~ Chapter Seventeen ~

Good Intent

Luz opened her eyes to darkness. But it wasn't an absence of light, but rather a prevalence of inky shadows that seemed to peer at her from the corners of the non-existent room.

It took her a moment to recognize the lack of room and another to move. Her limbs were sluggish, like she was wading through water.

"Willow?"

Her voice echoed back at her from the dark, just like that vision of the man in yellow robes.

"Gus?"

Figures moved in the dark. Hulking shadows - hunched and cloaked - stopped and turned to face her, only visible for their movement.

"Amity?"

They lurched toward her, more and more of them, shambling, stumbling, green eyes igniting as boney hands reached for her.

Luz tried to scream, but the ink poured into her mouth and her eyes, fingers gripping her wrists and throat and tearing at her sides. Arms made of slime and bone, long fleshy kelp that snared each flailing limb - all of it pulling, dragging, deeper and deeper.

The darkness watched her drown, and in the far distance, she could hear a distant roar and smell the searing of skin and hair…

Luz coughed and gasped, light flooding her vision from the end of porcelain fingers. She felt a hand grip her shoulder and in a panic, she jerked away, falling back and off the bed.

The hand held fast though, which was a mistake because whoever was attached to it wasn't strong enough to keep her upright.

With a crash, Luz tumbled out onto the cold floor, wrapped in sweat-soaked green blankets.

Still able to feel boney fingers clawing at her, Luz threw herself back into a corner, hand flying out on instinct, searching for her staff.

"Luz, wait!"

Luz's senses came back as quickly as the staff did. Distracted by the sight of a disheveled Amity slumped on her bed, neither of them reacted to the staff cracking first into Amity's head and then into Luz's nose.

Amity slowly picked herself up from the bed, rubbing her head. "Luz? Are you okay?"

Luz was already trying to stand up, blood spilling over her mouth and fully tangled in the blanket. "Amity! I'm sorry, I didn't mean - I mean, I didn't know I could, but… are you alright?"

"Oh Gods," Amity said, shaking her head. "Let's hope you didn't just break your nose."

She slid over the bed and helped Luz stand, guiding her back down to the bed before grabbing a clean strip of bandage and handing it to Luz.

Luz pressed the cloth to her nose, winced, and laughed. "Oh, boy. No, not broken, but that stings." She smiled through the pain as Amity sat back down in the chair next to the bed. "Sorry about the head. I don't know what happened."

"Your staff," Amity said, gesturing to the staff - which had righted itself, leaning in a corner. "Is a Valenwood staff, sung-carved from a haft-oak by a masterful craftsman. It's imbued with a Daedric vestige. You'd have to ask your mentor for details, but it's… somewhat aware? Not really able to act on its own, but able to respond to those it has bonded with."

Luz looked at the staff. "Aw, buddy? I could have been talking to you this whole time and not looked weird?"

"No," Amity said, matter of factly. "No, you would still have looked weird. Please don't talk to it."

Luz nodded, but stage whispered out the side of her mouth, "Don't worry, buddy. We'll chat later."

Amity shook her head, but couldn't hide the small smile.

"So," Luz said, tilting her head back and re-wadding the bandage. "The last thing I remember was holding an undead man bodily against a magical forcefield. How'd that go?"

Amity's smile faded. "You need to be more careful, Luz."

"I'm fine," Luz said. "It's not like you were in a position to defend yourself. I did what I had to."

"It's been three days, Luz."

Amity let that statement hang in the air for a minute before taking Luz's silence to continue.

"You were knocked out. I thought… it was a hard blow. There was blood. Masters Tolfdir and Gane managed to disperse Jyrik's wraith - his body was destroyed by you and Willow. She helped me stabilize you and then we got you back here.

"But you've been tossing and turning for a few days. You woke up once or twice… screaming about fire and darkness. You… you really worried Willlow. When the Archmage asked Onmund to do another search for some books, he chose her and Augustus, and she asked me to keep an eye on you."

"Oh," Luz said, looking over the chair, a cold cup of tea on the desk and a discarded blanket on the floor. Clearly, Amity had been sleeping there before Luz woke up.

She dabbed at her nose. It was sore but not broken, and the blood had almost stopped. "Well, I'm okay now. Thank you."

"No, Luz, you're not." Amity's fists clenched. "You can't just run in head first against something like that. You're no battlemage. Oblivion, you're barely able to swing a mace. And your magic is… is-"

"Amity." Luz looked at her reproachfully. "I thought we'd got past this."

"You can't defend yourself, Luz!" Amity's jaw clenched and she looked away. "I… don't want you to get hurt because of me. Not again."

"I can look after myself just fine."

"Not against someone like Jyrik!"

Amity stood and made for the doorway, but stopped, conflict clearly weighing on her.

"Amity," Luz said, giving her the chance to go.

She didn't.

"You're keeping a lot to yourself. I know-" She choked a little on the words but pushed on. "I know I'm not like the rest of you. Magic isn't easy for me. I barely know what I'm doing. But I'm trying. And I've always been a good listener.

"Please, even if I don't understand it all. Please tell me."

"I… can't."

"Then don't tell me to stop protecting my friends," Luz said, letting a little anger creep up. "Because that's what I do. And if you don't understand that by now, then… you're just going to have to deal with it."

Amity looked like she wanted to say something, but ended up just biting her lip and hurrying out of the room.

Luz took some time to roll back out of bed. Everything hurt, though in the same way that her ankle had for a few days after Bleak Falls Barrow. Healing magic was not a straightforward process.

She cleaned up her nose and got dressed in fresh robes. It was only after she'd finished belting them on that she realized they were a bit small, and very well made.

"Are these Amity's?" Luz murmured, checking the sleeves and cuffs for signs of her robes being fixed.

The staff in the corner rattled slightly and Luz smiled at it. "Oh, don't you think I've forgotten about you, mister. Why'd Eda not tell me?"

The staff remained still.

"I guess you can't really speak, huh? Just a piece of wood."

The staff rocked.

"Sorry, not 'just' a piece of wood," Luz laughed. "I didn't mean to insult."

She held out her hand and the staff lept into her fingers. Luz snickered, quickly realizing she was making a terribly awkward face, and straightened her features before she walked out of the door to the Hall of Attainment.

She didn't really know where she was going, but as her feet directed her toward the library - maybe she could corner Amity and they could hash this uncomfortable ball of nerves out - Ancarno stepped from the Hall of Elements' door and pinned her with a glare.

"You."

Luz looked around herself and then smiled. "Me?"

"You." Ancarno advanced on her. "The Archmage heard that you'd awakened at last. He's spoken with Miss Blightward already, and wants an accounting from you as well as to the events that happened under Saarthal."

"Well, I'll go see him now," Luz said, very aware as to how Ancarno loomed over her. His nose was made for looking down at people, and his smile was a gruesome line, humorless.

"Good. I will escort you."

Luz was half-dragged, half-shoved up the stairs to the Archmage's quarters.

As they arrived, Archmage Savos turned from his conversation with a man in yellow robes.

Luz narrowed her eyes at him, confused.

So it hadn't been a dream?

"Ah. Lucaeda, right?" Savos gestured to the man in yellow. "We've been expecting you, I suppose."

"You again," Ancarno said, glaring. "Well? If it wasn't the last girl, is it this one?"

Luz looked from Savos to Ancarno and finally to the man in yellow.

She couldn't see his whole face, but from what she could, he seemed kind. His eyes gleamed and the smile he gave her, though worried, reached his eyes.

"No," he said. "I don't think so. Wait. Step forward, my lady. Into the light."

Go to the Midden. Find the Library of Eyes.

Luz blinked. She stepped forward, holding her staff close, and squinted at the man. "Did you-?"

"Yes." The man nodded. "I asked you to step closer."

Do not let the Thalmor follow you. You cannot avoid this future. You must rise to meet it.

Luz frowned. Where was that whispering coming from if not the man in yellow?

Said man - an Altmer, actually, by his golden skin and sharp chin - looked over her and then shook his head. "No. No, I'm sorry. This is not her."

Savos breathed loudly. "Well, I'm glad you could waste my time once again, Quaranir."

"Apologies, Archmage." The man bowed.

I am sorry to be so obtuse. The Order does not interfere. But I must. These events cannot be stopped. But they must be directed, for the good of all.

Luz shook her head, slightly, willing the whisper to hear her back. Who was he? What was he doing here? Did Amity know? Had he told her any of this? What was she supposed to do?

But he merely smiled and bowed to her. "My apologies for disrupting your studies, Mage. I wish you luck in your endeavors."

"Hold on, you Psijic beguiler." Ancarno stormed forward, shoving Luz aside. "You requested a member of the College. A girl, one who had arrived recently. It wasn't the other two, so it must be this one."

"She is not." Quarinar's smile became fixed. "I was mistaken. Perhaps the recipient of my intent has not yet made it here. In any case, this is not she."

"Then who is it?"

"I do not know." Quarinar bowed now to Ancarno. "Now, Thalmor, if you would excuse me. If she is not here, she might be elsewhere. I must find them."

Tell no one. Trust no one.

And with that, Quarinar strode toward the doorway.

Ancarno muttered something under his breath and rounded on Luz. "What did he want with you?"

"I don't know," Luz said, finding the truth to be very easy.

Ancarno's face twisted into a sneer that made Luz's spine crawl, and his hands twitched as if they wanted to wrap around her neck.

Savos placed a hand on her shoulder. "Ancarno. I think you should take a breath of air with me. Let this young lady run along. She's had an ordeal these last few days."

"Yes," Ancarno said, hissing through gritted teeth. "A… a sound idea, Archmage."

"Good. Go on. I'll catch you up."

Ancarno stalked away, black leather robes flapping like a bat.

Savos waited for the door to close behind him before he turned to Luz. "You honestly don't know what a member of the Psijics would want with you?"

"Honestly, sir," Luz said, shrugging. "I barely know who the Psijics are."

"Probably better to keep it that way," Savos said, stroking his goatee. "They have a long history of provoking the Thalmor, snooping into powers better left alone. Best to just… keep your head down."

"Yes, Archmage."

Luz headed straight for the library, almost bumping into the orc librarian - Urag gro-Shub - in her hurry.

"Watch it," he grumbled, his stack of books wobbling. Luz caught one that slid off the top.

"Sorry," she said. "Can I help you?"

"Well," Urag grunted, his eyes glancing over her. "They're pretty heavy. But… sure. Just be careful. Many of them are very old."

"Getting them out of storage or something?" Luz asked, shouldering her staff and taking the top half-dozen, balancing them effortlessly on one hip. She grinned when he cocked an eyebrow at her. "I've carried ten flagons of ale at a time for my Mami's inn. This is nothing."

"Huh," he grunted again. "Not nothing. And yes, as a matter of fact. The Archmage wanted to scour the tomes for references to that thing you and Amity found under Saarthal."

"I saw it in the Hall," Luz said, remembering a very brief glimpse of the sphere in the center of the room, before Ancarno rushed her upstairs. "So we don't know what it is?"

"Plenty of theories," he said. "Also plenty of missing books. Damned Andragail and her gaggle of fools stole several when they left. The Archmage has been having people track them down for weeks now. Quite the uproar you understand."

"Yeah," Luz said, glancing around while following him to the collection of center tables, where several mages were already deep in piles of tomes. "Hey, where's Amity?"

"Ugh," the librarian growled. "A nuisance for not being here. She's very good at skimming through a tome, doing research. Could use her right now. But she's off in the Midden again, most likely. Archmage gives her too much leeway. But that's what Blightward money will get you, I suppose."

"What do you mean?"

"Thanks, Urag," Mirabelle said, taking some of the orc's book pile. "Ah, Luz. Good to see you about again. Had me worried for a few days."

Luz smiled. "Aw, you were worried about me? That's nice."

"Yes. I don't have your next of kin." Mirabelle slid parchment and quill out from under J'zargo's book, causing the Khajit to curse. "Write it down in the case of your death. I need a place to send whatever remains there are."

"Oh," Luz said. That was more like her.

She took the parchment and quill and quickly jotted down 'Edalyn Clawthorne, Lady of Owls -' and stopped.

She didn't know where Eda 'lived' really. And besides, she wasn't at the cottage. She was with Martin and the Grey Beards.

But she wasn't even Luz's next of kin. That was her mother. All the way in Cyrodiil, in a tiny town no one had ever heard of.

In the end, Luz handed the parchment back to Mirabelle and turned to Urag. "So where is the Midden?"

"What?" The orc looked up from his book. "Why?"

"Archmage Aren asked me to get Amity, but then Ancarno needed him, and blah-blah-blah," Luz waved her hand dismissively. "Long story short, I don't know where it is."

The orc sighed. "There's a trap door in the courtyard. Take a right out of the Hall of Elements. Hard to miss if you look. Be careful. Don't go too deep."

"Thank you."

Luz was gone by the time Mirabelle looked up from the parchment, her usually stoic expression confused.

"What's wrong?" Urag asked, taking the parchment from her.

First of Kin: Camilla Nochtim, Cyrodiil, Cropsford, 'Good For You' Inn

Second of Kin: Edalyn Clawthorne, Lady of Owls, Falkreath Hold, Lakeview Cottage

Third of Kin: Jarl Balgruuf/Irileth/Farengar, Dragonsreach, Whiterun

If sending remains to Mami, just make sure I have all my parts. She'll come for you if you don't.

Thanks

Reading it over, he looked up at Mirabelle, who met his gaze before they both looked after where the spit of a girl had run to.

Author's Note:

Well, it's official - I've caught up to my backlog. Chapters will be a bit slower from this point on, maybe one every few days, as opposed to the daily pace so far. Once again, thank you to those who have been reading all this time, and a special thank you to OMAC001 for their reviews.

I love to hear thoughts, comments - whatever - about the story, where it's going, and anything that seems unexplained.

This is most certainly a rough draft. When I'm done, I might move on to another story, and let this rest awhile, or I might go back and refine some things.

In either case, critique is always welcome (if anyone has any tips on formatting… this is definitely something I have problems with. I swear it looked nice in GoogleDocs!)

Once more - thank you for reading.

Trivia:

The date is the 12th of Hearthfire.

This is officially the start of original content. For the sake of narrative, I need to bring some threads together, and that means editing quest content.

Does anyone else miss the length of the Mage's Guild/University from Oblivion? The College questline felt like it took a few days or a week, including travel time, to go from undergrad to dean.

My favorite part of this - and any crossover - is figuring out how to mesh the worlds, which usually involves a few deep dives into the lore that doesn't get much screen time.

Anyway, here is my 'quick build' of Lucaeda Nochtim:

Lucaeda Nochtim

Little Light, Paper-Mage

+ Runes/Scrolls/Staves

+ Alteration (magelight, signature spell)

- Restoration (Sunfire, no healing spells)

- Sneak

- Speech

- One-Handed (Blunt)

Rules:

Can use any staves or scrolls, but cannot cast on her own.

Can cast any Rune spell, unrestricted.

Can cast Magelight as needed.

Can cast 'normally' if Chosen Staff is wielded. (Any unique or self-enchanted staff (Staff of Magnus, etc.))