The heavenly chamber sat atop the palatial institution, curtains of moonlight casting the symbol of the Eye on the intricate stonework. The glow of candlelight was present, cut unnecessary, for in the center of the circular chamber grew a garden of plants, trees and shrubs lit by three magical mage-lights.

This one was sent here to speak to the resident of this hall; The Arch-Mage of the College, Savos Aren. Ri'saad found him at a side-table, sitting calmly on a wooden chair.

"Excuse this one. Tolfdir sent me for you."

"I see. Our Dragon-blood visitor," he spoke. "What do you have to say?"

"We came across a strange glowing orb. Tolfdir has taken it upon himself to transport it to the learning hall."

The learning hall sat on the bottom floor of the main building, with the library above it, and the Arch-Mage's quarters on top. Each room was circular.

"Is that so? I haven't heard much of anything like that, but I am sure our librarian downstairs would have more to say about such things."

"Thank you, sir."

This one walked calmly towards the stairwell, casting the bright light and splendor of the room behind him. As Ri'saad descended, the High Elf from before was seen again, and pushed haughtily past this one. He seemed to have a follower, too. Oddly enough, he appeared to be a dark elf, but his face was obscured by a hood. Slightly off-put, this one paused for a moment before continuing with the descent.

The library had a very pleasing, yet contrastingly humble appearance. Many students were there doing what students do; Studying. No sooner had this one entered than J'zargo had jumped up from his seat and ran to me.

"J'zargo is sorry for his behavior," he pleaded. He paused for a moment. "...Master Ri'saad."

"You have much to learn, J'zargo. It will take quite a bit to make up for your attitude, but it will be far from impossible."

He sighed before bowing his head. "Thank you, Ri'saad."

Watching as he strode off, this one realized what it felt like to have someone genuinely look up to you. Ri'saad was not sure whether he liked the feeling. This one approached the desk in the back, where an elderly Orc sat reading.

"You are the Librarian, correct?", Ri'saad asked. "This one was told by the Arch-Mage that you would have some materials about Saarthal."

"I will, as soon as it's delivered," he said bluntly. "It might be waiting at the inn in town. The innkeeper's a friend of mine and said he'd have the books delivered."

"So, should this one retrieve them?"

"Do you think I'm too old and weak?", he accused with a menacing stare.

"What!? No! Sir."

His stone-cold glare lifted. He started to laugh, loudly enough to break whatever work was getting done in the room. "I'm only kidding! Poor sap. I'm old enough to die the true Orc way just by pushing a door," he said. This one began to laugh from nerves. He slammed his fist down. "Don't fucking laugh at me, asshole!"

This one wasn't sure how to react, but then he began to laugh again, and said, "Heh, just go. Get the books. Have fun, kid." Ri'saad carefully walked out of the library.

After descending another flight of stairs, this one walked past the iron gates of the learning hall, where the foreign globe floated in the center. This one stopped at the gates. Then, the high elf returned from behind – without his follower – and entered the room, firmly closing the gates behind him. Surely, this curiosity of an artifact is something that all had wanted to study. Ri'saad went on his way.

This one hates errands. It gets especially annoying when someone else gives them to me in such a way. Ri'saad made the long trek away to town, stopping by the inn. This one strode through the inn to the man that looked like he was the innkeeper. He said he didn't have them. This one would rather spare you the details, love. It was tiresome.

As Ri'saad stepped out onto the porch, this one noticed something very strange about the environment. Everything seemed still. The snowflakes had ceased, the trees stood stiff, and the air had no breeze. Within a few moments, this one realized that time had stopped, and everything was motionless. A voice rang in my head.

"You must leave for the College immediately. Run, with haste, for the great catastrophe has already begun."

The stone floor was splattered with a deep, vengefully red color. It began atop the staircase. One guard was torn open with fury, a long gash of the fluid leading one half of the man to the other. A red branch led down the stairs, flowed and stretched in shape. Hitting the bottom, the line took a turn to the hall of the feast. It wound in stains along a stolen carpet. It spread itself every which way about the thrashed and ruined room. It slipped through the gaping holes of scattered bodies. An unruly hub-and-spoke pattern of blood surrounded the shattered dining table, where gold septims lay littered about a marauder's remains, smashed into the center of the table with a beastly force. The blood departed the scene, dragged through halls, tossed upon walls, leading past cell after cell, until it reached the feral feet of Rodryck, the murderous werewolf of the clan Dragon-born.

His sharp, fearsome claws pulled at the iron bars of my cell. He could've smashed his way through, but the last thing on his itinerary was to get me killed. I knew of this... part of him long before we were captured. This fact was the only force suppressing my fear.

I guess I'll never know why he trusted me more than the others. All I know is that he feared to use this ability unless there was no other way to save himself. He didn't want Karal'e to know. I suppose it's understandable.

The seams of the door finally gave way. The tall, iron gate was lifted easily from its place, and tossed down the hall. We left the bloodied bandit prison to make our escape.

"It is too late to save anybody."

This one ran as fast as he could across the bridge that once made him tremble.

"You have failed, and will pay for your mistakes with loss and grief."

The front tower grew taller and taller. A threatening pillar of teal light rose higher and higher from the building.

"It doesn't matter how fast you run. They will still die because of you."

Ri'saad finally entered the main building. The gates of the learning hall were accompanied by a strong, rippling force-field. On the other side, this one saw a figure standing in front of the Orb. Several students gathered behind me.

"We need to get in right now!", J'zargo shouted. "This one saw the Dark Elf and the Arch-Mage walk in before this started happening."

With little time to waste, Ri'saad readied a lightning spell. "Everybody, do as this one does!" Five mages striking the field did nothing to weaken it. The power of the Orb was too strong; It must have been somehow manipulated. This one strengthened his spell by dual-casting. The barrier only barely began to falter.

We finally broke out to the midnight plains. Rodryck immediately bound for the road, and I struggled to keep up with him. The manor wasn't close, but not too far to travel to by foot. He leapt and tore through the low valley brush. Then, suddenly, he stopped. An enemy had caught sight of us. I hid behind a tree to get a view of it: A giant. It stomped on the ground, throwing me off balance. Rodryck was unfazed. He pounced onto the giant's waist, tearing with wild abandon at the pale flesh, gouging through meat and muscle. The tall monster fell to the stout beast. Our werewolf, infuriated, tore the steel arrows from the giant's back.

Wait, arrows?

I realized something was off. Those arrows weren't mine. I had no bow. I noticed Rodryck was being shot at by somebody else, but he wasn't fighting back. Realizing who our opponent was, I made my presence clear, ordering them to stop. The archer lowered his bow at the leader's command. I identified myself and their beastly target. Upon the realization, Karal'e's eyes widened.

The curtain of magic gave way as our spells reduced to static. This one burst through the gates to the learning hall. Whatever was going on, it needed to be stopped. The voice would not let Ri'saad forget.

"You have missed your last chance."

To the side, the hooded figure of the dark elf kneeled by the Arch-Mage. He reached out toward me in helplessness. The elf rose to his feet, softly unsheathing his blade from Savos Aren's elder heart.

"Your power, your determination, could never be enough."

The dark mage removed his hood. He turned. The light outlined his face. He couldn't have my lover, so he settled for my mentors.

"There is little time left. The only thing left to salvage is yourself!"

The words rose in fury as the Orb's magic continued to expand from its seams. Channels of light shimmered and snapped. The warnings left no better interpretation. The Eye of Magnus was about to self-destruct. This one grabbed J'zargo by the arm and pulled him towards the courtyard.

As we were nearing the outer gates, the walls of the main chamber broke apart. Rocks tore into the chamber and burst out of the other side, swinging back around to collide with other buildings and trees. The cloud of spinning debris grew greater and greater, the upper floors barely able to maintain themselves. We were nearly across the bridge when they gave way to a giant void. A massive explosion eradicated the ruins of the College. Not paying any attention to our direction, this one felt the ground lurch, and suddenly blacked out.