Chapter 12: Winter's Hold
AN: Time for the anime training arc. Btw in this timeline Miraak is always going to remain trapped in Apocrypha just without the offer to fight Alduin since Alduin does not exist in this world.
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"Hadvar! What a tale!" Hadvar's uncle Alvor placed some roasted salmon with lemon and leeks onto the table. The man was a heavyset Nord with medium dirty blond hair and a long beard.
Stesha and his friends were in Hadvar's aunt and uncle's house in the Farm District of Whiterun. It was of wooden make, about one room big. A fireplace in the center and a table and kitchen dominating the main space. – Sigrid, Hadvar's aunt smiled at the lot of them as she put a pitcher of water on the surface.
A little girl hopped around near them, brown hair, and blue eyes. Dorthe was her name. "So, Hadvar, what will you do now?"
They each cut a share of the salmon and vegetables, chewing and drinking. Hadvar sliced some of the fish with his fork and knife. "I think I'll join the Fighter's Guild with Aela."
"Aah, I see." Alvor nodded. "And what of your two Breton friends?" The Nord surveyed them with hazel insets.
Stesha and Gwendal stared at each other, mid bite. Stesha swallowed and opted to speak first, "we're going to go to the College of Winter Hold. After we train up a bit, we'll likely regroup with Hadvar and see what's next."
If Eleph was right, then something is coming our way.
"Aye, sounds like a plan." Alvor poured himself some mead from a different decanter. "Be sure to use the Dwemer station and take the underground railroad to Winter Hold." Alvor paused before indulging in his alcohol and looked at them all. "You know what, why don't we all go to the Bannered Mare and celebrate a bit? Long time since I visited you in High Rock, Hadvar."
"Alvor," whined his wife, Sigrid.
"It'll just be this one time, while Hadvar's friends are still in town." Alvor stood up from his table.
"I like your doll." Dorthe smiled at Stesha's vampire doll.
"Oh, thank you." Stesha grinned. "Would you like to play with it?"
"That's okay, I already have my own." Dorthe did a ballet pose. "Have you named her?"
Stesha studied the stuffed toy and shook his head. "No, I haven't. Would you like too?"
A gleam shone in Dorthe's eyes. "Serana."
Stesha felt his heart flutter and swallowed hard. He gave her a weak thumbs up. "Good choice." Examining the doll more closely, butterflies exploded in his stomach.
Serana. There was something off about that name. Something off indeed.
The rest of them finished eating and set off on a walk towards the inn. Braziers lit up the stone path toward the large Nordic tavern. Runic posts hanging off the ends of the roof and fine glass embedded in the windows.
"What did you think of the Jarl's proposition?" Aela rubbed her arms together.
"Nah, we ain't doing that," Gwendal dismissed nonchalantly. "Not tryna die."
"Could be important though, an Elder Scroll in Mzulft. Supposedly it's about a virus?" Aela scratched her head. "Wonder what that's all about?"
"How are your parents, Elm and Mary doing?" Alvor questioned as they neared the marketplace.
There was a meat stand, a produce stand, and a jewelry bin. Tiered near an alchemy shop and general goods store.
"Fine, I hope. Probably worried out of their minds though." Hadvar frowned. "That reminds me, the three of us have to send letters to our families as soon as possible."
Stesha tucked away his vampire doll as Gwendal spoke, "I'll do it tomorrow before me and Mouse-Face leave."
Stesha and the four others entered the regal inn. A fire pit rested in the center and pillars held up the roof, a counter to the side with merrymaking Nords drinking and feasting all around. The boys bought some wine and mead and passed it around, drinking and dancing as the bards played a tune. – Hadvar and Aela danced together while Alvor participated in a drinking contest with several muscle-bound Nords. Stesha and Gwendal drank their wine and put their arms around each other's shoulders as they rocked back and forth. Mikael the bard and his band continued to sing a playful tune to entertain everyone. Gwendal went in the middle of the group and started breakdancing again, doing the splits when he finished. Stesha was so drunk he started singing with the bards.
Towards the end of the night, Hadvar and Aela snuck off together to find a room upstairs while Stesha and Gwendal stumbled out of the inn with Alvor, heading back to the Nord's house and passing out on his couch.
Seracles returned to his dreams that night, wearing his crow-mask per usual. This time the being was angry, crunched in and clenching his fists. "IT'S CRUEL! WHY DON'T THEY SEE IT?! THEIR KINGDOM LIES UPON THE FOUNDATIONS OF LIES!"
"What are you talking about? Why are you telling me?" Stesha shuddered intensely. "What's cruel?"
Seracles' crow-beak turned towards him. "Because you're one of the few who will understand, Stesha Jade. Join us, and we'll make a new kingdom, built on truth and supreme equity."
Stesha shot up, breathing hard. Gwendal's head was lying on his lap. He moved him and stood up. Stesha walked to the bowl of water and peddled the liquid onto his face. "What is this?" He stared at his palms as water droplets raced down his face to reach his chin.
He slumped back down into the couch; it was located in the basement. Another counter and some bookshelves being the only other things of note here. Stesha yawned and tried to get some more sleep, hopefully free of Seracles.
Soon enough, he and Gwendal were up, watered and fed, and strolling to the post office of the Farm District. The only district where any grass was present, tall windmills spinning away and cottages with thatched roofs decorating the layout near a small stream that ran through the center. It was the only portion of the city that felt like it belonged outside the walls. Gwendal had already written the letter, addressing it to all three of their families. A Nord courier, about the same age as they waited outside the cottage.
"Thjourd Winter-Green at your service."
"Please take this to Wind Keep." Gwendal handed him the post.
The Courier glanced at both sides of the piece. "I can take it as far as Markarth-Side, from there another courier will take it to High Rock."
After paying him, Stesha and Gwendal headed out of the city, the massive gates closing behind them. They made their way around the stone battlements, viewing the tundra. It was all snowy with a watchtower out at the western end. Lichen plants hung around and smalls bluffs decorated the sides of the roads. It was an icy canvas with rows of large flowers poking through the soil. – The duo then approached a group of large trees near Whiterun's outermost gate. A Dwemer platform and lever rested there. Gwendal kicked the switch, and it lowered beneath the ground into a black chamber with a dark rockface, glowing, luminescent plants sprinkling through with blue mushrooms. People were lined up on the stone platform. There were railroad tracks nailed to their left.
"First time riding a train!" Gwendal pumped his fists. "Those Dwemer sure were ingenious."
"I know, trains were such a clever invention. Too bad no one's figured out how to replicate them. Think of what a continental train system could do!" Stesha moved his mouth around a bit.
"Yeah, they probably don't want to tamper with the preexisting trains, if one goes offline that'll mean trouble." Gwendal tightened his backpack's straps.
Soon enough a brass and gold steam engine pulled into the station, steam hissing out of its engine. Several coaches behind it. The passengers all boarded the train along with Stesha and Gwendal. They found a compartment towards the back suitable for them. Two couches inserted into the train wall with a window for viewing the outdoors. A bracket on the side for placing things such as mugs or utensils on top of. Stesha got situated on the seat across from his kinsmen as the train took off, speeding up until it was soon thundering down the rails. Swaying and shaking slightly on the tracks.
"So, Stesha? What do you plan to gain from attending the College?" Gwendal cracked his fingers.
Stesha gazed out the window as the scenery of Blackreach came into view, a massive dwarven chamber with giant mushrooms everywhere. The train zoomed past a huge tributary of neon water, gold roads and totems everywhere. Gilded archways with squared tiles located in corners as a tower spiraled in the center near a heavy mound of gold the size of a hillock.
"I want to learn some destruction spells to defend myself, I guess." Stesha shrugged.
"About time." Gwendal cast a candlelight incantation as Stesha pressed a button which turned off the train light, in order to better appreciate the scenery before them. "I've been practicing since I was a kid, you know that." He extinguished the spell with a snap of his fingers as the neon blue mushrooms of Blackreach glowed profusely within the darkness.
"I'm gonna get some sleep. Wake me up when we arrive in Winter Hold." Stesha curled up in his seat and passed out.
This time in his dreams Seracles was absent, instead a friendly Golden Dragon was there. Aureate scales, six limbs; two pairs of legs and two wings projecting from its shoulder blades. Again, it was no wyvern. It… He spoke to Stesha, "be careful, my boy. The journey ahead is long and arduous. And well… You are a loveless child. You've only known hatred. This must change. Whoever is without love does not know the Divines. For the Divines are love."
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The voice of an old woman woke Stesha up. He sat upright and saw a Nord lady pushing a small cart with taffies and treats on it. "I'm Olava, my dearies."
"We'll take the cherry tarts and coffee." Gwendal handed her some guice and she set to pouring them some of the requested beverage. Olava placed the tarts on a heating tray and flicked a match to heat the fire beneath it.
The snack was exactly what Stesha needed for it woke him up and quenched his stomachache.
Soon enough they pulled into Winter Hold Station. Grey paved platform with gold lines embedded into its surface. Dwarven automatons helped people move their luggage into and out of the train. Stesha and Gwendal walked out and onto the elevator, relaxing as it carried them and a group of people upward. Once it had risen, they sped walked to continue their conversation in private.
Vetrbyr hold was a landscape comprised of black, grey, and purple sludge. An iceberg shelf infused via a bridge off the coast of Hsaarik Head which encased Winter Hold, Skyrim's capital. They trailed over the golden road laid within the sludge. Droopy mountains formed from oobleck leered at them as they crossed the ice-made bridge toward the capital. The whispering river beneath calling their names as something below with yellow eyes lurked beneath the water's icy surface. They cantered into the ice sculpted gate of Winter Hold. A gnome stood as the only gate guard.
"Well tell now, who's do we haves here?" The midget wore a pointy hood and downsized clothes.
"We just want entry to attend the college." Stesha slugged his satchel further up his shoulder.
"Well, then you's have ta visit the consul office to the left next to the Synod Conclave."
There's Synod here? That was a rivalry Stesha looked forward to witnessing.
They stepped through the ice gate and ahead of them was Winter Hold. The city was the shape of a square, divided into neighborhoods with an Ice-Palace in the center. The houses were igloos, constructed of enchanted ice blocks it seemed. The Ice-Palace was triangular toward the top and tapered off on the sides. The sun was setting as a man dressed in regal attire ambled out of the Nordic castle. He had dark brown hair and a mellow face, wearing a crown.
Gwendal's jaw dropped. "That's High King Torygg!"
Stesha studied the man more closely. He was around the same age as them, two guards stood near him. The guards wore chainmail with fur pelts draped over. Their helmets were half-guard, showing the lower portion of their faces. This was how all the guards dressed in Skyrim. A Viking style aesthetic. – Stesha and Gwendal carefully approached the royal, bowing before him.
The King's visage erupted into a smile. "You two are my age, yes? What say we play a game." He rolled up a snowball and tossed it at them.
Stesha noticed a snowman to the side as he dodged the rolled-up ice. This poor guy probably doesn't get to spend much time with people his age.
Gwendal bunched up some snow and tossed it back, it hit Torygg's immaculate overcoat.
One of the guards half-drew their sword, grabbing it by the hilt. "Sire, are you sure this is appropriate?"
Torygg brushed him off. "Yes, don't interfere, that's an order." He shot another snowball back at them.
Stesha joined in and soon the three of them were having an engaging snowball match against each other, throwing back and forth. Stesha hid behind a cranny in the castle and gathered up some snow, hurling three at once, one hitting Gwendal. The other Manmer used magic to summon snowballs and strike them at Torygg and Stesha.
Torygg laughed. "Hey, no fair! You're using magic!"
Gwendal smirked as he evaded another ball. "Hey, anything's fair play. You didn't outline any rules!"
All until the queen stepped out. She was wearing similar clothes to her husband, the main difference being she was a few years older than him.
"Torygg, it's time to come inside." She waved him in like a mother shepherding her child. "You don't want to catch frostbite."
I wish someone cared about me like that.
Torygg's demeanor dropped, and he sighed "Yes, Elisif dear. I'll see you guys later." He waved to them and strolled back into the palace as oobleck rain reigned down over them.
Stesha and Gwendal ran towards one of three wooden farmhouses in the city, dodging the oobleck and racing toward the Consul Office. – The College of Winter Hold's Consul Office held a countertop with candles resting atop it, some beanbag chairs to the side. A Breton man sat behind the counter, bald with a worried face and gold robes.
"Hello, young gentlemen, allow me to introduce myself, I am Arniel Gane, if you wish to join the College, I will be your exam proctor."
Stesha and Gwendal took the test sheets and sat down at the desks lined up in the corner of the room. There were quill-pins and inkwells already placed there. Stesha dipped his quill in ink and started filling out answers. The questions asked about a rudimentary understanding of magic and its applications. A placement exam. It took about thirty minutes to finish but after doing so, they turned in their papers to their much older kinsmen and started changing into the blue mage robes provided to them. Tied by a rope around the waist and with long droopy hoods. White stitches outlined the membrane, similar to what Farengar wore.
"Gwendal Opal, is it?" Arniel raised a thinning brow. "You placed in the adept classes. Stesha Jade, you're in novice." He filed a few papers and shuffled around a folder before placing two sheets of paper in front of them. "Now, please select what classes you would like to take."
Stesha circled Destruction (Novice) and Conjuration (Novice) while Gwendal penned around Illusion (Adept) and Destruction (Adept).
"Excellent!" Arniel reviewed their intake. "Tirdas and Turdas for both of you at ten and twelve respectively. Now, let me show you to the college."
Arniel opened the wooden ledge, stepping out from behind his desktop. He led the boys back out into the city, and they trailed past a row of igloos. Some set up as bookstores and others as general goods stores. While a majority of them were just homes for the residents of the capital. They came to a blue orb at the crux of the city's forefront ledge. Across from it was a floating island with a three-stoked building that all conjoined into one.
"Simply press this orb to be transported to the college." Arniel crossed his arms over themselves. "Go on."
Stesha enclosed his fist around the magical stellate and felt himself be warped across a span of fifty feet. He landed in the college courtyard, observing the garden that bloomed with multicolored flowers in the center, encircling the fountain with a statue atop it, and interspersed white trees despite the icy soil, dwarven sewer works built into the fountains and streams that ran through the smooth, marbre tiled make of the flooring. Gwendal popped next to him and shook his head before his eyelids widened. – They strolled down the campus, breathing in the serene sea air. The ocean was filled with massive icebergs and overturned glacial masses, bleeding snow water through their aqua marine hued surfaces. Was Atmora far off in the distance? No, it couldn't be.
"Well, hello," said a Tsaesci…
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AN: Well, this arc will run quickly then we can get to Serana! I appreciate your patience and for putting up with the slow pace. But now things will start speeding up as I can only write so much lol. Anyways, please leave some feedback as it means a lot! Hope you're all doing well and excited to show you more. Please let me if you're confused about anything!