In retrospect I should've had Siesta beat the living crap out of Mott first then have him killed by a dragon. Too late now though.
The anime reason for Wardes betrayal seems a bit strange. He was going to marry into the Valliere family, probably the most powerful in Tristain excluding the royal family. And with Cattleya sick all the time and Eleonore… being Eleonore; then it's likely he's the best choice to inherit if he marries Louise. I mean seriously… what husband could Eleonore possibly get that would top the Captain of the Griffin Knights?
I never finished the light novels (only went just past Colbert's 'death') so I wasn't sure about why Wardes went traitor. As for starting a crusade against the Elves with Reconquesta to get into the Holy Land; well I think that was a doomed plan. He should be smart enough to realize that Reconquesta couldn't possibly conquer all of Halkengenia and build up enough forces to start a crusade in his lifetime. Their victory in Albion only worked because the Tudors (with the exception of Wales) were hated by the populace allowing Reconquesta to garner support. Likewise they could only hold Albion if they kept the people's focus on war instead of their internal situation; hence the invasion of Tristain. The problem with that is that Henrietta was actually a popular monarch so I doubt many Tristainians would want Reconquesta to usurp her thus making their occupation of Tristain difficult. Also even if Gallia funded Reconquesta; I doubt that Joseph would keep up his support if they choose to attack him. Likewise Germania's probably strong enough to defeat or hold off Reconquesta and Reconquesta can't reach Romalia unless it goes through Gallia or Germania. Eventually, since Reconquesta don't seem to be great administrators, there would be another rebellion due to their inept rule and this would eventually mark the end of Reconquesta. Besides Wardes needed help in researching his mother's journal and the only entity not influenced by the Church that could help him was Reconquesta but with Winterhold now here…
Sorry for the rant but I think I may have just spoiled what's going to happen to Wardes; if I didn't; then just ignore what I just said… or rather wrote.
You know you could clear entire dungeons with just a bloody dog. Granted that it's the pet of a Daedric Prince, but still… it's just a dog in the end, albeit a super powered one.
(Edit: Meant to use J'Zargo instead of Faralda but left a few mentions of her in. Fixed now.)
(Edit 2: Just added a few things, nothing really relevant to the plot though.)
Gah-Ei seated himself on the chair within the dim room. Across the small table was Thonjolf taking a drink out of a cup.
"So Thonjolf… what do you want from me now?" the Argonian asked cautiously.
The pair was back in the Jarl's palace; inside one of the less used rooms. A Bosmer 'servant' locked the door, ensuring that no one would enter uninvited.
"Tell me Dragonborn… are you still loyal to the Empire?" Thonjolf asked casually despite the seriousness of the question.
Gah-Ei narrowed his eyes. He had led the attack on Windhelm alongside General Tullius and Legate Rikke back during the Stormcloak Rebellion as a Legate of the Imperial Legion. He had received a number of awards for his bravery, skill and his loyalty. The Nord Thane had to be aware of that so if he was asking this kind of question then…
"What do you want me to do?" the Argonian asked straight to the point.
Thonjolf chuckled without mirth. "Nothing much… just to deliver a simple message." He answered the Argonian; slipping over an envelope. "Inside are all the details, just in case you need them."
Breaking it open, Gah-Ei pulled out the note and read it. His eyelids widened as he read the contents. "I thought the treaty with Tristain didn't allow us to do this." he questioned the Nord.
Thonjolf chuckled again; though there was no amusement in it. "While the Jarl may trust these Tristainians; it doesn't hurt to have a provision… just in case. Of course no one but those involved have to know about this." he explained as he took another sip from his cup.
"Then why choose Albion? From what I've heard they're on the verge of collapse with those Reconquesta winning the civil war." The Argonian queried; confused on why Thonjolf would look for help from a near dead family.
"It's not the family that matters but their Prince Valliant. If the rumours are true then he and the Princess are… very close, more so than cousins should be. He can influence the Princess against any move that wouldn't be in Winterhold's best interests." The Thane said, the usual chuckle gone. "Besides I have sent others elsewhere; it's just that Albion will likely be beyond what the abilities of my other messengers."
Yes. They had to enter a warzone, get past an army looking for infiltrators, persuade the Tudors that they meant well, get them out and likely fight their way back out; definably not an easy task.
There was a foul taste in the Argonian's mouth. He hated this kind of thing. "And what if he tells the Princess of this arrangement? I doubt she would take it very well."
Thonjolf waved off his concern. "Prince Wales would hardly compromise that long record of honour by breaking it with us. And if worse comes to worse; then there are ways to ensure silence." He answered; his voice cold.
Before the Argonian could object; he quickly continued. "That is only in the worst case and I doubt it would come to that.
Gah-Ei's eyes glanced back down to the parchment. "And the Princess wouldn't wonder why I would save Prince Wales?" His head came back up to stare at the Thane.
"You are the Dragonborn. Half the things you've done still don't make sense to me." The Nord answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "Of course you will be paid handsomely for this venture." He assured as he procured a large leather sack.
Taking the sack Gah-Ei glanced inside. Beautiful cut jewels looked back at him; this was a fortune for any man. "Half now and the rest will come when the Prince is safely in Tristain." Thonjolf told him.
This time it was the Argonian who chuckled slightly. "A bag of riches for cutting my way through an army to rescue a Prince and then cutting my way back out." He laughed quietly as Thonjolf finished the rest of his cup.
"A fair deal isn't it?" Thonjolf asked as he smirked.
"Does the Jarl know of this?" The Dragonborn asked cautiously; his mirth gone now.
"He chooses not to involve himself heavily in what I do but the Jarl certainly knows what I am doing right now." Thonjolf answered as he poured himself another cup of wine from the pitcher.
Gah-Ei pocketed the jewels; he did not like using the love that others shared like this. But he would not refuse. He had done much worse before anyway.
The Argonian shook his head remorsefully as he remembered one of his greatest shames. No… he would not refuse.
It had been nearly a month since Siesta started at Winterhold and so far it had been an exhausting experience. While she had expected the constant studying and the occasional practical spell casting lessons; she had not expected how tiring it actually was.
It didn't help that since all the tomes were in a language she couldn't understand; she had to learn a new language from scratch. At least now she could read it for the most part but her writing was still terrible.
The other duties that students had to perform were much simpler. Apparently the College only had a few cooks and general servants. Therefore the majority of cleaning, washing and the like were left to the newest apprentices. According to Master J'Zargo it is intended to teach young mages to be humble.
The older mages were not except from helping. While they didn't do the menial tasks like their juniors; they still had to help. Most of this was focused on tending to the alchemical supplies and other more complex tasks.
And finally the senior mages were relegated the task of guarding the College. Often this involved patrolling the empty halls of the College or guarding the bridge that led to the College.
It was because of this workload that she came to be a friend of Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere. While Siesta had the benefit of working as a maid before the young noble had no idea on what she was doing. As such; Siesta took it upon herself to help the Valliere for the benefit of all the plates she might otherwise break.
The most surprising thing was how diverse the College was. She had already been told of how many different people there were at the College by Arlerus and the Archmage; but even then she didn't think there would be... so many different races.
By far the human like ones made up the majority. Nords, Bretons, Imperials and even some Redguards she recalled from her short introductory lesson on what the races were. They flitted around both inside and outside the Academy; their mage's robe making them easily distinguishable for the former.
Then there were the Elves. While the Archmage seemed like a nice person; that was no measure on how the other Elves might act. Some seemed to exemplify what she had always thought of them: proud, arrogant, and assured of their superiority over others; not too unlike the nobles in Tristain.
Yet there were some that were nice; being kind enough to lend a hand when she needed directions and such. Their pointed ears still made her shiver in fear but the Elven mages pretended to not notice and helped with a warm smile on their faces.
While she had seen a Argonian at the Academy; she had never seen a Khajiit before. When they said the Khajiit were literally walking and talking cats; they weren't kidding. So far the only she really interacted with was Master J'Zargo, who had a strange habit of referring to himself in third person; so she couldn't really even begin to guess what they were like.
But out of all them; it was the Orcs that terrified the poor former maid. While she had never seen a Halkengenian Elf before and thus couldn't compare them with Tamrielic Elves; she has seen Orcs before. Dumb, crude and barbaric creatures; there were well known for brutal raids on villages and complete disregard for life in general.
So when she passed by one of the rare Orc mages; her feet decided to freeze as she shivered in fear. The robed Orc gave only a snort of amusement before walking past her; ignoring her fear.
It was on the second day of when the two Tristainian's had really started their magical education. The first was mostly introductions with the more important masters and a tour of the College by Master J'Zargo; the Master Wizard of the College and the one in charge of new students.
If nothing else; they were impressed. The Tristain Academy of Magic was suited to accommodate only a few hundred noble students. The College of Winterhold was built to fit thousands.
The Arcanaeum was the first facility they were introduced to. Located above ground; it was open to the public and was where private research was held. In size; it surpassed the Tristain Academy of Magic's own library by a huge margin.
What was surprising was the head librarian. There was an elderly Orc wearing robes directed the library from behind his desk. If having an Orc managing the library wasn't enough; Siesta nearly fainted from shock when she learned that Urag gro-Shub was also one of the most powerful and oldest mage in the College.
Entering a flight of stairs that descended further into the College; the Tristainians became truly aware of how much bigger the College was compared to the Academy.
It really showed with the size of the Hall of Elements. While the eating hall couldn't even fit everyone in; the Hall of Elements most certainly could. The pride of the College; it was relocated to, what Master J'Zargo had called, the Midden.
Decorated with the symbolic banners of the College, it was filled with students that mingled together. At the very centre was a large well that emitted a bright blue glow that illuminated the whole room.
According to the Khajiit Master Wizard the hall was mostly where spell casting lessons were held. The walls were warded to prevent damage and there were always senior mages present to ensure there were no mishaps. All major announcements were held here and it was the central hub of the College.
But it was the Hall of Acquisition that was where the majority of the work was done. Despite its name it wasn't actually a hall and instead was a series of chambers designed to fit one teacher and a class of apprentices. Supplied with constant parchment and ink; it was where notes were made and instructions given as prospective mages studied the Clever Craft.
And their tour ended with the Halls of Attainment and Countenance. A long series of corridors filled with small bedrooms; this was where they were going to stay during their time at the College. Each section was assigned a different name and this was to be the decider of the household duties they were expected to do.
It was likely on purpose that they placed Siesta with Louise, the only Tristainian in the College.
It was at breakfast on the second day that Siesta truly interacted with the Valliere. Having been informed about how they were expected to clean up after themselves; Siesta had taken her dishes to where they were meant to be cleaned. Her section had unfortunately drawn the role of cleaning everyone's dishes.
While Siesta had no trouble in doing this; Louise struggled. Unused to the work commonly left to servants she broke far more than she cleaned. Her face was red with embarrassment as people turned to her every time a dish hit the ground. Yet her pride kept her working; even if she did a poor job.
Louise had taken what Master J'Zargo said very seriously. If cleaning and washing was what apprentices had to do to become great mages; then she was more than willing to accept a few years of embarrassment for a lifetime of accomplishments.
It was after the eleventh dish hit the ground; the Siesta decided to help her. She didn't know the rest of the apprentices she worked with yet but she could understand the looks they sent in her direction. Obviously as the other only other Tristainian; they wanted her to stop Louise from breaking all the dishes and getting them in trouble.
"Um… Lad-…Miss Valliere; do you need help?" she asked nervously; correcting herself half way. She wasn't meant to refer to her title in the College since they weren't meant to use titles here. The Archmage was very clear on that; though old habits were hard to get rid of.
Louise flushed with embarrassment. "N... No! I can do this myself." She stubbornly insisted; as she picked up another dirty plate from the still large pile stacked beside her.
In her rush; she failed to get a proper grip and the plate slipped out of her hand and fell down towards the cold stone floor.
Siesta reacted quickly. Expected Louise to make a mistake; she caught the plate just before it could break into pieces on the floor. Holding the plate in front of Louise; she raised a questioning eyebrow.
Louise fidgeted under Siesta's watch. "Maybe I do need a little help." she admitted bashfully.
Between the two of them they got the work done faster; with the former maid cleaning the dishes while Louise gripped the cleaned dishes and stacked them aside.
This reoccurred whenever later when they were assigned to serve the food in the afternoon before serving themselves.
While they didn't need to cook the food; they did need to serve it out to the school in even proportions. Luckily there were serving tables across the eating hall and generally not everyone chose to eat at midday; meaning that there wasn't thousands of students lining up to eat.
All Louise had to do was scoop even proportions of what smelled like tomato soup into the bowls of whoever wanted it. The table was dripping off orange soup before they even served half of the people gathered.
While by no means clumsy; Louise could never manage to get share out the soup evenly. Whenever she poured too little; she tried to rush in another scoop before the hungry person left, often spilling most of in her hurry. As for when she poured too much… well there was a not too happy cat who scolded her.
Seeing that they were taking too long; Siesta chose to switch stations with the small pinkette. Fortunately the Valliere was far more capable at handing out loafs of bread than she was at soup. And thus started a beautiful yet strange friendship.
"Um… Louise do you know what this means?" whispered Siesta as she nudged her neighbour. Louise looked up from her own work and glanced at Siesta's sheet.
"I think it means Aetherius." Louise whispered back, though even she could detect the lack of confidence behind the answer.
So far their work at the College mostly involved learning the language that all the tomes were written in. While they were also taught some of the very basic spells; they had to master reading and writing their language before they could even start learning more complex spells; geniuses or not.
As such the two were placed together into a special class where they were taught by a senior Nordic Mage called Onmound. He was apparently one of the few mages the Archmage had trusted with Louise's 'secret' having been one of his oldest friends. And since he was the one with the less work; he was sent to teach the three Tristainians their language.
Of course this included Professor Colbert; who actually pleaded to learn; the reason being that he wanted to read the thousands of books in their library. Seeing no problem with it; Master Onmound included him into their lessons.
It was a testament to his great academic ability when he managed to learn enough to read a basic book within just seven days. And within the month they had been here; he was already finished learning the language and spending his time at the library. It was almost scary how smart Professor Colbert could be when he wanted to be.
Meanwhile Louise and Siesta had progressed nicely. While they still had difficulty on more complex words; they could at least now read the various books the College had to offer.
"That is correct Apprentice Valliere." Said Onmound from her chair; happening to eavesdrop on their hushed exchange. "But I would appreciate it if you kept quiet. This is a test and it is supposed to be done in silence." reprimanded the mage, though from his tone it was clear he wasn't that strict.
Master Onmound wasn't a bad person; in fact he was a bit too lenient in his teaching. Letting them get away with speaking during a test was an example of this.
But when it came to actually teaching; then he was very thorough and was clearly eager to have the two of them finish their literacy and start on actual spellwork.
The rest of the test was completed in silence. It wasn't too much anyhow; just a simple fill-in-the-gap type of test.
Onmound silently read through their work as the two girls waited. Nodding his approval he handed the sheets back to them. "Apprentice Siesta you need to work slightly more on memorising the spelling, there were some minor mistakes here and there. As for you Apprentice Valliere; you handle of words is impeccable but the handwriting leaves a bit to be desired for. I suggest you practice handling the quill for the words more."
Dipping their heads slightly; they gave him the traditional acknowledgement one was meant to give to someone of higher position within the College. "Yes Master Onmound." They said as they started to pack away their equipment.
"Ah yes." said Onmound as he remembered something. Louise and Siesta stopped at the door and turned back to face their teacher. "The two of you need to go see the Archmage. He's waiting for you in his quarters." He told them.
Louise took in a deep breath as she hid her surprise. The Archmage wanted to see them? Why? She had met the Elf once again to receive her apprentice robes and he didn't seem like a bad person; reminding her more of a caring grandparent than a figure of authority.
"Um… Master Onmound, do you know why he wants to see us?" asked Siesta as she edged slightly back into the room.
"I do; but it's better if I leave the Archmage to explain why." answered their teacher. Seeing their worried expressions he quickly moved to reassure them. "Don't worry neither of you are in trouble, Motabe just wants to talk about something."
Leaving the room, the two made their way back up to the surface. More than a few apprentices waved to them in greeting as they walked past them. They had built up a small reputation as "the One-that-fumbles and the Helper" and it wasn't hard to guess who was which. Louise was sure that it was that cheeky cat that gave such a stupid name.
"So what do you think he wants to talk to us about?" asked Louise nervously as they made their way up the tiring stair well that led to the Archmage's quarters.
"Probably about all those dishes you broke." answered Siesta nonchalantly.
Louise flushed in embarrassment. She didn't like being reminded of all the stupid mistakes she made. It wasn't her fault really… she was never taught how to clean dishes and they shouldn't have just assumed she knew… Even in her thoughts; Louise couldn't find her words to be sincere.
"Shut up! That was weeks ago and I already got in trouble for it." She replied with only slight traces of anger in her voice.
She had learned long ago that Siesta had an annoying habit to tease people, not too unlike another annoying person she knew. Though while Kirche was always using her body as the butt of her jokes; Siesta focused more on her clumsiness when it came to what she considers 'simple' tasks.
And with all that experience with teasing; she knew getting angry was exactly what they wanted. But sometimes it was just hard to stay calm.
"I heard those plates were expensive you know? About five Ecu each." continued Siesta in the same unconcerned voice.
Oh now she was just flat out lying. There was no way those things could be worth that much… could they?
She would never know as before she could retort they reached the doorway that lead into the Archmage's quarters. The door was opened invitingly as usual.
The Archmage had made it clear that if anyone needed aid then they could always come and see him; as his door will always be open. Did anyone actually want to bother their Archmage with their problems? Not really.
Louise knocked on the opened door. "You called for us sir?" she said into the room.
"Yes, please come in." answered the Archmage from within. Stepping into the room they found the Archmage seated beside a small round table with two empty chairs beside it.
Gesturing towards the free seats he motioned for them to sit. Seating themselves, the two girls waited patiently for him to explain what they were doing here.
"Well… it has come to light today that you two are special cases in Halkengenia." said the Archmage. "All the other Tristainian students, chosen by the crown, don't seem to be able to cast magic."
Louise widened her eyes in surprise. They couldn't cast magic?
"And this is why I believe you two are special cases. If all those nobles, merchants and commoners couldn't cast our brand of magic; then why are you two able to?" he continued.
Siesta and Louise were still too surprised to answer; allowing Motabe to continue. "Miss Valliere, your magic is strange even in your world so it's not too far of a stretch to say your unique amoung Tristainians."
The Bosmer turned to face the only other Tristainian in the room. "But Miss Siesta, as far as I know; you're just like the majority of the other Tristainians I tested for magic. Is there anything you know which may distinguish you from the others?" he asked in interest.
Siesta delved into her memories as she tried to come up with an answer. Try as she might; she couldn't think of anything of significance.
She was born and raised in Tarbes like the rest of her family. But Tarbes wasn't special in anyway; it was just another small village trying to make do. The town had been around for a long time now and there wasn't really anything special, in a magical sense that happened there.
The only thing that could even mean anything was her great-grandfather was a foreigner from the Far East, past the Holy Land. But that wasn't anything even unique. Marrying foreigners wasn't all that special was it?
Does anyone remember what the Asia equivalent in Hakengenia was? I think it was Kulab Ai Rubi or something but I don't remember and I can't find it on the Wiki.
I personally don't think Tabitha and Kirche need any new spells to add to their arsenal. Their pretty powerful even without Tamrielic magic, and in some cases their spells would be stronger anyway. I mean Kirche is triangle class and Tabitha eventually becomes square class; they're not even adults yet and their stronger than most people already. Instead they'll get other magical goodies.
I also can't believe that there are no drinks in Skyrim that are not alcoholic or drugs. Everything is either mead,beer,wine or some type of Skooma. Don't they have anything else?
Though since Siesta's family can cast magic that does open new possibilities for her cousin.