Chapter 124 - 9-13

Chapter 9

"Wake up." I felt a prodding in my shoulder, I was still drowsy, and my head was killing me.

"Wake. up." I heard and felt it again.

I groggily lifted my head up to look at the…person poking me. He was, not a race I had seen before. An elf of some sort, the people weren't freaking out, so I was assuming that his species wasn't uncommon.

"The fuck do you want?" He was dressed well, too well. He had a permanent look on his face that screamed, 'I'm better than you'.

"How uncouth, not that I expected any more from a two-bit mage." He scoffed.

What time was it? I don't think it was noon yet, maybe early morning. I fell asleep at the counter….that's a bit embarrassing. It didn't look like the owner minded though, I think I paid him enough as it was. I think we were celebrating far into the night.

Even as I looked around there appeared to be a few more people passed out here and there. I guess this wasn't an uncommon occurrence.

My eyes focused back on the man who had been poking and insulting me. "Who are you, and why should I care?"

Again, that little scoff he gave made me want to punch him. "I am Ancano, Thalmor emissary and council to the Arch Mage of the College." He proclaimed, perking up like a peacock.

"Neat."

"Yes, quite." It looked like he tried his best to not appear annoyed at my remark, failing horrendously. "I have heard of your feats yesterday and am gracious enough to offer you a place at the College."

This feels all kinds of wrong, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I'm too curious to see where this goes. "Oh, how kind of you, good sir. How could I ever repay such 'generosity'?"

"I see, you do indeed have some manners befitting someone more learned than these barbarians. I will ignore your earlier outbursts." He turned his nose up. "You are lucky to have caught the eye of some very powerful mages, they are curious about the spells you evoked in your battle."

Ah, there it is. I guess some descriptions of what I had done were spread around, some idiot heard the rumors. I guess my 'foreign' magic would be interesting to those who devote themselves to the magical studies.

"You said your name was; Ancano?" I wanted to make sure.

"Indeed." He nodded, clearly pleased with himself for some reason.

"Good, I didn't want to get your name wrong, that would just be embarrassing." I cleared my throat, drawing a bit of attention on myself. "Go fuck yourself, Ancano."

Trying to learn my mysteries? Do I look like I was born yesterday? If this was the Clock Tower he would have been killed trying this shit on someone else.

There was some snicker and laughter around the room. I saw Dagur try his best to hold back his own laugh, I just tipped my hat at the man and smirked.

"Y-you!" He exclaimed in surprise. "How dare you!?"

I think I saw his hands light up, ready to cast a spell. Only, the sound of steel being drawn from its sheath filled the room.

It looked like several guards had woken up from their naps and were all pointing blades at Ancano. He paused, looking at me, then looking over the room.

The magical energy he gathered had dissipated and he just scoffed. "I expected nothing less from such uncivilized barbarians."

"Says the idiot that was about to invoke a spell in the middle of a tavern….a fire spell, in a building made of wood. Do you need a lesson on what happens to wood when it catches fire?"

He narrowed his eyes. "No wonder the Thalmor are needed in Skyrim. Truly you all need a strong, guiding hand."

I didn't really get the gist of what he was saying, but the guards around me were…enraged, for lack of a better term. The looks on their faces, I could only admire their control as they clenched their weapons.

But, I drank with them last night, sort of built a bond with them. Is it weird that I felt annoyed because they were insulted?

"You wanted to cast magic? Let's step outside then, you and me." I stood up, looking him in the eyes.

"Hoh, you wish to duel me?" He looked on at me with disdain. "Hmm, I haven't the time to waste with the riffraff…."

"I'll give you the knowledge of my spells if you win." I cut him off, I knew what he was doing, didn't really care either.

He paused looking at me before smiling. "Is this the part where you make a demand of me, if you win?" He waived his hand nonchalantly. "Go ahead, demand whatever nonsensical thing you wish if a miracle occurs."

"Your clothes."

The whole room was silent.

"….pardon?" The elven mage looked at me in confusion.

"I. Want. Your. Clothes." I enunciated. "You will walk back to the college, buck-ass-naked when I win."

This was two-fold, first I wanted to humiliate him, I already felt that there would be no common ground between us and he was utterly insufferable. Second, I actually wanted his clothes. They looked high-quality and I thought I could take them to a tailor and maybe use their materials for something to my tastes.

He snorted, holding back his anger. "You will rue the day you angered me." He stomped out of the inn.

I just followed after him ,along with the entirety of the Tavern who came to watch the show.

He atleast had the good sense to walk outside of town to avoid any….collateral damage in the immediate vicinity.

The townsfolk started lining up, more than were in the Tavern, I guess news travels fast here. I think I saw Svord give me a thumbs up in the back.

"Well, let us discuss the rules of this duel." Ancano stated.

"No killing, no maiming, no large-scale collateral damage. You hurt the spectators; I'm taking your head." He seemed like the kind of person who would 'accidently' cast too powerful a spell near people he disliked.

"Fine, your terms are accepted. Shall we have someone give a countdown or would you like to make the first move?" He said arrogantly.

I just raised an eyebrow, I withdrew my sword-cane from my hat and unsheathed it.

"How uncivilized, a mage wielding a sword." He rolled his eyes, summoning a staff from….somewhere? I wasn't really paying attention. "I shall be magnanimous, feel free to cast your spell, I shall not respond until you are finished"

Should I just run up and stab him? Nah, I got a better idea.

[Oh, this is going to be good.]

I just smirked after hearing Ddraig.

Leveling my sword at him, spellcircles began to envelope the blade.

The dimensional refraction phenomenon, an aspect of the Kaleidoscope that allows me to pull an infinite amount of magical energy from parallel worlds. The circles thrummed with power, collecting and condensing the mana, ready for use.

"Ether Cannon."

My sword shuddered, I briefly panicked that it would explode at the power, I had kept the output of the spell at the bare minimum and even so, the weapon couldn't handle this kind of spell.

I saw my Ancano's eyes widen as he pulled on an impressive amount of magical energy to cast a spell similar to Lesser Warding. Was it a higher tier variant of the same spell?

It didn't matter, my beam of iridescent light tore through his barriers like they were paper.

His cry of pain was heard, deafening the crowd. He fell to the ground, clutching his lower stomach, screaming out in pain as blood seeped from his mouth and poured through his fingers.

I calmly strode over to his prone position, I saw a white light erupt from his hands, trying to heal himself. It would be slow going, but my aim was impeccable, there would be no lasting damage if he got healed, so I didn't violate the rules.

I withdrew a couple potions from my storage, I practically shoved the regeneration down his throat and dumped a healing potion on the wound. This wasn't out of mercy, mind you, he still had part of his wager to uphold.

"You lost." I said plainly, as the bleeding began to stop

He wobbled to his feet, taking a few steps back form. "Y-you dare!?"

I raised an eyebrow, did he think I wouldn't notice what he was doing? I saw him channeling his own magical energy into spell, trying to hide it. I just began casting my own spells, bringing runes into existence with a hand behind my back.

"Strip." I ordered again.

I saw him contort in rage, hands clenched. "I am a Thalmor Emmisary, you dare to lay a hand on me!? Your punishment is death!" He threw his hands up and a large amount of mana was expanded, something came into existence.

A large, towering, ice-figure stood between me and the arrogant elf.

Another sort of elemental?

No matter, I pushed my hand to the ground and brought all the runes together.

"Bindings of Gaia."

Massive roots sprang from the frozen tundra, shooting up and wrapping around the ice-creature, binding it in place. They didn't stop, shooting towards Ancano, grabbing, and pulling him prone to the ground.

"The duel had been concluded and you tried to kill me, I wonder what the punishment for attempted murder is?" My blade pressed against his neck, and I leaned down next to him. "A two-bit mage, huh?" I whispered.

"The Jarl would enjoy having the Thalmor Emissary in his dungeons." Svord walked up next to me, clearly hearing the exchange.

"Would he now?" I raised an eyebrow, a smile shared between me and Svord. It seems like this Jarl doesn't like the Thalmor, whatever they are, and Ancano looked rather pale at the thought.

As I contemplated what to do, a teleportation-type spell had activated a few feet away and a man walked out. Another elf, it looked like a different…. species though.

"May I request you remand him into my custody?" The man had an authoritative voice to him, yet at the same time he gave the aura of a sort of kindly old man.

"Archmage" Svord greeted, maybe even with a little respect.

"Svord, it's been a while." The Archmage returned.

Archmage, someone high up in the College, perhaps?

"I apologize for the commotion he's caused." The mage looked at me. "I can promise that he was operating under no authority of the College and his views and words in no way reflect upon us."

I looked towards Svord who just gave me a nod. I didn't really care either way, dump him in the river, throw him in jail, his existence meant little to me. "He's all yours." A bit of good will towards my future 'home' wouldn't be too bad either.

I was about to undo my spell until…

*Snap*

The Archmage snapped his fingers, and my roots began to unravel and returned to the ground. The summoned being was dispersed and returned to whatever realm it was summoned from.

I couldn't help but blink and stare at this 'Archmage' frankly…..he was giving me a familiar feeling, like I was staring at my previous self. That well of knowledge that seems unfathomable and the quiet confidence that he could handle anything that came his way.

Of course, the Archmage only just gave me a kind smile…though I think he was smirking a bit, but I didn't feel any amount of arrogance from it.

Well played.

[He's strong.]

Can you tell how much?

[The current you can't handle him. Using those devil terms….at least ultimate class.]

Ah yes, the devil's way of measuring power. Lower-class, middle-class, high-class, ultimate-class, Satan-class, and Super-class.

Godly beings tend to be operating at a minimum of Satan-class power, usually in the realm of what is referred to as Super-class.

"I thank you, young man." He pulled Ancano up from the ground and applied his own healing spells. They were strong, I could see they were many fold stronger than the basic one I knew. He turned his gaze towards the bloodied elf. "Now, I believe you have a wager to uphold."

I paused and I think everyone around us stopped too, I don't think they expected that.

"Y-you can't be serious, Archmage. I'm an Emissary of the Thalmor!" He exclaimed.

"Then perhaps you should act like it in the future." He narrowed his eyes.

"I'm your…confidant, how would it look on the college if I were to parade around in the nude?"

"Oh, it will look very poorly on us, I can you tell that already." He conceded, but power began to swell up, and his eyes glowed faintly. "But it would forever taint our pride if we didn't uphold our own agreements and were known as untrustworthy. Do I make myself clear?"

You know, it didn't feel like a 'play', or just making a scene to save face. It seemed genuine on the surface, and I usually trusted my instincts with such things.

He kept spouting nonsense about being an 'Emissary' no doubt there would be political fallout if he died, even if he was the one at fault. I could concede that point, which was why the Archmage was probably thanking me. Even Svord was willing to allow the Archmage to take him, and his own men appeared to loath the man.

I really need to learn the political situations of this land.

The Thalmor Emissary shuddered, sweating profusely under the Archmage's gaze. "Of course…." He spit out as he began undressing and tossing his clothes on the ground.

He was shivering as each layer was taken off and he began to put his hands on his underwear, but I decided to stop him.

"That's enough." I stated, earning their attention. "I don't think anyone wants to see that."

"Indeed." The Archmage smiled in amusement. "Make your way back to the College, Ancano. We will be having words later about your assumption of power over the College's decisions." Oof, sounds like someone was going to get a spanking. "And you had best be properly clothed by the time I return."

No one spoke as the elf began his walk of shame. Truthfully, I expected a lot of laughter and jeering, but I think the townspeople were just too stunned to say anything.

The Archmage once again turned towards me. "You are an interesting young man." He flicked his wrist and a parchment appeared in his hand. "I would hate for us to be called liars, while Ancano did not have the authority to do so… I would like to officially extend this invitation to join the College."

I grabbed the parchment, opening it up to read. "This just says. 'He can join' with your signature." I deadpanned.

"Did you think it was difficult to join the college? There is only the basic requirement to be able to cast a few beginner spells and the guard would let you in." He laughed, flexing his hand and disappearing from the spot. Only the distortion of magical energy leaving a tell sign that he had teleported away.

"What just happened?" I asked Svord.

"That would be Archmage Savos Aren, head of the College."

"He seemed….." Frankly I didn't know the word to use. What was the combination of powerful, quirky, funny, scary, grandfatherly…..oh. "Eccentric."

"Aren't all mages?" Svord chuckled. "But he is respected."

"Really, I thought everyone here hated mages?"

"Yes, that should tell you something." He pat my shoulder and walked back towards town.

I picked up the clothes off the ground, now let's see if I can find a tailor.

Chapter 10

I was staring over the side of a cliff, at the edge of Winterhold. I could see houses, buildings, and all kinds of infrastructure poking out of the side of the mountain, all the way down to the gorge below. Not only that, but I could also see the bridge into the College, it didn't look like it should be standing, let alone being used.

What did they call it, the great collapse?

I got the cliff notes version of what happened, but seeing it still like this was something else.

Apparently, the relationship between the college and the town was already rather strained when it occurred, only for the people to blame the college once again when the incident did happen, though from what I could tell they didn't do it.

It was tragic, but nothing I could do about it. It seems like everyone had already picked up and carried on. The town had started expanding again in the other direction, I could still see houses being built when the snowstorms weren't as bad.

Does my devil biology give me some resistance against weather? I could only guess so considering I'm lightly layered compared to the people who live here.

I looked up at the sun in the sky, it was heard to get a concept of time here, especially when the sun barely peaked through the snowy air, but I could guess it was midafternoon, leaning towards sunset. I had just been walking around town for a few hours, getting acquainted with it. Basically, I needed to kill some time.

It seems like she should be close to done….. I twirled my hat and put it on my head, I guess I'll go check in with the tailor again.

The guards gave me nods as I passed, I seemed to develop a sort of rampart with the town. It was nice, the place wasn't too big, probably a few hundred people all-in-all, small enough that everyone knew everyone, and news traveled faster than the speed of light.

I walked up to the tailor's shop, pushing the door open.

I wasn't surprised at the scene of needles hovering in the air, moving every which way on a piece of fabric.

"Eveth." I greet.

"Will" The older woman smiled.

It was a good idea to get to know your tailor. Anyone who takes pride in their clothing would tell you as much.

I sat in a nearby chair, I didn't want to disturb her too much.

Too be honest we weren't 'too' acquainted, only having met earlier this morning when I put in my order, but we hit it off decently well. She was curious about the clothing I described, and I even used some parchment for some sketches.

The most surprising thing was her application of magic. She was using Telekinesis to move the needles all about as she worked through the seams. It was one of the reasons she could pump out quality work so quickly. If it were anyone else, this would have probably taken days, if not over a week to accomplish.

She told me a mage and been sweet on her in her youth, teaching her a few spells. Basic cantrips and what-not but perfect for someone who is running a business. She could light a fire, heat water, freeze food.

Things of that nature.

"This should about….do it" She moved her hands away, admiring her work. "What do you think?"

I walked over, standing beside her. "Amazing, I can't believe how well this turned out from my horrible sketches and explanations. Truly you are an artist."

My praise was genuine, it was astonishing how well this turned out. I mean, I could tell the materials weren't the same as what I was used to back home, but it looked phenomenal.

I took the clothes into the back room to change. She had already gotten my measurements before…..she was quite 'thorough' with that as well, especially around my groin area. Not that I dislike older women, if it were any other time…..

Unfortunately, I had wanted to get to the college as quickly as I could.

I zipped up my pants, having donated the clothes from my previous world as additional material. She was quite perplexed by the little mechanism until I showed her how it worked. Suffice to say she's really curious to where I acquired such a thing.

The buttons on my shirt were nice, decorated, but classy. No uncomfortable tightness anywhere, it was just the perfect size. Of course I made sure everything was nice and tidy as I tucked in my shirt.

And lasty, I put on the vest, or waistcoat, depending on where you live.

I ran my hands down the fabric, making sure there are no loose seams or snags anywhere.

No, it was all perfect.

The last piece, and probably the easiest for her to make. A black tie to go along with everything. I and briefly considered a white tie, but it looked best as black against my white vest along with my black shirt.

There was a mirror here, though not to the standards I was used to. The glass was milky and hard to see, but I could make out my figure enough to like what I saw.

Finally, adjusting my tie up, and putting my hat on my head. I walked out of the room, meeting the eyes of Eveth.

"Oh my…..if I were 10 years younger.."

Yeah, I looked good.

The clothes make the man and all that. It was a nice confidence boost as well.

My only regret, she didn't have enough material to make the jacket.

I set a large stack of gold on the counter. "Will this cover everything?"

"T-that is way too much." She stuttered, staring at the pile.

"I wonder if this is too little, actually." I adjusted my tie slightly, making sure it was straight.

Yes, I'm a clothes snob, I find it physically annoying to wear something so…unsightly as I was before.

"With this much…I'll be able to order some higher quality fabrics from the next caravan.." She muttered.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to her, a thought crossing my mind. I set another stack of coins on the counter, earning her surprise. "Then I will request your services in the future, I want a few more outfits and I hope you can get the stuff soon."

"Of course!" She said pridefully. "I'll take care of all your tailoring needs."

Well then, now that I'm properly dressed, it's time to visit the college.

Walking towards the entrance, I could feel the magical energy in the air get denser. Right as the ground me the stone pathway, I put my hand out and pulsed some mana.

A shimmering blue barrier was revealed infront of me, I saw my magical energy cascade in every direction, showing the form of the barrier before dissipating.

Amazing, a bounded field of that size must have taken an astronomical amount of magical energy to sustain.

I hesitantly stepped through, normally I wouldn't have been so lackadaisical about going into a bounded field of unknown origins, but the college was welcoming so I took the small risk.

"State your business." An elf leaning against the brick railing, walked up, blocking my path.

"Here to join the college." I produced the letter from the Archmage.

She opened the letter, staring at its contents for a moment. "What..?"

"Yeah, I don't know either." I just shrugged.

"OH." He snapped her fingers. "You're the mage that dueled Ancano!"

"That would be me." I don't think he dueled anyone else in the meantime….so probably?

"Amazing, how were you able to penetrate his Greater Ward with a single spell and without a large cast time? Was it some kind of Master-level destruction spell? Or did it bypass the properties of the ward entirely with a curse? No…that shouldn't be it, he said his Greater Ward was pierced through, ignoring the absorption effects… was it a spell that accelerated a physical object at high speeds?" She started to ramble on, I could guess some things, but I felt like I was missing a bit of context.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm missing something here, miss…?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just got excited. My name is Faralda, I sometimes work as the guard for the college, screening potential recruits."

"I see." I said simply. "And what was this about Ancano?"

"Oh, the duel has been the talk of the college since the Archmage had brought Ancano back."

Really? "Ancano doesn't strike me as the type of person who would…. discuss his defeat."

"We were surprised too." Faralda admitted. "Ancano isn't exactly the most likeable person in the college. So, all of us were surprised when the Archmage announced that Ancano was kind enough to give a lecture on magical dueling using his experience as an example."

Oh, okay that makes more sense. I could only imagine Ancano's face with the Archmage standing there, making him give a very detailed explanation on how he was defeated.

I mean, it wasn't just because I took him down in one shot. There were several variables that led to me defeating him with such ease. His arrogance was probably the highest factor, he sat there and let me cast a spell at him. He acknowledged that he didn't know about my 'magic' and still let me set the pace.

Gods I could imagine the whole lecture, Ancano having to thoroughly describe the entire thing in detail then the Archmage going 'okay class, what did Ancano do wrong here?'. And the arrogant elf having to stand there and let a bunch of mages below his skill level criticize him.

"Even the Archmage said he didn't know what spell you used." Faralda looked at me expectantly.

"It's a secret." I gave a smile.

"Worth a shot." She mumbled. "Alright, go ahead. I'll look you up once you get settled, I wouldn't mind exchanging pointers."

As I approached closer to the college, in noticed the temperature getting noticeably warmer, there wasn't even any snow on the walk-way the further I went.

An effect of the bounded field around the college? That was my first assumption, and considering the sheer amount of magical energy being pumped around here, it wasn't probably far off. I noticed several 'wells' along the walkway, they looked like small openings to the nearby leylines, they pushed out so much magical energy that it was visible to the naked eye.

Incredible, I knew this whole trip was going to be worth it. Hell, falling into this world was worth it just for this. The things I could learn here, I was excited just imagining it.

The path led to a sort of 'rotunda' that circled around, leading to several towers, all before the large doors of the main building.

There were mages all around, some were casting spells, some were just chatting happily or reading a book on a bench.

I got barely spared a glance, everyone was deep in their own studies or experiments. It reminded my heavily of the Clock Tower, if a bit more whimsical in nature.

Pushing the doors open, I was greeted with the faces of about a dozen mages, gathering in a circle with an older man in the middle.

"Greetings" The older man stepped out of the group, walking over with a smile on his face. "You appear to be a new face." He said, giving me a once over.

"Indeed, I just joined today? Or I will hope to be joining? I'm not entirely sure on the process."

"No problem, you've basically joined once you past the threshold, we just need to get you squared away with lodging and a schedule of when classes are." He nodded. "For now, though, what about joining our lesson? It's for beginners, but a refresher is always a good idea."

"That would be lovely, thank you." Did he know I wasn't a beginner? Well….I guess the term is subjective here, I wasn't familiar with their magic in depth yet.

"Alright everyone, it seems like we got one more student, mister…." He looked at me.

"Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I look forward to learning alongside all of you." I introduced myself.

"Wonderful." The older mage smiled. "We were just going over the Lesser Warding spell and how to apply it in a practical situation."

I stood to the back, it seemed like everyone here were a bit younger than me, probably by about 3-4 years.

"Most people think of Lesser Ward as a 'wall'." He pushed out the spell infront of him with an ease that was impressive. He no doubt had much experience under his belt. "Which it may seem like on the outside, but such thinking is incorrect. Yes, it is a protection, it stops spells from reaching you, but understanding how it works is just as important as knowing how to cast it. Our spells are directly tied to our imagination and willpower. If we force the spell into such narrow understanding, its abilities are greatly weakened, the 'wall' becomes brittle and easily demolished."

Was Lesser Ward the 'basics' here, there was a greater version of the spell were they the bread and butter of defensive spellcasting?

He looked around the room, I guess he wanted to see if anyone understood. Maybe this was a bit too advanced, to talk about the concepts behind spellcasting? Well, it was extremely simplified, but still, he was talking about how to modify the spell, albeit indirectly.

"Wilhelm, was it? Can I hear your thoughts?" The mage called me, as all the heads towards back to face me.

"About understanding spells in general or my thoughts towards Lesser Ward?"

"Just Lesser Ward, for now." He smiled.

"I suppose it's a very efficient spell if you copy it straight from the book. Its cost and effort to cast are below average and it's a very sturdy shield for what you get. It won't block anything high-tier, but fights don't always involve casting large-scale destruction, a quick fireball is often times much more dangerous than summoning a lightning storm, yet can be blocked quite easily with a quick Lesser Ward."

"All correct." He turned toward the others. "As he said, simple and efficient spells are often better than big and destructive. That being said, it is unlikely you'll run into anyone able to cast such spells, meaning a Lesser Ward will probably be able to counter almost anything an enemy mage can throw at you." He turned towards me again. "If I can ask for your assistance, again, would you mind casting a Lesser Ward while I shoot a ball of light at it?"

"Of course." I nod, stepping out of the group, getting a little distance from him. This was supposed to be a 'learning' thing, so I very blatantly held my hand up and pushed the spell outward, giving everyone else in the hall a good look.

"I can already see you understand the spell quite thoroughly." He held a ball of light in his hand and basically tossed it at my ward. It splashed across, before dissipating against my magical barrier.

"Now, you see how his held? I used the same strength against all of yours earlier, yet none of yours could take it without breaking. And I know what you all want to say, that he is more experienced or more powerful since he's older, but is that true?" He looked towards me. "Wilhelm, how much Magicka did you push into your Lesser Ward when you cast it?"

Magicka, if I recall that was the term they used for mana here. "The bare minimum for the spell to cast."

"So, what was the difference between your ward and the ward he cast?" He asked the class, but no one answer. "The answer is simple, really. It isn't even experience, it's just knowledge. He understood how the spell worked and was able to apply its properties correctly when casting." He gestured over to me. "Tell me, Wilhelm, what do you picture when you cast the spell?"

"A bag." I said after a moment. I wasn't really at the level where I had to force an image when casting, I was pretty far ahead of that, but it was a step any novice would go through. But the spell reminded me more of a bag than a wall.

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed. "A bag, not a wall. If you read the spell tome properly, you would have seen that the Lesser Ward 'absorbs' the magicka of the spell that it blocks, rendering it moot. A wall cannot 'absorb', it prevents, it is static and unyielding. Whereas a bag can take into itself, yes it can rip when too much is put in, but that is the limit of the spell itself."

He looked around the room, noticing the faces of his student light up in understanding, smiling in good nature. "Alright, lets leave it here for today. I want you all to practice casting your Lesser Ward every morning until you can do it without effort."

The students dispersed, chatting, and whispering to each other as they scattered to the ends of the college.

"Thank you for your assistance." The mage walked towards me. "I find it helpful when the students have someone closer to their age to compare themselves to."

"I was happy to help." I smiled, it was a nice experience again, being in a 'classroom'. Hell, I even learned a thing or two while I was here.

"The room registration is kept by Urag Gro-Shab, our resident Librarian. Just introduce yourself to him and he'll set you straight." The old mage pat me on the shoulder. "Oh, where are my manners, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am Tolfdir, the Master Alteration Mage for the college, along with the teacher for defensive magics."

He walked me over towards the door. "Here we are, these stairs lead up to the Arcanaeum, be polite to Urag Gro-Shab, he takes his job as librarian very seriously."

I just stared at the stairs going up, a library, a library in a magical college. It was just there, open for anyone to enter without prior authorization. Was it really this simple, could I access the school's library without anyone stopping me!?

I was practically dancing with excitement. Forget a room, I want to just live in the library.

Chapter 11: Interlude 1

POV Sona Sitri.

I was….not having a good day.

Where did it all go wrong? Was it yesterday, when I was blown up? No, I think I can go further back, it wasn't even when I agreed to watch over Lord Lucifer's…. bastard. Truthfully, I think it was when I was born.

Yes, everything started to go wrong when I met my sister.

I love Serafall, dearly, but Satans below, I want to strangle that girl sometimes….often.

"Sister, please." I begged, quietly of course, I didn't want to ruin my image.

"My poor Sona-tan, don't worry I'll find the meanie who blew up all over you and beat him up!"

Of course, she would phrase it that way, while trying to molest my rear.

"Serafall." Lord Beelzebub spoke up.

I thanked whatever higher beings that listened, there was at least one sane Satan left. And no, I didn't count Lord Lucifer or Lord Asmodeus, wherever he was.

"Fine~" My sister happily skipped back to her seat.

"Okay, as I was saying, can you please start from the beginning, Sona?" Lord Beelzebub asked again.

I took a deep breath and began. "I was heading over to Shimoda's house, because he had been absent from school for three days at that point, counting that morning." I took a glance at Lord Lucifer, he was serious, but seemed to look almost disconnected from this meeting. "As I was tasked to do, I needed to check up on him to make sure he was….safe."

"And how did he act, like a different person, maybe like someone was controlling him?" Lord Beelzebub asked, jotting down some notes.

"He made a comment that I didn't expect from him, but if I was to question if it was him or not, it sounded like how he would say it? If that makes sense, Lord Beelzebub."

"I see, and you didn't find any magical anomalies?"

"No, sir. I didn't sense any magic in the area."

"Okay, continue."

"I had to 'force' my way inside and I was going to confront him again, possibly use a more thorough hypnosis to figure out what was going on, but I was surprised when I saw all the 'drawings' covering the walls."

"Yes, I have several pictures here." He picked them up. "And you have no idea where these came from?"

"I do not have the faintest clue, if I had to guess it was some kind of magic? I'm only aware of human magic by rumor, knowing that it involves a lot of calculations." And isn't that a revelation, apparently Shimoda knew magic.

"I'm not surprised." He stared at the pictures intently. "I had to sit down and figure some of these out myself. It looks like he was calculating the position of the stars in this one…..and over here was the gravitational force exerted on an object moving at the speed of light…" He began to mumble serval more things before coughing and looking back up. "Unfortunately, most of it was destroyed and I'm unable to piece it together."

"So, he's smart, then?" Serafall added.

"This Is some high-level stuff; I can tell there are a few magic formulas mixed in, so its nature isn't in question. If he's able to use this appropriately, well, I wouldn't deny him the title of genius." Ajuka Beelzebub admitted.

"And there is no evidence of him using magic before this?" I was surprised when Lord Lucifer finally spoke, I didn't think he was listening.

"No, sir." I said calmy, just earning a hum from him.

"Continue on, Miss Sitri." Lord Beelzebub gestured.

"When I asked him about it all he said….. 'I have taken the drugs', then asked me if I wanted to see a magic trick."

"Pffft" My sister snorted in laughter, holding her mouth shut.

"It looked like he pulled some kind of bracelet out of his hat….it appeared expensive, not something I would think he had? I don't know where he got it. Then he said, 'For my next trick, I'll make an asshole devil disappear.' Before turning the bracelet into a bomb and throwing it at me."

"So, he knew you were a devil." Lord Beelzebub mumbled.

Admittedly, I didn't focus on that part, I guess he did know I was a devil. That brings into question many things I didn't think about previously.

I am still angry he tried to blow me up, but thinking about it now, it wasn't a very powerful explosion, even if I didn't cast a shield in time, it wouldn't have done any lasting damage. But that didn't mean I would forgive him either…

"After I recollected myself, I saw the house on fire and ran back inside, using my water magic to douse the flames. But at that point nearly everything was destroyed and Shimoda was nowhere to be seen."

"He most likely knew a teleportation spell." Lord Beelzebub Sighed. "Thank you for your report, Miss Sitri."

I looked around the room, Lord Lucifer and my sister didn't look like they had anything to say so I stood up, gave a bow, and left.

There was already a teleportation circle on the floor, outside of the meeting room that I stepped into and was taken back to the school, directly into the student council's office.

The burst of light died down and I saw Rias pacing around the room.

"Rias?" I questioned.

"Sona!" She hugged me, I guess this whole thing had been a bit stressful on her as well. Well, it wasn't like she was reaching for my butt, I didn't mind returning the hug.

"Rias, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." She waved off my concerns, walking over to the couch and plopping into the seat. "How did it go?"

"I already told you everything that happened, they didn't really express their thoughts either." I just shrugged; this wasn't something I could really interfere with, nor could I add any insight.

Rias groaned. "How was my brother?"

I paused, not knowing how I should answer. Rias was Sirzechs Lucifer's sister, but was I supposed to speak ill of Lord Lucifer to his own sister? "He seemed…. distant."

My red-haired friend sighed, mumbling something about her 'stupid brother'. "Of course." She said curtly. "Him and Grayfia were fighting last time I went over."

It was hard to separate political issues from friendship when both our siblings were part of the ruling body, but at this point in our relationship, it wasn't difficult to know when something was meant 'just for us'. "What happened?"

"You know, she got mad at him when he finally told her about Takao. There was a big fight and everything, I think mom took Millicas in for a week or so."

"Grayfia and Lucifer's story is well known, it's rare for them to love each other so much that Lord Lucifer didn't get a harem."

Rias smiled slightly. "Grayfia wouldn't mind if brother had a harem. I think she was more pissed that he hid his son from her rather than finding out that he had sex with some other woman. There might also be a little jealously from how hard they had to try to have their child and he accidently had one with a human."

That did fit in what I knew about the strongest Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge.

"Then there was the fact that he pushed the responsibilities on to her too, I don't think he once even checked up on Takao. It was Grayfia that had to tell Millicas that he had a brother in the first place." Rias let out a groan in frustration. "I love my brother… but he never was really good at being a 'father'. I think Grayfia does most of the parenting as it is."

I can see how that would anger Grayfia. It seemed like Lord Lucifer just wanted to put him out of sight and out of mind, even if others had to look after him. I could understand a bit, it would be difficult if the Old Satan faction found out that the strongest devil had a bastard that didn't have any power. Be it for political reasons or using him as a hostage or something, it was probably better that Takao just stayed away from the whole of devil society.

Well, I guess that plan had all gone up in flames…..quite literally too.

"And don't even get me started on mother." Rias threw her arms up. "I don't think she's even talking to brother right now. She is and has been pissed to find out she had a grandchild she never got to meet."

I couldn't help but quirk a small smile. That sounded exactly like Rias's mom, Lady Gremory. It's no secret how much she dotes on Millicas. She wouldn't care if Takao was reborn as an Angel, she would have dote on him all the same.

"What are we going to do, Sona?" Rias asked.

"What do you mean?"

"We have to find him, right? What if he was kidnapped or…"

"Rias, I don't think he was kidnapped, it looked like he left willingly."

"I just…" She slumped down in her seat.

I could tell this was eating at her. She never interacted with Takao in any capacity, I think she was too…scared, no that probably isn't the right word. I guess it was just difficult to get involved in the conflicts between those she considered family. "Our siblings are already going to look around, you know we can't blow this up or it would make everything worse."

"Yeah." She said quietly.

"How about you, Rias? Did you ever find out what happened to your familiar?" I wanted to change the subject, thankfully Rias was pretty good about reading the mood.

"She insists that she doesn't remember how she passed out. I'm betting she was probably attacked by a bird or something and didn't want to admit it." Rias huffed. "I checked up on Issei too, just to be sure. Nothing seemed wrong, but Koneko said his dragon smell was getting stronger. He might be close to activating his Sacred Gear by accident soon."

A dragon-type Sacred Gear, Rias really did luck out sometimes. I was happy that she was going to add another member to her peerage with potential, but I was still a bit miffed that I was emotionally blackmailed to 'hand him over' to her even if it was for a good cause. She needed all the help she could get right now.

"You should hurry, if it activates before you add him to your peerage, he may not want to join…" Rias was many things, but proactive was not one of them. She would procrastinate until things either fell into place or blew up in her face.

"I'm still working out on how to approach him." She waved me off.

I just rolled my eyes, that was code for 'I'll deal with it later'. Rias may be my friend, but I can't hold her hand her entire life.

"How about a game of chess?" I offered.

"I guess, it would be nice to take my mind off everything."

Chapter 11

The library was massive, there were shelves that ascended to the ceiling, all filled with books. Beautiful, beautiful books, each one holding information on a subject I didn't know.

I found a table in a back corner; I didn't want to be disturbed. There were probably a hundred books all stacked up around me.

'History of Skyrim'

'The Aedra and Daedra, A Look Into the Divine.'

'Schools of magic, a Beginner's guide.'

The titles continued, everything I could possibly want to know about the place I found myself in. I don't know how long I sat here reading through the books, sometimes not even finishing one before seeking out answers from another.

It wasn't just mundane books either, I found many—many spellbooks all mixed in. There were sections dedicated entirely to a single spell, both its applications, theory, origins, and counters. It was marvelous just how much knowledge was stored in these ancient halls.

I wish I knew some magecraft for memory retention other than memory partition. I wasn't crazy enough to attempt that on myself without hundreds of variables accounted for.

No, I just had to settle on the old-fashioned way of reading through each book one-by-one and taking notes as I go. If there was one thing aggravating it was having to use a quill and ink. I made a promise to myself to bring ball-point pens back to this world in the future, or at least keep several hundred on me at all times.

"I was wondering where our newest, wayward student had disappeared to." I heard the voice and looked up; a bit surprised to see the Archmage standing a few feet away from me. I hadn't even sensed him nor heard his approach…..what a monster.

I rubbed my eyes, looking up. "Err, I think I may have lost track of time?"

"I would say, do you even know what time of day it is?"

"…..night?"

"That is correct." He said a laugh. "It is night, of the following day you arrived."

"Oh." I guess I really did lose track of time.

"I am merely giving you a hard time; it is no problem." He said lightly. "Tolfdir was just worried you had become lost somewhere."

"I see, I suppose I should go make sure he knows I'm alright." I paused. "But I'm curious, do all new students get the attention of the Archmage?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I would like to say yes, but my schedule can be rather hectic at times. It is hard to greet and teach every student in the College. I can barely manage with one lecture a month."

"So, what makes me so special?"

He sat down in a chair at my table, picking up one of the books and giving it a once over. "You are an enigma."

"You've been watching me." I guess it was obvious, considering how quickly he responded to Ancanos defeat.

"I cast my gaze at every new face that comes to our little corner of Skyrim."

He was being awfully open about everything, I guess it isn't really something he should be ashamed of. But there was one question I wanted an answer to. "Why didn't you help them with the Ice Wraiths?"

"That is a difficult question to answer, it would take awhile to explain the intricate history between the College and the Town. To put it simply, they didn't ask." He sighed, closing the book in his hands. "The Jarl is a very….prideful man."

Ah, that makes more sense. The leader of the town didn't want to have to ask the College for help, it would be an insult to his pride.

"What exactly, do you want from me?"

"I'm curious about those Runes you used in your fight." He said, raising his hand in the air. He invoked characters that looked like runes but were not any I was familiar with. "This is a standard Lightning Rune, I don't think I need to point out the differences to you."

I see, they have their own Runic language here. But it was quite different, it looked like a single rune housed all the power and then created a spell circle to modify its intent and meaning.

I moved my hand into the air and drew a Uruz Rune, letting it start to channel my mana and take on the properties of lightning.

"Fascinating." The Archmage said.

I shared his thoughts. "A spell circle to amplify and actualize your intent behind the rune, that is also quite interesting." Both spells dissipated back into magical energy and dispersed.

"Hooh." He raised an eyebrow. "You understand the mechanisms of the spell with merely a glance? You just get more and more interesting."

"You want an exchange of knowledge, is it?" I usually hold my mysteries close to my chest, but I don't mind a fair exchange.

"If you're wanting my knowledge on the Runes I know, then you will be disappointed." I frowned at his sentence. Did he not want to share his knowledge? "I can't in good conscious trade something that is already available." He reached out his hand and a book flew out from a nearby bookcase. He didn't even look as he placed it infront of me.

I just blinked, looking at the title. 'How to Apply Runes.' And the author was one – Savos Aren. "You know, where I come from, other mages would have happily taken this offer, and laughed at me for getting tricked."

"It wasn't too different here, at one time. When I was younger…it had to be over a hundred years ago, the competition was much more….aggressive." He shook his head and sighed. "Those days are long behind us, competition is good, but I make sure there are lines drawn so nothing gets out of hand." He gave a genuine smile. "So, what can I bribe you with?"

I liked how up front he was, made things much easier.

"To be honest….I don't know. Money really doesn't have much of a value, maybe some raw materials to create my own magical foci, but even then, I'm not quite sure what I need." I thought out loud. He was being rather open with me, I wasn't against speaking my mind.

"Oh, crafting a staff?" He looked at me inquisitively.

"Actually, I was thinking of making a sword that could be used as a staff." I pictured my old, Jeweled Sword. It felt more 'right' than just a staff or something similar.

"Interesting." He rubbed his beard. "I have a few ideas." He turned over his hand, and something appeared in his palm, a small black ring without any engravings. "I saw your hat the other day and it inspired me to make this last night."

He offered it to me, and I inspected the ring. "Did you…"

"Indeed." A smirk grew on his face. "The idea of attaching a folded spatial dimension onto an object. What a novel concept, I don't know why I haven't heard of it before. Most mages, when they get adept enough, just create their own little 'pocket' carved out in the void of oblivion. There are concerns doing such a thing, and it's not particularly difficult to seal off another mage's access temporarily. But this, it would be incredibly hard for outside interference with accessing the contents. Granted, the space created is more limited, but it's a safety precaution that can't be denied."

I heard his description and nodded along. I wouldn't trust their method of storage if I had anything precious to store. IT seems like someone would be able to 'break into' another's storage 'dimension' if they were experienced enough.

"What's all this?" I asked in confusion as I peered into the ring, looking at the space inside.

"Did you think my offer was only the ring? I added in all sorts of materials, there should be enough to figure out what you want to do."

There were many ores inside that I didn't recognize, along with many other items I had no idea what to do with. "Wait, how did you already have this prepared?"

"I didn't, I just put that together now."

Ah, one I keep forgetting, this whole College is probably his 'workshop'. I doubt there is anything that goes on that he doesn't know about, nor anything he can't meddle in. "You are one scary old man."

"Why, thank you." He took my compliment with grace.

"You're not even here right now, are you?" I looked at him, truly looked at him and something felt off.

His smile grew wide. "Interesting, explain to me how I'm not here and I'll give you something good."

I thought for a moment, looking him over. "A thought projection, overlayed with a physical illusion using the college as an anchor…no that isn't right. The Magical energy….the Magicka that permeates the entire College, if I had to guess, I would say the source flows through somewhere close to your body, the wellspring so to speak. You can use it to project your consciousness or maybe astral project yourself anywhere by piggybacking off the dense flow of Magicka."

"You are a scary young man." He laughed, setting a slab of what looked like glass on the table.

"Why, thank you." I smiled back. "What is this?" I picked up the 'glass'.

"It's called blue glass; I don't know if it is official or not. Its counterpart, 'green glass' or just 'glass' is a material used in making glass armaments."

"I take it this is rare?" I peered at it closely, channeling a bit of my mana inside.

"Unbelievably so. That is all I've found in the past decade when I first heard of it."

Interesting, the material practically ate my mana as if it was starving. This would make a wonderful material for crafting. And the term 'glass' seemed like a bit of misnomer, just holding it in my hand, I could tell this wouldn't lose out to steel in toughness.

"Is the College against students leaving for extended periods of time?" I felt like I now had a goal to strive towards. The image of my sword was starting to come into focus.

"We like all our initiates to be able to defend themselves otherwise, we don't really restrict their freedoms. Most students don't leave for journeys until their later years, but I guess your circumstances is a bit out of the norm." He said with a good-natured chuckle. "But perhaps there is a better avenue for you, I'm guessing you haven't had a chance to see our job board yet?"

"Yeah…" I just scratched my cheek, looking around. I pretty much came straight for the library and haven't left.

"As the name implies, it's a board in the common room that lists all the jobs available. We provide the necessities here, food, board and even some novice-level ingredients and materials. Otherwise, you are required to provide for everything else you need. We often get job requests throughout Skyrim, a lot of which is just enchanting weapons or making potions and we let our younger members handle it, paying a small commission fee to the college, otherwise taking the pay for themselves."

"Interesting, I wouldn't mind completing a few jobs while I look around for some materials."

"Wonderful, we're quite backed up on requests as is, any experienced mage would be a boon." He hummed to himself before pulling a few more books off the shelves. "I believe you will need these."

I looked at the titles; 'Enchanting for Novices', 'Herbalist's Guide to Skyrim', 'Mixing Ingredients, a Potion Master's Memoire'. Well then, I guess there's no point in hiding my ignorance. "Thank you."

"I said it before, young man. I look forward to seeing the things you accomplish." He withdrew an apple from…somewhere and brought forth a knife from the same place. He cut a piece off, putting it in his mouth while setting the rest on the table. "Make sure you eat." He gave me a wink, chewing on the fruit.

"You were here the entire time, weren't you?" Or did he replace this 'projection' with his real body when I wasn't paying attention.

"Who knows?" He chuckled, walking away.

Once again, well played.

"I'll write down some notes and send them to you." I said, to the empty area, but I'm almost entirely sure he heard me.

Chapter 12

I happily bit into the apple as I put the books away. Urag or is it Urag Gro-Shub, is it all one name? Well, I'm just going to keep calling him Urag in my head.

Urag just gave me a grunt when he walked by. From my interactions with the man so far, that is the highest of praises this he can give.

I did read, err skim a book on the Races found in this world. An Orc or Orismer, how interesting. They were made out to be berserks, not in the insulting sense, but the warrior-type. I guess it's rare for an Orc to pursue the path of a Mage, especially to find one running a library. Well, one thing was for sure, I don't think anyone would have any idea about messing around with his books.

Cleaning everything up, all that was left was my notes on Runes that I was going to hand over to the Archmage. It was already gone when I took my eyes off it, but I expected that.

You won't get one over on me again.

Well, my debt has been paid….what should I do now? I did have a schedule for lectures but nothing interesting was coming up in the next few days. Though, next week the Enchanting Master was going to do a live demonstration, I was looking forward to that.

Well, to the job board it is.

It was a lovely night. Even if I hadn't slept in over a day, I still felt really refreshed. I think devils can operate on less sleep, so that is a boon to me as well.

Also, does my minor shapeshifting counteract things like poor hygiene? I knew some small spells to deal with such issues in a pinch, but even after a couple days….I didn't feel particularly icky.

Still though….I felt like a bath would be welcome.

I fiddled with my new storage ring, it was truly a good piece, just seeing this up close, I knew that the enchanting practices of this world would be a benefit to me. The terminology wasn't a one-to-one transfer from what I knew, but the Mystic Code crafters back home did similar things. And these materials were very interesting as well, I didn't recognize any of them, no doubt they were all native to this dimension.

I would have to grab a book on metallurgy when I have the chance.

"Oh, Tolfdir." I called out, seeing the older mage walking down the path.

"Hello, Wilhelm, I see you've managed to escape from the confines of the library." He gave a small laugh.

"Ah, yes." I said awkwardly. "I seemed to have lost track of time."

"It is no problem, my boy." He pat me on the shoulder. "I wish more students had the same 'issue'. It's hard enough to get them to study through the tomes when I assign specific work. All the young ones these days just want to get straight to throwing fireballs."

Well, to be fair, I remember doing that as well when I was young, I think we all did. "The Archmage was kind enough to point me towards some specific fields of study. I was actually just going over to the job board so I could get some things done while I gather materials outside."

"Well, I don't think anyone would say no to another hand with those, we have a few that are starting to get impatient." He scratched his chin in thought. "I don't think I need to question your ability either; I believe Ancano will vouch for your magical prowess in combat." His lips curled up slightly.

Jeese, Ancano must really be hated. Tolfdir comes off as someone who doesn't dislike anyone and always happy to help, yet even he is willing to take a jab at Ancano.

"I have a few moments before I need to head to my next lecture, why don't I show you where everything is?"

"I would appreciate it." I thanked the old mage; he was a really kind man.

I actually didn't really know where the 'common room' was, I was guessing it was connected to the living quarters. He led me towards the rotunda, in the corner, there was a door that led to the tower on the left side. It was large, going both up and down many levels.

"Here we are." He gestured.

I looked around, there were a few bookcases, some chairs, and tables, even some students quietly reading to themselves.

Quite cozy, if nothing else.

"And this is the Job board, it's nothing extravagant but it gets the job done." He smiled brightly at his own joke.

It brought a small smile to my face too.

The job board was….overflowing. I could see why they needed a hand, I guess their services are never in low demand.

"Any jobs I can't take, or is it all fair game?"

"You will have to bring it up with Sergius Turrianus. He overlooks all jobs and requests for the college."

"I heard my name." A man walked over. He was also on the older side, an 'Imperial', bald and wearing standard mage robes.

"Ah yes, here we are. Wilhelm, meet our resident Master Enchant, Sergius Turrianus."

"It's a pleasure, I look forward to your lecture next week." I held out my hand and he grabbed it without any fanfare.

"It's always good to see new blood in the college. So, what can I do for you both?"

"I was just going to take a job or two while I go out for a bit." I spoke. "I wanted to know if there were any stringent requirements on what I could pick."

"As long as you're able to accomplish the jobs, I won't make any unnecessary demands." He came off as a no-nonsense kind of guy, straight to the point and didn't mince his words.

I turned towards the board; I saw one that stood out the most. After hearing about this and seeing it here ...my interest is piqued. I tore it from the board, still looking for another. I saw an older one, a bit ruffled in the corner and saw who commissioned it and where I was required to go, well I could choose worse places. Taking it as well, I handed them towards Sergius.

"An enchanting request by the Companions over in Whiterun." He eyed me, then looked back towards the paper. "There is a reason this one has gone undone for so long, even if the Companions are famous throughout Skyrim. They tend to not be very friendly towards mages, the quintessential Nord, if you will."

"I got a friend who went to Whiterun and wanted to joint he Companions; I want to see how he's doing." I explained.

"I see, well the requirements are just basic Enchanting, nothing a novice can't do. Nord, especially the Companions, don't like anything over the basics. They'll want sharpening, durability, and anti-rusting, maybe a few other requests, but they shouldn't vary much."

"I think I can handle that." I can just read the enchanting book on the way there.

"As for this one….this one is a bit more complicated. You aren't the first to take this request. We had an Adept Mage give up this request halfway through, saying that a powerful Necromancer had taken up residence under the Statue of Meridia, which is why it has been acting up." He gave me an inspecting look. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I'm confident in my combat ability."

He just shrugged, I guess it wasn't his job to dissuade people from taking jobs. "He also left this." He flipped his hand over and I could tell he pulled on his own personal 'space' to pull out an object. It was a crystal-life object, spherical in nature with many flat sides. "He said it was a 'key', not explaining anything else. Oh, and before I forget, the materials for the enchanting job, which will be deducted from your earnings when you return." He handed me a small bag.

I just put all the stuff into my ring.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I want to get these jobs done as soon as possible." I wasn't even brown-nosing before. I really want to listen to his lecture on enchanting next week.

"I'll make a note of your departure, there aren't any time limits but don't dawdle." He walked away, seemingly content with everything.

"Make sure you have plenty of supplies." Tolfdir looked slightly concerned. "Potions, Magicka and Healing are a must. A good Stamina potion if you need to run away, maybe even a few scrolls…" He rambled on, but his intentions were appreciated.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm properly prepared before engaging an unknown mage." I smiled.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure you are no stranger to the more dangerous side of our profession." He just nodded and I couldn't help but wonder what he'd heard about me. I mean, I only showed off a lackluster duel between me and Ancano, that couldn't mean much. I guess there were also the Ice Wraiths….

Maybe the Archmage said some things I didn't know about?

He said his goodbyes and walked off towards class, but my attention was turned elsewhere. "Are you going to skulk forever?' I called out, taking a few steps out of the common room.

I saw an elf, a Bosmer, I believe. There were many kinds of elves here and it was almost hard to keep track. I noticed him trailing me from the time I had met up with Tolfdir.

"Greetings, friend." He gave me a strange look. "I couldn't help but overhear that you are searching for some….materials."

Ah, that's what this is about. He must be trying to make some coin off me…. well I don't really care as long as I can get what I want. "So it seems, and what can you do for me?"

"You're new around here, so I thought I would introduce myself. You see, I'm someone who can…..acquire things, maybe even of a dubious nature."

Oh, well now this just got worth it. "Are you now? Well, I'm in need of something particular, something that may be rare and might be hard to acquire by normal means."

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Enthir, Scholar and humble Merchant. How could I be of service?"

I thought for a moment before pulling the blue glass out of my ring. "Can you get me more of this, I don't care if it's been forged or not."

"Hmm, a type of glass I've never seen before….I can put my feelers out but I don't know if—"

"Money isn't an issue."

"I know just who to ask. I look forward to any future business." He said happily, walking away.

What a strange guy, though I don't dislike that sort of person. Well, even if it turns into nothing, I would rather fail and try than to ignore a possible lead.

This glass will be important for my sword.

If anyone wants to support me or read 5 unedited chapters ahead, feel free to visit Pat /AStoryForOne

Chapter 13

I was lucky enough to catch the old man before he left on his cart. Apparently, he had spent all the money I paid him before, so he was going back to work.

That was his life, he would take travelers here and there, then shack up in the latest Tavern, spend all his coin and do it all over again.

I can't really blame him either, that sounded like an easy-going life.

It wasn't very hard to convince him to go to Whiterun, originally, he was going to Windhelm, but a bit of gold changes his plans easy enough. Though we did pass by and I saw it at a distance. I would like to check it out at some point.

That being said, I did take a note of how much gold I had left, about a couple thousand Septims, the currency they use here. One gold meaning one Septim, obviously. I wasn't quite sure how much gold I would need, I met that weird guy earlier and he was searching his sources for any blue glass. And gods know how much that is going to cost, and I was also on the lookout for any other materials that caught my eye.

Well, I just pushed such thoughts to the side for now and cracked open one of my books. It would take a little more than half a day to reach Whiterun, so I may as well learn the basics of enchanting here.

The text was a bit dry, but there seemed to be a lot of similarities between this and what I was used to.

Even Runes made another appearance, albeit not in the farm I was familiar with. One of the most common methods to craft a Mystic Code was to carve runes onto the object, my cane sword being one such example, here they do things a bit differently.

Runes are carved onto an 'enchanting table' and then used to imbue an object with their concepts as opposed to being used directly.

It made the enchantments somewhat weaker than what I compared to my memories, but it made it so almost anyone could pick up the craft without much trouble. What an interesting method, I'll have to do experiments with this when I get back home.

One of the key ingredients, a 'soul stone'.

On the surface, this thing seemed repulsive. I wasn't against using 'things' as materials to further my own goals, but even I wouldn't take someone's soul and use it for crafting…..normally.

Anyways, these were a bit different than what I expected on the surface. The name was apt, they housed 'souls' but not anything sapient. These stones absorbed the souls of defeated foes like rabbits, deer's, bears things of that nature.

And it didn't even consume the soul to use, they acted more like batteries than materials in of themselves. After being used, the souls would simply dissipate from the stone, returning to the natural cycle of the world without any harm done.

The runes and enchanting table made use of the soul's power to both apply and even recharge enchantments on items.

It was a simple, yet robust system they created. I was genuinely impressed at the ingenuity.

The basics were easy enough to understand, I felt confidant enough to put them to use later, but now I was curious about the next levels. Was it just more of the same, but harder enchantments, or were there other steps that needed to be taken?

It was questions for later. I just wanted to finish this book for now before arriving in Whiterun.

"We're here, lad." I felt a hand lightly pat my shoulder.

I opened my eyes and saw the old man standing over me. "Already?"

"You were fast asleep there, didn't even wake up when I pulled into the stables." He laughed. "Now hurry up, I want to head to the Tavern and I can't get going until I make sure my horses don't run, so that means you need to move."

"Yeah, yeah." You old drunk, there wasn't really any venom in his voice, just his personality.

Didn't even realize I fell asleep; it was a nice little nap.

I stretched my body as I took in the view. I could see a large building poking over the walls that surrounded the city. It was impressive, for what they had to work with. The town in general looked a lot livelier than Winterhold, but it was also much warmer.

"Greeting." I waved at the guards who were watching over the entrance. "I don't suppose I could ask for directions to the Companions?"

They both looked at each other before one stepped forward. "You lookin to join the Companions, son? Their annual recruitment ended two days ago."

"Oh no, I'm just here for a job and to see if a friend of mine was able to make it."

He shrugged, stepped to my side. "You see that path there." He held out his hand, pointing towards the inner city. "You're gonna wanna follow that path and you'll come to an open market, if you keep going and take a right, you'll see a building with an overturned boat on top, that's the Jorrvaskr, the Companions mead hall and residence."

"I appreciate your help, here drinks are on me tonight." I handed him a few coins.

"You're alright, lad." He slapped my shoulder and laughed.

Always a good idea to be friendly with the resident law enforcement.

It was a nice stroll through a little hamlet, children were much more active here and people just kept coming and going.

Yeah, there were quite a few more people here, many more shops and things to look at. I pulled out the job description that had more detailed instructions.

So, I'm supposed to enchant some weapons for the Companions, basically these super mercenaries that are like celebrities around here. To do that, the College actually has a contract with the local enchanter. It may seem odd that I would be using another person's enchanting station to enchant objects for a job in the city they preside, but it looked like the actual enchanter there is out of Skyrim for the next few years and his daughter is looking over the place.

So, we just pay a small fee on an annual basis, and she lets us use the enchanting station when we come around. It saves time and money from the clients sending their items to us and potentially get backlogged that way.

Honestly, the logistics just seem like a nightmare everywhere, but what can you do in this age.

Finding the 'boat' building wasn't hard, it was exactly as described, a building using a boat as a roof. Pretty neat, I don't' know the history behind it, but all the same it looked important.

I pushed the large doors open, walking inside. Most eyes in the building turned to me, but one in particular was familiar.

"Will!" The voice of Thorum echoed out.

Jeese man, if you look so excited to see me, I'll get embarrassed. "Thorum." I greet the large man who came over and practically enveloped me in a hug. Okay, I was happy to see him too, and with how he was treating me I couldn't help but smile. I didn't have many friends, so this was always welcomed.

"I had heard what happened in Riften and feared the worst." He said, giving me a once over.

"I never actually made it to Riften." I chuckled. "Rumors started spreading right before I left, no carts wanted to take me, so I headed over to the College instead."

"A stroke of good fortune then." He nodded.

"What about you, I guess you managed to join the Companions?"

"Aye, I've been a Companion for about two days now. Come! Take a seat, tell me how you joined the College."

He gestured me over to a seat, there was a bar or something it didn't seem like anyone was 'bartending' as it were, but he walked up behind the counter and grabbed a couple drinks, setting one infront of me and sitting down.

I noticed a few more people in the room, taking quick glances our way…curious. Were outsiders allowed in here? I mean, Thorum wasn't showing any signs of discomfort, and I doubt he would disobey rules like that.

"I made my way to Riverwood after well…." I look around.

"No need for that, I've already told my brethren my story. We are brothers in bonds who had fought and escaped unjust capture together."

I just shrugged, if it trusted these people, I would trust his judgement. "Alright, so I arrive Riverwood, not much happened the Cart driver tells me stories of a Dragon in Riften, you know anything about that?"

"Yes, even Kodlak Whiteman, the Harbringer of the Companions has been going to meetings with the Jarl to discuss this." He explained, shaking his head. "Riften was hit hard, almost half the town was burned down before the beast flew away. They say that not even one warrior managed to pierce that dragon's black hide."

I guess Harbinger was some kind of leadership position. Well, he knew I wasn't from Skyrim, probably gave the full name and title for my benefit. The dragon bits were interesting too, seemed to align with what I knew about dragons.

"Dragons...crazy. Are the Companions looking to get in on some dragon slaying?"

"There had been talk, but so far we don't know if more dragons are going to start showing up. There haven't been any more sightings since, but everyone is on edge."

I nodded and continued. "I picked up some supplies and headed towards the College, the trip wasn't too exciting, it was nice to get a view of the Skyrim countryside. But when I arrived, the town was under siege."

"Bandits?" He questioned.

I shook my head. "Ice Wraiths."

"Those scaly ice-things from further north?"

"Yup, scary little bastards. They're elementals, highly attuned to their element so they can use ice-based magic with ease."

"It's that time of the year." It wasn't Thorum who spoke, but a woman who walked up behind him.

"Ah, Will, this is Aela, Aela this is Will."

"Pleasure." I smiled.

She grunted. "I was there a few winters ago, had an job and we stayed and helped."

I turned back to Thorum. "She's right, the guard captain, Svord, explained that it was the time of the year that they produce offspring which involved taking people and dragging them off to who knows where."

"I assume you joined the defense." Thorum asked.

"Indeed. Svord the guard captain, and the other guards were quick to act as the wraiths came, forming a strong shield wall to stop their magics from a distance. It gave me enough time to create about a hundred illusionary guards to draw their attention."

"And that worked? Aren't Ice Wraiths…erm, magical?" He said without much confidence. I couldn't blame him; he probably didn't know much about how magic worked.

"I had taken a few guesses myself, I'm not quite familiar with Ice Wraiths either, but they didn't have normal senses, no noses, eyes, ears or what have you, so they had to be able to sense their prey somehow. My first thought was some kind of Heat sense, but they completely ignored things like torches, so I guessed they could sense 'magic'."

"Are all the guards at Winterhold Mages?" He tilted his head in confusion.

I shook my head. "Every living person has magic inside of them, whether they use it or not. I assume the Ice Wraiths sought that out and the magic I put into each illusion was enough to trick them."

"Fascinating." Thorum looked at me in awe, and it didn't seem like he was being condescending, he took a genuine interest in what I was saying. "I wonder if i'm capable of magic."

"I think everyone is capable of it, just the extent of talent. I wouldn't advise you against learning a basic healing spell or maybe even conjuring a quick flame for fire in Skyrim's weather."

Thorum let out a laugh. "Aye, those would be handy."

"Well, in the future, if you're hunting Ice Wraiths, maybe take a few Magicka potions with you and use them as traps or distractions? It may or may not work." I shrugged; it would need more testing in the future. "Those illusions, along with the guards keeping them off me, I was able to cast a large fire spell and turn them to ash."

I took a drink of my ale, wasn't as good as the mead I've had previously, but it was decent. "It was a good party afterwords, tried my first Nord Mead too."

Thorum snorted in laughter and I saw Aela chuckled too.

"I guess we can't call your friend a milk-drinker then." Aela slapped Thorum's shoulder.

"It was after the party that things got a bit more interesting as well. I get woken up by some arrogant ass who is 'interested' in my spells." I scoffed.

"That's just wrong, you don't' wake a man after drinking through a celebration."

"Yes, Ancano, the Thalmor Emissary." I rolled my eyes. It was weird, as soon as I said that the place got deathly quiet. "Something wrong?"

"You had a run in with the Thalmor?" Aela questioned.

Jeese does everyone here hate the Thalmor? "Just some pompous mage who couldn't go through a single sentence without using his status as a Thalmor Emissary to make himself seem special." I looked around the room and people were now paying a lot more attention. "I'm still not very familiar with Skyrim, how hated are the Thalmor here?"

"We don't get involved with politics." Aela stated, I guess she was meaning them as 'mercenaries'. "But we would happily join in any battle that was opposite the Thalmor." There were several cheers and woops inside the room.

Well, guess that answers that question. Screw it, I'm onboard the fuck the Thalmor train. Even what i read about them makes them seem like complete assholes.

"Yeah, he mentioned something about 'the Thalmor giving Skyrim a strong, guiding hand' or some such nonsense. Got everyone in the tavern all pissed at him."

"Aye, that sounds about right." Thorum even looked unamused. "Please tell me he didn't get away with something like that."

"Of course not, I couldn't let the people who fought beside me get insulted like that. I was a mage he was a mage, I did the obvious thing." I took another drink. "We had a duel outside of the town, I think most of them were watching as well."

"Good man." Thorum gave me a solute with his drink I heard a few grunts of acknowledgement.

"Well, he gave me some nonsense like 'Cast your spell, I won't do anything until then'. And to be honest…..I really had to resist the urge to walk up and stab him with my sword."

That got a reaction out of them, I saw Thorum crack up, holding back the drink he just took.

"But well, I had my own pride as a mage." I withdrew a coin from my ring and held it up. "Put a hole in his stomach about that big."

"You should have killed him." I heard a gruff voice join up next to Aela.

"I was tempted, but we did put restrictions on the duel, no killing, maiming, or hurting spectators. I didn't want to taint my own honor." It was true, I had my pride I wouldn't allow anyone to step on it, a few looked disappointed but it got better. "But what I didn't tell you is that we also put stakes on the outcome." They leaned in and I just smiled. "I of course healed him up, I didn't want him to forgo his end of the deal because of injuries. He had a long walk back to the college, without any clothes."

There was a small bit of silence as they processed before laughter erupted from the hall. I guess the Thalmor are really fucking hated if this gets everyone so happy. Then again, the Thalmor did 'outlaw' the worship of one of the Nord's deities.

"That's all my adventuring for the past few days, what about you Thorum?"

The man calmed down, still a fit of giggles though. "My time hasn't been as exciting, I joined a couple days ago it wasn't too difficult."

"The guard at the gate said the Companions do an annual recruitment, shouldn't there be more people here if it wasn't difficult?"

"Well –"

"Not every recruit is willing to punch a Companion in the face after the first meeting." Aela mused.

"My jaw is still sore." The man next to Aela said, in a good natured way, and looked at me. "It was my turn for the recruitment this time around, I just insulted them all and wanted to see if any had that fire in their bellies. Thorum here is the only one who had the balls to do anything about it."

Thorum chuckled. "He insulted my mom, so of course I swung. He explained it was just a ruse though, no hard feelings are kept."

"Thank you, brother."

Thorum nodded. "Oh, Farkas, this is Will, Will this Farkas."

"It's good to meet a friend of Thorums." He gave me a nod. "Especially one who put a Thalmor on his ass."

"Ah, that reminds me. While I did come here to check up on Thorum, I also took a job dealing with enchantments for the Companions?"

Aela looked at me and then to Farkas. "I had forgotten about that, after the last one that came by I thought the College was ignoring us."

"Sorry I don't know anything about that." I shrugged.

"Scrawny little mage came in, acting like we should worship the ground he stepped on." Farkas grunted.

"I can guess how that went. And when he went back, probably told some bullshit story about you guys." I just sighed, while I doubt they were blameless it seems like things just escalated on both ends. "Well, I wouldn't mind doing the enchantments you lot need."

"If dragons are really going to be popping up, it's probably a good idea to get our weapons and armor in the best condition." Aela answered. "Its just….we didn't expect anyone to come after a while, several of the inner circle are still in a meeting with the Jarl."

"I don't mind waiting a day or so, I'm in no hurry." I waived her off. "I wanted to do some shopping and exploring anyways."

"Oh, why don't I show you around Whiterun, what are you looking for?" Thorum looked happy at my comment.

"I was going to craft my own magical foci, but I'm not too familiar with specific metals and their properties, though maybe I should stop by the blacksmith in town and see what's what."

"Actually…..my Da was a blacksmith, I know a thing or two if you need a hand."

I just blinked looking at my friend. He really is a nice guy, I'm glad to be friends with him.