'Who is Ulfric Stormcloak?' I asked. Brelyna looked at me and frowned.

'He's the Jarl of Windhelm. The leader of the Stormcloak rebellion. He says he's all for making Skyrim a free country because it's home to the Nords. But he completely disregards the fact that Skyrim isn't just home to Nords. A racist if you ask me, but I guess his goal to make his people happy,' she explained.

'But, would his people not include every race that lives in Skyrim?'

'It should. The Dunmer in Windhelm live in slums and Ulfric doesn't care that the Nords treat them like rats. Argonians aren't even allowed in the city walls. There's constant trouble with people attacking the Khajiit caravans and it's getting worse. Ulfric claims he's the true High King, but what kind of King allows his people to be slaughtered just because they are not his race?'

'Do you think he should be?'

'I don't know where I stand on this war. Ulfric will do nothing to help any of us, I guess the Empire would, but then Talos would be outlawed and that's not particularly fair on the Nords…'

'Have you ever met him?'

'Ulfric?' she scoffed, 'No. I think I'd turn him into something rather horrid if I ever did meet him.' I smiled at her and she giggled a little.

'I met him once. I was in Helgen when the dragon attacked,' I said.

'You saw the dragon?!' she exclaimed.

'Yeah. It was huge,' I said quickly, 'but when I met Ulfric, they had his mouth shut with a gag. What was that about?'

'He studied with the Greybeards when he was a boy. He's able to use the Voice.'

'What does that mean?'

'He can shout. Like dragons. He learned to speak the dragon language. That's how he killed the High King. He shouted him to death apparently,' she said.

'And here I was thinking it was because he'd say something stupid,' I muttered.

'What do you mean?' she smirked.

'Well he was a little irritating when he did speak, after we escaped,' I said. 'Legends don't burn down villages,' I said lowering my voice in an attempt to sound as grumpy and sinister as Ulfric had tried. Brelyna giggled and smiled at me.

'Going by Nord tradition he didn't really murder the High King. He challenged him and won,' I said, 'But if he knew he won, why did he run away? Surely he must have been guilty of something then.'

'Maybe he knew he was going to get arrested after killing the King?' Brelyna suggested.

'I thought of that. But if he truly believed he owned the throne after that, he should have stayed and dealt with the consequence. I think a true King would have went to prison to prove a point instead of running off and leading more and more men into war.'

'I think you're looking too far into this. Maybe politics is your thing,' Brelyna said with a smirk.

'I don't really like large crowds of people.'

Dear Farkas,

I will send the book back to you for Vilkas when I have taken notes on the information. Thank you for sending it to me. Research has been slow since the Wolfsbane discovery. Vampirism is easier to cure, why couldn't you have been a vampire?

I wrote to the Dunmer on Solstheim, I hope for a reply soon. When I return to Whiterun I expect you to catch me a meal, keep working with the bow. I have not been practicing with a sword, but I have the dagger you left me and I am able to cast a ward and I can now control my magic!

I hope you are doing well. I quite miss Jorrvaskr and the Companions. Send my love to your brother and to you.

-Luna

I sent it away with the courier and immediately began taking notes on Vilkas' book. I wasn't sure what kind of information I would get from the book, or whether it would be useful at all. So far all I have is a lot of studies on werewolves but no study on cures. There's some rituals mentioned in the research, but I don't think they're of use to what I'm searching for.

I lay in my bed, rattling my brains against my skull trying to think of more to do for this. I was still awaiting word back from Solstheim from the Dunmer. I hoped he wouldn't ignore my message. I couldn't do much else for my work in the College until I figured out how to get those books back for Urag. So I lay in bed in my clothes thinking of what to do to occupy myself.

I missed home less and less every day. I was growing too fond of looking out at the snow of Skyrim and calling it home. I had nothing left in Cyrodiil for me. (Besides a few spare changes of clothes and a couple of bows and homemade arrows)

I had five gold left from the purse Farkas had given me. I had all the food I needed in the College, but I would need to get more gold if I wanted to send another letter to Whiterun… I had no money to do anything, I had no resources to do any more research and it was too early to go to bed.

I heaved myself up from the bed, grabbed my dagger from my locker, stuffed it in my belt and made my way down to the town of Winterhold. The cold was sudden and I was picking up my pace by the second to hurry to Birna's store. I was holding onto the wall of the bridge the whole way down to the town, for fear I would slip on some ice. I rushed into the store and kicked the snow off my boots and pushed it outside.

'Hi,' I said nervously, 'I'm looking for a bow.'

'A bow?' Birna asked, raising her eyebrows at me.

'And some arrows.'

'You'll be lucky if I find one,' she said.

'But the thing is I was wondering if I could trade it for a dagger,' I said, biting my lip in hope.

'A dagger?' she said, placing her hands on her hips.

'It's from Whiterun.' I placed the dagger on the counter and looked up at her.

'It's from the Skyforge,' she said, picking it up. 'How did you get this?'

'My friend is a Companion.'

'And you would give away a Skyforge dagger for a simple bow, if I even have one?' She looked at me oddly and I paused and pursed my lips together. I had no idea the dagger was from the Skyforge. To be perfectly ignorant, I was pretty sure it was just a steel dagger.

'Can you hunt?'

'Yes.'

'Tell you what then, if I find you a bow and some arrows you can have it and keep your dagger. You can catch some game and give it to me. Things have been hard around here lately.'

'Deal,' I said with a nod.

She began digging around behind the counter and all around the shop while I stood idly by at the fire, keeping my bottom warm. Eventually she pulled out a hunting bow. It was similar to what I had at home, only mine was engraved with designs and symbols.

'I trust you won't forget, I'd hate to have to tell the guards to take this back from you,' she said, holding it back from my reach.

'I won't forget, don't worry,' I said. She handed me the bow and a quiver with a few iron arrows.

-x-

I lay on my stomach, crouched in the snow, my back lightly draped in a fresh blanket of snow as it fell. My bow was drawn, my arrow held back in place and my eyes fixed upon a grey rabbit who was wandering around in the snow. I held my breath and calmed myself, time seemed to slow down and I could see everything that moved so much clearer. I released and watched as the iron arrow instantly killed the rabbit.

I took a glance around me and picked up the rabbit and removed my arrow from it. I wiped off the blood from the bow in my robes and held the rabbit up by its two back legs. Thanking the Divines I headed back down the road to Winterhold. I didn't stray too far, especially after what happened the last time I went off on my own up North in Skyrim. Not to mention the fact of how I ended up in Skyrim…

The guards watched me as I walked past, probably wondering why someone in mage robes was carrying a dead rabbit and a bow. I guessed the Nords were just weary of magic folk.

I walked back into Birna's store and placed the rabbit on the counter. Birna looked at me in surprise, with wide eyes and mouth agape.

'I expected you to take longer than that,' she said shaking her head.

'I used to hunt for a living,' I said.

'Well if you ever decide to start hunting again I can't see how that wouldn't help the people. You could sell your game to the townspeople. Fresh meat is hard to come by around here. You could make a fair amount of coin too,' she said.

'I guess I could,' I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

I left and made my way back up to the College with my bow on my back with my quiver.

Dear Luna,

I have caught a rabbit. But I cannot cook. Vilkas has many books you can read when you come back. I am not a vampire; I thought you knew I was not.

I am glad you can cast ward. I think Vilkas knows magic. I saw his books, he had a spell book on his shelf. I have not told him I know, I think he will be mad.

I will be going to Windhelm in three days for something. I can meet you in Winterhold after. Will you be coming back to Whiterun then?

Love from Aela and Vilkas and other Companions and me.

-Farkas

I smiled at the letter and put it in my bedside drawer with the other letter, my notes and Vilkas' book. Those three days could not pass quick enough, and I knew I would need something to occupy myself to try and make time go past.

A few hours passed of me reading books about destruction magic that I borrowed from multiple people. I was bored, but I had learned quite a large amount about destruction magic. With a little bit of practice I think I could also master a few new spells.

After the long hours of reading about spells I decided to take a break and go outside and see them working. As I left the dorms I saw that sneaky elf Ancano lurking around, probably spying on any mage he could find around the place. Brelyna had told me that he had just shown up when the Dominion decided they wanted knowledge from the College. Apparently no one wanted him around here and I understood why after our encounter.

I stood in the courtyard and began muttering incantations to myself, trying to muster all my power up to get these spells to work. So far nothing was happening and I was getting flustered and frustrated. I turned my head as a shadowy figure passed by but the second I looked I didn't see anything.

I tried again and this time I mustered some icy power from my hands. I smiled to myself and tried again and again, each time getting more and more powerful. I mustered the power between both of my hands and shot it against a pillar, throwing myself backwards from the sheer force.

'Whoa,' I said to myself. I brushed the snow off my robes and looked around. The courtyard was empty, so I tried again and dug my heels into the ground to stop myself from falling backwards again.

I could feel the cold running through my veins in a burning rush. The release was so satisfying and it sent me into a wonderful adrenaline. The frost covered the pillars of the College and the ground around me. I lowered my hands and panted heavily. I raised my hands again and cast balls of fire all around me that melted the ice on the ground and the frost piles all along the pillars.

'Ahem.' I turned and lowered my hands. The courier stood near me, holding a piece of parchment in his hand. He looked at me with a concerned frown and hesitantly handed me the letter. 'It's from Solstheim.'

'Thank you,' I said. He turned and hurried out of the College grounds, throwing glances over his shoulder. I opened the letter and read it to myself.

It was from Neloth, the Dunmer wizard in Solstheim. Finally he had replied. He told me that he would help me with my research if in return I would send him ingredients from Skyrim. He required quite a few and if it were any other time I would have ignored his requests, but I really needed this Wolfsbane.

I returned to my dorm and sat on the bed and read the letter from Neloth again.

I will help you in your research but nothing is free in Tamriel so I will require a payment of some ingredients that are available in Skyrim. These would be Chaurus eggs, Luna Moth Wings, Taproot, two Briar Hearts, and if possible Jarrin Root.

If you wish you can send them over, but I would request that you travel over here to give them to me and to receive what you desire. Sending things by courier can be tricky as they tend to run off with many a rare treasure.

-Neloth of House Telvanni

P.S. Bring Soul Gems and Canis Root

I didn't know where to get any of these things. I had never even heard of a Jarrin Root. So I wrote a letter.

Dear Farkas,

I will return to Whiterun with you for a few days. I must ask you to help me with something. I will explain when I see you in person. I will also bring my research so far to show you. I wonder if you could ask Vilkas could I ask him about lycanthropy when I am home? It would help with the research I think.

The Dunmer in Solstheim says he can send me some Wolfsbane if I can send him some things. I think they should be easy to find if I can talk to an alchemist. But there is one that I have never heard of on the list.

If you could catch any Luna Moths, that would be wonderful. Also if you come across any Chaurus eggs, taproot, Briar hearts, soul gems and canis root, could you keep them for me? He also asked for Jarrin Root if possible. I've never even heard of this, so don't worry about it for now.

I cannot wait to see you!

-Luna