Hey everyone, so sorry for the long delay between chapters. I had originally wanted to post this on Friday, but some things came up and so i pushed it back to Monday, which had more conflicts (damn you, Monday Night Football). But without further ado, here is chapter 3. I promise things will start picking up soon, so stay tuned.
As always, feel free to leave any feedback, good bad or otherwise.
Winterhold's Finest
Chapter 3: Acceptance
"Cross the bridge at your own peril. The way is dangerous and the gate will not open. You shall not gain entry."
"My name is Revan Midley, and I would like to enter the College so I can learn more about magic." Revan replied.
"Is that so?" the woman said. "You want something from the College, but the real question is what can you offer the College? If you really wish to enter, I will need to give you a few small tests."
Revan considered for a moment. Too late to back out now he thought. "I will take any test you give me." Revan said. The woman gave a small smile and nodded.
"That is a good sign. Now, if you could come over here and stand on the College seal right here, you will have your first test" the woman said, indicating the ground in front of her. A large seal was engraved into the ground, shaped like a five-pointed star with a large eye in the middle. Revan walked over and stood in the middle of the seal. When he did so, it began to glow a bluish color and hummed quietly. "Yes, excellent. You definitely have talent for magic, that much is clear. You may step off the seal now."
Revan moved back to the edge of the stairs, and the glow around the seal vanished. "It would seem you do have something to offer the College. Apologies, fellow mage" the woman said as she bowed her head. "We've had some, lets say, difficulties with the locals recently. We just needed to make sure you had good intentions. Now Mr. Midley, what is it you wish to learn at the College?"
"I wish only to learn more about magic. I've only known about my abilities for a few years now, and I never really received any actual training. Most of what I know is from reading books and observing others."
The woman nodded. "Yes, I was that much was apparent when you stepped on the seal. You see, it measures your raw levels of magicka as well as your potential to channel the energy necessary to cast magic and to control that energy. I was able to see that you have enormous potential as a mage, but you currently lack the focus necessary to control it entirely. A perfect reason to be at the College, if I do say so. I think you'll fit right in."
The woman thought for a minute, then said "In your case, I think the rest of the tests are not necessary. You show a true willingness to learn, and you have the potential to be a very powerful mage if you control your powers. Please, head up the path here and across the bridge. Once across, you will be in the College itself. Look for Mirabelle Ervine, our Master Wizard. She will show you around and get you settled." She then smiled. "Welcome to the College of Winterhold Revan. Good luck."
Thanking the woman, Revan made his way along the path and across the bridge, trying very hard not to notice that it was extremely worn and parts had fallen into the sea below. He crossed without incident however, and found himself facing the gate, just like woman said.
The gate looked ancient, but yet it still stood. Countless others had passed through them, and with luck, countless more would do so. As Revan got close, the gates slowly creaked open. As there seemed to be no mechanism to operate them, Revan guessed they had some magical properties, probably opening when they sensed magicka.
Once through the gates, Revan was standing in the College proper. He looked around the large circular courtyard. In the center, standing several times his height, was a statue of a powerful looking mage, his arms spread wide and robes flapping in the wind. Certainly a dramatic image, but it gets the point across Revan thought. Directly in front of the great statue was what looked like a well, but instead of water, Revan saw a swirling blue mist, and from the center a pillar of light rose into the air, at least several hundred feet Revan guessed. Spread around the rest of the courtyard were several trees and some bushes. Most of the trees were barren, but the biggest not only was covered in leaves but had a trunk a couple feet thick. Might be a good place to set up an archery target later, if they'll allow it Revan thought.
Revan walked around the base of the mage statue, and saw a woman sitting on a bench next to the great double doors of the main hall. She was appeared to be engrossed in the book on her lap, but as Revan approached, she said "You must be our new apprentice." Slightly startled that she already knew of him, he asked "How did you know that? I only just arrived." The woman looked up at him and said "As soon as you set foot on the bridge, we became aware of your presence. A bit of added security I'm afraid. The locals don't think very highly of us. No incidents as of yet, but the Arch-Mage doesn't want to take any chances. Anyway, enough about that. What is your name?"
"Revan Midley," Revan replied.
"Well, welcome to the College of Winterhold, Mr. Midley. I'm Mirabelle Ervine, the College's Master Wizard. Let me give you a quick tour of the campus, and then I'll show you where you will be staying." She stood up and beckoned him to follow.
Over the next half hour, Revan was shown around the entire College grounds. The Hall of Elements, where lectures were held and the mages could practice their spells. The Arcaneum library, where row upon row of bookshelves held thousands of books on just about every subject. As Mirabelle and Revan were leaving, the old librarian, Urag gro-shub, made it very clear what would happen if he did not treat the books with the utmost care. In Urag's words: 'If you so much as crease a single corner on one of the books, you will be torn apart by several angry Atronachs.' At first, Revan thought he must have been joking. But the look in Urag's eye made Revan quickly change his mind.
After the Arcaneum, Revan was led back outside. After crossing the courtyard, they came to a door. "This is the Hall of Attainment. Here is where you will be staying. You'll be sharing this area with your fellow apprentices. We ask that you be as quiet as possible while in the dorms, as students may be working on experiments or studying. Any questions?"
"No ma'am, not right now" Revan said.
"Excellent. Well, this will be your room. Everything here is free for you to use. You'll find a set of robes in the wardrobe there. You are not required to wear them, but you may find them more comfortable both for your studies and for the weather. If you have any questions or need anything, please let one of our senior members know."
Revan opened the wardrobe and took out the robes. "Standard robes for College apprentices. They'll help you cast spells easier. Great for learning spells and practicing them." Mirabelle said. Revan laid them on the bed and placed his rucksack inside.
"Where are the other apprentices?" Revan asked.
"We have a few more enrolled this term, but you are the first one to get here. The term doesn't start for another few days anyway, so you'll have some time to yourself. Feel free to use the mage lights located around the grounds for spell practice, and if you wish, you may use the big tree out in the courtyard for archery practice. Just make sure you are careful with it, or there will be problems. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am. Don't worry, I'll be careful" Revan said.
"I'm sure you will be. Now, I'm sure you're tired from your journey. I'll leave you to get some rest. Your fellow apprentices should start arriving over the next couple of days." With that, she turned and left the room. Alone at last, Revan moved the robes to the chair and unbuckled his weapon belts. I'll unpack tomorrow when I'm not so tired. Maybe I'll take a walk around Winterhold and see what there is to see. With that, Revan disrobed and got into bed, falling asleep soon after.
The next couple of days were uneventful. Revan would wake up early and take a walk into Winterhold. He soon discovered that there wasn't much to the city, if it could still be called that. The only notable buildings were the inn and the Jarl's Longhouse. The former was nice enough, considering the circumstances, and Revan had little reason to visit the latter. So for the most part, Revan spent his time out in the areas around Winterhold, usually trying to hone his archery skills by clearing out some of the local wolves. He even got some practice with his magic on a couple close calls, when a wolf would get too close for a bow. When he wasn't out in the wild, he was in the College courtyard, shooting the target he had set up on a bale of hay under the large tree.
It was during one of his practice sessions that he heard new voices coming from the bridge. Finally, some company he thought as he readied his next shot. He was just about to release the string when he heard his name being shouted from the main gate.
"Revan Midley?! What are you doing out here?" shouted a Redguard from the gate. Revan turned and his jaw almost hit the ground.
"Tom? Is that you?" Revan asked uncertainly. As the Redguard approached, Revan could see it was indeed Tom, his old childhood friend. "Tom! I haven't seen you in years. What are you doing here?"
"Hey, I asked first. It's good to see you, my friend. It's been, what, almost 10 years now? By the Nine, I never thought I'd see you again. What are you doing here at the College?"
"I'm fulfilling the promise I made at my dad's funeral. I promised myself I would learn magic, anyway I could. This is the best place now, and I finally made it here. And what are you doing here? I thought your parents didn't like the idea of magic?"
Tom suddenly looked down, and Revan understood. "They're dead. Died last year. The guards said it was disease, but I don't believe it, especially since I never saw their bodies. 'Too dangerous, don't want it to spread', they said. But I think it was the Thalmor. You remember how vocal they were about their oppression?"
Revan nodded. "Yeah, I remember. They had quite a following too, as I recall. Did the rest of them 'get sick' too?" Tom nodded. "Thought so, that's the same line they tried on me, but luckily, Samuel told me the truth. How is he, by the way?"
"Dunno." Tom replied. "He left the city a few months before my parents died. Haven't seen or heard from him since. It's a shame, really. One of the few city guards not in the Thalmor's pocket. Bastards." Tom shook his head. "Anyway, enough about that. We're here now and that's what matters." He gestured to the Nord standing behind him. "This is Onmund. He and I have been on the same carriage for the past week, and since no one wanted to talk to us, we talked to each other."
Onmund smiled and held out a hand, which Revan shook. "Nice to meet you. Tom told me a few stories during the trip here, so it's nice to actually meet you in person."
Revan laughed. "Hope you didn't tell him everything Tom. Some things are not meant for mortal ears."
Tom laughed as well at this. "Don't worry, I didn't tell him any of the GOOD stories; just enough to pass the time. We'll share some later Onmund, when you're ready."
"I'll hold you to that." Onmund said. "Anyway, we were told to find Mirabelle Ervine. Where is she?"
Revan pointed towards the Hall of the Elements. "Last I saw, she was inside there with a couple of the senior members. She might still be there. If not, I can always show you around."
"We'll let you know." Tom said. "But at the very least, we need to sit down and catch up. It's been far too long and I'm sure you have plenty of interesting stories to tell."
Revan shrugged. "Nothing that would make for a good read, but I have a few adventures I can tell you about. Come find me later and we'll talk." Revan said as he turned back to his target and strung another arrow.
Tom nodded. "You got it. We'll leave you alone for now; don't want to get in the way of your grudge match with that bale of hay." He said with a chuckle as he and Onmund started walking towards the Hall of the Elements. Revan shook his head as he lined up his shot. This just got a whole lot more interesting. Should be fun he thought as he released the string and the arrow embedded itself in the center of the target. Should be fun…