Chapter 8

Onmund was bored. He was ashamed to admit it, but it was the truth. Ever since he had arrived at the college almost a week ago he hadn't learned a single new thing. Like most new students, at first he was overwhelmed and exhilarated by the enormity and beauty of the historic college. For nearly all of his life he couldn't remember a time he didn't dream of being where he was now: enrolled at the College of Winterhold as a student of the arcane arts. His first few days had been filled with excitement at meeting his fellow students and settling in to his new home and looking forward to his first classes with great eagerness.

But at the moment he was bored. He stood in the Hall of the Elements listening to Tolfdir's lesson. Well he wasn't really listening; Tolfdir was going on about something and Onmund couldn't be bothered paying attention. The master wizard had done nothing but go over the most basic of magical elements which Onmund had mastered years ago. True, he hadn't mastered every novice level spell but he also knew several apprentice level spells and felt that ought to count for something. But instead he was treated by the masters as though he had never so much as picked up a spell tomb before. A small part of him wondered if the other members of the college thought him inept because he was the only Nord at the college and most Nords shunned or even feared anything arcane. None of his fellow mages had acted outwardly prejudice against him but it was only the first week of the semester and he hadn't gotten to know them all very well yet. At the moment there were only two other mages in class with him: a Khajiit named J'zargo and a Dunmer named Brelyna.

J'zargo seemed friendly enough but was annoyingly vocal about his accomplishments and abilities. They hadn't done enough magic during lessons for Onmund to know if J'zargo's overconfidence was truly backed by skill or if his was bravado was merely an act. Only time would tell he supposed. Brelyna was nice but seemed very serious about her studies and had so far kept mostly to herself. The one time Onmund had tried to ask her about her background she had gotten defensive and snapped at him.

He sighed internally as Tolfdir continued his lecture. 'If something interesting doesn't happen soon, I'm going to go completely mad.' Onmund thought to himself. Just then the sound of the large doors opening caught his attention.

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Katlyn pushed open one of the large doors and entered the Hall of the Elements. It was a large beautiful circular chamber with an incredibly high ceiling and tall glass windows. In the center of the chamber another of the wells stood casting a soft blue light throughout the room giving it a very magical ambiance. On the far side of the room a small group of mages were gathered around listening to an older man Katlyn could only assume to be Tolfdir. As he caught sight of Katlyn approaching he stopped his lecture and turned to face her.

"Welcome, welcome! We were just beginning." He said smiling at her warmly, "another new student to the college?" Katlyn nodded and shifted her feet unsure of what to say.

"What's your name, my dear? Don't be shy." Tolfdir prompted gently.

"I'm Katlyn." She answered without thinking her eyes still darting around the room distracted by the enormity of the hall's architecture. A half second after the words had left her mouth she could have kicked herself all the way back to Riften for not thinking to give a fake name. She could practically feel Brynjolf wincing in disapproval at her. An embarrassed flush crept up the back of her neck.

"Welcome Katlyn, we were just beginning. Please stay and listen." Tolfdir said turning back towards the group.

Onmund was no longer paying attention to Tolfdir. 'Katlyn? That's a Nordic name. I'm so glad I'm not the only one here! I wonder which part of Skyrim she's from." Onmund mused while subtly trying to position himself to get a better look at the new comer. He couldn't see much of her face because she had her hood pulled down to low. Frowning slightly he decided he would a make it a point to speak to her after the lesson. Then some part of his mind became aware that Tolfdir was still speaking and realized he should probably start listening.

"So as I was saying, the first thing to understand is that magic is by its very nature volatile and dangerous. Unless you can control it, it can and will destroy you," Tolfdir continued seriously. Abruptly Brelyna spoke up.

"Sir, I think we all understand that. We wouldn't be here if we couldn't control magic."

Onmund silently agreed with her. Tolfdir was beginning to remind him of his parents and all the times they tried to scare him off of magic by talking about how dangerous it could be.

"Of course my dear or course. You all certainly possess some form of natural ability. That much is not being questioned." Tolfdir answered her with just the faintest hint of annoyance creeping into his voice. "What I'm talking about is true control, mastery of magic. It takes years if not decades of practice and study."

Katlyn nodded in silent agreement with Tolfdir. She knew firsthand how devastating an effect magic could have on someone. She didn't know if the enchanted war hammer that had robbed her of her memories had been wielded by a storm mage or just some random mercenary who somehow got his hands on an enchanted weapon, either way her life still felt the effects of its magic. She doubted the person who enchanted the hammer had intended for it to destroy her life but wondered all the same what would have become of her if perhaps they had decided against casting a lightening spell upon the weapon. She was very glad and relieved to hear Tolfdir counseling control and restraint. Just then a sharp pain shot through the old injury at the back of her skull. She exhaled sharply, wincing at the pain. Though thankfully no one seemed to have noticed. Just then the voice of the Khajiit broke through her thoughts.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's get started!" J'zargo exclaimed impatiently. 'Yeah what he said!' thought Onmund, 'let's get down to business already.' He flexed his palms itching to start throwing spells around.

Katlyn's left eyebrow arched in surprise. She was slightly shocked at how overeager and seemingly reckless her fellow students seemed to be. It had taken her months and months of practice and dedication to master archery and to achieve her level of swordsmanship and these guys expected to be master wizards the second they arrive?

"Please, please this is exactly what I'm talking about." Tolfdir cried now visibly frustrated with his pupils. "Eagerness must be tempered with caution else disaster is inevitable." Finally, Onmund could remain quiet no longer.

"But we've only just arrived here. You've no idea what any of us are capable of! Why don't you give us a chance to show what we can do?" He hoped he didn't sound to disrespectful but he was tired of being coddled and desperately wanted some new spells to master. Tolfdir was quiet for a moment then looked directly at Katlyn.

"You've been quiet so far. What do you think we should do?" Katlyn's eyes widened. He expected her to decide? She didn't know the first thing about magic and hardly felt qualified to give an opinion. She considered for a moment then answered.

"I think we should learn something practical." She had almost said "safe" but changed her mind at the last moment. She didn't want the other students to think she was afraid and Tolfdir might even have something practical he could teach her that would be useful down the road.

"Is that so?" Tolfdir replied considering her answer.

"See she agrees with us too! Why don't you actually show us something?" Brelyna interrupted again. Katlyn's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She didn't agree with them, that is not what she had said. She didn't like the Dunmer twisting her words.

"That's not wha-" She started annoyed before Tolfdir cut her off.

"Alright let's settle down. I suppose we can try something practical. In continuing with our theme of safety we'll start with Wards. Wards are protective spells that block magic. I'll teach you all a ward and we'll see if you can successfully use it to block spells. Alright would you mind helping me with a demonstration? Are you at all familiar with ward spells?" He asked looking at Katlyn. Suddenly uncomfortable Katlyn looked at the floor. Was this another test? She doubted she could bluff her way out of this one. After a second's consideration she decided honesty was the best option. She was a new student after all; she couldn't reasonably be expected to know everything.

"I don't know any Ward spells." Katlyn admitted looking back up at her teacher.

"That's alright; I can teach you a very basic ward, one that's enough for the purposes of this lesson." He took her aside for a second and explained how the Ward spell worked. To her surprise his instructions were perfectly clear; it was amazing the difference between reading about a spell in a tomb and having an actual teacher explain things.

"Now if you'll just stand right over there and I'll cast a spell at you and you block it with a ward." Tolfdir said gesturing across the room," Over there please. Just opposite me wouldn't want anyone else in the way." Katlyn moved to where he had instructed and turned to face him suddenly very nervous. She followed Tolfdir's instruction and was successfully able to cast the Ward between her palms. It was remarkable; she didn't even feel the heat from the Flames spell her teacher cast at her. Wide eyed with surprise and elation at her success, she looked up at Tolfdir who was smiling at her.

"Well I think this is an excellent start. I'd like you all to continue practicing with wards please. Go on pair up now. One of you will cast a spell and the other will block it with their Ward."

Onmund didn't have to be told twice. This is what he had been waiting for a chance to actually use spells in class. And to make his day even better he was now no longer the only Nord at the college. J'zargo opened mouth to speak to Onmund but he brushed past the Kajiit towards the newcomer.

"Hello Katlyn." At the sound of her name she turned her head towards the young man before her. "New here too, eh? It's good to see another Nord. I feared I would be the only one. It almost doesn't feel like Skyrim, being so far away from the rest of the world here. Uh, anyway you want to be my practice partner?" Onmund stopped abruptly realizing he was babbling.

"And you are?" Katlyn asked smirking slightly as his apparent enthusiasm.

"I'm Onmund" He said raising a hand and scratching the back of his head through his hood slightly embarrassed. Katlyn looked over the young man before her. He had bright blue eyes, a strong jaw, and nice cheekbones. Like Brynjolf's, his nose was on the slightly large side but it somehow suited his face perfectly. She couldn't tell what color his hair was however, since it was hidden beneath his hood. Overall though she decided he wasn't bad looking at all.

"Nice to meet you Onmund. I'm Katlyn, but I guess you knew that already." She smiled and reached out a hand to shake. Onmund took it and was surprised at the strength in her grip. "Sure I'd love to practice with you."

They took up positions a several feet opposite each other. Katlyn suddenly felt a bit nervous again. Onmund seemed very sure of his abilities and she hoped she could keep up with him. As a stealth archer this form of combat was completely alien to Katlyn. 'This is not the sort of training I'm used to,' she thought as she cast Flames at Onmund's Ward. For several minutes they practiced taking turns casting spells back and forth. Onmund seemed to favor lightening spells which made her feel more uneasy than she would have if he had been using either fire or ice magic. But she supposed she would have to get over her aversion to lightening magic in spite of her injury.

Katlyn stopped casting her Flames spell and Onmund dropped his Ward.

"Good. Okay my turn." Onmund said summoning a Sparks spell into his hand. During their practice he couldn't help but notice Katlyn's stance was lower to the ground and more combative than any of the other mages. She also held her hands awkwardly as if she wasn't used to what they were doing. He wondered how long she had been studying magic, if she had any previous training at all, and how she had managed to get into the college if that were indeed the case.

Katlyn nodded and put up her Ward. She was breathing harder than normal and beginning to wonder how long they were expected to practice for. Even though they were novice level spells, Onmund's spells were strong and she blocking them was requiring all of her concentration.

Onmund cast Sparks at her and she summoned the Ward. The electricity slammed into the magical shield between her hands effectively blocking the spell. The abruptly her Ward fell without warning. The electricity had mostly been dissipated by the Ward but the force of the black knocked Katlyn several feet back onto the ground. Acting purely out of fighter's instinct she twisted her upper body and fell onto her forearms keeping her head from slamming into the stone floor.

Suddenly in her mind's eye she was back in the training room in the Ragged Flagon Cistern. She had been knocked on her butt yet again during a hand to hand sparring session with Brynjolf and he stood over her smirking triumphantly. "Ya got te' be quicker next time, Lass." Katlyn smirked at the memory.

Onmund felt his hear skip a beat. He'd pushed too hard with his spells and now look what had happened! What would they do if he had hurt her? Surely they wouldn't expel him? He rushed over to where Katlyn had fallen.

'Maybe this is my sort of training after all,' Katlyn thought ironically. She shook her head and started giggling. As she started to push herself up to a sitting position, the mental image of Brynjolf was replaced by the real Onmund standing over her with a very concerned look on his face.

"By the Nine! Katlyn, are you okay?!" He asked feeling like his heart was in his throat. Her hood had fallen back and for the first time he could see Katlyn's face and what he saw there both relieved and confused him. She was laughing. Her bright red hair had spilled out of her hood and over shoulders and her green eyes danced with amusement as they looked up at him; he hadn't expected her to be so pretty. He had no idea what on earth was so funny but she didn't seem to be hurt.

"Yeah I'm alright. You pack quite a punch there, my friend!" She said trying to suppress her giggles. "I'll have my work cut out for me keeping up with you." Onmund couldn't help but feel a bit pleased at the compliment but still felt bad for knocking her down. He offered a hand to help her up and she took it. He felt callouses on her hands and wondered how they had gotten there. The only people who had hands like that were hard laborers and warriors and the woman before him didn't look like either of the two.

"Well, as long as you're okay." He said pulling her to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm good. . . woah" A sudden wave of nauseating dizziness gripped her causing her to stagger slightly. Without thinking her hand found Onmund's shoulder and used it to steady herself.

"Kat, what's wrong?!" Onmund wrapped an arm around her waist steadying her. He looked down at her concerned.

"Is everything alright over here?" Tolfdir's voice came from behind him. Onmund winced.

"I dunno what happened," Katlyn spoke up, " I was casting the Ward like you showed us and then out of nowhere it just. . . stopped" she waved her hand wiggling her fingers to illustrate the spell dissipating.

"I see. And do you feel dizzy or nauseous at all?" Tolfdir said nodding.

"Yes actually." Katlyn looked up at him surprised. Her instructor smiled gently.

"My dear, you've simply exhausted your magicka. When one tries casting spells beyond their currant endurance it can cause the body to experience dizziness and even vomiting."

"Wait . . . you can run out of magic?" Katlyn asked incredulous she'd never heard of such a thing.

"Yes, just like a warrior's stamina can begin to run out and he becomes exhausted and no longer able to fight. The same is true of a mage's magic." Katlyn supposed that made sense. On her journey to the college her practice sessions had only been a few minutes at a time and she hadn't even come close to exerting the effort she had in that day's class.

'How on earth does she not know this?' Onmund thought to himself. He'd long ago discovered the limits of his own magical ability and worked to push them further every day. 'What kind of student of the arcane, even a new one, doesn't even know the first thing about what they've dedicated their life to studying?'

"Why don't you leave today's lesson early and get a head start on the reading assignment for the rest of the afternoon?" Tolfdir suggested. "Onmund, you can continue practicing with Brelyna and J'zargo."

Onmund nodded and then realized his arm was still around Katlyn's waist. He quickly removed it as she giggled a bit awkwardly. Katlyn started for the door then turned back.

"I'll see you around, Onmund." She called and gave him a little wave before pulling her hood back up and slipping out the door.

Onmund stared after her a moment once she'd gone wondering about the woman he'd just met. Then the Kajiit's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Why does this one stare after her? Is she what you Nords would consider to be beautiful?" J'zargo asked curiously, a hint of a smirk playing across his feline features.

"Let's just get back to work." Onmund replied annoyed.

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Later that evening Katlyn said cross legged on her bed with her journal open in front of her. She dipped her quill in the ink well and was finishing up her account of the day when she heard footsteps outside her door.

"Katlyn?" she looked up at the sound of name. It was the student from her lesson. He stood just outside the doorway hovering a bit awkwardly as if he didn't want intrude.

"Hi, Onmund. What's up?" she smiled up at him from under her hood.

"So, uh, I just wanted to apologize again for what happened in class. I didn't mean to knock you down." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Katlyn laughed.

"Don't worry about it, seriously. You're not the first Nord man to knock me on my ass and I assure you will not be the last." Onmund didn't know what she meant by that but considered his apology accepted.

"Okay, good." He nodded towards her journal. "What are you working on there?"

"Just some notes. I find writing stuff down helps me remember it. It's nothing really important."

"The other novice mages and I were going to head down to The Frozen Hearth for dinner and drinks." Onmund told her leaning a hand against her door frame.

"Oh, okay." Katlyn nodded and looked back down at her journal. Good, she could get a bit of privacy to write in her journal and maybe sneak out to practice with her weapons. She couldn't afford to get rusty.

Onmund paused not sure she had taken his meaning. ". . . Do you want to come with us?"

"Oh!" She looked up a bit surprised. For a second she considered the offer. "Yes, I'd like that."

"Great. I'll walk with you." Onmund said smiling at her. Katlyn quickly put her journal away and followed him out of the hall.