some reason? And just the thought of that night… her entire face turned beet red within a second. She glanced towards Bishop briefly. Unsurprisingly, his face was decorated by a pleased smug smirk.
"Looks like she did," J'zargo snorted in amusement and a second later both him and Brelyna burst out in a fit of laughter.
Darren really looked ready to pass out from anger. Aeyrin even almost felt sorry for him at that point. She wondered if he was constantly ridiculed because of his abrasive manner, or if he has always been laughed at like that and only became this unpleasant as a result.
"Darren… I can heal your nose…" she said through gritted teeth. She really shouldn't let her personal feelings affect her convictions.
"As if a mage of my caliber needed help from any 'healer'! You can shove it!" he spat at her angrily.
"Darren, don't be stupid. I'm offering to help you…" she sighed, clenching her fists under the table as if it would help her not get any angrier at him. She couldn't help but wonder if she ever got this unreasonable when her rage got out of hand. It was an uncomfortable thought.
"Piss off! Don't act like you're better than me!" Darren barked in response instantly. A second later, he finally turned on his heels and left the dining room for good, slamming the door behind him.
She looked at the door, still conflicted. Maybe he wouldn't act like it if he wasn't in front of his fellow students. Maybe he just worried that they would laugh at him again. But she really didn't want to deal with him anymore. She worried that his manner would get her riled up too and that would likely not end well for anyone involved.
"Hey, sweetness, you remember how you didn't want the healing after Windhelm…" she felt Bishop's breath on her ear suddenly as he whispered to her.
She gave him a questioning look.
"I'm just saying… it's not like it's life-threatening. And he really looks like he could use a prominent reminder of some things…" he smirked.
She was rather overcome by how he instantly knew why she was conflicted and more impressively, how to help her out. It felt a bit strange, clinging to loopholes in her vows, but… it did ease her mind about all this.
She planted a grateful kiss on his cheek before she noticed Brelyna smirking at them.
"You two are cute. But I have an important question," she observed Aeyrin curiously for a while, then her eyes fell down on the full plate in front of her. "How in Oblivion can you eat that much?! Is that some magic trick I haven't learned yet?"