Rohah was in the Restoration classroom with the rest of her peers by seven o'clock, but their professor was nowhere to be found. There was, however, a scared-looking dog in the corner of the room which eyed the students beadily. It held up one of its front legs, which was heavily bandaged from chest to heel. People were murmuring about it, so Rohah presumed this was not a typical occurrence in the classroom.
To her surprise, Gormir was attending the class with her. He was the only person she recognized, so Rohah claimed a chair next to him.
"I didn't know you took Restoration," Rohah said.
"My parents made me." He certainly didn't appear excited for class to begin.
"I know the feeling. What's that dog doing here?"
"I dunno," he said with a shrug. "Healing practice?"
"The poor thing is limping."
The door burst open to admit Colette. Their middle-aged Restoration teacher was a bit of an alarming sight. She had a wild, harried look in her eye. It was enough to draw Rohah's attention away from the injured dog.
"Settle down, settle down," she said, though they were all in their seats anyway. "I was held up by an anonymous student who thought it would be funny to spill a Stinking Potion outside my office. Now, I don't know who here is taking Alchemy, but this behavior - "
She began a long-winded rant involving responsibility, maturity, professionalism, and other terms that Rohah thought were likely to result in a second Stinking Potion upended her way. Her voice gave Rohah the impression she was consistently out of breath.
Rohah stifled a yawn and risked a glance around the classroom. The other students looked glassy-eyed. Gormir was struggling to keep his head off his desk, which was a remarkable contrast to his liveliness during Enchanting. Cinnari hadn't been mistaken - this class was going to be painful.
Colette's entire rant was likely only a few minutes, but it felt like triple that. When she at last finished, she put her hands on her hips and drew a breath. Rohah braced herself for another wave of lecturing, but to her relief Colette only said, "Now that we all know what's expected of us, I believe we can move on to today's lesson. As you can see, this dog is injured. He was caught in a hunter's trap by accident several days ago, and has been lamed in one foot."
Despite herself, Rohah leaned forward over her desk to get a better look at the dog. It was trembling, almost imperceptibly.
"Since we've been studying dog anatomy these past few days - "
"Weeks, more like," Gormir mumbled.
" - I thought it would be prudent for all of us to get an idea of what healing the real animal looks like. We will not be able to restore function to its leg; it has been too long since the original injury. We can still, however, do a great deal of good for the poor beast. That's what this discipline is for."
She turned to face the class fully. "Firstly, since you all should have been studying your notes, which of the dog's muscle groups must have been damaged by the trap? Raise your hands."
Rohah put hers up. She knew this. She'd studied hard in the Imperial City. Since no one else's hand was up, Colette was forced to nod towards her.
"The perforatus muscles," Rohah said promptly. "Flexor muscles that move the toes. The dog might still be able to use the leg to walk, but not as effectively, and certainly not now while any pressure is still painful."
Colette shook her head with a small smile. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. It is instead the teres muscles which have been injured. And without their assistance, he is permanently lame in that leg. Thank you for volunteering."
"But I've been watching it before you got here," Rohah objected. "He's still able to move his injured leg forward and back. Besides, the teres muscles are situated near the shoulders, and the bandaging goes nowhere near them."
"Is that so?" Colette said coolly. "You are new, aren't you?"
The entire class was watching attentively now.
"Yes," Rohah said, defensive. "Why does that matter?"
"Then I would expect you to understand that this class has gone over anatomy thoroughly before you arrived. At the moment, I could guarantee any one of us knows much more than you on the subject."
The students swiveled to look at Rohah, whose mouth was working as though she'd have liked to say a thousand different things to Colette. It was silent for a long moment before Rohah pressed her lips together and slumped back into her seat, seething inside.
Satisfied she would not argue back, Colette hurried to the injured dog. Her shadow threw it into a slight darkness. It pressed itself closer against the two walls, baring its teeth, though not a sound escaped it yet.
"I'd ask you all to remain in your seats," Colette said, rubbing her hands together. They began to glow. The students leaned around each other, the ones in the back half-crouching on their desks to get a better look.
Colette advanced on the mutt, her glowing hands and the terrified dog creating an eerie scene. The trapped animal had its tail tucked firmly under its body. It started to growl, a low, constant sound.
Their teacher hesitated only briefly before leaning down, closing in on the dog. It barked and lashed out, surprising Colette enough to make her jump back several feet. Gormir covered his mouth to hide a smirk. The light from her hands faded.
"You're doing it all wrong," Rohah snapped at Colette, her anger toward the professor not having cooled.
Colette heaved a breath, glaring at her scornfully. "Well, if you're so knowledgeable, perhaps you could demonstrate how to heal this dog for the class?"
"Fine," Rohah said, standing up and pushing her desk out of the way. "But you have to stand on the other side of the room."
"Of course," Colette said sweetly. "I'll be watching."
Once Colette had retreated far from the dog, who was now clearly shaking, Rohah sank to the floor facing the animal.
"Hey, it's okay," she said quietly, eschewing direct eye contact. "You're okay. I'm going to heal you, and you'll feel much better. Don't worry." Rohah tried to ignore the fact that the whole class was listening. She avoided envisioning Gormir's face while she spoke to the dog in comforting tones.
As she repeated reassurances, she drew on her magicka to work a simple calming spell. Rohah inched closer to the dog the whole while, speaking softly, calming it with both her magic and her body language.
Rohah opened a space where it could run; she didn't want the poor thing to feel trapped. She reached for its paw slowly, and was relieved when it let her hold it gently. The dog was breathing shallowly, eyes darting from her to the other people in the room.
"Keep still," she told it, knowing it wasn't able to understand her. "I'm going to unwrap your bandage. It might hurt a little, but I've got to see the injury up close."
As promised, Rohah took hold of the bandage and began to unwind it, keeping the calm spell steady. The dog still looked afraid, but did nothing except twitch once the cloth slid off its leg. She placed it on the floor and inspected the wound.
Like she'd predicted, the forearm had deep, zigzagging gashes. It must have tried to wrench itself free from the trap. The perforatus muscles were torn. Any movement of the dog's digits would be impossible. Without interference, it would be stuck with a lifelong limp.
Rohah hesitated. Could she heal it all? It would be a big job. She'd tire herself. But she wasn't about to show any weakness in front of Colette. There was more than this dog's leg on the line.
Prepping herself, she lifted the paw and let the magicka flow, the energy lending her hands a bright shine. Rohah maintained the calm spell at the same time, grateful for her previous instruction in Illusion. The dog whined, its leg spasming while the inner muscle churned, so she kept her grip on the paw firm.
Rohah knew what the leg was supposed to look like. She knew how to use her knowledge and magicka in sync to heal the wound. She knew how to keep the dog calm with her voice and a spell. Her real test came from doing these things simultaneously, for minutes on end, without a break or any sure indication of success.
"You're doing great," she told the dog, her voice cracking on the last word. "Just keep steady now. Home stretch."
The skin closed itself over the open flesh, and the last of her magicka fled her mind. Absolutely drained, Rohah leaned back on her haunches, knuckles dragging against the cold stone floor. She slowly became aware of many pairs of eyes on her.
Swallowing, mouth dry, Rohah cleared her throat to break the silence. "I finished. The dog is better now." Her voice was scratchy.
The dog sniffed at its leg, as if confused why the bloody mess was gone. Rohah smiled weakly and took its paw in her hand again, placing it on the floor.
It initially resisted, as if believing the injury was not truly healed, but soon realized there was no pain on contact with the ground. The dog walked tentatively on all fours, then, trusting its paw, trotted around Rohah happily.
Gormir whistled, and it broke the ice. Rohah looked up in a haze to see her classmates clapping, every one of them clearly impressed with her. The only person looking displeased was Colette, who was reluctantly bringing her hands together with pursed lips.
"Yes, well," Colette said, collecting herself after the tumult died down, "very good, er - what was your name again?"
"Rohah," she provided.
"Rohah. Yes. Well. I'm pleased you were able to heal the dog. It clearly took a lot of talent - "
"And skill," Gormir said from the front row, not even making an effort to be quiet.
"Thank you, Gormir," Colette said tersely. Rohah grinned at her friend. He gave a thumbs-up back.
The rest of the lesson devolved into a whole lot of reading. Colette had them memorizing anatomy from textbooks, which was exceptionally dull. The dog stuck by Rohah's side the entire class, sitting patiently by her desk. She ruffled the fur on its neck while she labeled parts of the human skeleton, figuring if she had to have made an enemy today, at least she'd made a friend too.
"That was amazing," Gormir said fervently when they walked out of class. The dog stuck to Rohah's side like a burr, tongue lolling. Colette had informed Rohah the dog belonged to Hervar, Winterhold's best tailor, and Gormir had offered to come with her to take the dog to its proper owner. She was interested to hear that Hervar had made many of the College robes, though their enchantments were the work of Sergius.
"I wasn't about to admit defeat in front of that woman," Rohah said.
"Still - healing the leg entirely? Colette couldn't have managed it, she said so herself!"
"That's because she's a fraud. Did you see how she approached the dog? She should be ashamed to call herself a healer."
Gormir made an indistinct noise. "She's not going to like you at all."
Rohah smiled grimly as they passed the grounds and crossed to the bridge. "I intend to do more than irritate her. I'm going to talk to Mirabelle about this."
"Not a bad idea," Gormir said.
He was quiet for a bit while they entered the town, so Rohah decided to switch the subject. "You know, I've been thinking. You were up to something on the third floor two days ago, weren't you?"
Gormir's entire body flinched as though he were struck. He blushed, and that was all the admission Rohah needed. His cheeks were slightly depressed, as if he were biting them.
"Come on, you can tell me," Rohah pressed, grinning.
"If I tell you," he said, "you have to tell me why you were running around yesterday."
"Deal," she said, so quickly that Gormir looked as though he was regretting the offer. "You first."
He sighed, waiting until two locals on the path passed out of earshot before speaking as though he had to force every word out. "If you must know… I was there to…"
"To?" she prodded.
"To ask Cinnari if he wanted to go out somewhere," he said rapidly. His face was so red that Rohah was surprised his head hadn't caught fire.
"Like a date?" she exclaimed.
"Not so loud," he hissed. "Yes, like a date. Please don't tell him."
"I won't," Rohah said, her grin broad.
"Well?" Gormir prompted her, eager to change the topic.
"What? Oh… yeah… I had made a stupid purchase with my friend's money. I found a way to pay him back, so that's why I was running back and forth."
"That wasn't a fair deal. You got to know about my love life, and I had to listen to your financial issues."
"No refunds, I'm afraid."
They arrived at the tailor's house without any trouble. Vividly colored garments hung just beyond the windows, partially obscuring a spacious room inside. Hervar was beyond relieved to see his dog whole again. By unspoken agreement, Rohah and Gormir did not mention that Colette wasn't actually the one who'd healed it.
While they trekked back up to the College, Gormir suddenly stopped at the base of the bridge, frowning. Rohah turned towards him.
"Do you feel that?" he asked her, blinking.
"Feel what?" she said, staring at him.
"It's like… this faint buzz… never mind," he said, when he saw Rohah's puzzled face. "Maybe I'm imagining things."
She shrugged. It was lunchtime, so they joined the rest of their friends. Rohah smiled awkwardly while Gormir told them all in great detail what happened during Restoration. Stilde clapped her on the back hard enough that she choked on a bite of bacon.
"Sorry," Stilde said, grinning even as Rohah swallowed painfully, the bacon scraping her throat. "But it's about time someone called her out on her bull. I'm so glad I didn't take that class."
Rohah planned to talk to Mirabelle about Colette after classes were over. She still had Conjuration and Illusion. The former was surprisingly fun - their teacher, Phinis, had them practice conjuring wolves out in the grounds. The air became full of shimmering blue light as the students gave it their all. Cinnari was notably the first person to succeed.
"Why's every teacher obsessed with canines today?" Stilde said after she'd successfully conjured a gray wolf.
"I wouldn't know... But they are rather nice, aren't they?" Rohah said, crouching down to pet Stilde's familiar.
"Mine's having a snooze," Feather said bitterly, pointing at a ghostly wolf which was clearly asleep. Rohah resisted a laugh.
"More spellwork, ladies, and less talking!" Phinis said from behind her, making her jump.
It took Rohah a long time to conjure anything. The spell kept slipping from her mind, likely because she had blown most of her magicka healing the dog. Once Rohah conjured her familiar, she was more relieved than she'd have liked to admit - since she was already a failure in Destruction, adding another school to that list would have been pouring salt on the wound.
They didn't get much of a break before Illusion began. Rohah had been expecting she'd be alone in the class, but both Stilde and Feather came with her. She could see Stilde taking Illusion, but the Argonian had struck her as one to ignore the school entirely.
"I didn't think you'd take Illusion," Rohah told her while they sat in Drevis' classroom, waiting for the seats to fill up.
Feather smirked. "You know why my name is Feather?"
"Your hair?" Rohah guessed, glancing up at the colorful feathers.
"In part. It's my translated Tamrielic name, short for Feathered-Trouble-Maker. That's because I created a lot of problems at home with Illusion magic. So my parents sent me here to put it to good use." She grinned, the expression stretching strangely across her lizardlike face.
"Oh," Rohah said, unsure how to respond to that.
"Your parents had good judgement," a disembodied voice said. A moment later, a Dunmer materialized from thin air. One moment there had been nothing, and the next an elf was standing calmly next to them, his hands in his pockets.
"Hi, Professor," Feather said, while Rohah recoiled. Stilde snorted.
He chuckled. "I love doing that to new students." Drevis raised his voice, walking back around to the front of the room. "We're going to be working with the frostbite spiders again, folks. I'll also remind everyone that they're still technically College property, so don't hurt them, no matter how repulsive they might be."
"Why does the College need them?" Rohah asked, wrinkling her nose at the idea of handling giant arachnids.
Drevis smiled at the question. "Their eggs and venom help our research. Plus, what we're doing now - practicing magic on them."
They trooped to the room where the spiders were kept in individual cages. The spiders weren't as big as Rohah was expecting. Each insect was about the size of her head; they could not have been more than a few weeks old. Rohah chose a green-gray spider with black markings.
Drevis instructed them in how to cast a fear spell, warning them the spiders might move faster in their cages than expected. Rohah was the third to succeed in making her spider scuttle around its enclosure frantically, beaten only by Feather and some Nord girl named Sodrirre. It was actually quite fun; she had no great love for the overgrown bugs, having read of their willingness to prey on people, and felt a kind of vindictive pleasure upon seeing hers curl itself into a defensive ball. Drevis paced around the room, commenting on their spellwork. Rohah hid a proud smile when he complimented her success. Finally, some luck!
"That was great work, everyone," he said warmly once their time was up. "I think you've all got the general idea. Next class will be the last time you have to deal with the spiders. They start resisting commands once they're grown. Syth, you did really well this class, I can tell you've worked hard. Keep it up."
"I'm off to see Mirabelle," Rohah told Stilde and Feather as they left the room.
"Tell us how it goes," Stilde said.
"Count on it."
The Master Wizard wore an impassive face while Rohah explained Colette's behavior. When she finished, Mirabelle did not speak immediately, but rubbed the bridge of her nose as if she had a headache coming on.
"The answer is complicated," she said at last. "I know you may be frustrated with Colette, but she is only a reflection of the College's - er - views."
"And what views are those?" Rohah had a sinking feeling. Just by Mirabelle's tone, she could already tell nothing good would come of this conversation.
Mirabelle sighed and rested her hand back on the desk. "Simply put, the College looks down on Restoration. Restoration is associated with healers and priests, and, well… When mages see the College, we want them to see us as an educated, elite order - not another Temple of Stendarr to heal the common folk."
"But that's ridiculous!" Rohah said heatedly. "I'm both a scholar and a healer. They're not mutually exclusive."
"Ridiculous to you. Most of the faculty here would disagree. There's just no interest to back a stronger focus on the school. In fact, the only reason we have it in the curriculum is because the previous Arch-Mage wanted it there. If I could help you, I would."
"Isn't there anyone who could teach me?" she pleaded. "Some tutor you could hire? I'm not going to learn anything under her."
She shook her head slowly. "I can't. Savos would veto it. It's a shame, but he has a point. The elitist attitudes you're hearing about now are what keep the College alive. They're why people travel from all over to learn here rather than get an apprenticeship at their local temple. They might even be why you came."
"Maybe," Rohah said, subdued. What was she meant to do now? She'd joined specifically to master Restoration!
Mirabelle had the ghost of a smile. "And even if the Nord townsfolk here distrust us, they don't get too loud with their complaints, because we're the reason they get any travellers to keep the money flowing. I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Rohah. You'll find no masters of Restoration in the College."
Rohah left her office wordlessly.
She entered the Hall of the Elements to find Stilde and Gormir huddled around the Eye of Magnus, backlit by the soft blue light.
"Hey, Rohah, good to see you," Stilde said, waving her over. "Gormir's hallucinating."
"I'm not!" Gormir said angrily. "Rohah, that buzz I heard - it's coming from the Eye, I'm certain of it!"
As she drew up, she knew exactly what Gormir was talking about. It was the hum she had heard before - but then, it had been faint. Now, it was loud enough that she was surprised it wasn't echoing around the stony hall.
"It's more like a hum," Rohah decided.
"You hear it too?" Gormir checked.
Rohah nodded. "Stilde, just listen hard. I think it's more in your mind than in your ears."
The Nord frowned and bit her lip while she concentrated. They watched her eagerly.
"Yeah…" she said slowly. "I think so. Maybe. It's like... I feel like I hear it, but at the same time, it's not really there."
"I'm just glad I'm not imagining anything," Gormir said.
"It's strange," Rohah said, gripping the stone platform the Eye hovered over. "It almost sounds… agitated."
"Don't be stupid, it's a giant floating orb," Stilde said, frowning at it.
"A magical giant floating orb."
"Same difference," she replied, sounding uneasy.
"We'll hear if it has any significance sooner or later," Gormir said reasonably. "I've seen people prodding it. If anyone blows up, we'll be the first to know."
"Gormir!" Stilde said, swatting at him. He ducked away, grinning.
As the days passed, the hum of the Eye became more noticeable. Every student had heard it by now, to varying degrees. People whispered in the halls about what it could mean; why had the Eye been so quiet, and why was it audible now? There were plenty of theories, the most popular of which being that removing the Eye from the crypt had unleashed a terrible curse upon the College.
Their professors and residing scholars had taken an interest as well. The Eye didn't go an hour without some researcher examining it, running tests, taking notes, or flinging spells its way. So far it had shown no changes to any stimuli. The students had to get used to not being able to access the Hall of the Elements at random intervals during the day, due to dangerous experiments taking place within.
Rohah did not care at all for the Eye, and wished it was gone only so the student body could move on to some other subject of conversation. She had bigger problems; namely, her struggle to accomplish anything worthwhile in Destruction. She had half a mind to go to either Feather or Odaryn for advice - they were both excellent with the school - but Rohah found she was too ashamed to even ask. What kind of mage could not even summon a basic flame spell? Her, apparently.
She enjoyed minor successes in Conjuration and Enchanting, but flopped in Alteration. No surprises there. Of course, Rohah excelled in Illusion, which was quickly becoming her favorite class.
And Restoration… that was a whole other beast. For the most part Colette ignored her, but she got nasty fast if they were forced to interact. Rohah knew better than to start anything after one-upping her during her first class, so she kept her head down and did her work, no matter how indignant it made her. Their classwork was dreadfully dull. Nothing exciting past the dog had happened; they now copied notes from a man-and-mer anatomy textbook with fanciful handwriting. Gormir theorized the soulless work was her way of regaining control over the classroom, and Rohah was inclined to agree.
Rohah needed a Restoration teacher.
But not Colette.
"Hey, Rohah," Gormir said, poking his head into her room. "Me, Feather, Odaryn, and Stilde are going to head out into town. Did you want to come?"
"Sure," Rohah said, scrambling out of bed and laying her half-finished soul gem essay on the nightstand. "No Cinnari?"
He blushed. "I asked him. He's busy with his Conjuration work."
"But it's not due until Tirdas."
Gormir shrugged. "That's what I told him. He's pretty serious about that class."
She walked with him to meet the others on the grounds. Rohah thought a local of Winterhold might have a heart attack if they saw the lot of them - five young adults fresh from the College, surely out to cause trouble.
"How'd it go with Mirabelle?" Stilde asked her while they crunched through a thin layer of snow.
"Not well," Rohah sighed, and recounted the fruitless conversation.
"Makes sense they'd appoint Colette if they don't care," Gormir said. "I've always wanted to drop Restoration anyway, but my parents would find out."
"I just want an actual teacher," she said glumly.
Stilde bumped into her shoulder, nearly sending Rohah sprawling into the snow. "Hey, cheer up. It's the weekend. You won't have to think about her ugly mug for another three days."
They first browsed the blacksmith's wares, admiring the beautifully crafted arms and armor. Fenlok the shopkeeper watched them suspiciously, and did not leave his merchandise unattended until they were gone. Odaryn had to drag Stilde away from a small collection of knuckle dusters and concealable punching-knives you could secure on a closed fist.
Gormir convinced them to go check on the dog from Restoration. Rohah was also curious how it was doing. Hervar the tailor was pleased to see them again, and let them inside. There was no trace of the vicious wound the dog had sustained earlier in the week.
"It looks fine now," Odaryn commented.
Rohah stroked its head. The dog gave her hand a tentative sniff, then licked her.
"Oh, gross," she complained, backing away from the dog swiftly and wiping her hand on her robes. Hervar laughed.
They visited a general goods saleswoman, then an aromatic soap-and-perfume store, then finally a local artist with exceptional skill in wooden sculptures, joking and laughing the night away the whole while. There was not much to do in Winterhold, but with a group, just spending time in each other's company was enough for Rohah.
At last Feather suggested heading to the Frozen Hearth to warm up and get some drinks, to which they all agreed. Odaryn carried a remarkably lifelike carved sabre cat he'd purchased from the last shop, small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. It was painted with vibrant colors.
Stilde ordered their drinks and passed around the mead cheerfully. In the warmth of the tavern, surrounded by good company, Rohah was happy to forget about her troubles and live entirely in the moment.
It was getting dark by the time they left to return to the College. Rohah shivered against the sudden blast of cold after being in the Frozen Hearth for so long.
When they crossed the bridge to reach the College grounds, Rohah stopped dead in her tracks, staring. The cat was back - the bone-white cat with its pale yellow eyes. It was standing beside a pillar in the snow, glaring at her.
"You good?" Stilde asked her.
"That cat," Rohah said, pointing at it. It had not moved an inch. "I've seen that cat before." Her voice was an octave higher than she intended. Her heart was beating quickly.
It padded towards them, its steps light.
Stilde smiled at it. "It's just a stray that wanders around the College from time to time. The students probably feed it. Here, kitty," she added coaxingly, crouching down and holding her hand out.
Rohah watched apprehensively while the cat leaned into the touch, purring. It was just a normal cat. She must have been going insane.
"She's cute," Gormir said, bending over to scratch its ear.
"I suppose," she said, plodding forward to close the distance between them. The cat weaved around Stilde's arm to greet Rohah. Hesitantly, she rubbed under its chin. It closed its lamplike eyes. She could feel its throat throbbing with the force of its purr. The white fur was silky. There was no evidence of the fearful intelligence Rohah had sensed last time.
"Are you afraid of cats?" Feather asked, noticing her unease.
"No, otherwise I'd have dropped out once I saw J'zargo in my class."
Feather snickered appreciatively.
A/N: Sorry, this chapter took over a week! It's a bit longer than the others, though. Thanks for reading! :)
