Author's Note: listen to the "One they Fear" Dragon theme for the next scene - it really enhances the mood! ;) thanks for reading!

Cura and her allies took various positions in the ruined Courtyard, so as to divert the Dragon's attention, each taking a column and sheltering themselves behind it.

"If we're going to survive this, I want all of you to listen, and listen well!" Cura shouted to her allies over the wrathful flame of the Dragon that narrowly missed her as she rolled for cover.

Serana, who stood adjacent to his column, turned to J'zargo, and dispelled any doubt or reservation he may protest. "Listen to her! She's fought Dragons before! I've seen her!"

The Dragon itself landed on all fours and began to shuffle along the courtyard, looking around for a good attack angle.

Cura looked across the field to Inigo and made an archery motion with her hands, and then pointed at Lucien and mimicked a spell casting motion, and then a tip-toeing gesture with her hand.

Her allies understood.

Lucien cast an Invisibility spell on Inigo, and the Khajiit disappeared from view.

Cura ran outside to attack, driving her mace across the Dragon's snout, causing it to recoil its head. "Here I am, you foul beast!"

Inigo hurried, under cloak, towards the entrance, and shot an ebony arrow into the Dragon's left eye when its head snapped back.

Onmund cast a Paralysis Rune on the ground behind the Dragon, causing it to explode on impact and stilting the fiend's movement for a brief moment.

"Brelyna! Summon a Frost Atronach! Quickly!" Cura commanded, pointing at the ground between herself and the reeling lizard.

The Dunmer was anxious, but she simply nodded and performed the action she was bid. The large golem-like entity stood between Cura and the Dragon, acting a shield while she called upon Fingers of the Mountain, which caused a massive bolt of lightning to shock this large monstrosity before her.

The Dragon absorbed the impact and fell over, tumbling across the courtyard and smashing through one of the columns and breaching the outer wall, sliding off the cliff and tumbling below.

Onmund was mortified. "Wow... a few more feet and we'd have said good-bye to the Hall of Attainment."

"Oh, nonono!" J'zargo cringed as he peeked over the edge and witnessed the Dragon hovering in the air and soaring towards the city. The Khajiit fired a couple of well-placed Rift Bolts, shocking its wings, causing the Dragon to stumble mid-flight.

"Nice shot, J'zargo!" Cura complimented him as she witnessed the Dragon spiral into the cliffside.

"J'zargo thanks you, but it is not yet over." the Khajiit charged a couple of Firebolts and began to launch them at the recovering Dragon.

"Let's move to the city!" Onmund suggested as he hurried across the stony bridge, and Brelyna, J'zargo, Lucien, and Inigo followed suit, rushing through the crackling air.

The Dragon could be seen shaking off its injuries off in the distance, and it pulled its head back. With an undiscernable tongue, it fired an explosive Ice Storm their way, which travelled across the skies and hit the bridge, and Onmund.

"Onmund!" Brelyna cried out as her friend nearly flew off the hazardous extended platform.

J'zargo reached forward and pulled the Apprentice Mage back by his collar. "No, no! J'zargo will not let his friends die! Not here, not like this!"

Lucien held up a ward to guard against the next Ice Storm attack.

Cura had enough. She stood on the bridge and looked at the extraordinarily steep drop below, which led to some very shallow water. Nobody could survive such a drop.

Serana hurled a fireball at the beast, but it lost its steam due to the sheer distance between themselves and the Dragon.

"Serana, I need you to fly me across, and drop me when I say the word." Cura instructed.

"Are you insane?!" Brelyna snapped as she summoned a Flame Atronach to attempt to disperse the Ice Storms.

The Dragon was relentless, but so was the Dragonborn. She nudged her face to Serana, who proceeded to grab her from under her arms and levitate in the air.

"Candle, please be careful - that's... that's not a simple drop!" Lucien expressed his concerns when he realized how high it really was.

"Head down towards the city!" Cura ordered her allies. "Let me take it from here!"

Serana then proceeded to rush through the air with Cura in tow, performing barrell rolls to avoid contact with the next Ice Storm the Dragon spat from its maw.

"DUR NEH VIIR!" Cura shouted mid-flight, summoning the rotting green Dragon onto the cliff below.

"The skies of Keizaal are mine to soar again!" the Dragon expressed with joy as he pushed himself off the cliff and began to fly towards the opposing Dragon.

Cura told Serana to fly her up higher and the vampiress did as she asked of her, carrying her higher and higher still into the sky.

They could see the two Dragons attacking one another in a violent dogfight as claws met stomachs and Shouts met Shouts.

Durnehviir released his trademark Shout: "RII VAAZ ZOL!"

A purple burst of energy hit the other Dragon, causing it to plummet out of the sky for a moment, but this Dragon was quite durable, catching itself and pushing itself back upwards with a mighty thrust of its wings.

"Now, Serana!" Cura exclaimed as she readied her Dawnbreaker. Serana was stunned by the stupidity of such a plummet, but she trusted that Cura knew what she was doing. She hesitantly released her ally for a two-thousand foot drop.

As Cura plummeted through the sky, she angled herself vertically and clenched Dawnbreaker tightly in both hands, and held it towards her chest. Her mark was the Dragon below.

Mighty wind smacked Cura's face and spread her robes like flags in a storm as she headed further and further down. The only sound she could recognize was the vicious battering gale as she tore through the air itself.

She had mere seconds before it could fully recover and move from its spot, so timing was key.

"WULD NA KEST!" Cura boosted herself, becoming a spiralling torpedo as she descended from the air. The air exploded around her and sent a shockwave all through Winterhold as she impaled the Dragon through its skull and continued to drive it down into the Sea of Ghosts below.

Cura's classmates and professors witnessed the spectacle with great shock and awe before returning to the crisis at hand.

Brelyna tapped Onmund on the shoulder. "Did... did you see what Cura just did?!"

"i did! That was... that was incredible! I never would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." Onmund was entirely awestruck.

"That's our Cura!" Inigo beamed proudly. "She is to Dragons what we are to Chickens! Ha ha!"

J'zargo continued to stare over the cliff towards the now dead Dragon, but he could not see Cura. Though, perhaps it was the sheer distance that hid her from his feline eyes. "That... that was the Dragonborn, yes. J'zargo understands it now."

Lucien smiled. "She'll defeat Alduin in a heartbeat... I hope." he still held doubts after having seen the World Eater in person, but he hoped for the best. Now, however, there was more at hand.

Weird glowing balls of energy hissed as they flew through the city, attacking civilians and guards alike. Several people lay bleeding and wounded in the streets.

"What on Nirn...?!" Arniel Gane exclaimed as he tried to keep students away from the Magic Anomalies that darted through the air like vicious Ice Wraiths.

Gazing upwards to the sky, the school and its neighbours could witness a luminous turquoise fissure in the sky, striking lightning around, hitting buildings and people.

"This can't be happening!" Colette Marence covered her mouth in horror as tears began to run down her cheeks.

Drevis Neloren held his cheek on his right hand as the realization that Ancano may have read his notes concerning the Eye and his Mystic Tuning Gloves. "I hope this isn't something I did."

"Should you ever fall victim to an unfortunate accident, I promise your remains will be put to good use..." Phinis remarked, which worried Drevis.

"Woah! I had nothing to do with that, but... I think Ancano may have tested one of my theories..." Drevis shuddered.

"Nevermind that! We've got to help these poor people!" Colette snapped at him. "You can cast the blame around afterwards!"

Lucien hurried down to meet Faralda at the end of the bridge, and heaved as he tried to regain his breath.

"What's going on? What happened in there?" Faralda asked, pointing back at the College building.

"Something went wrong. Winterhold may be in danger. Can you help?" Lucien asked as he tried to regain his composure.

"It 'may be' in danger? Take a look. I don't think there's much question. Let's get down there. We have to do something." Faralda led Cura's allies and classmates through the terrified crowd onto the front lines.

Nirya stepped forward, as well. "Faralda, we don't normally get along, but let's set our feud aside for the moment, shall we?"

Faralda nodded. "Yes; this is far more important than our nonsense."

Nirya was glad to hear it. "I need your help. I have an idea towards that fissure in the sky, but I'll need your powerful Destruction magic."

J'zargo stepped forward and raised his hand. "J'zargo can also offer his assistance."

Faralda nodded, but pushed J'zargo back slightly. "I have no doubt you could, but you are needed here, fighting. Clear a way for us."

J'zargo was contented with that. "Very well. J'zargo shall tear right through them."

Nirya turned to Arniel Gane, who was twiddling his thumbs nervously as he observed the madness around. "You have an Essence Extractor, do you not?"

"I know what you're thinking, Nirya... I don't know if we can break apart the magical energy at such a scale to disrupt the fissure above..." Arniel shuddered. "Is it... really enough?"

Faralda spoke up sternly and gestured for him to follow them. "Come on, Arniel. Let's go."

Arniel moaned as he followed begrudgingly. He looked around at the angry Nords fighting the wisplike entities that plagued their surroundings. "Do we have to? They'd never lift a finger to help us."

"We're going to have to get closer." Nirya clicked her tongue as an Anomaly rushed towards her aggressively.

Sergius cast an Ice Spike at it, diverting the Anomaly's path and causing it to spiral into a building. He and Nirya locked eyes for that moment before she and Faralda begun charging into the fray.

J'zargo flanked them and cast a Wall of Fire along the way, blocking anomalies from approaching from their right side as they ran between the old, battered houses.

Colette wasted no time rushing towards the wounded Citizens and using a powerful Ward to block attacking Anomalies. She approached a little boy who was crying due to a horrific burn on his chest. Without hesitation, the Restoration Master laid her hand over it and began to cast a Healing Spell, praying, for the first time in years, to Stendarr as she did such.

The boy's mother held him tight in her arms and wept as he began to stabilize.

"M-mom..." the boy spoke without pain as the burn vanished, leaving a faint scar on his chest.

Colette smiled and gestured towards the house nearby. "Go inside and hide in your cellar until this... absurdity has been dealt with!"

"Th-thank you, mage..." the mother sniffled as she bore her gratitude before clenching her child to herself and rushing inside of her house and locking the door behind her.

In those few moments, Drevis Neloren watched the Restoration mage hurry on towards the next gravely injured and save their lives. He did his best to obscure the townsfolk with his Illusion magic, keeping them, and himself, out of the view of the Anomalies.

Perhaps there was something more to the Restoration School than he thought.

Dagur exited the Inn and, with other men, attempted to fight the anomalies. Haran managed to pull their daughter back inside and held open the door for the fleeing locals to take shelter before shutting it up tight.

Lucien cast a Stone wall before the Jarl's Longhouse and Onmund cast a Wall of Fire in front of the Tavern, and both ushered people through to safety before the doors shut entirely. The men exchanged a glare of acknowledgement before turning their walls around and pushing back the anomalies with them, the Wall of Fire smiting many of them, and the Stone wall collapsing on seven and shattering before it could touch Birna's Item Shop.

City Guards stared at the wizards in awe as they continued their pointless struggle against the untouchable.


"Mirabelle. Mirabelle. Please, you must wake up!"

Tolfdir was down on one knee, and he gently tapped the Master Wizard on the shoulder, and then proceeded to give her a shake. She seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness as she lay against one of the ruined columns within the Hall of Elements.

"Tolfdir..." she spoke weakly. "I... I need to rest. I..."

"No, Master Wizard! You cannot rest now! We need all hands on deck!" Tolfdir insisted. "Please! Winterhold is falling apart! What happened?"

"Ancano... it was Ancano..." Mirabelle shook herself awake at last. "Where is the Arch-Mage? Where is Savos?" Concern was plastered all over her disheveled face.

Tolfdir halted for a second and looked away before mustering the words. "The Arch-Mage, he..."

"I can already see the answer. It's written all over your face." Mirabelle expressed great sorrow at the news. "He's... dead."

"Yes." Tolfdir confirmed with great regret.

Mirabelle slowly pulled herself up with a light sob. "Ancano. That bastard! I warned the Arch-Mage about him. I never trusted him. From day one, part of me knew... I knew that for certain something like this was going to happen. And I... I thought it was going to come from Cura." She slapped herself on the forehead. "I thought the Dragonborn was here to ruin us and Ancano was here as a distraction. A Red Herring in the front of a greater scheme."

Tolfdir shook his head. "By Talos, why would you ever think such a thing?"

"Their timing." Mirabelle explained as she held her blasphemed left hand. "Both entered the College on the same week, both flouted the rules, both appeared to be putting on a good and evil act, and then wouldn't you know it, Ancano is poking about the College, seeking sensitive information to be used while Cura and her friends were looking for Artifacts of great power, like Azura's Star... and then... the Eye of Magnus."

"That was my fault, if anyone's." Tolfdir took responsibility. "I inquired about Saarthal. I called upon students for a field trip. Nobody knew what was down there, exactly, but for the sake of knowledge we had to excavate it. The Night of Tears occurred because the Elves desired the Eye of Magnus."

Mirabelle froze in that instant, and then looked upwards to the great hole in the ceiling far above. "And now they have it."

As the realization set in, Tolfdir felt shivers go up his spine. He held his hand over his mouth as he weighed the ramifications of the Eye of Magnus being in the possession of a Thalmor Agent. The old Nord almost lost his footing as his knees lost their senses.

Mirabelle gazed down at her skeletal left palm and shuddered before gathering her resolve. "All right, Tolfdir. We must save the city first. There can be no time for regrets."

"Yes, Arch-Mage." Tolfdir addressed the former Master Wizard by her inherited title as she walked ahead of him.

With her back turned to him, a lone tear rolled down the curve of her right cheek as she walked out into the wreckage of the Courtyard and witnessed the catastrophe that had become of the College.

And the skeletal body of Savos Aren that lay in the snow.

Mirabelle wept as she took the Arch-Mage's amulet and clenched it tightly in her hand. "You will be avenged, Savos. I swear it."


Just as a magic anomaly swept towards J'zargo from behind, Inigo loosed a Bound Arrow, which pierced the ghastly being, causig it to explode into ghostly plasma and alerted the other Khajiit.

"Wh-what did you just do?" J'zargo asked as fright filled his heart from the shocking sudden noise.

"I just saved your furry behind!" Inigo laughed as he nocked and fired another Bound Arrow towards an oncoming anomaly. "You are welcome."

"You have my thanks." J'zargo responded as he stood by the blue Khajiit's side. "So Inigo has discovered that it is magic that undoes the anomalies."

Inigo nodded. "Well, seeing that they are made from magic, it only makes sense that magic would be their undoing!"

"Khajiit has a point in discovering the obvious. This is why the Nords have no chance." J'zargo remarked as he launched a firebolt towards an anomaly that was attacking a Guard.

Colette stood in the thick of it, healing the ever-wounded Nords and insisted that they head inside where it is safe, but stubborn as they are, they refused to back down from an impossible fight.

Lucien charged up his energy and, following Cura's example from earlier, cast Finger of the Mountain onto a large cluster of enemies who were attempting to attack Faralda, Arniel, and Nirya as they ascended the mountain.

Brelyna's Frost Atronach stood by Phinis' Storm Atronach, guarding Drevis and the stray townspeople's general vicinity as the mages stood at either side and fought off encroaching anomalies.

J'zargo created a massive Wall of Fire at the base of the slope, allowing Faralda, Nirya, and Arniel to reach the highest peak of the city without being assailed by the Anomalies. He would continue to maintain it for as long as he could. The strain was wearing down his body, but he elected to ignore the pain. It was Mind over Matter right now.

Faralda reached the peak beside Nirya, who beckoned for Arniel to present her with a Dwarven Device: the Essence Extractor. It was not the only one in existence, but it was a project the two of them had been working on for some time, regarding the Magical Wells around the college.

"Seeing as Drevis' Mystic Tuning gloves could be used to reroute and control the energies from the Eye of Magnus, it is plausible that our Essence Extractor could be used to siphon some power from the fissure." Nirya proposed. "That ought to wipe that smug look off that Thalmor's putrid face."

"I thought you found him handsome." Faralda mocked her.

"That was before he tried to outright kill us all." Nirya spat.

Arniel wiped the sweat off his brow. "Perhaps we can go another few decades without a disaster. That would be nice." He planted the Mechanism into the ground and used a Frost spell to bind it in place.

"All right, I'll bite: why do you need my Destruction magic, exactly? What do you intend to do?" Faralda asked as she looked up at the turquoise gash in the sky and witnessed as more Anomalies were seemingly zapped down into existence on the earth below.

"Is your aim good?" Nirya asked.

"Of course." Faralda furrowed her brow. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"We need you to strike the fissure. Use any sort of attack you desire." Arniel proposed. "Once hit, the fissure should release some energy of its own. We are going to extract the energy."

"And then we're going to send it back - under high pressure!" Nirya grinned maniacally as she made an exploding motion with her hands, and created a small fireball and had it poof out to demonstrate.

Faralda began to laugh in response. "Oh, that's... that's good. I like that, very much."

"I knew you would!" Nirya laughed together with her. "So, what do you say, 'Professor'? Care to give it a try?"

Faralda stepped forward and readied to rounds of Unbound Embers. "I say, 'Begin.'"

Without hesitation, Arniel flipped the switch on the machine, and it began to emit a buzzing noise before launching a column of light into the sky. A crackling formation began to form in the clouds and the fissure itself, as it began to spark in response.

Brelyna called attention to it as more Anomalies hurried down to meet and greet them, doubling in ascendance numbers due to the foreign interference.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Lucien exclaimed as he began to overcharge his Unbound Fire with both hands against the increasing horde of enemies.

Colette herself clasped her hands together. She then performed a waving motion with her entire body and pulled back and outstretched her arms as a mass of golden energy formed around her. She then snapped forward and slammed her right hand into the ground, casting the greatest Spell she knew: Bane of the Undead.

The incredible burst of divine aura swept the area and destroyed hundreds of the Magic Anomalies that descended upon them.

There was a ruffle in the sky above, and the fissure moved like water upon a lake. More and more anomalies stormed out of it and swarmed the streets.

"It... it still wasn't enough?!" Colette exclaimed as she attempted to catch her breath. One of the anomalies rammed into her, burning her side as she landed against the Tavern's wall.

"They... like Lydia's sarcastic comments in the past, they do not stop!" Inigo expressed his shock as more and more began to swamp them all.

Brelyna's Frost Atronach disappeared, as she could no longer bind it, and the Dunmer fell to her knees from the strain. Phinis Gestor quickly handed her a Magicka Potion.

"Come, now! You can't stumble! If any one of us stumbles, we're all dead!" Phinis shouted his concerns as he blasted a couple of Anomalies with Chain Lightning.

"But, Professor, they aren't stopping!" Onmund cried out as he fled attackers to regain his energy. He took a burning tackle in his back before he spun around with a Bound Sword and cleaved the assailant in twain.

A powerful barrier formed ahead of them, and the anomalies that flew into it dissipated into the air. From the bridge, Mirabelle casted the barrier and held it firm. Tolfdir held her and aided by casting Sotha's Maelstrom at the Anomalies beyond the Barrier's reach.

Onmund recognized it from J'zargo's duel with Cura many months back. It was quite impressive.

Casting a Ward, Onmund himself ran into the fray.

"Onmund!" Brelyna cried out to her Nord friend as he charged back into battle with a Bound Sword in his other hands.

"HRRRAAAAAGGGGH!" Onmund cried out as he channeled his Nordic heritage and flew into a berserker rage against the Magic Anomalies.

Unfortunately, due to her injury, Mirabelle could not hold her barrier for long, and it dissipated as she began to slump, to Tolfdir's horror. He cast a healing spell on her, to keep her lucid.

"Oh, no..." Brelyna remarked as more and more enemies flooded the area in a ceaseless discharge. She, Phinis, and Drevis did everything in their power to guard the stranded group of people, but she knew, deep down, that even with his standing Storm Atronachs, Phinis was growing tired, himself, and she was spent. Drevis' illusions began to flicker and the people were coming into view.

The situation was dire.

"What can we do now?" Phinis mused as signs of wear were showing on him; pulsating veins all over his face as he summoned more and more Atronachs from Oblivion. He now was managing six of them, to act as guard for the townsfolk, but it was wearing him thin.

Suddenly four more appeared from thin air, joining his horde and providing ten guardians in total. "Don't give up!"

Serana landed beside Phinis and Brelyna. She had called forth other Atronachs to aid them.

"Serana!" Brelyna cried out with relief.

"Are you guys all right?" Serana asked with genuine concern. She could see the great stuggle. "Just what are these things?"

"Some sort of Magic Anomaly." Phinis stated. "There hasn't really been much time to sit and ruminate on it."

Serana nodded. "Don't worry; backup is coming." She shot a few Chain Lightning bolts, and the Atronachs followed suit, tearing through the endless horde.

"HROOOOOAAAAAAAAR!" the cry of a Dragon alerted everybody as they elected to watch the skies above.

One of the City Guards pointed up at the sky. "You have got to be kidding me!" He expressed his disdain.

Mirabelle and Tolfdir both took in a deep breath as they saw death fly above the city.

Drevis was more happy than ever to be invisible.

"Durnehviir!" Lucien exclaimed over the noise pollution as he pointed at the familiar wyrm. "It's okay, everyone! We're saved! We're saved! WHOOO!"

Atop Durnehviir was a familiar figure: Cura. She directed the Dragon towards an area where there were great clusters of Anomalies and thrust her mace forward.

"IIZ SLEN NUS!" Durnehvir blasted an ice storm as they flew overhead, utterly destroying the cluster of foes, releasing their energy into the aether.

The mages and guards alike began to clamour and cheer, lauding their saviour as she rode into battle on the wyrm.

"YES! YES! GO, CURA!" Inigo screamed as he jumped up and down.

Nirya, Faralda, and Arniel watched the dragon pass overhead with awe. Faralda continued to hurl streams of fire at the sky, just barely reaching the fissure.

Arniel was ecstatic. "Wow! She could really ride a Dragon?! Now I've seen everything!"

"Nevermind her for the moment. This isn't working out as I'd hoped." Nirya clicked her tongue.

"Clearly." Faralda responded snidely.

Arniel nodded. "Faralda's magic doesn't reach far enough."

Faralda scoffed. "What are we supposed to do, then?"

Nirya thought for a moment. "I have another idea." She watched as Cura passed over the city again and tried to flag her down. "Oh, Cura, darling! Cura! Here!"

Hearing her name called, Cura managed to get Durnehviir to hover there before the peak. "Yes, Nirya? I'm a little busy."

"No doubt." Nirya conceded. "Look, I'll explain quickly: this is an Essence Extractor. We need powerful magic to hit the fissure up above."

"I understand." Cura nodded. "Leave it to me!" She quickly steered Durnehviir upwards and she began to elevate higher and higher, and higher still over the city.

"NO!" Nirya shouted. "I just wanted her to ferry Faralda a little higher! Is she crazy?! The explosion - at that range -"

"What is she doing?" Mirabelle asked as she leaned on Tolfdir at the foot of the bridge, watching Cura's ascent.

"By Shor, I think she aims to attack the gash in the sky!" Tolfdir exclaimed.

Colette laughed anxiously as she continued to heal wounded soldiers. "She's... haha! She's more insane than I! ...Though I'm not really insane, you know." She explained to one of the wounded guards as she tended his injuries.

"Qahnaariin, I do not have much time left." Durnehviir warned his ally as he began to feel weakness encroach him. "Whatever you want to do, do it fast."

Cura braced herself and inhaled deeply. "FUS RO DAH!" she blasted the magical fissure, causing a great shockwave to burst forth through it and inside of it.

The Essence Extractor was ready, and it absorbed a great deal of magical power, and Arniel turned it on the fissure. A great and mighty stream of boundless energy collided with the gap above, and created a great explosion of turquoise and violet light, which seemed to implode upon itself like a dying star before creating a shockwave that shook the northern skies.

Cura and Durnehviir were caught in the blast, and the Dragon returned to the Soul Cairn from whence he came. However, the force hit Cura so greatly that she lost consciousness as she began to plummet down towards the city.

Nirya cupped her hands over her mouth in horror and Faralda and Arniel looked away.

Tolfdir released Mirabelle and rushed down the street to aid his student.

J'zargo acted quickly, casting a series of Drop Zones along the road, as he could not pinpoint where exactly she was going to land.

Just a few feet before hitting the ground, Cura was stopped short by Tolfdir's Fabricate Object spell, which summoned a safety net that stretched across the road, attached onto the houses. Paired with J'zargo's Drop Zones, the net lowered her slowly and safely to the floor, rather than snapping violently due to momentum.

Onmund, J'zargo, Inigo, Brelyna, Lucien, and Serana spread out and slaughtered the remaining Magic Anomalies, ending the madness once and for all.

Drevis finally released his cloaking spell, and the townspeople wept with relief and joy as they embraced one another. One of the Nord farmers shook the Dunmers hand, thanking him for saving his family. Drevis took his hand and gave a firm shake in return.

The sky had returned to its natural calm, blue state, and clouds were orderly as ever; one could scarce believe what had transpired, were it not for the magical residue all throughout the already ruined city.

Tolfdir slowly lowered Cura down from his net, and Colette was the first to rush to her aid.

"Get back!" Colette pushed the old man aside and knelt down over Cura. She quickly chugged a Potion of Greater Magicka and placed two hands over her chest as she began to cast a healing spell over her charred body. The half-Elf was very much alive, but she had horrid magical burns all over her. "Not while I'm here, Cura! No! If you die, Carcette'll kill me! ...Or I'll kill me! Come onnn..."

"I-is she..." Nirya shuddered as she approached with Arniel and Faralda.

Cura's friends and classmates hurried over to her.

Colette's healing spell was weaker, as she had expended so much of herself already. "Come onnn..."

Lucien knelt down beside the Professor and aided her, casting Healing over Cura, as well, but he was also weary.

Then Onmund also joined in. He envisioned his father, and his family at his homestead, and channeled the love within his heart, and it radiated forward in golden light.

With their combined efforts, Cura's wounds healed to perfection, and she snapped awake.

Nirya shrieked. "By the Gods! She's alive! She's alive!"

Serana and Inigo leaned over to see, and were relieved, more than anything.

"What's... is it over?" Cura began to look around frantically.

"The crisis is over." Tolfdir informed her as her friends and classmates began to group hug her.

"Cura, you were phenomenal!" J'zargo exclaimed. "Fighting a Dragon is one thing, but riding one into battle? J'zargo concedes. He cannot hope to ever do such a feat. You have won our rivalry."

Colette embraced her student tightly. "Dear, you were incredible! You turned the tides, right when we needed it most! Carcette would be so proud of you if she saw that. I know I sure as hell am, so she better would have!"

Drevis stepped forward to address it, as well. "Whatever you did worked; the fissure is closed now. Uh, good job."

"It was all my idea." Nirya expressed defensively, not satisfied with the solution, but needed recognition.

Immediately, their complaints were cut short as Jarl Korir burst out of his longhouse, accompanied by his steward, Housecarl, and guards, and pointed fingers at them. "You! This was all your fault! Do you mages think me an idiot? You tried to finish what you started during the collapse! I'll have your heads! KILL THEM ALL!" He commanded his guards.

The Guards exchanged glances before refuting his accusations. "With all due respect, my Jarl - it was a Thalmor. The College protected Winterhold from his attack."

"The College is the worst thing that's ever happened to Winterhold, maybe to Skyrim." Jarl Korir spat in their direction."Those cursed mages... It's their fault Winterhold is gone. We all know the truth about the Great Collapse. They're playing hero now, because this was all their fault!"

Cura stood up and walked over to the Jarl and knelt before him respectfully. "Listen to your men, my Jarl. Thalmor are behind this - or at the very least, a Thalmor is behind this. I understand your distrust of mages, given a long, drawn-out and deadly history on Tamriel, but we are not all bad. It would be best to focus on rebuilding what was destroyed in this attack. The College has suffered much on this regard, as well."

The Nord leader stood there, baffled for the moment, and then wiped some snot off his running nose. He looked around at the rising smoke and rubble, some of which he could see coming off of the College as well.

"Fine, I see your point. We have much work to do." Jarl Korir scoffed. "But this is not over." He gestured for his men to follow him indoors.

Cura exhaled deeply as she stood up on two feet again. "We need to rest and repair some of the damages."

"Agreed. This crisis is over, now." Tolfdir announced. "But there's no telling what may come next."

"I'm going to take some samples of the essence those creatures left behind, for research." Phinis declared as he walked off to do just that.

Tolfdir noticed Mirabelle hurrying back into the College, and he followed behind. Cura elected to follow, as well. She needed to give Mirabelle the news concerning the Staff.

Lucien, Inigo, Serana, Onmund, Brelyna, and J'zargo were resting up after the conundrum, and Cura elected to allow them.

Once back on the campus, Mirabelle knelt again before Savos Aren's corpse. "Murdered in cold blood... I still can't believe it..."

Tolfdir helped her back to her feet. "Ancano is not going to get away with this."

Cura sighed. "Winterhold is safe for now, at least."

They walked up to the Hall of Elements after stepping carefully over some rubble. Tolfdir entered first, only to see another barrier in place.

"Wish I could say the same for us. Tolfdir and I can try and keep this contained. You need to get your hands on the Staff of Magnus. Now." Mirabelle pointed to her specifically.

"Alone? My allies are resting. Is now really a good time?" Cura asked.

"I've got to stay here, to see if we can get to Ancano and stop this. I need someone I can trust to do it. Besides, you're the one having all of these visions, aren't you?" Mirabelle spoke lightheartedly in attempt to ease some tension in the Dragonborn.

Cura looked off to her side. "Do... you really think the Staff will help?" She was beginning to second-guess. It was all entirely trial and error.

"You were told to find it, weren't you? If the stories about the staff are true, if it really can absorb a tremendous amount of power, maybe we can break through Ancano's magic." Mirabelle proposed. "Please, Dragonborn. You are duty-bound to protect this land in its time of need. You've done impeccably so far - I saw you storm in on that Dragon. I have no doubt in my heart that you can do this. Don't make me regret where I place my trust."

Cura nodded solemnly. "Then I'm off to Labyrinthian."

"What? Are you... Are you sure? The staff is there? That can't be a coincidence." Mirabelle tilted her head in surprise.

"What are you talking about?" Cura asked. "What's a coincidence?"

""Savos. Before... before he died. He... He gave me something just a little while ago." Mirabelle explained "He told me it was from Labyrinthian, and that I would know what to do with it when the time came. I think... I think he meant this for you, then. I'm not sure why, but there was something very personal about it for him." Mirabelle walked up the stairs leading up towards her office. They had to walk past poor Aranea, who had perished long before, and Cura said a small prayer for the poor Dunmer woman.

At the very least, she was reunited with Azura, now.

Mirabelle lumbered towards it, and pushed open the door to her office, and Cura could see her left hand's degradation even clearer, now. It would need to be amputated, for certain.

She felt awful for the Master Wizard. That kind of pain must be unfathomable, and yet Mirabelle struggled on through it, out of necessity.

Cura, at this time, felt a great admiration for Mirabelle Ervine. She was far stronger than many realized.

Mirabelle reached into her desk drawer and muttered a small spell word, breaking a lock she implemented over it. Opening it, she handed Cura what looked to be a large ebony door knocker. "The Torc of Labyrinthian." After a moment of silence passed, Mirabelle took the Arch-Mage's Amulet from her satchel, and, eyeing it sadly, handed it over to Cura, as well, placing it in the Breton's right hand and gently closing her fingers around it, as a parting gift. "Also, I think you should take this amulet. It belonged to Savos, but I think it would do you the most good now. Take it, and get out of here. Bring back that staff before Ancano brings the whole College down around us."

"Of course, Mirabelle." Cura cleared her throat sadly. "By the way, I found the Synod in Mzulft. They were slain, except for one."

Mirabelle closed her drawers. "Really? Well, I do recall warning them it might not be the safest of locations. I hope this doesn't become a problem for us."

Cura shook her head. "It might. I don't know what's going to happen next, or how far the Synod will take things."

Mirabelle exhaled morosely. "If we can't stop this, what happens to the rest of Skyrim?"

Cura took a few steps away before a gut-wrenching pain took her soul. This was the last time she would ever see Mirabelle, and deep down she knew it. She had to speak her mind now, or she would never be able to do so again. Quickly, the Dragonborn turned to face the older Breton, and tears ran down her face. "Thank you, Mirabelle. For everything you've done for me the past six months. I will save Winterhold, and the rest of Skyrim, I swear it!" She hurried back towards the Master Wizard and pulled her into a tight embrace. "I'm sorry I won't be here to save you... I'm so sorry..."

Mirabelle understood, and reciprocated the embrace with the College Apprentice. "Don't blame yourself. Your duties are far more important than mine. I... am sorry for having suspected ill of you. That was wrong on my part. Please, forgive me."

"I do! Of course I do!" Cura exclaimed as she slowly released her. There was no time. She had to begin her trek to Labyrinthian. The last thing she spoke to Mirabelle was, "Stendarr grant you peace, Mirabelle."

"And to you, as well, Cura. Thank you." Mirabelle sighed as she held a hand over her heart. Her hand, which was now completely skeletal, and the flesh of her wrist was slowly degrading, as well. She managed to ignore the pain for some time, thanks to the Ambrosia Cura had given her, but it was starting to return. She looked up to the ceiling. "It's time, Savos."


"There she is!" Onmund exclaimed, pointing at Cura, who was hurrying down the bridge. Her eyes were red and puffy, evident of great sorrow.

The group sat near the edge of the broken house row, across from Phinis, Farala, Nirya, and Arniel.

Townsfolk came outside and were conversing to college mages, who were outside and tending to the wreckage, having come back to the city from the fields.

Colette and Drevis seemed to be discussing some things, but their conversation seemed oddly pleasant, for a change.

"Friend, where are you going?" Inigo asked, raising some concern.

"Yeah, Candle. Come rest here with us." Lucien invited her.

"I can't right now." Cura quivered lightly. "I must go to Labyrinthian! We're running out of time!" She continued to run, and summoned Arvak and mounted him, much to Brelyna's, and Phinis' wonder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Serana protested, standing up quickly. "You are not going into that ancient, magical dungeon without us! That's downright suicide!"

"Absolutely!" Inigo agreed. "And I will not have my friends committing suicide while on the job!"

Everyone turned to glare at him.

"Hey, it was a joke! You know that!" Inigo defended himself from judgment.

J'zargo got up and headed towards Cura. "J'zargo will come along. You will find him most helpful, even if he is a wet candle right now."

Brelyna chugged another magicka potion and summoned an entire squadron of ethereal horses. Thankfully, these would only disappear once their use is finished, and did not need constant maintenance. "We're all in this together. We discovered that rotten Eye of Magnus together, and we should put a stop to it, together."

"Agreed." Onmund expressed. "I can't help but feel like it's partially my fault. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it."

"So, I suppose this will be the field trip from Oblivion, eh?" Inigo laughed. "Let's go."

Lucien rode his horse up to Cura. "I happen to have general knowledge to where Labyrinthian is located. May I lead?"

Cura nodded. "Certainly, Lucien. Ride on."

Lucien cleared his throat. "Follow me, everybody, and for the love of Akatosh, don't fall behind!" He kicked the horse on the sides of its neck, and it began to gallop.

It was a storm of mages rushing out of the Winterhold palisade that evening, and the city guards and townsfolk applauded them beside the Professors and other Students.

Down the mountain, they ran.

Through the air, they rushed.

Through the land, they stormed.

Hooves galloped over the snow, and ice rain fell from the skies under dark clouds.

No more fitting of a backdrop had ever existed given the circumstances.