"J'zargo," Onmund hummed into the sleeping cat-man's ear. He had creeped into the khajiit's room despite J'zargo's threats about intruding. "You know what today is?"

J'zargo's tail whipped from his bed and flicked Onmund square in the face. The Nord apprentice jumped back, spitting fur from his mouth.

"J'zargo cares not," the Khajiit hissed lowly, burying his furry head under his pillow. "But he does care there is a hyperactive human intruding in his dormitory. Get out."

"Come on, you over-grown pussy! This is the day we've been waiting for! And you don't want to make a bad impression by being late!" Onmund ripped the covers off the cat-man and pushed him off the tiny bed. He quickly realized that was a grave mistake.

J'zargo yelped and flailed on the stone floor. That yelp quickly turned into a growl. He leapt with the agility of a cougar and began pummeling Onmund with his clawed fists.

"What the hell are you guys doing!?"

The young men immediately ceased their quarrel not because they'd been caught fighting in the dorms, but because the catcher had cursed.

Brelyna stood in the doorway, almost hopping with fright. Her purple eyes were wide and her voice higher than normal as she watched them untangle their selves in horror.

"Bre," Onmund said, pulling himself up and brushing off the dirt, "Cursing is frowned upon the headmaster."

"I—I didn't mean too!" the dark elf squeaked, looking around fearfully as if someone would strike her for breaking such a juvenile rule. "But, you guys should not be fighting, especially not today! Look what you did to your shirt front!"

Onmund looked down at the beige and blue mage robe. The front was shredded. J'zargo chittered with laughter from the floor.

"Damn khajiit…" Onmund said, running his fingers through the slashed holes. "This was my best robe."

"J'zargo didn't mean too," the cat-man purred, "he was aiming for your face."

Onmund made to run at the khajiit again, causing him to flinch. His tail waved back in forth hostility and he bared his teeth, only to break into another fit of laughter.

"Next time, do not try to wake J'zargo." He purred, standing up and walking over to his own bureau. He pulled an identical robe, minus the shreds, and began to pull it on over his sleepwear.

Onmund flashed the cat a vengeful look that did not go unnoticed by Brelyna. The dark elf's eyes grew wider, if that was possible and she cried, "Onmund don't!"

Her civil protests came too late.

XXX

"J'zargo!" Headmistress Mirabelle Ervine cried as the trio emerged from the dorm wing. "What on earth did you do to your robes? You better not have been playing with a flame spell in the dormitory!"

The tidy khajiit pampered the scorched cloth self-consciously and, if it was possible under all that fur, his face turned a deep red. "Flame spell, headmistress?" the cat-man purred lightly, "J'zargo would never." He shot Onmund a glare through his green, slit eyes but did not rat his peer out. J'zargo may have been a liar, a thief, and cheater, but he was not a snitch.

"And, you Onmund!" she exasperated, gesturing at his shredded robe front. "Honestly, you two aren't boys anymore, you need to impress the Archmage. Or do you want to stay apprentices for another year?"

The Onmund gulped and J'zargo's whiskers twitched nervously. Mistress Ervine turned around with a sigh and waved them follow her lead, as if they were still green students. The young men made a truce behind her back.

"Mistress Ervine!" Brelyna peeped, scurrying past her male peers and falling in step with the head mage. "What will the test be about? I studied everything from healing to destruction, from potions to enchantment, and even memorized the migrating patterns of ice wraiths."

"Miss Maryon," Ervine sighed, "This will be your third time taking the test, that's more than I ever had to take. You know how it works better than I do."

"But, Mistress, you designed the exam—Mistress—!"

Ervine jogged up the stairs, leaving behind Brelyna to stumble on her words. The boys shouldered past the nervous elf and stood at the bottom step, waiting for the Mistress to address them further.

"Apprentices," she projected in a voice grandeur than her small frame could assumedly produce, "this is your exam to move onto the next stage of your mage training. If you can pass this, you will be welcomed into the researcher field here at the college and can begin using your abilities to help us explore and discover new worlds within our own.

"Now, some of you have been welcomed to take this exam before. J'zargo, you have been at our college for two years, this will be your second attempt at passing the exam."

"J'zargo will not disappoint you this time, Mistress." The khajiit said with a low bow.

"Onmund," Ervine said, looking at the nord. "This is your fifth year at our college and will be your second attempt to pass the exam."

Onmund tilted his head forward in acknowledgment, biting back a prideful remark. True, he had only been fifteen when he enrolled at the college, but it wasn't until his nineteenth birthday when the Mistress finally sent him forward to be examined by the Archmage. He had been upset on how long it took her to have faith in his abilities, especially since all of his peers had come and gone, but had known he was ready. There was nothing else to improve on. The Archmage, however, disagreed. Now twenty, he was certain they would pass him. He was a full grown nord and forcing him to continue being an apprentice would be borderline persecution.

"Brelyna," Ervine said, looking at the quivering dark elf. "This is your third year at our college, and will be your third attempt to pass the exam."

"Yes, Mistress," she whimpered, "but can I just ask you—?!"

"Remember," Ervine interrupted, "the exam not only reflects your becoming a full mage, but if the Archmage feels you are ready to use your magick in the real world. Now," she paused, as if she was mulling over whether or not to disclose the next part. If Onmund remembered right, they just went in after her little speech and were individually tested by the Archmage himself.

"I'm going to give you a warning," she finally said with a slight grimace. "This time will be slightly different than the last few." She looked directly at Brelyna who dropped her violet gaze in embarrassment. "Please do not feel off put by…this show or its presenters. I had no say in the matter."

Ervine then pivoted and placed her palms on the grand, stone door. The embellished eye lit up an electric blue and the stone giants gracefully swung inward.

There was a group of Thalmor justicars standing on the other side.