Bam, only took me a couple weeks this time instead of a couple years. I, uh...don't actually have much to add here. Thanks for the favorites and the follows! Enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 2

Freyja breathed heavily as she dragged the unconscious elf through the raging storm. She had wrapped him in fur-lined leather, and was now pulling him with a rope. If it were anything other than a Snow Elf, she might have been worried about them keeping warm. He may have a role to play in all of this. Regardless, she couldn't have just left him there, lying in the ice cave. The College could house him, maybe figure out where he's from, why he was trapped in ice, and for how long exactly. She didn't much like leaving a helpless Snow Elf at the mercy of some curious mages, but she had more pressing issues at hand. What she had seen was an army, preparing to march out on the surface. And now, someone knew what they were planning. She figured it was only a matter of time before they struck. The question was where. Judging by where they had their little "attack the surface world" conference, the most likely targets were Dawnstar and Winterhold. If the mages had more to do with this than they were admitting to, which she guessed they did, Winterhold was in the most immediate danger. Then again, they arguably had the best defense against whatever sort of magic this undead snow elf might throw at them.

The Nord's eyebrows furrowed underneath her hood. Thousands of years and now all of the sudden Falmer of all different types were appearing out of nowhere. There had to be more to the story, something that Archmage Savos was not telling her. She hated the feeling like he was ultimately an obstacle for her to overcome. Still, what little information she got out of him she had to threaten him for. If The College weren't so damn stubborn who knows what would be different now, if Nord and Mage could work together they might not have suffered so many losses from this cursed weather. But stubbornness and war were simply what came naturally for the people of Skyrim, she supposed it made sense that those of the College were not so different.

It took Freyja until nightfall without guides, but she eventually made it all the way back to the college courtyard, into the Hall of the Elements. She flung the unconscious Snow Elf over her shoulder and pushed the door closed, the old wood groaning and creaking against the heavy winds. Savos Aren was further in, monitoring Novice mages flinging fireballs and ice spikes. He quickly took notice of Freyja's entrance and hurriedly shuffled over to her. He looked her up and down with a raised eyebrow, his eyes settling on the body on her shoulders wrapped in furs and leathers.

"You had me worried for a moment Dragonborn, I was prepared to send a search party for you in the morning. Who is this poor fellow? He's incredibly pale." Savos's voice feigned concern, but all Freyja could see on his face was a deep curiosity.

"We need to speak. Privately. Meet me in your quarters, and send for a healer. Someone you trust." Freyja spoke quickly. There was little time to waste.

Savos was clearly taken aback by her directness, but quickly nodded his head and motioned her towards the Arch-Mage's Quarters. "I'll meet you there."

Freyja hauled herself and the body up the stairs. It was grueling after such a long journey, but still the least of the Nord woman's concerns. She gently laid the Snow Elf down on a wooden bench. The Arch-Mage arrived shortly after she did.

"So what did you find, Dragonborn? Do you have an answer to all this?" Savos asked desperately. He moved over to the still unconscious elf, getting a closer look at his face. "I imagine he has something to do with it, otherwise you wouldn't have brought him here.'

"There's an army of Falmer, and they're being led by what looks like an undead Snow Elf. I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before they mobilize."

The Arch-Mage gave her an incredulous look. "I-I'm sorry, an army of Falmer? Led by a zombified Snow Elf? You don't mean…?" Savos looked back down at the elf. "Is this a Snow Elf?"

Freyja nodded slowly. "Perfectly preserved, and very much alive. I plan on keeping him that way, seeing as he might know something about all of this. I'm going to leave him in your care and gather an army."

Savos put his hands out. "Slow down, Dragonborn. How can you be sure this army intends to start an invasion? It is not exactly uncommon to find Falmer settlements buried beneath the surface."

"This was completely different from anything I've seen before," the Dragonborn crossed her arms, leaning back against the stone wall. "They behaved as if they were some sort of hive mind, all under the sway of this undead Elf…"

"And you think they are responsible for the weather?" Savos frowned. "Falmer certainly aren't incapable of magic, but something to this scale… well, it's unprecedented, to say the least."

"The Snow Elf leading them was practically oozing magicka, it could have been her. Regardless, I don't necessarily think they're responsible, but there is no doubt in my mind that they're connected." Freyja scrunched her eyebrows together, tapping her lips with her index finger.

"Well, if what you say is true Winterhold is in the most immediate danger." Savos said standing up, his hands behind his back. "And we're hardly prepared for an all out war with a horde of Falmer. You said something about gathering an army?"

The Dragonborn nodded slowly. "Windhelm's our best bet. Me and Jarl Brunwulf fought together in the Civil War, I have no doubt he'd have an army ready to mobilize within the next week if I asked it of him. I need to leave as soon as possible to get the word out."

"I must reiterate, Dragonborn," the Dark Elf spoke slowly, "the vulnerability of Winterhold. "If we are attacked in this state our survival would be questionable at best."

Freyja frowned. The Arch-Mage was right. Winterhold was hardly the city it used to be. She wasn't sure how useful its natural barriers would be against this type of threat. But with how things had been lately, she wasn't sure that there was a hold in Skyrim prepared for this. "Technically they were closer to Dawnstar, it would make more sense geographically to attack them first," she offered.

"But the College is the best chance we have of solving this, you said so yourself. We need you here, Dragonborn; leave the army gathering to the Jarls and the politicians."

Freyja was about to argue, when a small Breton woman entered the room hesitantly. "Arch-Mage, is there something you needed me for?"

"Ah, yes, Colette." Savos smiled, happy to move on to another topic of conversation. "This poor elf here seems to be in need of medical attention," he said, putting a hand on the snow elf's covered head.

Colette's face lit up. "Happy to help!" she chimed as she moved over to get a closer look. Freyja got the sense she wasn't used to being...well, useful. She kneeled down next to the bundled body, holding her hand out. Tendrils of light sprung from her hand, and she began moving it along the Snow Elf's body. She pulled her hand back slowly and frowned.

"Well, as far as I can tell," Colette began, "he's in perfect medical condition. If I didn't know any better I would say he's in a magically induced coma. His skin….is it a medical condition or…?"

"Snow Elf," Freyja answered casually. She wondered how many times she would have to say that before people started to catch on.

"I see," Colette responded slowly. "Fascinating….."

Freyja raised her eyebrows once again. So far it was two for two mages looking at the snow elf like they were going crazy thinking of all the experiments they could perform on the poor creature. The Dragonborn held a small urge to protect him from these kinds of people, but it probably came from her natural distrust of magic.

"You realise what this means, Savos?" The Restoration mage looked at the Arch-Mage excitedly. "The entirety of Restoration study was based around the Snow Elves' harnessing of the Sun! Who knows what he cou-"

"One thing at a time, Colette," the Arch-Mage smiled at the older woman's excitement. "For now, we just need to know if he'll wake up again anytime soon."

The Breton calmed herself, glancing back down at the elf. "I'm not sure, I've never dealt with any sort of magic like this before. The Arch-Mage mentioned you found him trapped in ice?"

The Dragonborn nodded in response

.

The Breton frowned. "It's some sort of preservation or hibernation spell, then. Not unheard of, but very few are powerful enough to use the spell for a significant amount of time. Especially if he's been put away since the Merethic Era.

"Colette," the Savos interjected. "What does he need to wake up?"

Colette smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry." She turned her attention once again to Freyja. "Has he shown any signs of consciousness since you've been in contact with him?"

Freyja shifted on her feet before answering, "Yes, he opened his eyes briefly, and called me an Atmoran. I think he was muttering in his sleep most of the way here."

"Good. I'll prepare a potion, should have him awake by morning." With that, Colette got up and moved towards the door. She looked at the Arch-Mage for permission to leave. Savos nodded in response.

"We'll have someone bring him to the medical room shortly."

With that, the Mage left, and it was once again Savos and Freyja alone in his office. Savos's smile disappeared as soon as the door closed. The Dragonborn crossed her arms once again, still leaning back against the cold stone walls. She was widely respected throughout Skyrim for her actions in the Civil and Second Dragon Wars. Here, still she was an outsider. Everyone had their guard up, like she was their enemy. They respected her for her power, but nothing else. It didn't sit well with Freyja. It's not as if she needed all the citizens of Skyrim to be groveling at her feet, but it had been a long time since she had felt like she was in enemy territory. She shouldn't feel like that. The College and her wanted the same thing. At least, as far as she knew.

"I should be going. The sooner we mobilize, the better," Freyja said determinately as she moved towards the door.

"Wait! What about Winterhold? You can't just leave us to suffer the wrath of these creatures!" The Arch-Mage protested, very quickly losing all composure. The desperation in his voice surprised the Nordic woman. She looked at him with a slight twist in her lips, of confusion or perhaps ill-temper. Or both.

"Why are you so convinced they will attack The College, Arch-Mage? Why do you beg me to stay? When I first arrived, you wanted nothing more than for me to leave. Now that you know what the threat is exactly, you act as if this army is coming for you alone. I am not an agent of The College, I am not a mercenary. I serve Skyrim, and her people. And it is in the people's interest for me to go to Windhelm and gather an army. My opinion on that will not change." Freyja paused, looking deeply into Savos's eyes. "Unless, of course, there is some significance to defending Winterhold that you have decided to refrain from telling me."

Savos had a small look of panic in his eyes. "There- I-...I already told you why, The College is Skyrim's best defense against an army of Falmer and fighting the magic that controls them!"

"Not good enough. For all I know they're marching towards Dawnstar right now. We need an army of fighting men, not of Professors and students of magic." Freyja moved past Savos.

"Wait!"

Freyja stopped and turned her head, waiting. The Dark Elf sighed, putting a hand to his forehead and spoke softly. "Before I tell you this, you must swear that you will not spread word of this to Skyrim. Under Kraldar, Winterhold has finally stopped seeing us as the reason for all of their problems. I would like that trend to continue, and it won't if what I tell you gets out."

Freyja frowned. "I will swear nothing," she spoke firmly. "You know who I am, you know why I am here, and yet still you chose to keep secrets from me. Now for the love of Nirn, speak freely, mage."

"It's...better if I just show you. Go, have the Jarl send the message to Windhelm. Then, meet me at the chamber underneath the Hall of Elements. All will be revealed there."


Freyja had gotten word out. Against her better judgement, she decided that she should stay at Winterhold and hear out the Arch-Mage. She had Jarl Kraldar send a courier with an armed escort, and a letter sealed under her stamp, bearing her signature. It would have to be enough to convince the people of Windhelm. There were still some proud Nords that resented her siding with the Empire during the Civil War, but the majority trusted her judgement. Afterall, time and time again she helped bring peace to Skyrim. The Dragonborn shook her head. 'The ever humble Freyja Al-Azif,' she thought sarcastically to herself. Oh, well. She was trying to put her influence to good use, not to just have something she could gloat about. Her ego was nowhere near as inflated as Ulfric's. While she sympathized with his plight, his inability to see the threat of the Thalmor baffled her. Every opportunity he had while Cyrodiil was off fighting the elves to take control of Skyrim, he took. He murdered Torygg simply to show that he could. She shook her head once again. Her father being Redguard, her mother being Nord, there was little love for the Empire in her household, and it was one where politics was a constant discussion. She was glad things had died down over the years.

Now, of course, Freyja had an entirely new problem on her hands. She wondered how much whatever Savos was planning to show her would complicate things. As if they weren't complicated enough already. She moved quietly to the door the Arch-Mage had made her aware of. It was tucked away, most certainly intentionally, and she had to unlock it with a magical key he had given her. It opened to a dark stairway spiraling downwards. She sighed, stepping in and closing the door behind her. She moved down slowly in the dark. Aside from the clattering of her boots on the steps, her occasional trips and subsequent cursing, it was very quiet. As she moved further into the depths there seemed to be a faint glow emitting from the bottom of the steps. Somehow she was reminded of her discovery of the Falmer threat, just that morning.

Finally the steps reached their end. Lo, it was another door. Which was also locked. A blue glow emitted from the crevices between the frame and the doorway. Freyja sighed loudly once more, giving it three loud knocks. It opened quite quickly, a timid looking Savos Aren on the other side. But the Dragonborn wasn't looking at Savos. Her mouth was open in awe at the massive floating orb before her, different symbols and runes shining off of its surface. There was a quiet but steady humming emitting from it. It radiated power, and magicka. Lots of it. The Arch-Mage quickly shut the door behind her and moved next to her, gazing upon the orb as well.

"Savos….What is this?" the Dragonborn asked, oggling what was before her. She was no stranger to magical artifacts, but this was...different. There was an ancient energy around it, maybe old as Nirn itself.

"We…..well, we don't know. It was discovered in the depths of Saarthal. We had to fight through quite a few draugur to get to it. It was covered by some kind of….magical barrier. That barrier was removed and it was brought here to the college around a year ago. Not soon after, this weather began." Savos glanced nervously at Freyja, seemingly expecting her to burst out in anger at him. Instead, she stood there, deep in thought

"You must have done some research on it. Is there anything you might know?"

The Dunmer began pacing around the orb. "The only sliver of evidence we could find was in the book 'The Night of Tears'. Apparently the Nedes found something buried in Saarthal before they were massacred by the elves, an object of immense power. The author suggests they locked it away after they regained control of Skyrim."

"This…." Freyja spoke softly as she moved closer, the hum growing louder and beginning to reverberate around her. "This must be the catalyst. That Undead Snow Elf, the weather, they must have some sort of connection to it."

"Yes," the Dunmer stated flatly, "I had come to a similar conclusion when it all started. Learning about the Snow Elf only confirmed my suspicions."

"That's why you want me to stay so badly." Freyja was finally putting the pieces together in her head. "You fear that they'll come after this-...this thing."

"Yes…"

The Dragonborn wanted to reach out and touch the orb, but she feared she might disintegrate if she tried. She tried to focus her attention on the Arch-Mage. "I'm still trying to understand why you kept this quiet for so long, even after I came to you."

"I've told you, The College's relationship with the rest of Skyrim since the Great Collapse has been tenuous at best. They're looking for any reason to be rid of us. If they found out that we had even a little to do with what's been happening I can guarantee there would be violence. Not something I want."

Freyja couldn't help but scowl slightly. "You still should have sought someone out. Surely there are people you trust outside of The College."

"They are far and few between. Even so, I wasn't sure that this object of power was necessarily responsible. And we have the brightest minds in Skyrim, I didn't think outside help was needed."

Freyja had to keep her emotions in check. The arrogance of this elf… She supposed it didn't matter now. There was a solution to all of this, and it most certainly involved this magical blue orb.

"Do you suppose it can be destroyed?" she asked, deciding not to press him any further. She needed an ally right now.

"I imagine not, otherwise I imagine the Nedes would have done it. Instead they locked it away. I've been trying to replicate the barrier that was around it, to no avail," the Dark elf said with a deep frown. "Tolfdir mentioned something about the Augur of Dunlain but I've always-"

"Stop," Freyja interrupted, putting a finger to her lips. "Did you hear that?"

They both stood still, listening. The sounds were distant, but they were there. Shattering of glass, clanking of metal, multiple heavy footsteps, and a very distinct chatter. Freyja's eyes widened. "They're here."

Sorry for the cliff hanger, promise to update again relatively soon. I know this chapter was a little dialogue heavy, so if you're into that you're welcome, if not we should have quite a bit more combat next chapter. We'll see how it goes. Thanks again for stopping by, catch you next time!