Skyl founding his own club (or student society) at the College of Winterhold was really a coincidence.
Back when he was studying at Winterhold, he had already shown outstanding ability. As he brought in the scientific theories of the Muggle world from World I—especially mathematical knowledge—and applied them to the study of magic, he more or less became a "master" among the apprentices, gaining considerable prestige in that circle.
During that period, he was completely immersed in the lore of every school of magic and paid little attention to anything else.
Skyl still remembered that his very first lesson at Winterhold had been in Alteration, taught by the calm and steady Master Tolfdir.
Tolfdir was one of the very few true masters of Alteration on the whole continent of Tamriel, and he was happy to share his knowledge. The college had no fixed timetable; lecturers and scholars simply organized talks on their own, and any member who was interested could come and listen.
For new students who had potential but lacked theoretical grounding, the college would also arrange proper lessons.
Counting Skyl, there were only nine new apprentices that year. Bretons and elves made up the majority. They were born sensitive to magicka and were excellent mage material.
Skyl had arrived early. In the Hall of the Elements, apart from him there was only a dark elf woman. She was standing in the spell practice area, casting Destruction spells at a magical training dummy.
Thumb-sized fireballs shot out and struck the dummy, erupting into blasts of flame about a meter across. By the time the shockwave and heat reached the edge of the practice area, they were absorbed by the warding barrier.
Skyl stepped closer to observe. The damage those firebolts were doing to the dummy was much weaker than he had expected. They could only blast off a few fingers; they couldn't tear off entire limbs, nor did they cause any large-area burning.
"Hmm."
With a single glance he could see at least three problems in the spell, and he couldn't help letting out a quiet sigh.
The dark elf woman stopped casting and turned to glare at him. Her people's skin was a dark violet, and their eyes were a blood-red that looked disturbingly evil, enough to make others uncomfortable. It was the result of a daedric curse; in truth, dark elves weren't a race of bloodthirsty maniacs, and before the curse they had possessed a far more pleasant appearance.
The woman in front of him had a stubborn look in her eyes, like two fiercely burning candle flames, and her tone was even more aggressive.
"Got some brilliant insight into my spell, do you? Or did you just come to watch me make a fool of myself?"
Skyl's tone was mild and his attitude friendly.
"Sorry, I'm just here for the lesson. Don't mind me. It's just… if you don't mind, I happen to have a detailed spell pattern for Firebolt you could use for reference."
He tore a page from the notebook he carried and handed it to the dark elf mage.
A complicated expression flashed across her face; she hesitated, then rather reluctantly took the sheet. One glance was enough for her to see where her problems lay.
"Oh. So that's it. I'm sorry, I spoke too harshly just now. Please forgive my temper."
Skyl smiled, eyes half-mooned.
"Did it help?"
"Yes, it helps a lot. Although… to be honest, I'm actually better at Conjuration. So…"
"I get it, I get it. As it happens, I've been interested in conjuration theory lately too. We could discuss it sometime."
The dark elf mage fidgeted slightly.
"I'd rather not. I'm more used to studying alone."
With that, she turned back to the training dummy and cast Firebolt again. This time, her improvement was obvious.
After a while, the rest of the students arrived one after another.
The instructor, Tolfdir, was an elderly man with a head of gray hair and a neatly trimmed goatee. When he saw Skyl, he looked genuinely pleased.
"A new member has joined us."
The others reacted with lukewarm politeness at best, merely nodding to Skyl.
Tolfdir's lesson was as steady as he was: pure theory. From a general overview of magic down to the prerequisite disciplines for the Alteration school, he explained everything in order. Skyl was behind the others in terms of progress; there were parts he simply couldn't follow yet.
In The Elder Scrolls world, mainstream magic followed the path of natural philosophy: observe the objective world, summarize and refine its patterns, and then apply them. This was very different from the magic of the Harry Potter world. To put it more bluntly, you could think of Elder Scrolls–style magic as a form of science.
The Alteration school studied how to manipulate the natural world and the properties of matter within it. Using the spell Oakflesh as an example, Tolfdir explained what kind of prerequisite knowledge one had to master: from observing plant cells, to basic structural mechanics, to how to control magicka so that it formed a protective magical layer over the caster's skin. All of it depended on an understanding of wooden materials, as well as the ability to control magical properties.
Skyl listened with great interest. The magic of the Elder Scrolls world suited his tastes very well. Natural philosophy was always more intuitive, and easier for a rational mind to grasp.
His classmates, however, were far from satisfied. They were already sick of theory and were determined to get some practical spellcasting in.
Tolfdir couldn't quite hold out against these impatient, hot-blooded students. Even though he repeatedly warned them that magic was a chaotic and dangerous form of energy, the students still fancied themselves gifted and wouldn't listen.
In the end, Tolfdir had no choice but to agree to demonstrate a ward spell for them.
Ward magic was a Restoration spell specifically used to defend against magical attacks. When mages fought each other, it wasn't so different from warriors trading blows: one hand hurled offensive spells, while the other braced behind a ward shield. Using this spell for a demonstration minimized the risk of any nasty accidents.
Tolfdir looked toward the quiet Skyl.
"You haven't said a word just now. What do you think of your classmates' suggestion?"
"Theoretical study is very important. I don't think flinging spells around recklessly is anything worth showing off."
"A steady way of thinking. In that case, I'd like you to help me demonstrate this spell."
Skyl's fellow apprentices began whispering among themselves.
"No problem," Skyl said, "but I don't know any ward spells."
Tolfdir was a little surprised as well, and had to teach him on the spot. Fortunately, Skyl wasn't completely starting from zero; before attending the lesson he had already self-studied some of the theoretical basics.
In the Elder Scrolls system, mainstream magic required three components. The first was magical energy—magicka—which existed everywhere in this world and was nothing special in itself. The second was the spell pattern, which required solid knowledge and precise calculations. The third was soul energy, the refined force that resided within every living being.
Soul energy's role was to construct the spell model and to draw in and convert magicka. It was the core element in the casting process. The most difficult part, however, was building the spell model itself. That component was the essence of the magical system, the core standard by which a mage's intellect and ability were measured.
The Lesser Ward spell that Tolfdir taught on the spot was very simple. Among all novice-level spells, its pattern was one of the easiest and most straightforward.
The principle behind Lesser Ward was to gather nearby magicka into the spell model. There was no need to convert it; it was simply sprayed out at a constant rate, forming a shield-shaped jet of energy in front of the caster. The only tricky part lay in controlling the flow speed. As long as the size of the "nozzle" was kept within a certain range, the spell wouldn't fail.
After trying it just a few times, Skyl succeeded. In the blink of an eye, he had learned the spell.
Tolfdir hurled weak fireballs, tiny ice darts, and fading currents of lightning at the ward in front of Skyl, and every one of them was successfully blocked.
"Excellent! A very fine demonstration. The rest of you, keep practicing your wards."
There was no doubt that Skyl's talent had drawn everyone's attention. After class, many students were noticeably friendlier, coming over one after another to greet him, though for most of them it stopped at that. Aside from that dark elf mage, only one young Nord mage went so far as to introduce himself by name. He was called Onmund, and he had been one of the ones egging Tolfdir on to demonstrate magic earlier.
"You're a Nord," Skyl said with a smile. "It must be hard, becoming a Nord mage. I imagine you get a lot of prejudice."
"There's nothing I can do about it. I can't convince my family," Onmund replied. "But I still think it's worth it."
"Of course it's worth it. But studying magic takes hard work and a calm mind. You were pretty impatient back there in class. I actually wanted to hear more of Master Tolfdir's basic theory."
"That just gave you a chance to show off, didn't it?" Onmund shrugged.
"True enough. Let me bask in the spotlight a bit," Skyl said half-jokingly.
Chatting and laughing, the two of them headed back to the dormitory together.
After that, Skyl spent most of his time in the college library. It contained all the prerequisite knowledge he needed. At his pace, it wouldn't take even half a month for him to absorb all the core volumes in the College of Winterhold's collection, from the Second Era onward.