Chapter 2

Update 1- Slight update because one person believed it's illogical for Winterhold to be the way it was in the game Skyrim.


College of Winterhold

Tolfdir


While Brelyna was taking care of the child, Tolfdir was writing a letter to two people. One was to the Jarl of Winterhold, Kraldar, to assure him that the situation has now been dealt with and that his people don't have to worry about the bright light before. Another was to the Arch-Mage of the College. Better known as the last Dragonborn, Slayer of Alduin, and an Imperial Legate for the Imperial Legion stationed in Skyrim. A powerful, and wise Argonian, a lizard-like people from the independent province in Tamriel known as Black Marsh, a hostile land for anything that wasn't native to the lands like the Argonian people.

The Dragonborn, though hailing originally from Black Marsh, came to Skyrim and became the deciding factor in many conflicts in the province. Though he was originally a prisoner of the legion when he came to Skyrim, for a crime he didn't commit, he still fought for the Legion and helped them in several major battles of the Civil War. From the battle of Whiterun to the battle of Windhelm, the Dragonborn helped the legion become victorious in the war and ensure that Skyrim remain a province of the Empire under the fair, if a bit inexperienced, rule of Jarl Elisif the Fair, who became High Queen of Skyrim once it was clear to both the Jarls and the Empire that the situation in Skyrim was stable enough to justify holding a meeting, or a Moot, to choose amongst the Jarls of Skyrim on who will become the next High King or High Queen of Skyrim. Elisif was chosen, both on account of her being married to the last High King, King Torygg, and her support of the Empire, who continues to hold a strong presence in Skyrim.

Though inexperienced in the fields of politics, Elisif has done well in ruling Skyrim. Mostly because of the support of her advisors, though they believe that, given time, Elisif will become a great queen on her own. With the support of her advisors and, on occasion, the Dragonborn and the Empire, Elisif became quite a popular ruler of Skyrim, even more so than her late husband. Though dissenters still exist due to the constant handholding that Elisif has towards the Empire officers, including General Tullius, commander of the Imperial Legion in Skyrim, as well as her inability to operate well on her own, the people still love Elisif and it only continues to grow as Elisif begins to learn how to be a proper ruler of her people.

But going back to the Dragonborn, he became the Arch-Mage of the College after a series of events that led to the death of the previous one, Savos Aren, and the near destruction of the College through a powerful artifact they uncovered. And to think, he was only a mere student when all that occurred. A student! A freshly inducted one too no less. That rapid promotion was not the first the Dragonborn will do when coming to Skyrim and, upon hearing all his titles and feats, it made Tolfdir wonder if he was seeing if Tiber Septim had returned to Skyrim as an Argonian.

Getting back on track, the letter that Tolfdir was writing for the Dragonborn was a request for him to come back to the College in order to help them assess the situation regarding the child that they found as well as decide what to do with them.

Truth be told, the child himself, whose gender he learned from Faralda, wasn't really worth drawing the attention of Arch-Mage. His magic potential, after some examination by Tolfdir, was discovered to be nothing remarkable. Though they detected an anomaly within the boy, specifically where his scar was, it wasn't really something to draw the attention of the Arch-Mage. Truth be told, the anomaly was something they can easily deal with themselves with no trouble, at least at first glance. More examinations will need to be done before they can come to a sure conclusion that the child was not a danger to them or the people of Winterhold. So, considering all that, there was honestly no need to request the Dragonborn's presence in this situation. Still, Skyrim has been peaceful of late and there was nothing really that required the attention of the Dragonborn, so perhaps this can be something the Dragonborn can do to help alleviate the mundanity that comes with peace. Then there's also the possibility of the being horribly wrong about the child and that there was something dangerous about him, in which case having the Dragonborn around will help deal with any unforeseen troubles that may come from the child.

Finishing the letter for the Arch-Mage, Tolfdir inserted it into an envelope, sealed it, and gave it to Faralda, who will give it to Enthir, their resident merchant that handles supplying the College with everything they need to operate. The Bosmer elf will have a courier send the letter to Solitude, the current capital city of Skyrim for the moment, where the Dragonborn is known to reside in with his wife. Hopefully, they'll receive it soon and come to Winterhold as soon as they can. In the meantime, they'll have to handle the child on their own.

After giving Faralda the envelope containing the letter for the Jarl of Winterhold after he sealed it in said letter, Tolfdir left his quarters to check up on Brelyna and how she was faring in taking care of the child. Though he didn't like having his students take care of the child if he could help it, he really didn't have a choice in the matter. Faralda was the only instructor in the College that had any experience in handling children and he needed her advice in writing a letter to Kraldar with the niceties and pleasantries that a letter like this needed to be if they want to maintain friendly relations with the people of Winterhold. Though Kraldar trusted the College and was willing to give them a chance, despite being a Nord, the few people of Winterhold still distrusted them. It didn't really help that just a few years ago there was an incident in Winterhold that endangered the few remaining people of the city and it was entirely the result of the College bringing a powerful artifact that nearly doomed them all. Yes. Thus, Tolfdir, being regretful of that incident as it was both he and the Dragonborn that discovered the artifact and brought it to the College, wanted to establish friendlier relations with the people of Winterhold. Both for practical and moral reasons.

Though Winterhold couldn't really qualify as a city anymore, is only comprised of a dozen or so buildings and a handful of people, making it more like a village than a city currently, it still was a hold of Skyrim and any poor relations with them will negatively affect the College's relations with the other holds. The Dragonborn, since peace was established in Skyrim after the Civil War, has tried to improve the College's relations with the rest of the province. To lessen the distrust Nords have against those that use the arcane arts. The Dragonborn has a fair amount of charisma and a legendary reputation amongst the people of Skyrim. Still, even that wasn't enough to rid the distrust of magic and those that use it of the people of Skyrim, who were well known for their stubbornness. Thus, he asked Tolfdir to try and do whatever he can to not worsen their already fragile relations with the rest of Skyrim. Something he imparted to all the instructors as well. Tolfdir respected his former student and understood his reasoning. Thus, he did whatever he could to ensure that the Dragonborn's efforts are not sabotaged by the very people he was trying to help.

There was also the fact that the people of Winterhold have suffered enough from their experimentations already as well as past events, one of which was a disaster over eighty years ago that reduced Winterhold from a great city to what it was today. One that the people of Winterhold blamed the College for causing and is still being investigated by the people of the College on what actually caused the disaster.

Moving out of the teacher quarters of the College, Tolfdir went to the Hall of Attainment, where all apprentice-level mages reside and live. Ever since he became the Master Wizard of the College, Tolfdir moved into the Hall of Countenance, where all the instructors and more advanced mages live in. Though there weren't any real differences in living quarters when one compares the two halls, it was still done. Both because the College didn't want incidents occurring because of fresh students being caught trying to practice more advanced spells that they aren't ready for yet, thus creating potentially fatal incidents just waiting to occur from such foolish moves, or because of students attempting to steal texts or spells from instructors and higher-level students, causing people to cheat and that was no good for anyone. Especially when some of the spells that the College teaches students are some of the most dangerous spells known in Tamriel.

Enduring the snowstorm that was still occurring, Tolfdir moved across the College courtyard to the Hall of Attainment. Opening the doors to the Hall, Tolfdir quickly closed them and cast a minor restoration spell on himself to deal with the cold and snow he accumulated by going through the snowstorm. After that was done, he went to Brelyna's quarters and saw Brelyna, Onmund, and J'zargo looking after the child, which was held in Brelyna's arms. Seeing the peaceful look and smile on the Dunmer's face, Tolfdir spoke out.

"Well, I'm pleased to see you all enjoying our newest resident in the college." Said Tolfdir, pleasantly surprised to see Brelyna enjoying her time with the child. The three students looked at Tolfdir with Brelyna giving a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank Azura. Tolfdir, is there any news about the child?" Asked Brelyna. "Is he safe to be around and do we need to be careful around him?" Hearing the concern and relief in Brelyna's voice caused Tolfdir to chuckle before speaking up.

"Why, my dear. I assure you there's nothing inherently wrong with the boy. While on the way here, I detected nothing inherently powerful or dark within the boy. A more thorough search by Drevis will need to be done so that we're completely sure the boy is a mere magical child, but aside from that, there's nothing to worry about him. Faralda will inform him to come here to check up on the child and the anomaly we detected within him after she's spoken with Enthir about the letters being sent to the Jarl and the Dragonborn. And I made sure to tell her to ensure that Drevis can only do harmless checkups, I assure you." Explained Tolfdir.

"So, is he going to be kept under Brelyna's watch then, sir?" Asked Onmund. "Wouldn't that impact her studies?"

"It certainly will, but I'll inform the instructors to be more lenient on Brelyna until we can find a proper home for this child once we successfully determine he's not a threat to anyone." Said Tolfdir. Brelyna frowned upon hearing his solution. Though a part of her was annoyed that she had to be the one that looked after the child without much choice in the matter, another part was alright with it. Though the time she had the child was limited and she didn't have much to do today that will interfere in her taking care of the child, she found herself enjoying the time that she had with him. Perhaps it was the general affection that women had towards newborns, no matter their race, but Brelyna found herself enjoying just being around the child. Finding him adorable and wishing him to be around her more.

"Very well." Said Brelyna as she held the child in her arms, finding his green eyes quite beautiful for a human. "I'll do it. Though I will insist someone takes care of the child while I'm in my studies. Much as I am willing to take care of him, I still wish to do well here."

"Of course." Said Tolfdir. "Your friends, Onmund and J'zargo will help you take care of it and I'll see if I can't get some of the instructors or the other apprentice mages to help you in this as well. Just because we're still unsure about the child is a threat, doesn't mean we can't make him comfortable and cared for. No?"

"I agree with that." Said Brelyna in approval along with J'zargo and Onmund. "Now, seeing as we're all locked into our quarters until the storm is over, can someone help me make a bed appropriate for a child like him? Much as I'm willing to take care of him, I don't think it's a good idea to have such a young child in bed with another person. He may get accidentally smothered."

"J'zargo agrees." Said J'zargo as he looked at Brelyna and the child. "Brelyna may not know this, but J'zargo noticed that you cuddle when you sleep." Upon hearing that, Brelyna glared at J'zargo in embarrassment.

"I don't cuddle." Said Brelyna as she blushed a bit in embarrassment.

"J'zargo and J'zargo's tail says otherwise." Said J'zargo bluntly, causing Brelyna to further blush in embarrassment.