The next day, Crystal went to her classes. The first one was Skyrim's History, the professor of the class being a kindly-looking old woman with greying black hair and greyish-blue eyes.

The old woman immediately recognised Crystal upon the latter stepping into her classroom.

"Hello, Crystal..." She greeted the young woman.

"Idgrod...?" Crystal responded upon hearing her.

Crystal then turned around and hugged Idgrod out of delight at seeing her.

"You've grown in the past few years, child..." Idgrod remarked.

"It's been a long time, I guess..." Crystal said as she took her seat.

"Starting with the Dawn Era..." Idgrod started the lecture. "The Cosmos is formed from the Aurbis by Anu and Padomay... Now what are the alternative names for the Cosmos and The Aurbis...?"

Crystal raised her hands while some of the students already lost interest.

"Yes, Crystal?" Idgrod called to her.

"The Cosmos is also called Nir, and Aurbis is called chaos or totality." Crystal replied.

"That is correct..." Idgrod responded, smiling. "Akatosh forms and Time starts, Gods and Daedra materialise from the blood of Anu and Padomay after their great battle over creation... There is a great deal of debate over whether Lorkhan convinced or tricked the gods into creating the mortal plane, which we now now as Nirn... The mortal world, as a result, was magical and dangerous... As the gods walked, the physical make-up of the mortal plane, and even time itself, became unstable..."

Crystal raised a hand again.

"I take it you're going to quote a passage related to this lecture from 'The Monomyth'?" Idgrod asked.

Crystal nodded, unwittingly eliciting some groans of annoyance from Betrid.

"You may do so..." Idgrod responded, smiling.

"Thank you..." Crystal said. "From a passage within 'The Monomyth' by Taheritae Oegnithr of the Psijic order... 'This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri name, "Lorkhan", or Doom Drum. He convinced, or contrived, the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the Mortal Plane, upsetting the status quo much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialised, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. Interpretations of these events differe widely by culture."

"Show-off..." Betrid uttered under her breath.

Idgrod shot a glare at Betrid for a second before nodding at Crystal and resuming her lecture.

"I see you remembered that quote very well..." Idgrod remarked, pleased. "When Magic, also called Magnus, the architect of the plans for the mortal world, decides to terminate this project, the Gods convened at the Adamantine Tower, which is the Direnni Tower today, to decide what to do. The Direnni Tower is the oldest known structure in Tamriel. Most of the Gods left when Magic did, while others sacrificed themselves in order to stay. They became the Ehlnofey... In most of the historical accounts of the Dawn Era, Lorkhan is condemned to exile in the mortal realms, and his heart torn out and cast from the tower, where it lands and forms what we know now to be the Red Mountain within Morrowind's island Vvardenfell... With that, Magic, in the Mythic Sense is gone and the Cosmos stabilises, bringing about it the Merethic Era..."

Most of the students fell asleep except for Crystal and Vilkas. Idgrod took a look at the clock and realised what time it was.

"Looks like it's time for class to be dismissed..." Idgrod said as she turned to the class. "Your homework assignment is an essay about the Dawn Era... You'll be graded on the accuracy of your reports AND your grammar and spelling..."

Crystal picks up her bag and was about to head out the door, before Idgrod gently stopped her.

"I fear that young woman may be up to something..." She warned Crystal. "Be on your guard... It's good to see you again, child..."

Crystal nodded and hugged Idgrod before walking out of the classroom. She heeded Idgrod's advice when she went to her next class, which was Skyrim Government. Upon entering, some Nord students glared at her, including Betrid, suspecting her of being a Breton. The teacher glared also. He had short, pale brown hair that was undergoing quite a bit of alopecia and some generous stubble on his face.

"And who are you...?" The teacher said, eyeing her with suspicion.

"Crystal Secret-Fire, sir..." Crystal replied, a bit intimidated by his scowl.

"You're on my list of students..." He said to her in a tone of indifference. "Take a seat..."

Crystal does so, feeling uncomfortable with the glares of the other students.

"Eyes forward...!" The teacher commanded. "I am Thongvor Silver-Blood... And I am your teacher for Skyrim Civics..."

Professor Silver-Blood then scanned the crowd. He decided to pick Crystal.

"You...!" Professor Silver-Blood said as he pointed to Crystal. "Who were the first people here in Skyrim...?"

"The Falmer, known in our tongue as the Snow Elves..." Crystal replied, eliciting a roar of laughter from the meaner students.

Professor Silver-Blood shook his head and repeated the question, "Who were the first PEOPLE in Skyrim..."

"I gave you the answer, sir..." Crystal responded.

"It's the wrong answer!" Professor Silver-Blood raised his voice, causing Crystal to flinch in her chair. "Gods... Just what we need, another Imperial brat... And a Breton with a Nord's name at that..."

"I'm not a Breton..." Crystal responded.

"Then what the hell are you...?" Professor Silver-Blood questioned her.

"Nord..." Crystal said. "With some Bosmer ancestry from my maternal grandmother."

The crowd was silent for a moment, then erupted into laughter.

"She's not a real Nord!"

"Dirty elf!"

"Half-bred freak!"

The eruption of insults caused Crystal to run out of the building, crying. She ended up bumping into Farkas, who immediately hugged her.

"Whose face am I bashing...?" Farkas said.

"Looks like some students were brandishing their tongues as a warrior would an axe..." Idgrod said.

"I answered that the Snow elves were the first people of Skyrim and..." Crystal tried to explain.

"Ignorance is a dangerous thing for one to wield, child..." Idgrod said as she comforted Crystal.

Idgrod immediately knew Crystal was on the receiving end of racist attitudes because of her heritage and her views. She stroked Crystal's hair until Crystal's crying softened to sniffles. Farkas joined in on the comforting, kissing Crystal's forehead.

"You're not meant for this program, child..." Idgrod said to her. "You're meant for better things..."

"But if I change programs, I won't be able to take my grandmother's place when she needs me to..." Crystal said.

"Who told you this nonsense?" Idgrod asked as she furrowed her brow.

"My father..." Crystal responded. "He also told me I would be cut off if I didn't do what he said..."

"That makes no sense..." Farkas stated.

"Perhaps you may need to call your grandmother and straighten out the mess..." Idgrod advised her.

Idgrod took Crystal to the student union center to speak with the latter's grandmother, with Farkas tagging along. Crystal dialed a number and a tone rang.

"Hello?" A woman's voice replied. It sounded stern.

"G-Grandma...?" Crystal replied.

"Crystal, what's wrong? You sound like you had a bad day..." The woman asked, pure concern in her voice.

Crystal had explained everything that had happened to her because of the program. Rather than condemning her, Crystal's grandmother understood the situation and arranged to pay

for the tuition to change Crystal's degree program.

"And I will deal with your father when I return to Whiterun..." She said to Crystal.

"Thank you, so much..." Crystal said with relief, feeling like she is about to cry.

"It's all right, child..." Crystal's grandmother said to her. "It wasn't right of him to manipulate you into doing what he wanted you to do... I love you, my dear child..."

"I love you too, Grandma..." Crystal said.

"Farewell..." Crystal's grandmother said.

"Bye..." Crystal responded, before gently putting the phone on the hook.

"Did everything go okay?" Idgrod asked?

"Yes..." Crystal replied. "She's going to help me change programs and take care of the tuition... She then said she was going to deal with my father..."

"That's just like Aeris to do that..." Idgrod said, chuckling. "How's about a trip to the nearby greasy spoon? I could use a bite to eat..."

"Sounds good..." Farkas said.

Crystal nodded in agreement before they headed to the New Gnisis Burger Shack.