Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Elder Scrolls Series or Skyrim. I simply want to vent my creative frustrations because I think that this game series is so darn good but very restricted. Fell in love with it as soon as I picked it up, and fell in love all over again when I discovered Creation Club for it, because some of those things just improve on the experience tremendously.
Anyways, here's the next installment.
A/N:
'Dragon?!' refers to thoughts.
"Dragon?!" refers to spoken dialogue.
Extra Note: I kinda sorta maybe got COVID in the midst of writing this chapter, so it's taken me a bit of time to even muster up the strength to get on my PC and write. That, and school has begun once more, and I find myself not often blessed with the free time to write. Rest assured, though, this will not be a normal occurrence. At the most, it will take me two weeks to update a chapter for this story or any other story that I may write unless otherwise stated. Or a hiatus, but that won't be the case any time soon.
Magic is...complicated, to say the least.
Magic is even more complicated when you're trying to cram magic theory and application together in a very short amount of time, because it doesn't allow the brain to properly digest the information, nor the body to become properly accustomed to the movements and sensations of the spell.
Sufficed to say, the past three days have been fruitful, but quite unkind.
After meeting with Colette and once again being dragged across the campus to meet the Master Wizard, whom I can only describe as the most stern and initially cold woman in the College, I was given robes and a place to stay in the Hall of Attainment, where all of the apprentices of the College stay. I did tell them that I didn't have long to stay, and the caravan that I had come with would at most allow me to be here for a week before moving on, but because of the lack of apprentices in the College, they said it would be mine as I return to learn.
That was very generous of them, considering that I was still fairly unsure of my future with them going forward. After all, I was only here to learn about my talents and move on. Whether or not I continue to study is completely up to chance at this point.
The other apprentices were...diverse, to say the least. In the aspect that they were excited to have yet another apprentice enter the college, regardless of the specialization of my magic. Most of them were pretty faceless and forgettable, but three of them were peculiar enough for me to be able to at least remember their names.
First was the Khajiit pyromaniac, J'zargo. I don't think I can really describe him past 'pyromaniac', because that's really all he's interested in. He hounded me regarding the existence of my talent in Destruction magic, and quickly lost interest as I told him that I was a Restoration student. He's prideful in his capabilities and believes that most problems can be solved with a fireball. I respect it, but he's a type of eccentric that I can't really see myself being friends with, and that's saying a lot. I do travel with a Khajiit caravan, after all.
The next apprentice I'd met was a Nord named Onmund, which initially surprised me because most Nords in Skyrim are intensely distrustful of any and all forms of magic. He's a nice guy.
...
That's really about all I can say for him. Family values, an appreciation for magic, and a pleasant man to be around.
The last one that I can remember is a Dunmer by the name of Brelyna Maryon. She was initially defensive in her tone, but soon apologized to me as soon as we struck up a conversation. I don't really know why she apologized, nor why she was initially unsociable, but there's likely some story behind that. I haven't been here long enough to get to know people in that way, but its her story to tell, not mine to push for. She's a bit on the shy side, never making direct eye contact with me through any of our conversations, and often looking away from me. She also tends to read a lot, getting into whatever she may be reading quite heavily, as I've caught her off guard many times in our interactions.
Overall, the College has its quirks from the instructors to apprentices, but what else did I expect from a place that hasn't had much outside interaction?
Aside from my business within the College, I've taken some time to familiarize myself with the city of Winterhold itself. While not much is left of the city because of the Great Collapse, I still think that there's a unique charm to being located on a cliffside with near-constant snow.
The businesses have seemed to take the quirkiness of their location in stride, considering names such as "The Frozen Hearth" and "Polar Hammer" really do a good job of showing pride in their collective identity.
Bjorn, who works the forge, is a VERY large Nord. When I say large, I mean that he's about the size of a Giant's leg height-wise. His muscles are a very different, but equally large story. He would put horses to shame with how large his arms were, but considering where he lives and does business, it only makes sense that he's so large in order to maintain bodily warmth. But, again, let me state. He is a VERY LARGE man.
Other than being a large man, he's also what I would describe as a "baby bear in human form". When I had come up to his forge, warm respite in the freezing storm that it is, he swept me into a very tight hug and asked me what I wanted to be worked on. As soon as I showed him a rough design of the Steel Armor that I wanted, he jumped in joy, hollered in excitement, took the draft, and immediately began work on the forge and told me to come back in three days time.
Needless to say, he was both a breath of fresh air and a human whirlwind.
I've not taken as much time to get to know the rest of the city as I have with Bjorn, but it is rather picturesque. I've found myself walking up and down those streets at night simply admiring the beauty of the sky and the openness of their city, though not entirely voluntary, seeking relaxation from a long day of being lectured of how to "properly cast and aim a fireball". Faralda is more than a handful in that regard, and sometimes, I wonder if I could make a fireball cast from my hands hitting her right in the face look like an accident.
...
I do not often think about how to kill peers and instructors, but know that it takes a good long time for me to gain any amount of vitriol against anybody that is not explicitly an enemy. Know that she is walking on very thin ice around me, and that I run through a good number of plans in my head everyday for the things that she could possibly say to piss me off.
It is likely that I will not be enacting any of those gruesome and very dangerous plans, but it's a way of coping with the high stresses and the need to relieve oneself from those types of troubles.
The caravan has also had some mild success while we've been here. For the most part, the townsfolk are receptive to their business practices and presence, but operate upon the status quo in keeping them just outside of the boundaries of the city.
I understand it is likely a precautionary measure to not incur the wrath of other territories that might be less receptive to allowing the Khajiit into the cities, but I do still think it's an unnecessary precaution to step without legitimate concern for the safety of the populace.
But, I digress. They haven't done any harm to the Khajiit whom I've become fond of, so there is nothing further to complain about.
Most nights, I spend with the caravan, simply because it's odd to have little to no privacy in the College sleeping quarters. That, and J'zargo purrs very loudly in his sleep, and Onmund snores. I'd tried a single night sleeping there, key word being 'tried', and after about an hour or so of not being able to fall asleep, I decided to walk myself back to the caravan campsite and into the tent that I share with Ra'zhinda.
Not like it would take much convincing for me to sleep in that tent in any normal circumstance, but I'd thought that a comfy bed in a secure location like the College would provide me a better night's sleep. I guess I was wrong.
That and the sex probably tires me out more than the magical theory and application lessons ever could.
...
"Amos my friend! Wait for me!"
As I make my way from the bridge to the Hall of Elements for a lecture on the nature of Magic with Tolfdir, I hear a very familiar and raspy voice call out to me from behind.
It certainly helps that I hear similar voices from three other people almost constantly.
"J'zargo, we are going to the same lecture, could this not wait until we got inside?", I asked him, knowing full well he was going to propose to me some spell with the destructive capabilities similar to the Great Collapse again.
I turned to him, and faced his furry and somehow tellingly giddy visage.
Most of our conversations tend to be about Destruction magic, spells he plans on creating, how I can heal him if he injures himself testing a spell, how one might combine different schools of magic, so on and so forth.
To be fair to him, we have interesting discussions about the nature of magic.
But I do have my limits as to how many of the same discussions I can partake in throughout the day.
For the most part, his rambles tend to translate into getting him very easily distracted by any premise that might relate to the things that he wants to talk about, or he just talks so passionately about it that he doesn't notice that I cast Invisibility and Muffle at the same time and walk away from him.
Though I believe that won't work out this time around, since he seems invested enough in including me in this conversation, which means that my Restoration capabilities will be coming into question.
"As you know, you are the most adept student in the College for the Restoration School of Magic. And, as you know, I am the most adept student in the College for Destruction."
I nodded in agreement, though I wasn't so sure about the validity of either of those opinions.
"And as you know, my friend, wards are part of your area of expertise in the field of Restoration."
Again, I nodded, but that part was actually correct.
"So, have you ever considered combining your ward spells with elemental properties in order to more effectively defend against specific spell types?"
I froze.
I started thinking about the possibilities of the practical applications for a moment.
In theory, it should work, magic is malleable enough to the extent that with fine enough control, one can create stronger versions of spells with more Magicka, or form different spells by the nature of the magic itself.
Practical application, though, would require a deep understanding of the Destruction and Restoration schools to properly combine the two concepts together.
But it wasn't a bad idea.
'I don't know whether or not to tell him that the idea is valid, or tell him that it would require from me to understand both schools intimately as opposed to just one.'
I won't let him get too big a big head.
"It's certainly possible, perhaps not discovered yet. But I'd rather wait until I'm a bit more familiar with Destruction so I don't singe my hair off while I'm trying to put a ward up, ok?"
He blinked at me for a few moments, then smiled. I think I said the right thing.
Or the wrong thing and I'm about to become his partner for a dangerous experiment. I can't really tell most of the time.
We walked together inside the Hall of Elements, and I cannot stress enough how little attention I paid to the lecture when J'zargo's word remained fresh in my mind.
...
Restoration magic can enhance the body's resistance to heat or frost, as well as drain spells of the same type.
Sun spells that can hurt the undead appeared first in the Fourth Era, a branch of restoration magic itself. An offensive variation of this School of Magic.
So why haven't these two concepts combined?
It's obvious there exists a side of Restoration that deals with Thermomancy or the resistance to it. It's also obvious that Restoration spells have offensive properties, though it is only to the undead since healing them would 'kill' them.
Elemental wards would definitely be a natural first step, but would magic orbs that reduce one's resistance to the elements be possible under this school of magic? Or perhaps Alteration?
My curiosity is thoroughly peaked now.
I've spent hours reading through the tomes in the Arcanaeum, muttering my curiosity through the night, and I can feel Urag's stare burning holes through my head out of annoyance.
But I just can't help it.
I know that I said I wouldn't want J'zargo to get too big a head for this concept, and too excited, but this is something that has genuinely not been thought of.
Or it has been thought of but it wasn't applied due to concerns with the safety of those testing it.
..Or it has been tested and those people were unfortunate enough to have never written about it.
All very real possibilities. All just as real as the possibility that the idea is simply new.
But, this breakthrough could be an advantage for me, a one-up against even the most powerful of foes in the art of Destruction magic.
Regardless of how much Magicka they could pour into their spells, a ward can absorb a certain amount depending on the type of ward that it is. Lesser wards obviously do well against simpler spells such as Flames and Frostbite, whereas Greater Wards can take Fireball spells head on and absorb a good amount of Blizzard spell before breaking.
If given the chance to make an elemental ward, then the possibilities for nullifying specific types of spells has heightened greatly.
Granted, they will serve the same purpose as to their non-elemental counterparts when faced with spells that do not match that affinity, but it is better to have one nullified spell type than not.
I would first have to start with combining the lesser types of wards with the lesser types of destruction spells, seeing as they consume similar amounts of Magicka to pull off, it would only make sense that they would be more compatible with one another than they would with stronger spells.
Granted, I also don't know any destruction spells past the Apprentice level, so it wouldn't work with higher levels spells anyway.
I have many, many ideas as to how I should approach this.
It is just a matter of time and practice for me to be able to take on even the most powerful of offensive spells with an even stronger defensive spell.
Magic is complicated, but it can also be very fun.
...
When I'm the one having fun. Not being lectured and told off about proper casting.
Damn Faralda and her class.