Chapter I Entering the college
As we approach the gates of the thankfully fully walled bridge of the college I take in the sight of the one guarding it. She is a very tall altmer woman with long orange-brown hair and more interestingly her eyes seem to glow with constantly dancing lightning. She appears disinterested in us, not even giving her full attention, and says in a bored tone "If you are here to complain about the college please for the love of Julianos just go to the Jarls court wizard"
I fake cough and say "Actually we were hoping to join the college, me and my companion have been traveling for some time in hopes of learning the secrets of magic." hoping that my fake reverence might actually make her listen.
She finally turns to us fully "Hmm, you both seem young but have already reached a good level of Magicka, fine I will never say no to prospective new students." She says with some barely noticed enthusiasm "The test is rather simple: you tell me what you think you are best at while also mentioning all your other skills, I test your application of that knowledge. Keep in mind that the tuition for a novice is three hundred septims" A good two months pay for laborers "And while you can earn it inside of the college after your entry the first one will have to be paid in full."
Oof! That would leave us almost destitute, but thankfully we are both apprentice- level mages. Morrigan and I nod to each other and I start explaining my skillset "I am capable of apprentice level destruction and restoration with minor skill in alteration conjuration and alchemy, I can also identify enchantments pretty consistently"
She nods and starts writing it down "Very well, name?"
"Reyvin"
She seems dissatisfied "Full name please, there are wards to detect such things for new applicants"
I sigh and hope this doesn't turn into a shitstorm "Reyvin of house Dagoth"
She looks at me with immense curiosity, almost non-metaphorically burning into me with her eyes "Interesting, veery interesting" And now I no longer feel safe.
After some time staring at me like I am a very fun new trinket she just discovered she turns to Morrigan "Your skills and name please."
Morrigan hesitates for a second but still says "Morrigan of the Reach, apprentice destruction and alteration with some restoration and apprentice-level alchemy"
She seems less willing to dissect my friend than me but there is still some curiosity "It has been a long time since we had one of your people in our halls, I hope there will be no issues with the rest of the student body" the last part is said with some threat.
Morrigan shakes her head quickly and starts to say something before I interrupt her "Both of us have come here to learn and become more powerful, as long as our origins aren't shouted out at the town square we will be just another pair of students."
Faralda looks at us for a second then nods as if not caring in the slightest, she was probably obligated to say that anyway, who cares about apprentices burning each other to death? It's to fuel their growth I am sure, note the sarcasm. "Very well, let us proceed with the examination"
We are asked to show off our skills with me being the first. I use my improved flames and firebolt which seems to genuinely impress her, probably because she is the resident master of destruction magic. I quickly show off my bound blade and oak flesh combo finishing with a ward that seems sturdier than when I first learned it.
Morrigan shows off her criomancy, surprising me by casting an ice shard, followed by her roots spell and the small bit of restoration I forced her to learn.
Faralda nods at us and says with just a tiny bit of praise in her voice "Very good, you are both eligible for the rank of apprentice so the tuition will be halved, you will however be expected to complete a bimonthly task for the college until you advance further in rank."
I start to ask but am quickly interrupted "Don't worry you will be paid for said tasks, and as you will be earning the college reputation with most of them a sum will be taken off your tuition for every task you accomplish" I nod and wait for her to direct us where we need to go.
"You will now follow me to the central square of the college, our master wizard Mirabelle Ervine will show you to your assigned quarters and explain the lessons you will be taking" We nod and follow her.
The walk on the bridge is quiet with seemingly nothing happening around us, being curious I activate my third eye and see a bunch of wards constantly scanning us as we pass, fuck I wouldn't ever want to attack this place.
As we cross the threshold into the largest circle of the college the entire atmosphere seems to switch from cold and windy to perfectly temperate and calm. Looking around I see a massive statue of Shalidor at the center, behind it is what I remember as being the entrance to the archmage tower and library, to my sides I see the passages to the other sections with the circular wall seeming to be the dormitories for both professors and students. There are far more people than I expected milling about talking to each other and just generally relaxing, no one seems to be casting any magic which I guess is reserved for a practice area.
We are swiftly led towards the side of the main tower where I see a short breton woman that seems to radiate magicka talking very heatedly with a high elf wearing gaudy thalmor robes. As we approach the altmer walks off seemingly angered by whatever he was told.
Mirabelle looks up at us and smiles lightly "Ah some new students I see" then turns toward our escort "I trust you tested them already?" she asks with slight annoyance, I guess there is a story there.
Faralda huffs and says "Yes I tested them in all they said they could do, both are apprentice level in destruction with additional skills that would qualify them anyway"
"Good, we wouldn't want a repeat of what happened a year ago." she trails off before continuing "You two are in luck, the classes will be starting in two days. The first class will be held by the archmage and you are expected to be present, there will be no tolerance for tardiness." She finishes sternly before pulling out two bracelets with the symbol of the college "You will be required to wear these at all times you are at the college except within your own rooms, they are keyed into the wards, without them you will be immediately detained by the defense system. I hope you are not foolish enough to test this."
We both quickly nod which seems to satisfy her "After you have reached the rank of adept you will be able to commission custom robes for yourselves, but for now this will have to suffice." She looks at our robes with some dissatisfaction. "Follow me to your new dormitories, there are five more new apprentices this year but don't worry everyone will have their own room. If you can't all get along just keep in mind to keep all disputes below a certain level, there is enough trouble and suspicion with the locals as is, we don't need a bunch of apprentices blowing up the nearby houses when they get into a pissing match" Surprisingly crass for the oh so noble bretons huh, but I get it she must be really tired from all the shit she has to deal with.
The now agitated Faralda excuses herself and probably goes back to her bridge-guard duty while we follow Mirabelle.
This whole situation kind of takes me back to my college days. I just hope I am not stuck with assholes again, back then I could do nothing to them except talk back, now I have fire at my fingertips and the will to use it.
Chapter II: Settling in
The inside of the dormitory is dimly lit in an ethereal blue coming from the lamps on the walls, there is a main hall area with a kitchen and some tables surrounded by ten rooms.
Mirabelle points us toward two of the rooms and leaves to get back to whatever she was doing before we interrupted her. We split up and start exploring.
The room is spacious for what one could expect as a student, there is a bed, some shelves, and a table all of seemingly good quality. There is also a couple of books filled with beginner spells for all of the different schools of magic, When I am done with exploring this should keep me occupied.
I take my time to sort my meager possessions and decide to look around and possibly meet my fellow apprentices.
Entering the previously empty main hall I notice two Nords, one male and one female talking to each other animatedly about something, they notice me and the man quickly waves me towards them.
They both look very similar, with blonde hair and blue eyes. Twins I guess as I greet them "Hey there, I am Reyvin. My companion and I joined the college sometime earlier, I am guessing you are our fellow apprentices?" I say while pointing to Morrigan who has joined us after hearing the conversation, she also introduces herself to them.
He smiles at me and says "I am Bor, and this is my sister Brienne" She waves at us "We joined the college a day before the two of you and were just discussing the first lesson, apparently the archmage himself will be holding it! I wonder what it will be about, some secret magic or maybe even a recipe for luck?"
His sister smacks him on the head while giggling "No you idiot, of course he wouldn't that would be irresponsible."
I let out a quiet laugh "Well I wouldn't say no to a luck potion but your sister is most likely right, I am guessing he will teach us something basic and universally important. We will know in two days anyway. What brings the two of you to learn magic? Please do take no offense but while this is Skyrim it is rare for nords to actually try"
Hearing my words they both frown before Brienne speaks up "It is true that most nords look at magic with disdain, but some families are still known for following the old ways of our people, for example, our clan the Flame-heart have been renowned defenders of Dawnstar for centuries now."
I nod at this "I see, please forgive my dumb question, I am new to Skyrim and the reaction among your people to mages is usually neutral at best"
Bor chuckles at this "I wouldn't be surprised if some of the idiots called us elf lovers or something equally idiotic for using the thing that is in every one of us just so they can feel better about their own inadequacies" Brienne seems saddened by his words but doesn't correct him.
All of us turn silent as the atmosphere turns slightly awkward when Morrigan of all people says with genuine curiosity "So what spells do you know?"
We spend some time discussing our skills and what we want to learn at the college. The Flame-heart clan is a clan of renowned destruction mages but is also known for their healing skills, when I mention my modifications to my pyromancy spells they both seem surprised. "How did you manage that? Controlling Magicka to that extent at our level should be almost impossible, even the brightest mages take years to modify their spells." Bor asks his brows furrowing.
Thinking about it magic control has always been way too easy for me, at first I thought it might be the talent I got combined with the mage stone, but after hearing Bor's explanation I think back to every time I have been modifying my spells. It seems that I have been activating my third eye and using it to guide the Magicka instinctually, do I have a weird magic-byakugan or something, or is having a visual aid just that helpful? Well, whatever it is it has helped me immensely already. "I don't know what to tell you, I guess it's just Dunmer being good at fire control" I pretend like he didn't already know that. No reason to air out all my secrets to people I just met.
He looks at me not quite angry but irritated that I am playing dumb and shrugs "Whatever, keep your secrets" and quickly changes his demeanor, likely throwing it to the back of his head "So about that bound weapon, I get that you need a mental image but for whatever reason I just can't get it down."
We continue discussing for a good hour before we are joined by our remaining classmates, we exchange greetings and get back to our discussion with the three now joining us.
Marwyn is a short brown haired Breton from the city of Daggerfall, a member of one of the local historian families, who as Bretons tend to do wanted him to continue their trade and do literally nothing else with his life. He escaped his home to travel the world and follow his real passion, enchantment.
Tiberius Gracchus is the tall and bulky son of a legionary legate stationed in Skyrim, apparently his father wanted him to become a warrior like himself, but Tiberius being a lazy ass prefers to summon others to do his fighting for him. He convinced his father to let him go to the college, I guess the man just wanted his son to do something. Tiberius is also a massive empire simp, like seriously dude is there one sentence that leaves your mouth without praising the glorious empire? Thankfully the boner he has for the tower of white gold is shared by the hate boner he has for the thalmor.
The last of my new class is a Dunmer woman named Edrasa Moabain, she is apparently the daughter of the owner of the local mushroom tower, who I learned is the renowned staff-maker Dyrren of House Telvanni. She was basically forced to join the college by her father who didn't want to spend time teaching her the "Basic shit" she could learn here. Thankfully, she seems to have some interest in alteration magic, so it shouldn't be too hard for her. She has silver hair and is pale by Dunmer standards, she is also unnaturally pretty, like I thought I was straight up getting bewitched levels of pretty. Looking at her with my third eye I don't sense any illusions so it was most likely a permanent alteration ritual, or maybe she just won the genetic lottery.
Guarding my mind against the pitfalls of potential simpery I continue discussing all manner of topics with the rest of the apprentices, Morrigan seems to be getting more comfortable with people now that she is no longer on the run, hopefully she will one day be able to recover from the scars left by her mothers' betrayal.
After we are done talking sometime past midnight I return to my room and crack open the levitation spell book disguised as a mana theory paper given to me by the college. Just because it is against the law doesn't mean most mages will give a single shit, they might not use the spells in public, but I guarantee you they spam that shit more than I do flames.
Chapter III: Exploration and some practice
The levitation spell made for an interesting read, like most mysticism spells it is based almost purely on Magicka control. It consists of creating a platform of semi-solid Magicka beneath your feet and using it to float in the air, while it doesn't offer great speed or stability of flight it is still immensely useful, and only a fool would refuse to learn it because of some retarded law. I managed to understand the main principles of casting it but one night of reading wasn't enough to attempt to actualize it, it was enough however to give me something.
[Mysticism-basic]
Getting access to an entirely new school of magic is a pretty damn good way to start the day, after taking a moment to make myself look proper I leave my room.
It seems I woke up very early because most of the other rooms are still closed with a slightly glowing rune floating in front of them, the only other person awake is Marwyn, who seems to be drinking something, he gives me an unfocused wave and goes back to his drink, I sit next to him and ask him what it is.
He seems kind of shy, likely being unused to talking to new people, especially of a different race "It's just some coffee that came in from Hammerfell, the prices went up like mad after the war, or so I hear, but the college gets a batch from time to time" He has been here for a good two weeks longer than us so it is unsurprising that he knows such things.
He points me to the small sack in the kitchen and I quickly get to making myself a strong cup. Ah the holiest of drinks, how I have missed you.
We chat about our travels in Skyrim while drinking before I get an idea "You've been here for two weeks already right?" He nods, now far more lively than when I found him "I was planning to explore the place a bit, would you care to show me around?"
He nods quickly "Sure, I was going to visit the library and practice ground in a bit anyway, might as well take a walk first."
I think about waking Morrigan up but we were traveling for a fairly long time and it is very early so I might as well leave her to rest.
The college courtyard is mostly empty at this time of day, there are some night guards walking around waiting for their shift to end but everyone else is still inside, remembering my own student days I guess that most people here like to sleep in after long nights of study.
We take our time seeing the alchemy gardens surrounding the buildings with Marwyn telling me about some plants I don't recognize and their use. The gardens are sectioned in such a way that allows the plants that work best alongside each other, kind of like an organic food farm. There are runic circles around the more fragile ones protecting them from the harsh climate, or adapting the air around them to best help them grow.
We also visit the two circles to the east and west, with them mostly mimicking the central one being made from large stone blocks with the tower entrances enchanted with symbols respective to their schools of magic. There are also statues of all the Archmages situated between said entrances, but none of them are even close to the size of Shalidor's statue back at middle of the college.
After touring the place a bit more and looking at the frozen landscape to the north, Marwyn leads me to the library which is situated in the northern section of the college above the practice grounds. It seems kind of irresponsible to have a library above the place where people practice blowing shit up but the ungodly number of wards around the place reassure me that they have it covered.
The library is far more lively than I expected at this time of day with a lot of older students still likely cramming their assignments, there are even some that fell asleep. One was about to start drooling on a book when he was lifted in the air and tossed beyond the doors of the library, a gruff old looking Orc slightly growled before picking the book up and looking at us.
"Welcome to the Arcanaeum, which might as well be my own plane of oblivion, I am Urag gro-Shub the keeper of this place" He turns to me specifically, likely already having met the bookish Marwyn "Some of this collection can be dated back to the second era, you will respect the books or..." he waves in the direction he just yeeted the poor student.
I nod at him not at all surprised, Urag was always a favorite of mine, either because he was an orc mage breaking the stereotype or just due to his serious demeanor. "Of course not sir, I wasn't raised in the streets, the books will be safe when in my hands" I say in a fake-offended voice.
He snorts at my pompous response "Eh good enough, now was there anything specific you were looking for or were you just taking in the sights?" Guess that newcomers tend to do that "Keep in mind I would recommend waiting for the start of the lessons so you don't take on too much material at once"
I take a second to think about my response and finally answer "I was looking for techniques that might improve the control and reserves of my Magicka, the spell books provided in my room will keep me occupied for some time but expanding my foundation is best started as soon as possible"
He nods at this pleased "Good, most fools just want to learn how to throw fireballs, and then you tell them they have to actually not suck first" he snorts "Follow me"
He leads us to the back and hands me a book titled {Arcane Ascendance} "This is the most used technique among the college mages, at first it might seem simple but that is for good reason, every mage modifies the process to further improve their chosen fields with the benefits growing the more you personalize and perfect it. Make sure to be very careful of how far you decide to push yourself, overdoing the exercise will hinder you more than help you."
I thank him and with a nod he returns to whatever he was reading before we arrived. Marwyn grabs a book on Nordic enchantment techniques, as I start reading the manual.
The application is as simple as the resident Orc librarian had said, you take in Magicka from the atmosphere and suffuse your entire being in it essentially adapting your body to containing more of it, while also having to keep control of any outbursts which will hurt, a lot. It is recommended that one doesn't spend more than two hours a day practicing it as any more leaves one lethargic and unfocused until they rest.
I reread the diagrams a couple of times and after informing my new friend headed to the practice area.
The inside of the now named 'Hall of Refinement' is very simple looking, once again being a large circular room surrounded by more rooms intended for practicing specific kinds of spells.
I quickly notice one intended for my training in the mysticism section of the room, and enter it, inside there is a small instruction manual explaining that the room will alert me after two hours have passed.
After calming my mind I sit down and start practicing the technique without using my third eye as an experiment, controlling the flow of Magicka outside of my body is very easy as always, but the moment it enters me it feels like trying to swim through sand, sighing at my perceived failure I activate my third eye and try and look within myself.
The experience feels very unnatural, I can't quite see the inside of myself but I can definitely feel it, using the eye as visual aid I try guiding the Magicka again and this time I manage to, while still with some difficulty, properly cycle it through my body.
The process is not quite painful, but still feels very weird and uncomfortable, I quickly notice that the space behind my forehead is taking up the lions share of the Magicka and sigh. I guess that even a great gift has some drawbacks, but then again this gives me hope that the eye could be improved with enough refinement.
Time passes incredibly quickly and I find myself woken from my trance by the flickering light of practice room, guess I got too into it. Checking my progress I am pleasantly surprised:
[Mysticism-novice: Arcane Ascension (beginner)]
[Vit: 8.2 = 8.5]
[Mind: 15.5 = 16]
[Mag: 133 = 140]
Chapter IV: The first lecture (Part 1)
After my first brush with becoming a young master, I returned to the Arcanaeum to find that Marwyn was now joined by Tiberius. The two were discussing the dangers of summoning Daedra while looking through a book on the topic.
I went to Urag to thank him for his recommendation and asked if he had any books on Dovahzul. I might never be able to rend mountains but if I want to get even a single shout down starting early is a must.
"Sure, we have some old tomes on it, a warning though, many have tried to make heads or tails of what to do with it and the furthest someone got was minor enchantment applications, there were some that managed to learn a word or two for shouting but it was rarely worth the effort." The librarian says in a grumbling tone.
I nod and say "Well, it will at least make for an interesting read, and who knows? I might get lucky" He scoffs and waves me off.
The book I started with was more a dictionary than any kind of instruction manual, there were only the words in Dovah and their presumed meaning when translated to Tamrielic. My main goal with the dragon language was to learn the slow time shout, the rest might be more destructive or impressive but giving myself more time to spam spells like a madman will always trump those advantages, hopefully my relative age will give me an advantage in learning it.
The hours quickly passed while I was immersed in the book until Morrigan found me.
"You could have waited for me before exploring you know." she says annoyed.
"And when I got up you were still asleep, we were traveling for a long time and I thought you might need the rest" I say not turning from my book.
She narrows her eyes "And since when am I so delicate that I can't get up in the morning?"
I sigh and finally look at her "Morrigan, even ignoring my previous words, is it so weird that I chose not to drag you everywhere I go?"
She is silent for a couple of moments before she shakes her head and sits across me "No I guess it is not." she goes to say something else but stops herself.
"Listen, I am not going anywhere, but you need to decide what you want to do now that you are safe. I have my own ambitions and goals, and just following me around can't be the extent of yours."
She frowns, deep in thought for a good ten minutes before saying "Yes, you are right. The entire time I was only thinking about running away, not what I was going to do afterward."
I smile "Good, I am glad you understand."
We chat about our discoveries about the college for a short while and I show her the Arcane Ascension book, she seems interested in it and leaves to try it out.
The rest of the day I spent reading, walking around, or relaxing in the gardens.
Today was Morndas the 4th of Frostfall, or Monday October fourth for those uninitiated, which marked the start of the lessons for new apprentices at the college of Winterhold.
We gathered in the Hall of the Elements, or the lecture hall as it was known to most people. The seven of us were joined by some older apprentices along with a couple of professors who were most likely there just to show themselves so we can remember them.
There was a lot of excited murmuring among the students, but I remained mostly quiet.
After waiting for a couple of minutes a tall Dunmer man wearing the bluish purple robes of the Archmage walked in from the side and everyone quieted down.
He took a couple of seconds to see if everyone was present, nodding at the older students seemingly satisfied by their presence. He spent a good minute looking over us newbies and then checking his notes, most likely confirming something when I felt a spell brush over all of us. Looking at the source with some caution I found out that the Archmage was scanning the new students, irritating but understandable.
When our eyes met his eyebrow rose and he gave me a small smile, before he finally fake coughed and started his speech: "I am happy to see so many new faces this year, I am Savos Aren, the Archmage of this college. The magical arts are as old as history and it gladdens my heart that you all have decided to delve into their mysteries with us, the things you will learn here will last you for a lifetime, several if you are talented" he pauses for a bit after his intro.
"I will begin by giving some ground rules. The research into any school of magic is not strictly prohibited on college grounds, however if you break the law of the land in an attempt to further said research the punishment will be severe" At this he flares his magical presence at us and I am blinded for a second, he continues as if nothing happened: "Any dispute between college members will be solved either by mediation of a senior member or, if that fails, a non-lethal magical duel, let me reiterate that: Under no circumstances are you to permanently harm a fellow member. Finally every mission taken by a student will be checked and verified multiple times to ensure it's required skill level, there will be no complaints when you accept an assignment"
He takes break from speaking and drinks some water while the other students start murmuring excitedly once again. Another fake cough interrupts them "Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way I will explain the course of your education. The college prides itself in the freedom of its members, there are some essential skills that you will have to pick up during your first year along with a more rigid lesson program, but afterwards you will be able to chose whatever you wish to do with your time here. The things I require from everyone consist of learning all of the spells provided in your rooms, for those who didn't have the time to look through them, these are spells from every school of magic, the mastery of which will allow you to survive most encounters or at least run away."
He looks toward the disgruntled Nords present among us "Now I know that running away isn't the most honorable thing but we aren't warriors here, we are scholars, and while we might be able to cause great destruction sometimes a retreat is the better choice" they all seem to be at least somewhat placated by this.
"Back to the program, alongside learning these spells you will also take the time to visit every class held during the next two weeks, and after being introduced to everything that is offered to you you will chose what you wish to focus on, The limit will be three schools, and before some of you start complaining no I don't care how hard working you are. Some things take time and I will not have you blowing yourself up or turning into catgirls because you can't show some damn patience." There is definitely some fun history there.
He takes a second for his words to sink in, and before some idiots can start complaining despite them, starts introducing the professors to his side. I recognize some of them but knowing I will meet them later I only half listen to the introductions.
"Now that the formalities are out of the way it is time to begin the lesson." After saying that he seems to suddenly turn into another person as his inner nerd awakens "I will start with a rather simple question: What is Magicka?"
Chapter V: The first lecture (Part 2)
"What is Magicka?"
Tiberius raises his hand at this and the Archmage points at him "It is the fuel we use for our magic?" he says somewhat unsure.
Savos nods "True, when it comes to application it is indeed the fuel to our fire so to say, but what is it? Anyone else?" He looks around the room and points to Marwyn who is still as shy as yesterday.
"I-is it the energy that makes up a being's spirit?"
"While it doesn't make the entire spirit it is the thing that gives it 'weight' " he says with air quotes. "But that is merely one of the things that it is. Does anyone else have an idea?"
I try to remember either from my previous or current life and hesitantly raise my hand. He nods my way and I speak "It is the raw energy that permeates all of existence, it is the building blocks of reality, and when focused can be directed to change said reality?"
He seems to agree and nods "Indeed, it can be called that and can be used to alter the world, but it does have limitations" He turns toward the other Dunmer in our group who rose her hand "And what do you think Miss Moabain"
She calmly says "It is the cosmic energy flowing from Aetherius to Mundus through the sun and stars, left behind by Magnus after the creation of our world, it is as my colleague said the material from which the world itself was made"
The Archmage seems satisfied with our collective answer "Indeed Magicka, being the Ayleid word for magic or mana as some cultures call it, is all these things and more. It is the tool that we use to become more than what we were born with and with which we ascend beyond the mere mortals who fear and loathe us. It is also a drug so addictive that skooma might seem like a morning snack in comparison." Very dramatic, but also true. The feeling of it flowing through your body is like a constant high, no wonder most mages are depicted as cackling madmen.
"That is exactly why you must remember that while it is a great gift and power, it is also a great burden. Don't let the meager strength you achieve get to your head and lead you down a path of foolishness or into the maws of beings far more powerful."
Without context this is just a boring 'with great power' speech, but knowing his backstory he really does just want us to be cautious and not get ourselves enslaved by Daedra or worse.
The Archmage takes a moment and starts speaking once more "Now that we have something close to a consensus of what Magicka is, let us move on to a very simple application of it" He casts a candlelight in his right hand and raises it "This is the novice level spell Candlelight, it is very simply a focused ball of Magicka mixed with the intent to create light, I want all of you to try this."
We all immediately get to casting, Edrasa and the twins manage it immediately, likely having already learned it. I take some more time trying to get the intent part of the spell right but am soon successful. It takes about a minute more for everyone else to get it.
The Archmage nods, satisfied "Good, now that we have an example I will explain how the act of doing magic works. As you might have learned from doing any spell, magic consists of three main elements: The will to enact it, the energy to fuel it, and the intent to guide and shape it."
He starts walking around while showing us illusions to best help us understand his explanation "The most basic applications of magic start simply with an intense wish to do something, this can best be shown by the flames spell: You desire to burn something, the Magicka within you reacts and is transformed into flames. This is how the first Ayleid sorcerers learned magic."
"Over the millennia the study of magic has become more and more advanced and complex until at one point mere intent could no longer suffice. That is when mental images, self-hypnotism, and finally runes came into play. The mages of old realized that creating an association in one's mind and then using said association to direct a more complex spell can produce far better and safer results than merely wishing something hard enough and ramming a shipload of Magicka into it."
"There are many different runic languages across Tamriel usually applied in enchantments, but for spellcasting most mages use the arcane script which was created over millennia of trial and error." He creates a large illusion showing over a hundred symbols written in a similar style.
I raise my hand and he nods at me "So why haven't some of us had any interaction with said script, we are already apprentice mages, there should have at least been a hint of it"
He thinks for a second before asking "Have you ever read an adept spell book?"
I shake my head and he nods in confirmation "Then that is why you haven't yet had any interaction with it, most spells below the adept level do not need the arcane script, and to be fair it is very difficult to find the script itself written down beyond a learning institution or an old magical family. Any copy of it is usually confiscated for even the most minor of infractions to keep it from the wrong hands, well in most places that is. Trying to take it from a Telvanni mage usually results in explosions or an army of Daedra." We share a chuckle with Edrasa joining us.
It's a shame that most of my father's stuff got disappeared after he died, but I guess old Bobby didn't want to give me an entire library's worth of spells without any effort.
The Archmage continues his explanation "After a very long time of using the arcane script the world itself started associating certain symbols with certain effects, that is why we don't need to spend years training our subconscious to use the script" Thank fuck for that. "Now for the best part of any learning experience!" He spreads his arms overdramatically, my fellows seem excited but I already know where this is going... "Homework!" sigh... yup.
Everyone deflates faster than a Thalmor does a racism, while the Professors quietly laugh at our misery. The Archmage continues "I want all of you to memorize the entire script by the end of your first year, it is a long-term project yes, but if you want to keep up with your peers you will need to be able to read, write, and most importantly understand the arcane script, otherwise learning anything above low-adept spells will be extremely hard and not to mention the casting being incredibly inefficient."
The students accept their fate and the lesson soon ends with the Archmage waving at us almost mockingly. Guess he experienced something similar when he first started out, oh well if he wasn't at least a bit petty I would think him unworthy of a position of authority.
Most of the apprentices head back to the dormitories while I head off towards the library, If I have to learn some squiggly lines to become powerful I will learn the damn squiggly lines!
Chapter VI: Conjuration and Familiars
Spending an entire afternoon memorizing a new language was not something I expected I would have to do when I started my magical journey, now I understand why mages in most places are considered to be the nerds, this shit takes some willpower to read. It is not that difficult, but I can already see myself spending a few months of concentrated effort understanding it.
At first, it looks just like any other mystical script you might see in a fantasy setting, but after looking through it a bit it is almost like a programing language, well not exactly like that but you string words inside of your mind to essentially program the Magicka to do something, which is close enough.
After forcing myself through the driest reading experience of my new life I headed to the practice ground and completed today's Magicka exercise.
The spells that the Archmage said we would have to learn don't seem to be too complex or demanding, there is the heal, lesser ward and oakflesh, a sensible choice for not dying in seconds, but I already know these so I move on. We are also required to learn the base attack spell of all three main destruction elements, along with the calm and anger spells from the illusion school. There is a note that the conjuration spell will be given to us at the class for safety reasons.
What does surprise me is the Mark and Recall spell book lying among them, after quickly reading through it it does seem to have some limitations not mentioned in the games, the mark can only be placed on a pre-prepared spell circle, which is noted to already exist under the carpet of my room, and takes a whole ten minutes to cast with it sucking out the reserves of an average adept. It can be cast by someone with less Magicka but they would be bedridden for a good three days on average. Still a very useful last resort to have in my pocket.
The next morning I spend chatting with my fellow apprentices while partaking of the holy caffeine, today we will be having a lesson in conjuration and Tiberius seems to be the most excited among us, the man has made it his mission to get an army of minions even if it is the last thing he does.
We all discuss yesterdays lesson with the Archmage and I start complaining about how annoying and difficult the arcane script is, blowing it way out of proportion , the scared faces on most of my fellow students are a balm for my soul, Morrigan seems to sense my bullshit but stays silent, her eyes filled with mirth.
A/n: Playing around with povs again, do tell me your impressions, and yes some of the college characters will be modified to better adapt to my head-canon of how powerful and odd master mages are.
[General pov:]
As the students enter the bottom floor of the conjuration tower they are greeted by a balding, skinny and old Breton man, the conjuration professor feels like he has already died to Reyvin but he wisely keeps his mouth shut.
The voice of the man is a raspy and dry thing "Wellcome apprentices" He seems to take his time with every word. "I am Phineas Gestor, master of conjuring and necromancy"
'This man gives naught a singular shit huh'
At this some of the apprentices are startled, especially the nords, the master necromancer raises his hand and continues in his monotone "Before you start accusing me of ancestral defilement, know that I take great care about who or what I raise, and can confidently say that all that have suffered at my hands have most assuredly deserved it" It takes him almost a full minute to say this, which seems to work in his favor as everyone seems to have forgotten his introduction.
Reyvin thinks otherwise, detecting the mass calm spell that hit them. The feeling of getting magically calmed is odd, you still have your thoughts but it is almost as if the very idea of committing any kind of aggression seems foreign, which makes it even more scary. 'Guess illusion isn't a waste of my time after all' his thoughts are interrupted by the professors continued speech.
"As you can see I do not share the Archmages flair for dramatics so I will get to the core of the matter." Thankfully he decided to speed up his speech or they would be here all day at this rate.
"Conjuration is the art of binding spirits or Daedra to ones soul, through the medium of a contract you offer a constant trickle of Magicka to the bound spirit and are able to summon them at almost no cost." He demonstrates this by snapping his fingers and being surrounded by five different elemental atronachs. "The amount of possible contracts is naturally based on your capability to produce or gather Magicka, the former being preferable as you cannot always guarantee yourself being in a sufficiently magically dense environment." He snaps his fingers again and the atronachs are gone.
"Note that you are capable of summoning without a contract, but the Magicka cost is comparably enormous and there is no guarantee that something would respond. Or even worse, something beyond you does respond" He finishes ominously before waving his hand and floating a spell book to each apprentice.
"There are however two known spells that require minimal investment from you when it comes to conjuration, the first being the bound weapon as it is more of a Magicka shaping technique which you bind to yourself. The other, being the one now in your hands, is the conjure familiar spell. The spell has some ties to mysticism as it connects to your guardian animal, or spirit beast, or inner beast and so on and so forth, the interpretations are as many as there are cultures on Nirn. What is important to us is that it is a very low mantainance spell that grows alongside the potence of your Magicka, it is an eternally loyal guardian belonging to you and you alone, remember to treat it with respect" He looks at them with an unexpected seriousness.
"You will take half an hour to read through and understand the spell, you may ask questions but please don't bother me with trivialities" He sits down and starts scribbling something down as the students get to reading.
[Reyvin pov:]
'Apparently we have a litch professor, or at least that is what he feels like to me' I think as I start reading through the spell book, not really shaken by the fact. As long as he is civilized and doesn't bother me I will give him the same courtesy.
The conjure familiar is an introduction to all summoning spells, requiring a ritual to bring out the spirit beast and a simple contract to bind it. The ritual itself is rather simple, consisting of a potion to place you in a trance while you sit in a prepared ritual circle. After you enter said trance you need to find your familiar and befriend it, which is supposed to be very easy, as the beast is made of your own essence.
The half hour passes in silence with everyone being immersed in their work, we interrupted by Phineas "I hope you have all finished reading" after receiving nods from all of us he continues "Good, you will now all perform the ritual under my supervision one by one"
He points to Bor first, he hesitantly approaches the circle next to the professor and takes the potion from his hands, after drinking he folds his legs and sits in the circle. Nothing happens, and for a good five minutes everyone is silent, until the howl of a wolf is heard and a large grey wolf materializes in front of him.
After giving a reserved congratulations to the elated Bor he calls me forward. I take the potion and sit down, after drinking I start feeling woozy and disoriented, not even my third eye being able to bring me back into focus. Soon I find myself in a small park surrounded by concrete buildings. In front of me, giving me a curious look, there stands a...
Chapter VII: Scorch
I find myself in a small park surrounded by concrete buildings, in front of me, on the branch of a tree there stands a large ash-colored hawk, immediately I get the impression it is not a simple bird as the tips of its feathers are constantly flickering with tiny flames. He, and somehow I am certain it is a he, is looking at me with what I feel is patience mixed with a childish curiosity.
"Hey there little guy, I hope you weren't too lonely waiting for me." I approach and offer my hand to carry him. He looks at me for a bit longer then chirps happily and jumps on my shoulder, thankfully somehow not cutting it up.
I start walking around what I now recognize as my old town, or at least the representation of it in my mind, the bird on my shoulder seems content to look around the unfamiliar place as I take my time reminiscing about my old life.
Some minutes pass in silence before I turn toward my new companion "You seem to want to see far more than this dreary place, would you like to come with me?" He is immediately excited and nods rapidly, suddenly sprouting a bit of fire around him and scorching my robe.
My eye twitches "Just for that I am naming you Scorch" The damn bird has the gall to huff, or well the closest bird approximation to huffing, oddly he seems to not mind the name, he is just annoyed that I am being pissy.
How do I know this? It seems that we have formed an empathic bond, we can't quite speak to each other but can understand each other's thoughts, which might even be better. He also seems to be as intelligent as a mortal child.
I look around one more time, burning the memory into my brain, and finally turn to my new friend "This place is making me depressed, let's get going." Scorch nods and pecks my shoulder drawing a bit of blood, soon he disappears in a cloud of ash and I feel another presence inside of my Magicka reserve, after a couple of seconds my thoughts become muddled and I lose consciousness.
Soon I find myself sitting on the ground with a weight on my shoulder, Scorch apparently joined me while I was getting my bearings.
Phineas seems satisfied with my results and congratulates me before calling forth the next apprentice. The rituals take about half an hour before everyone is done, the presumed lich speaks up "Good, at least you aren't incompetent enough to muck up meeting your spirit guardian. Now, to reiterate, your familiar will grow alongside your own magical power, meaning the more Magicka you have the more the familiar can take for itself when you aren't using it. Familiars also have an added benefit of forcing your body to get used to constantly producing Magicka so it can keep up with the consumption, meaning it will speed up the growth of your reserves. As you can see it is a very symbiotic relationship which is why you will treat them with respect as they will never abandon you." We all nod, everyone already feels the bond with their familiar and would likely not be an ass regardless of what the professor said.
"Good, I recommend to all, if you haven't already that is, to get a copy of Arcane Ascension from the library. The added Magicka will be needed if you ever want to be even a slightly accomplished conjurer. For those of you who wish to touch upon the art of necromancy do remember to study soul manipulation from the mysticism school, and keep in mind that only adepts and up are allowed to even attempt to try playing with the dead." Most of the students seem disinterested, some are even offended, but oddly enough there is a glint of curiosity on Marwyn's face.
Not long after this speech the class ends and I head to the library to get back to learning the arcane script, I am joined by everyone except Tiberius who seems to be too taken with his first 'minion', a large sabre-cat, and is now rushing to buy her treats.
On the way I check my system notifications for the past couple of days, my reserves have grown alongside my mind, but the change is very gradual so any larger advancements will take time, there is however something interesting.
[Conjuration-apprentice: Bound weapon (Steel), Familiar bond (Scorch)]
[Summoning bonds:]
[Scorch]
[Ashen Hawk: A magical creature with an affinity for fire and ash, there is a great lifeforce within, waiting to be awakened.]
[abilities: Can detonate into flames and ash, burning and blinding all caught in it. Restores itself far faster than other familiars after being banished (an hour instead of a day)]
Apparently Scorch is no mere fire chicken! I better not ignore his progress, if my hunch is correct he holds ridiculous potential.
[General pov]
The new apprentices of the college take their time walking towards the library, all of them talking about their new companions. The twins surprisingly, or not, both got identical looking wolves.
Morrigan got a raven that seems to be able to disappear into shadows, which seems to please her greatly.
Marwyn got a very large white owl, Reyvin jokingly recommended him the name Hedwig which he accepted, much to the elf's chagrin.
Edrasa got a rather resilient-looking nyx hound which seems to weird out the humans, but the Dunmer have no such issues and were immediately taken by the little insectoid doggo.
While the familiars are getting... familiar with the place the group of apprentices, after procrastinating for a good hour finally get to studying the magic squiggly lines of doom, as named by our resident pyromancer.
Three hours later everyone seems to be done with life and ready to tear the books to pieces but one look from the old orc librarian is enough to spare the cursed piece of literature, for now.
[Reyvin pov]
After finally liberating myself of the foul text I head toward the practice ground along with the rest of my colleagues for my daily 'totally-not-cultivation-session'.
Trying it out for a bit makes me notice that my Magicka has been greatly affected by its new resident, my aura now feels like a constant and gentle flame, there is also a soothing, revitalizing undertone to it, checking my stats it doesn't seem to have changed them in any quantity so it must be a trait.
[Ashen bond: Through your bond with Scorch you attain greater control over flames and restoration, you also seem to heal just a bit quicker]
I pop my mouth and say "Noice" making Edrasa, who was doing her own training nearby, look at me weirdly. She quickly shrugs and gets back to work though, growing up with Telvanni mages probably made her used to the utterly weird shit they tend to do.
Two hours later, being one step closer to becoming the young master of the ancient Dagoth clan, I start practicing my destruction spells in a nearby room.
I experiment with changing the intent of the spell, even managing to make the firebolt slightly curve its flight path and making my flames a much more concentrated line instead of a wave, but doing this takes far too much concentration to be useful in a fight.
I keep myself from trying to add runes into the spell since it could end up very badly, I will have to learn a tested method first, no need to burn myself both figuratively and literally. Finishing my pyromancy exercise I start studying the other elements of destruction.
Lightning sparks are rather easy to cast, being similar to fire just with a lot more friction involved in the initial casting, it does however eat through my Magicka far quicker.
Ice, on the other hand, is an absolute nightmare! My affinity is mostly fire focused and trying to turn my Magicka into ice is like trying to convince my grandfather that the Imperials are a good influence on Morrowind.
Two hours pass along with my futile efforts, the ice still beyond my grasp. I haven't felt this frustrated in a very long time, it is surprising how much this tiny failure angers me, so I choose to stop and cool down a bit.
Trying to heal my bruised ego I tell myself that I am still a student, and besides being good at everything would be boring! Yes, that is totally my excuse for not being able to cast a novice spell of my main school. Totally not sulking I head towards the dormitory to turn in for the day.
On the way Scorch rejoins me and starts transmitting how much he enjoys his new friends, having flown around town with the two other birds. He immediately makes my mood go up with his mental chattering, one of the rare things I liked doing in my old life is listening to my kids speaking about their discoveries, and his current behavior reminds me very much of that.
So instead of sulking like a teenager I put more pep into my step and chat away with my bird friend, motivated to try again harder tomorrow.
Chapter VIII: A morning in the dorms
"So, how is house Telvanni these days? The red year and subsequent invasion was very hard on you all from what I've heard" I ask Edrasa while having my morning coffee.
She scrunches her eyebrows and takes a sip of her own drink before saying "We have been rebuilding in Vvardenfell mostly, thankfully a good number of our masters and magisters managed to survive the invasion by having teleportation spells ready when their defenses fell. The Archmagister and his family however were not as lucky and all died at the fall of Port Telvannis" She seems actually saddened by this, odd considering the usual Telvanni mentality.
"Serves the slavers right" Bor snorts from nearby, his twin nodding in agreement.
The look Edrasa gives him makes it seem like she ready to help his guts experience fresh air, he flames starting to form in her hand remove any doubt.
I turn to him and raise an eyebrow while holding Edrasa's shoulder trying to keep her from attacking "Is this how I should react if your entire clan and hold ever get decimated?"
He seems to regret his words a tiny bit before doubling down, an offended look on his face "So you would equate honorable defenders and Nords to a bunch of slavers?"
I give him an arrogant smile and say "What a grand and intoxicating innocence. The very idea that a bunch of Nords could be equal to a great house of Morrowind would be the funniest thing I have heard all day if it wasn't so gods damned offensive"
Edrasa, who calmed down enough not to commit immediate murder, nods sagely as if it was the most obvious thing in the world while the Nord twins' faces become red in anger.
Things are about to get heated with Bor making a fist, when we are interrupted by Tiberius. "Come now my dear colleagues everyone is equal under the glorious Empire, no need to fight amongst ourselves!"
'Dude sure likes to preach, but seriously the fuck did he just say?'
Everyone turns to him and gives him a heated glare, but the fiery winds of our fury seem to go under his notice as he gives us a proud look, as if expecting praise.
Me and my fellow Dunmer speak almost in perfect sync "Morrowind isn't even a part of the empire you s'wit n'wah" surprised we both nod at each other and resume our glaring at the imperial.
Brienne adds in a sarcastic voice "Ah yes we are all equal, just until you need to throw one of us off the boat to save yourselves" Bor simply glares.
Tiberius seems undeterred however "No matter, the Empire is what unites us all, each man, mer or beast shall prosper under it's guidance. While we have hit a bit of a snag right now, it is inevitable that we shall reunite once more into one glorious state!"
Even Marwyn, who tuned us out earlier, joins in at this point with a tired sigh "Tiberius, be real here. The moment the oblivion crisis started the Empire pulled out of Morrowind." He starts listing off other minor wrongs before getting to the biggest one "the moment they could save the heartland from the Thalmor by sacrificing an entire province and one of our main deities they did exactly that." At this everyone nods in agreement "You have to admit man, the Empire of today doesn't inspire even a bit of confidence, besides, there is no dragon-blood on the Ruby Throne."
The young imperial seems to falter a bit before straightening up again "You are right, of course, but we all need something to believe in! If we let the current hard times take us apart we would undo all the work of the exact god you mentioned and that of his descendants as well."
The Nords and Marwyn seem to actually start thinking about his words and begin muttering amongst each other.
Edrasa and I on the other hand, just look at them like they are idiots. While it is understandable that the best interest of Bretons, Nords, and Imperials is to be united, Morrowind has never fully accepted being under the Septims who had actual power, the Medes shouldn't even dream of ruling it.
I do however, respect Tiberius for not faltering in his belief, it is very difficult for one to hold to ones faith when the facts are very much against you.
The entire conversation is interrupted as Morrigan slams the door of her room open, bags under her eyes, and starts glaring at us "It is seven in the fucking morning, will you all shut up?!" Her currently glowing hands tell us in no uncertain terms that this is not a request.
After a couple of seconds of silence she nods to herself, satisfied that the blessed silence is back, and dispels the magic from her hands "What were you even talking about that got you all so worked up?" she asks in a much more subdued tone this time.
"Oh just a bunch of kids who don't know what they are talking about advancing from casual to competitive racism, nothing too bad" I say with a sagely voice, as I float a cup of coffee to her with my minor telekinesis spell.
Everyone turns to me and gives me the 'Aren't you shit talking yourself right now?' look, but they at least don't seem to want to rip each other to pieces anymore.
Marwyn mutters to himself "The fuck is competitive racism?" while scratching his head.
I shrug, completely ignoring them, and get back to my coffee, everyone else following suit after a bit.
I am soon joined by Morrigan and Edrasa. I turn to said elf and continue where we left off "So before we were rudely interrupted, I was going to ask what made your family decide to come to Skyrim, from what I know your father is a Telvanni master, there should be land in Morrowind for him to rule."
She shakes her head with a exasperated smile "My father got tired of all the blame that was being thrown around in the council, so he just picked up his possessions and moved here alongside our servants, he even called the entire council a bunch of brats, I am not sure how he survived that." She scratches her cheek, a genuinely confused expression on her face "At first the Jarl was very reluctant to give him the rights to grow his tower, but after a good thirty years of honest business and no incidents, and with the previous Jarl's son who is more open to magic taking the throne he could no longer be denied."
I raise my eyebrow at this "The new Jarl doesn't hate magic? I heard all manner of stories, but this one I didn't expect." Seriously, Korir's only dialogue ingame is bitching about mages, I guess he offended someone he shouldn't have?
Morrigan joins in, a lot less cranky after some coffee. "I have heard around town that when the jarl was killed in a bandit ambush a college mage saved him and his mother, he is too young to rule so the mother is acting as regent for now." Edrasa nods, confirming the story.
'Hmmm suspicious, but it benefits me so what do I care' We continue speaking about less serious topics for a bit until it is time for us to get moving, we have restoration and mysticism today.